by Masana Sangweni, founder of Sanaandi Events & Hospitality
In 2016 I started my own business, Sanaandi Events & Hospitality. It wasn’t an easy decision, for years I procrastinated because of fear and self doubt. But there was that point where I realized that I can’t let fear keep me away from my destiny. The fear of not having a steady income, fear of rejection, fear of disappointing my parents for leaving the family business, fear of failure and fear of the competition. When I finally decided to pursue my passion, there was still fear but the passion was greater.
My family and friends are the ones that encouraged me to turn my passion into profits, they gave me the confidence to start my business. They would say, “You should go in the events space, you have a natural flair for it, so many people are doing it so can you”. They saw the passion in me before I could even recognize it or even think that I can make it a business. They had an abundance mindset that I did not have.
Besides my fears keeping me away from entrepreneurship, the line of business I wanted to be in seemed saturated. Everywhere you looked there’s an Events Planner or Events Management company. Because there’s so many people offering this service, the question of why would they choose me instead of an already existing and experienced Event Planner is also what made me take so long to actually go into this business. I had a scarcity mentality, I saw the events space as one finite pie, and since others have already taken pieces, I doubted there was enough for me.
All these questions and doubts kept me away pursuing my passion and I think a lot of people go through this and some don’t even take the chance. So, a mindset shift is really the key to starting an entrepreneurial journey, a scarcity mentality does keep us from achieving our dreams. Instead of being negative and having doubts in yourself and abilities, you have to be more positive and trust that you too deserve the success. You need to truly believe that there’s a seat for all of us at the table that there’s plenty for everybody.
There may be an annoying number of Event Planners out there, but that should not discourage you to venture into an Event Planning business or any business that may appear somewhat saturated. We all have something unique to offer. I’m not saying there’s no such thing as competition, in business there always will be. What I’m saying is no-one does what you do, the way you do it. When you are authentic and let your personality and passion shine through that is ultimately what sets you apart from the rest. For instance, if a potential client had shortlisted three service providers and they all quoted the same price, ultimately they will choose the service provider they connect better with and promotes the same values they believe in.
As people we are all different and have different energies. The trick is to be authentic in who you are and you will attract those who have a genuine connection to you.
There’s plenty for everyone at the table.
I’m almost certain that you’ve had an experience where you have turned down a job offer because you felt you didn’t fit in with the company culture or passed on a client to a so-called competitor because your values were not aligned. That is proof that the pie is big enough for everyone, we can all be successful and we don’t have to shy away from pursuing our dreams because of fear of competition. Fact is there will always be someone that is better than you, but that doesn’t mean you are not a potential candidate to someone else.
John C. Maxwell: 6 Tips to Develop and Model an Abundance Mindset | SUCCESS
Imagine thatyou and I are walking down the street. You breathe in. You breathe out. I breathe in. I breathe out. We both need oxygen to survive. Would you worry that there would not be enough oxygen for both of us? Of course not-air is abundant.
People who fear competition approach business from a scarcity mindset, they believe that because someone else is winning, they are losing, that someone else’s success means they are failing. It is a short term mindset that encourages jealousy and stunts growth. I have learned to embrace my competitors and I have seen that it opens doors to new alliances and potential partnerships and as a result making all of us stronger and better.
“People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit—even with those who help in the production. They also have a hard time being genuinely happy for the success of other people.”
For example, because of limited resources as a start-up company, you may not be able to service a big corporates or reach a certain client base but as a result of building relationships with businesses that may be perceived as competitors you are able to achieve more than you would alone. Sanaandi Events has managed to take part in big events and reach target clients that we may not have otherwise been able to because of lack of resources and limited capacity as a small business. I can testify that an abundance mindset actually promotes collaboration between competitors.
The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth or security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in the sharing of prestige, recognition, profits and decision-making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives and creativity.
Sanaandi Events not only creates memorable private events, we host events of our own such as Nubian Queens Soiree (A Women’s Day celebration dinner) as well as promote well known lifestyle events. We have intentionally sort out to build relationships with other companies in order to gain exposure and experience in the events space. Because of relationships we have built with so-called competitors, Sanaandi Events has managed to take part in events such as DSTV Delicious, Nedbank International Polo, Cell C Africa Polo, Gauteng Summer Cup and Joburg Polo In The Park. The companies that have afforded us the opportunity to promote their events see it as a mutually beneficial relationship, instead of a threat to their business. Wouldn’t it be great if more companies had an abundance mindset? We would all benefit as the table would get bigger and there would be more seats at the table for all us to pull out for someone else to sit at the table.
The first toast to Sanaandi Events at the launch on Women’s Day in 2016. The event was themed “Her Majesty, The African Queen”.
Cheers to those who have an abundance mindset and being willing to pull out a seat for someone at the table. Cheers to celebrating our competitors success because their success, means the table is getting bigger
#TheBubblyQueen
Masana Sangweni is the founder of Sanaandi Events & Hospitality, a specialist South African events planning and co-ordination company providing services to corporates and individuals. The company also offers an online flower delivery service and styling service. Masana can be contacted via email at Masana@SanaandiEvents.co.za