☕ COFFEE TIME WITH GILBERT FOCUS UNTIL IT WORKS A good friend of mine, Buks, once gave me a simple piece of advice: “Focus on one thing at a time.” It sounds easy, but for an entrepreneur, it can be one of the hardest things to do. We see opportunities everywhere. We start one project. Then another idea catches our attention. Before the first project has had time to grow, we are already chasing the next one. Eventually, we have ten unfinished ideas—and none of them is producing the result we hoped for. Buks helped me understand that focus is a discipline. Choose one worthwhile project. Start it. Build it properly. Look after it. Nurture it through the difficult beginning. Create a system that allows it to keep working. Then, when it can stand without demanding your attention every minute, you can hand it over, allow it to grow and responsibly move on to the next opportunity. That doesn’t mean abandoning what you built. It means developing it until it no longer depends entirely on you. ☕ MY TAKE Most entrepreneurs don’t have an idea problem. They have a focus problem. Every new opportunity feels exciting—but excitement only starts businesses. Focus builds them. You don’t need another idea every Monday. You need to give the right idea enough time, attention and effort to prove whether it can work. Start with one customer. Then find ten customers. Build a repeatable process. Put the right person in place. Then allow the system to grow. Start it. Build it. Nurture it. Systemise it. Then let it stand. Thank you, Buks, for reminding me that progress doesn’t come from trying to do everything. It comes from doing the right thing—and staying with it long enough to make it work. 💬 YOUR TURN Have you ever lost focus because you were trying to build too many things at the same time? #CoffeeTimeWithGilbert #FocusUntilItWorks #OneThingAtATime #BusinessLessons #Entrepreneurship #BuildTheSystem #FriendshipAndWisdom

📚 THE PROFESSOR & ME LESSON #9: TURN ATTENTION INTO OPPORTUNITY My father turned one of the biggest stories in the newspapers into something customers could order for lunch. When he worked at Freiers Snack Bar, the word “Sputnik” was on everybody’s lips. The Russian satellite had captured the world’s imagination. People read about it in the newspapers, discussed it at work, and even the soldiers were talking about it. My father saw an opportunity. The golden, capsule-shaped dish shown beside the omelette in this picture was their famous Sputnik. It was made by wrapping seasoned mashed potato around a Vienna sausage. It was then shaped like a small space capsule, dipped in egg white, lightly coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried until golden and crispy. The omelette represented the familiar food customers already knew. The Sputnik represented something different—an ordinary combination of ingredients transformed by a clever shape, a memorable name and perfect timing. The food itself was simple. But the idea gave customers something to talk about. 🌿 THE PROFESSOR’S WISDOM My father understood that you don’t always need to invent a completely new product. Sometimes you take something familiar, connect it to what people are already discussing, and present it in a way they will remember. ☕ MY TAKE Today, we call it trend marketing. My father was doing it before Facebook, hashtags and viral videos existed. He noticed where the public’s attention was and found an honest, creative way to connect a product to that conversation. That is the real business lesson behind the Sputnik: When attention is already there, give people something worthwhile to remember you by. A clever name may earn the first sale. But the quality must be good enough to bring the customer back. 💬 YOUR TURN Do you remember the Sputnik—or another famous meal from the old snack-bar days? #TheProfessorAndMe #TheSputnik #FreiersSnackBar #LessonsFromMyFather #BusinessWisdom #TrendMarketing #FoodMemories #FamilyLegacy

☕ COFFEE TIME WITH GILBERT ASK FOR THE SALE Over the years, I’ve watched many salespeople do almost everything correctly. They introduce themselves well. They understand the customer’s needs. They explain the product. They answer every question. Then, just as the customer is ready to buy, they stop. They’re afraid of appearing pushy, so they never ask the most important question: “Would you like to go ahead?” I learned that asking for the sale is not about pressuring someone. It is about confidently helping a customer make a decision. If you have listened carefully, recommended the right solution and explained its value honestly, you have earned the right to ask for the business. But the sale is not the end of the relationship. Follow up. Make sure the customer is happy. Provide the service you promised. Stay in contact without becoming a nuisance. A satisfied customer can become a repeat customer—and a repeat customer can introduce you to ten more. ☕ MY TAKE Many businesses spend all their time searching for new customers while forgetting the people who have already trusted them. The easiest referral to earn comes from a customer who feels remembered and appreciated. So ask for the sale confidently. Then earn the next sale through excellent service. And when the customer is genuinely satisfied, don’t be afraid to ask: “Who else do you know who could benefit from what we offer?” Selling creates the first transaction. Following up builds the business. 💬 YOUR TURN When last did a business contact you after the sale simply to make sure you were happy? #CoffeeTimeWithGilbert #AskForTheSale #SalesLessons #CustomerService #FollowUp #BusinessGrowth #CustomerReferrals

The Burger War That Brought Our Family Together When I was growing up, my father owned a takeaway in Pretoria called Mascot Tea Room. One day, a new burger shop opened just a few hundred metres away. The owner walked past my father and jokingly said, "You won't be here for long. I'm going to put you out of business." That evening, my father called a family meeting. It wasn't a business meeting. It was a family meeting. My mom, my brothers and I all sat around the table. He looked at us and said, "For the next month, we all tighten our belts." No eating from the takeaway. No drinking the cooldrinks we sold. If we wanted food, Mom would bring it from home. Every rand mattered. Then he came up with a plan. The new burger shop was selling burgers for 99 cents. My father did the maths and realised he could survive a short-term price war. So he put a big sign outside our shop: 4 Burgers for 99 Cents Students from the nearby technical college couldn't believe it. They stopped at our shop before they even reached the new burger place. A few weeks later... The owner of the new takeaway came to my father and asked if he wanted to buy the business. Not long afterwards, they closed their doors. 🌿 The Professor's Wisdom Competition is part of business. Panic is optional. When people stand together with a plan, they can overcome challenges that seem impossible. My Take Every business faces difficult seasons. The strongest businesses aren't always the biggest. They're the ones with the strongest people, the clearest plan, and the determination to keep going. Your Turn Have you ever gone through a difficult season that made you or your business stronger?