I did not start my own business because I wanted to be my own boss. I needed money. No big company employed diabetics back in 1977. We were expected to die young, after lots of expensive treatment. This messed with the insurance and medical aid firms back then insisted their staff get.

I\'d been working for a series of small companies as a programmer and system designer. At the time I could not find any other employer in Cape Town, so I started my own firm and approached IBM\'s clients directly.

I scored a big project in the first month, and all looked rosy. And then something happened that changed my future.

As a programmer, I sold my hours. To earn more I needed to work more hours. The upper limit for workable hours each day is 24. To stay sane, a regular schedule can\'t exceed 10 hours. And you\'re competing with hundreds of hungry rivals.

My first client had a challenge connecting a remote office to their mainframe. IBM\'s solution was expensive beyond belief. They had no competition for their products.

I scoured the overseas literature and found a simple solution that used a PC as a remote terminal, instead of an IBM terminal. I sent a telex detailing the SA to the USA supplier, asking for a demo unit.

That arrived 2 weeks later. It worked as promised.

I shared our success with hundreds of other IBM users by writing letters to each. Within months we were making much more money selling products and unique solutions. Within 8 years that firm grew to 20 people in three offices in South Africa. Annual turnover, in 2019 Rands, was about R40 million.

The SA economy stopped stone dead as the country went through the throes of Nelson Mandela\'s release from prison and the first real democratic elections. My clients were big corporate firms. They stopped hiring staff, which meant no more equipment needed.

In turn, this meant zero income for about 12 months.

I closed the business. I did not see the fallout coming.

Within the next year, I went so broke that no court in the country would allow me to escape into bankruptcy. Who knew that you needed enough assets to be allowed to declare bankruptcy. What followed was five of the toughest years of my life.

But these years defined would I would do for the rest of my life. As I researched what had happened, what I had done wrong, I saw how the small-business game is rigged against the owners of the businesses.

Banks make lots of money from this sector. As do lawyers, suppliers of offices, computers, and anything else a business needs.

Small business owners do not. Half of SA startups close during their first year. 90% - nine out of every ten startups - close in their first decade. And that closure is usually as disastrous as mine was.

I\'ve invested all my time since then helping business owners find new ways to survive and prosper through these challenges.

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