Durban — Maintaining good relationships and being a money-minded person is what drove Linda Hlongwane to venture into the world of business.
Hlongwane who, among other businesses, is the founder and owner of Hlongwane Developments Consultants, said that growing up he was always business-minded.
“I have always been good at building and maintaining relationships and I have good discipline when it comes to money.
“I am a hard worker and my qualities have seen me steadily grow over the years, but my biggest motivator in life is the fear of poverty, and whenever I see it I run… Even when someone is telling me about it.
“I am motivated by the fear of not being anything in this lifetime, I want my story of being a huge joke for living in Inanda to living a life I once saw on TV to be inspiring to others, and to do that with what I have in my surroundings,” said Hlongwane.
He said he believed in giving back opportunities to communities.
“I understand that I am not a government, but in my area of influence I give business opportunities as much as possible and where I can, and I invest in the businesses that are up and coming, the ones people normally get fed up with and keep going to till they pull themselves together.”
“We can invest our time and money in people instead of feeling good about giving a person one meal for the day. Where they are going to get the rest?” he asked. A good businessman is defined by the ability to maintain healthy relationships with people, he said.
“I have built lifelong friendships with people I work with, whether the security at my clients’ gates or the cleaning ladies and directors of the companies I work with.
“Being a joy to work with is one of the things I like about myself … In good and bad times. When clients are upset because you have compromised their business and screaming and shouting, it is never personal.
“It is just business. And when mistakes are fixed the relationship will be back to normal. This applies also in our organisation,” Hlongwane said.
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Daily News