Despite the best efforts of government, if you really want to find an enabling environment for small business, it is other small businesses that seem to be providing it.
Companies like PostNet, FoneWorx and Habitaz have found a profitable niche in providing small business with a range of back-office services, from the provision of legal documents to more sophisticated offerings like data storage.
The emphasis is on giving small business the tools to appear like big business and the financial flexibility to match the cash-flow uncertainties small businesses endure.
Habitaz provides office space, PostNet offers a growing range of office-related services and FoneWorx provides a range of telecom and IT services like "fax to e-mail" and an "automated receptionist".
"We have a knowledge base of the small to medium enterprises that exceeds that of the banks," said Ian Lourens, CE of OneLogix, PostNet's parent company.
FoneWorx has a "pay for what you use" model and PostNet has a prepaid option. Habitaz offers a fixed-line telephone and fax service, a fixed address, business cards within hours of registering, for a fee of R860- R1 921/ month. Leases can be as short as three months.
Not worrying about who is going to answer the phone, whether to sign a long-term lease or what kind of computer system to buy leaves business owners free to concentrate on what's important. "Most of an entrepreneur's time should be spent on closing the first deal," says Hein Koen, cofounder of Habitaz.
Habitaz has 400 customers, occupies two buildings in an up-market office park in Bryanston, Johannesburg and plans to open up in Cape Town before the end of the year. It provides back-office services, infrastructure such as meeting rooms, and even domainname registration.
Koen says he is a little surprised how much of a need there was for the services. "People came to us with computers under their arms," he says. Many small businesses owners' leases had run out and they where desperately looking for office space.
Even foreign small companies are setting up in Habitaz. Habitaz CEO Andre Sharpe says they can get office space, and have their phones answered, without having to be in SA on a permanent basis.
Sean Temlett, a director of Habitaz and a lecturer at Wits Business School, thinks Habitaz should be integrated into existing state support for small businesses. Instead of just offering an office and a phone, it would then be able to provide advice on how to run their organisations better.
Habitaz has had some discussions with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) about a partnership but nothing has come of it.
Temlett thinks government is heading in the right direction but says: "They don't know how to convert excitement into action." Habitaz doesn't have that problem.
Even large corporations are getting in on the act. Technology group SAP is sponsoring a competition that will see a small business listing on the JSE's AltX; FNB is backing a business plan competition; and Sanlam sponsors the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Naspers produces the small business-focused newspaper, Gauteng Business, and rival media group Johncom has the Big News newspaper.
Koen says there is a lot of potential for business support companies in the small business sector, especially for companies that provide human resources services.
