TL Seretlo Business Consulting t/a Seretlo Consulting, a professional business consulting firm supporting SMEs in South Africa

Teboho Seretlo is a business consultant and founder of TL Seretlo Business Consulting in South Africa, with over 25 years’ experience in enterprise development, business planning, monitoring & evaluation, and mentoring SMEs. She supports entrepreneurs applying for funding and serves as an NSFAS student accommodation accreditor. Her expertise spans B-BBEE, rural development, and gender-responsive enterprise support. Teboho holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and executive education from GIBS and Rotterdam School of Management. Passionate about women’s empowerment, she also mentors female entrepreneurs across Africa.

Lioness Weekender spoke to the highly experienced Teboho Seretlo to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey, her passion for business consulting, and her love of mentoring and supporting SMEs.

What does your company do?

Professional business consulting - providing a suite of business support services to enable business owners to focus on the core of their business, which is to grow their businesses and generate revenue. Services include: Business Mentoring, business planning, virtual office admin, baseline studies, business intelligence support, Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) reporting, B-BBEE Special Project, Pitch Deck & Presentations support in addition to assisting with funding applications.

What inspired you to start your company?

I come from a strong background of academia and have over 25 years of working experience in large corporates. Towards 2010 I started to think about what I really wanted to do post retirement. Of course, being from a family of teachers and academics, teaching was an obvious choice i.e. using my experience in corporate to teach, mentor, and assist others with tools that would assist them navigate their own journeys, especially in business. One of my corporate roles was on transformation, in a South African context of redressing the imbalances of the past. However, this was limited as it focused more on scoring points on the legislative score-card. I then got an opportunity to work on a project to change the fortunes of people living in rural parts of South Africa, by creating development plans to create vibrant economies in these areas, and to me this meant true, meaningful transformation that I wanted to drive, as part of my business offering.

What makes your business, service or product special?

My business is special because it is personalised. I take time to understand my clients’ individual circumstances and needs. My approach is targeted and not a one-size-fits-all. I take time to listen to understand, not just to listen. When creating a solution such as a business plan, I ensure I involve the client as much as possible so that they feel that the plan is a co-creation. I believe that doing it this way gives the client a send of ownership and pride. I also offer solutions to my mentees, that assist them to think about other angles of approaching their business needs, be it growth and how things can work together towards a bigger vision. My building blocks are simple and practical- this makes it easier for clients to understand why some steps in building a professional business that is bigger than what may have started as a side hustle, are necessary for the solid foundation.

Tell us a little about your team

My business model is built on collaboration with other similar small-medium enterprises. Therefore, although I am a one-woman- show, I am surrounded by a variety of like-minded people, especially women in business, who bring in strengths that complement mine, to ensure my business consistently delivers superior services to clients. I also ensure that I collaborate with youth owned businesses, as these also give me a chance to learn the "newer" ways of doing things, thereby mixing my experience with new fresh ideas.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

My journey started accidentally. As an over-thinker who used to find comfort in safe options and routine, I had lots of conversations with myself about starting my own business but the timing was never quite the right one (or at least in my overthinking head). A catalytic event occurred during my last corporate job where I opted to "prematurely" part ways with my employer, which then forced me to formally start my entrepreneurial journey. Although I may not have seen that as a blessing at the time, I later realised that the circumstance that led to my leaving the corporate job and the comfort zone was brought about by the universe to come and push me straight into my destiny, my life purpose. The small nudges and warning bells were no longer enough, I needed a jolt. I embraced the opportunity to make a change - I did it scared and unsure. I had been working in a role I had outgrown for quite a while, and working for myself on impactful projects including transformation of the narrative for often marginalised groups such as women and people living in rural areas, was my passion. I do not come from an entrepreneurial background at all. My family of academic parents and eldest brother, was skeptical at first but supported me nonetheless, as I was fairly able to articulate what my plans were and the rest is history.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

I would like my business network to grow beyond the borders of South Africa to an extent that I can land a project anywhere in the world through collaboration with this network. My future plans also include aggressively growing my admin support services to assist businesses to lay a good foundation for being funding ready, irrespective of their geographic location. I also plan to give back to my community by providing intern opportunities to the many unemployed graduates that SA currently has, which I think will provide them with much needed working experience.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

Seeing my clients succeed and knowing that I contributed to that success gives me great satisfaction. Seeing a client landing that funding to transform their business, getting that little thank you note from the client is priceless. Knowing that I can literally write my own script, my own business canvas, without any limitations of a job description gives me great satisfaction. Furthermore, owning my time is most liberating. I can work from anywhere in the world - that just gives the saying "the world is your oyster" a much more powerful meaning.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Do not overthink things. Take the great leap of faith. There is never a perfect moment to start. You will be pleasantly surprised at the amount of support that is out there. The world needs you and what you have to offer.

To find out more about the work of Seretlo Consulting, contact info@seretlo.co.za or

visit the website: http://www.seretlo.co.za