‘Money takes time to make’
Adversity inspired property magnate Colin Kisten, whose road to success would make a good script for a movie, writes
food for my wedding was eaten at my brothers’ funeral. The guy who shot them was a close friend.
“We lost most of our family. It was just my father, mother and I. It was a like a great fire that burnt down the whole vineyard, leaving only one vine. It seemed as if something would pull me back whenever anything important was about to take place. But I persevered.”
He bought a small video shop. “I put everything – the anger and pain – in this business because I wasn’t going to let life beat me one more time. I had to make this work, for the sake of my parents. Whatever I have achieved, my driving force was to make sure my parents were okay.”
Next to his video shop was a supermarket. When the owner was in the midst of a messy divorce, “he gave it to me on terms. I paid him over two years and ran that shop for four.”
He sold this to embark on his riskiest venture yet, a R1.2 million, 20-room hotel in Chatsworth. He sold it a year later.
By then, he had bought his first home in Hillary. He says he found a young white man standing on the pavement outside with a for sale sign.
“His name was Richard Anderson. We ended up chatting. He had a house on show. We became friendly. He had his daughter with him and was going through a tough divorce. All his goods were in his vehicle and he did not have a place to sleep that night. So I gave Richard a room to stay and it changed my life.”
Having sold the hotel, he was looking for a new venture. “Richard invited me to visit him at work at Realty 1. I used to go every day. He eventually suggested I sell real estate, so I wrote the board exam. That was a challenge, but I passed and within six months was the regional award-winning salesman for Realty 1.”
Kisten went on to open his own property company, Coprop Elite, which became his focus for 10 years. He started with a staff of 34 and ended up opening branches in Hillcrest and Durban
North.
Kisten, conveyancer Vijen Pillay and two other business partners set up a property development company, starting with the R120 million Grand Floridian on La Lucia Ridge.
With uMhlanga developing rapidly amid a property boom, the business partners developed Grand Central in its new town centre, the R80m Crystal Rock and the R30m Meridian.
He also developed Collingwood Mews in Queensburgh and has just bought the Apostolic Church in Queensburgh and plans to turn it into a rehabilitation centre.
Corporate social investment is big on his agenda. At 22, he started Africa Rising, a nongovernmental organisation that helps street children and the aged.
“It’s about giving back. I don’t think any business can succeed if it is not involved in some social investment. It was something that my mother inculcated in me.”
Now Kisten believes it’s time for a change again. Although he intends to maintain his property interests, he says the investment environment for property is challenging given the protracted economic downturn, high levies charged on bulk services, high rates and restrictive regulations.
He says many developers have gone insolvent and the rest, like him, are holding back.
“Everything in uMhlanga is hard because there are too many rules. You cannot put up a for sale board in the town centre to sell an apartment because the sign will be confiscated. An area that should be user-friendly for estate agents is actually one of the most difficult,” he says.
Additional obstacles include the fact that a promised access road between Sibaya and the new town centre has not materialised and sellers have to offer their properties back to Tongaat Hulett Properties first.
Instead, he is looking to invest in renewable energy. “We need to invest in developing the technology, refining it and getting it to the point where it’s accessible.
“It is a seed mentality – starting strong and growing from there. It was the same with property. We started small with real estate and learnt the basics.”
The only thing holding him back is disillusionment with crime and corruption. “I am reluctant to tell people I was involved in the struggle. I think we have got to the point where most struggle heroes will have to do without tombstones because they’ve lost their legacies to corruption and crime.
“No one wants to speak out because they are afraid they will lose favour with the government or miss out on a tender. In all my business years, I have never done business with the government or applied for tenders. I refuse to get involved. When good men are silent, bad things happen. It’s time for people who want change to come together, stand up and be counted.”
He believes in spending on education and encourages others to do so. “Businesses need to be responsible and invest in the future of our children.
“We should subsidise schools and preschooling. Liquor ads should stop; so should the millions we put in sports like soccer. We can’t change the 30- to 40-year-olds, but we can change the children. The commercial generation might increase the profits of major companies but it is not going to guarantee them a future. We have to invest in science and maths. That’s where the money is going to come from.”
Kisten is investing in start-up businesses and two years ago started a mentorship programme for five emerging enterprises.
“They make a presentation. Then I sit with them, take it apart and show them where they are going wrong. If they have problems, they can call me and I advise them.
“Business should adopt young businessmen. Once we’ve educated them, they will employ and empower. That’s where it starts.”
He hopes his approach will rub off on recruits. He says it takes time to make good deals; he does four or five a year.
“You don’t have to rush to make money. Making money is about finding the right moment, the right opportunity. A man who takes the time to observe will get it right at the right time.
“It’s hard to make good decisions when you’re busy networking, sending out e-mails, sitting on your laptop tweeting. You have to take your time in the marketplace and search for the right product.
“The ones rushing around, trying too hard to get rich too soon won’t. We live in a microwave society. Everybody wants everything too soon, and wants what their brothers have. I think that is where the greed comes from.”