Entrepreneur inspires youth to pursue their dreams

DURBAN entrepreneur Ntokozo “Big Sod” Biyela once held down a comfortable corporate job, which paid him handsomely, but it just wasn’t intellectually stimulating him enough.

Ever the adventurer, Biyela woke up one day and decided to quit his 9-to-5 job, taking a giant leap of faith into the unknown. He went on to become a reality TV star on Big Break Legacy in 2013 and the force behind the mobile fridge phenomenon that took the small business sector by storm.

Biyela, who hails from Nquthu, has launched his first book, Mindset Shift, an entrepreneurial journey aimed at the youth and “careerists” battling to take the leap of faith he did when he downed tools to dare to dream.

“The book is essentially a catalyst to encourage people to press that reset button in their lives. I hope it will become a catalyst for many people to make that paradigm shift in their lives based on my story,” he said.

Biyela spends his time at companies, sharing tips on leadership, strategic, entrepreneurial and personal management through his business, Mindset Shift Consulting.

“Growing up, I never envisaged myself as an entrepreneur or businessman, so I guess somehow entrepreneurship chose me. It was all part of God’s plan. I came to a point where I felt I had reached the ceiling where I was working and chose to leave to venture into business,” said Biyela.

He has held a number of corporate posts, the last with Unilever, where he worked as a process optimisation technologist and ended up managing the department.

“I decided to move on from manufacturing and nurture my other two businesses which had been dormant for a while. I’m currently growing Mindset Shift Consulting, which is a solutionsbased management consulting company. Among other things, we offer strategic, entrepreneurial and personal management for small and big companies,” he said.

“We also offer solutions for transformation, diversity and change management for both corporate and government departments.

“Biyela Property Development (Biprodev) is an investment wing in property development. We are now looking at opportunities mainly in rural areas,” he said.

Of his business consulting, he said what set it apart from other companies was that it was all about new leadership styles to accommodate the new generation.

The husband and father of three beautiful children is never afraid of new challenges.

While growing his businesses, he is also promoting his book which he hopes will inspire many people.

“I believe this book will resonate with high school students, tertiary students, careerists who are contemplating taking that leap into entrepreneurship, those battling with marital issues, entrepreneurs and ultimately anyone on a spiritual growth path.

The book is essentially a catalyst to encourage people to press that reset button in their lives. I hope it will help many people decide to make that move,” he said.

In business, he said, challenges arose which sometimes led to failure.

Biyela said he believed that investing in proper systems, such as bookkeeping, accounting, legal and compliance structures was essential.

“These are the most important elements of any business. If you neglect them in the beginning, you stand to pay a heavy penalty at the end when you need them.

“Failing to put in place the proper systems in a business and running it in an unethical, immoral and unprincipled manner can be disastrous.

“As the entrepreneur or businessman, you should invest time in understanding all the parts of your business.

“If you need to be hands-on, do so because you gain experience that way and not by just supervising.

“Always maintain control of your finances and never delegate that function outright,” said Biyela.