Case Studies
Issue No. 26 - December/January 2005/06
Fast Movers SA 2005
Some fast facts about Fast Movers
Over the past few weeks we have found out what makes our Fast Movers tick and why they have been so successful.
97% of the people we spoke to were owners of the business and we asked them over 50 questions about their business.
We really appreciate the candid comments of those who we interviewed. It was a privilege for us to gain an insiders view of these businesses. Here are some highlights of what we discovered.
The people behind the business
About 70% of our Fast Movers are under the age of 45, 70% founded the business (on their own or with one or more equity partners) and 57% of them are the managing director or CEO of their business.
As for gender balance, only a handful of our Fast Movers are women.
Just over half of our Fast Movers say that they are paid a commercial salary for their role. The rest believe that they are paid below commercial rates with over 40% of these stating they are paid 50% below commercial rates. Only one Fast Mover said they are paid above the commercial rate for their role.
What they do is about passion more than money.
It’s common to think that entrepreneurs such as our Fast Movers are motivated by a desire to ‘get rich’.
Not so, according our Fast Movers. Sure, the money helps but the overwhelming motivation for our Fast Movers is much deeper and includes:
- the satisfaction of achieving personal goals,
- a passion for the industry,
- the enjoyment of the business and
- the opportunity to create something significant and be recognised by others.
Perhaps this helps explain why, for many Fast Movers, doing it on their own is so important.
As for work-life balance – about half of our group say it is about right while the rest say they probably work too much.
While 41% of our Fast Movers have no tertiary qualifications almost half (49%) plan to undertake som...
