On 1 August 2018,Mark shared insights into the Electrical Engineering Sector!
Transcript
A different time, with some wisdom for now
“It’s a tough market. You must be prepared with a proper heart in order to make it in the industry. It operates on trust and relationships. I don’t care who says what, but you need to be known. You need to get yourself known through relationship marketing. Advertising on radio or in newspapers won’t give you much mileage. There are professional consultants and electrical engineers who need to trust that you can deliver the product. The government also needs to play a critical role, especially in the transformation agenda. These relationships were built before 1994. The principal contractors and established builders had relationships with electrical contractors. These relationships continue to this day and are almost personal. When a key person leaves a company, if the relationship hasn’t been embedded within the company with other personalities, the company goes down. Even the most established electrical contracting business will shrink if the relationship with the client is lost. For someone entering the industry today, it means they must build those relationships, but not just with one person. What happens when that relationship goes sour? Palaka said that recognizing these relationships were established long before 1994, the government must create deliberate opportunities for black entrepreneurs. It needs to be enforced, not through persuasion or nagging, but as a natural imperative. We need to create opportunities for as many black people as possible, and they need to trust me, black people go to school.” Mark Mfikoe, transcribed from the video.
