SANLAM Testimonial re: Bob Power

Fax dated: 15 Jan 2007 - on file
on Sanlam letterhead - 2 Strand Road, Bellville
From Erna Wentzel
MARKET MANAGER: SANLAM COBALT
Sanlam Group Marketing & Communications

To whom it may concern:

Sanlam contracted Bob Power as a keynote speaker during a series of 12 country-wide seminars for business owners in 2005. Bob is an expert in the field of mergers and acquisitions, and his experience clearly showed in the effortless way he communicated a soemwhat cumbersome topic, which can get very technical if not approached correctly.

Bob has a keen sense of humour, which lightens the topic. He also uses true-life case studies to illustrate the pitfalls of buying and selling a business.

Our on site feedback from delegates Bob a rating of four out of five, with glowing comments on the impactful added value to the seminar.

I will recommend Bob for any speaking slot on this topic.

Kind regards
signed: Erna Wentzel
MARKET MANAGER: SANLAM COBALT
Sanlam Group Marketing & Communications

'Til LACK Do Us Part

4. Cash is King

In both marriage and business if there are financial constraints it can have serious detrimental affects.

ADVICE 4- Without money marriage and business cannot work

by Bob Power

Beauty Is Skin DEEP - Dig Deeper!

3. Do your homework - Due diligence - The main reasons for failure in marriage and business centre around the following:

· Entering into the partnership without understanding the other partner. It is estimated that out of every 100 people who say they want to enter into business only 1 does so. The reason for this is that many do not have the nerve to own their own business preferring to stay as employees - with their monthly cheque and guaranteed annual leave. In marriage the same caution should prevail - we all have many associations before the right person comes along. But love is sometimes blind and do we really know the person we are marrying until we marry them and then it could be too late.

· Another concern following from the above is that persons enter into a business whereby they do not understand the product or service being supplied - failure is usually the result.

· In marriage a long term courtship will assist in ensuring that the marriage relationship will work.

ADVICE 3 - Make sure you know who you are marrying and what business you are entering - things are not always what they appear to be

by Bob Power

'Til Death Or Mega BUY-OUT Do Us Part

2. Long term relationship - Entering marriage should be for life - likewise entering business must be to start and grow a business and not to make a quick buck and exit

ADVICE 2 - Have the intention to keep a long term relationship

by Bob Power

Beware The Verbal CONTRACT - As Good As The Paper It's Written On!

1. Signing contracts. If we start at the beginning we sign agreements we do not understand, whether anti-nupital contacts - buying business contracts - leases etc. When the marriage or business fails we often find that we can be in very difficult financial straits - because we signed documents making certain commitments which we did not understand

ADVICE 1 - Do not sign contracts you do not understand - get advice

by Bob Power

Entering Into BUSINESS - For Better or For Worse

Bob Power is working on a draft paper entitled: COMPARISONS BETWEEN MARRIAGE AND ENTERING BUSINESS

Interesting concept, given that the typical marriage vow might go like this:

I, (Bride/Groom), take you (Groom/Bride), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

Writes Bob in his introduction to the piece:

'The reason for this paper is not only to show the similarities between marriage and business but to also highlight areas of importance which, if fully understood, will help to keep marriages together and to prevent businesses going bust.'

'It is noted that 3 out of 5 marriages fail and that 80% of start-up businesses fail - 60% in the first 6 months, whilst 75% of acquisitions fail. Very few ask the question WHY? This paper will try to answer this question.'

Over the next few days Bob Power shares extracts from his publication.

Forming An HONOUR Venture

This 'Know YOUR Business' venture is born out of a meeting of minds between Bob Power & Trevor Nel at an INNER Circle Business Forum meeting in Cresta.

Bob Power (PCC - POWER CORPORATE CONSULTANTS) provides many years of experience in business broking, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, training, mentoring, coaching, negotiations, and due diligence. Author of business books and published articles.

Trevor Nel (Growth Holdings & INNER Circle Business Forum) is a Business Development Strategist with numerous successful business projects to his name. Author of ebook: 'Confessions of a SERIAL Entrepreneur'.

Bob & Trevor will be complementing each others business resources in an 'HONOUR Venture' (a collaborative joint venture conducted purely on a handshake in an almost-forgotten time-honoured old-fashioned way) to produce business information products in the form of newsletters, blogs and seminars... and anything that appeals to their passion for doing business.

Early Brainstorming Sample Logo

Looking forward to sharing some interesting business insights and practical tips here.