Get That Feeling

Ian Fuhr

Description

When Ian Fuhr started out as a businessman 40 years ago, the secret of his success was already cemented in two traits – humility and a desire to break the rules. A spirit of fearlessness, fun, honesty and respect has underscored his every venture, which spans the music industry, discount department stores, a labour relations consultancy and, eventually, South Africa’s biggest beauty chain, Sorbet.

In Get that feeling Ian shares the principles that have guided him over the years and takes the reader through the arduous but fulfilling process of building a pioneering people’s brand that was born on a dream and built on a ‘feeling’. By emphasising customer service and putting people before profit, his vision holds valuable lessons for entrepreneurs who are keen to make a sustainable contribution to South Africa’s economy.

Sujets

• Economie gestion
• Interest
• Economics
• Business

Informations

• Publié par: Pan Macmillan South Africa
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781770106086
• Langue: English

Extrait

‘With the soul of a true entrepreneur, Ian has set out on a journey that has culminated in the creation of a truly inspirational brand. Sorbet has become a leading light and teaches that – with passion, creativity and feeling – putting people before profit and service before reward are the purposeful ways to change the world!’
– Robbie Brozin, founder of Nando’s



First published in 2014 by Penguin Books
an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd
This paperback edition published in 2018
by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag X19
Northlands
2116
Johannesburg
South Africa
www.panmacmillan.co.za
isbn 978-1-77010-608-6
e- isbn 978-1-77010-609-3
© Ian Fuhr 2014, 2018
© Foreword Reg Lascaris 2014, 2018
Photographs © as per their individual rights owners
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Proofreading by Katlego Tapala
Design and typesetting by Triple M Design, Johannesburg
Cover design by publicide
Author photograph courtesy of Sorbet

This book is dedicated to the entire Sorbet Community, including our citizens, our franchisees, our support staff, our suppliers and the many thousands of loyal guests who have enthusiastically supported our brand over the last 9 years.
I have been privileged to be a part of this incredible journey and I look forward to an even more exciting road ahead. I trust that you will all ‘ge t that feeling’.
Yours truly
Ian Fuhr


Contents
acknowledgements
foreword
1 Only statues stand still
2 The chosen one?
3 Music makes the world go round
4 Freedom first, then work
5 Step into the shoebox
6 Playing with the big dogs
7 The good, the bad and the bottom
8 Be truthful to the truth
9 What about the unshared values?
10 Journey of self-discovery
11 Confronting hard-core racists
12 Return to Super Mart
13 Message from the massage table
14 Get in, get out and get on with your life
15 Sameness is a disease
16 The dark days
17 The kids come to play
18 Building the brand one guest at a time
19 And then there is the night
20 The future is pregnant with promise


Acknowledgements
David Williams – For guiding me through this book as an educator, a mentor and, ultimately, a friend. I’m so very grateful for your unflagging encouragement and your valuable editorial direction.
My late parents – Kenneth and Fay Fuhr for bringing me into this world and laying the foundation for the journey that lay ahead.
My children – Brent, Jade and Courtney for going way beyond what any father could reasonably hope for. You guys are a never-ending source of joy. I pass the baton with deep love and gratitude.
Alon Kirkel – A son-in-law in a million.
Sandy Roy – My wife-to-be, who taught me the true meaning of love and turned my life around.
My siblings and in-laws – Rodney, Denise, Toby, Laurence, Zonk, Tony and Molly, whose unwavering love and support have helped me to understand the intrinsic power of a close family.
Rudi Rudolph, Debra Rosen and Robyn Zinman – My trustworthy and passionate partners without whom Sorbet would not have risen off the ground.
Steven Blend – A true friend, confidante and financial adviser, who is always there … no matter what!
The Bull Herd – Stephen Goldberg, Jonathan Kaplan, Robert Segal, Gary Kaplan and Glenn Budler. Thank you for the endless hours of fun and friendship. A toast to ‘more of the same’!
Brenda Schneiderman – A long-standing Sorbet citizen whose commitment to the brand knows no bounds.
Bruce Copley – A remarkable mentor whose lessons in life remain deeply etched in my mind.
Ebrahim Patel – A partner for over 30 years in Super Mart and still today with the Lion Park. A man of integrity, who taught me that Jews and Muslims can work exceptionally well together.


Foreword
W arts and all is hardly what you’d expect in a book about pioneering entrepreneurship in the beauty business. But then, Ian Fuhr is full of surprises and his book is full of insights that extend way beyond the salon sector and the growth of his Sorbet Group into a national brand.
The subtitle, The story of a serial entrepreneur , might just as easily be Confessions of a serial entrepreneur . I doubt if any other senior figure in South Africa’s retail industry has owned up to shoplifting in his youth or launching into discount retailing with no idea about gross profit.
In his view, ‘only statues stand still’, and this urge to move into new areas took Ian into various industries before his emergence as the entrepreneur who created South Africa’s first national chain of beauty salons.
He started at the bottom. (I know from personal experience that university drop-outs so often do.) But it’s typical of the man that he moved from selling LPs at a record bar to the launch of his own music business and record label. From a zero-base, his record business became the biggest seller of African music in the country.
With his brother, he also helped to change the face of South African retailing through the launch of the K-Mart discount chain (the SA clone of the US original).
He gives us sidelights on South African history, as well as insights into business.
Ian’s account of his own growth as an individual and an entrepreneur is remarkable for both its unvarnished honesty and quiet humility. The book is narrative-driven rather than ego-driven. It’s an easy read with a good balance between the achievements logged up in a 40-year business career, as well as the failures which are set out without excuses or self-serving post-rationalisation.
Of course, would-be entrepreneurs are interested in lessons and real-life examples of how a business copes with setbacks. Get that feeling doesn’t disappoint. It provides plenty of instruction from the school of hard knocks.
Business tips are woven into the narrative. I loved the one minute’s silence held with staff members when a sale was lost because they were out of stock and had failed to anticipate demand. ‘Joke breaks’ to relieve the tedium of long management meetings also raised a smile.
I found myself applauding the comments about the necessity for building the right organisational culture – one that emphasises service and a team ethic. I was equally impressed by the author’s priorities … service before reward; building the brand before building the profits.
Of course, some business-school lecturers might tell you something similar. However, the insights have special relevance when they come from a self-funded entrepreneur with the courage to apply the principles in ‘the dark days’ and then watch ‘money disappearing into a deep, dark, bottomless pit’. At one stage, so much money went into this black hole that Sorbet’s future was in doubt.
Ultimately, the Sorbet saga is a major success story, and it’s all here … the growth of the chain to 100 stores, the development of the Sorbet Society Loyalty Programme, the success of its franchise model, the relationship with Clicks, the launch of the Drybar express hair salon concept, and innovations such as the creation of an ethnic hair salon brand. Sorbet is now preparing for international expansion and further brand extension opportunities are being explored.
Get that feeling will hopefully inspire a new wave of South African entrepreneurs to go into business, manage risk and achieve success. But this is not only a book about entrepreneurship. It is also a reminder of the huge strides South Africa has made in the past 35 years.
Ian looks back to a time when there was no commitment to real service in sectors serving the black majority. Back then, some shoe shops refused to allow black South Africans to try on shoes. If they wanted to check whether they were buying the right shoe size they were told to put their feet into the shoebox! If the box was big enough, the shoes would be big enough.
We’ve come a long way since then. Though he’s much too modest to say so, Ian Fuhr played his part in that progression. He concentrates on business issues and the Sorbet story, but we should not forget that just a few decades ago it took courage to step out of line and criticise the status quo. The Sorbet Group founder was one of those who stepped up to the challenge … and succeeded beautifully.
Reg Lascaris
Johannesburg
June 2014


1
Only statues stand still
‘W hy don’t you open a chain of beauty salons?’
The sound of her voice brought me back. I had been drifting. The soothing rhythm of her strong hands as she massaged the muscles of my tension-filled back had sent me into a semi-conscious state. I had been a client of Liz Goldberg for a few years now and I seldom missed my weekly massage appointment.
‘What?’ I mumbled, trying to clear my head.
‘Why don’t you open a chain of beauty salons?’
At first, I thought she was joking. Me? Beauty? Definitely no synergy there.
‘You’re kidding, right? What do I know about beauty? I wash my face with Lux soap a couple of times a week and even then I sometimes forget!’
She laughed, but stuck to her theme. ‘I’m dead serious. There’s a huge gap in the beauty salon business in this country. It is a fragmented industry with hundreds of small operators, just like me, and most of them are not in a position to build a branded chain.’
‘But no one will take me se