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What is your title? My card says I am the managing director, but I can do all the jobs.

May 18, 2007

By John Vlismas and Ronnie Apteker

What is your title?

My card says I am the managing director, but I can do all the jobs.

What does your company do?

What we do is give a lot of people a lot of pleasure. People’s lives are hard, and when they come into our stores they can eat in comfort, forget their problems and relax for a while.

Is it something you love?

Yes. After all these years I still eat the chicken and I think it is great.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Hillbrow. I grew up in a rough neighbourhood, Booysens.

Would you describe yourself as a risk taker?

I take risks without even knowing I am taking them. If you want something and you got to cross the road for it, you cross it.

What is your philosophy?

Better to be lucky than to be clever.

Have you ever been called a chicken?

Someone once told me I walked like one, at a Soweto beauty contest.

Is your food good for us?

Drink a half a bottle of Scotch every night and see what your doctor says.

But a tot a night is said to be good for us. In today’s quick culture we need fast foods, but everything in moderation.

Do you know how much a loaf of bread costs?

I think it is R3 but I don’t know.

Is laughter something you embrace in the workplace?

In our advertising we like to make people laugh. Humour is important to us.

What is the funniest thing you have ever heard in business?

A customer once said: “Heirdie hoender is blerry lekker.” So at one stage we tried to call it Blerry Lekker Chicken. But we couldn’t get it registered and the council made me take down our sign.

Tell us about your marketing.

I am a simple guy. I go to the advertising agency. I give them a brief of a few words. I trust them to do their jobs.

How do you see the role of a business in society?

Business is vital. It teaches people skills and provides them with a living. I am just a simple boy from Booysens and it has shaped me.

How do you view black economic empowerment (BEE)?

Most of our franchisees are black. What has happened, ironically, in the past five years is we are getting white franchisees who have taken retrenchment packages. I married a Mauritian woman, so technically my daughter and wife are not white. We are BEE compliant by default.

Do self-help books work?

I read marketing books. I love them. I didn’t go to university so I learn from the case studies.

Is R1 million a lot of money?

Yes, a R1 million is always a lot. If you don’t have it, it is even more.

What makes a business work?

If you have good people you can do anything. My job is to keep the bad people out and the good people in.

What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?

I’ve been lucky. Before my father died I sat with him and told him I would open a franchise. I just wanted to make a good living.

I read [McDonald's founder] Ray Kroc’s book four times. The important thing is people. There are a lot of gems out there, you just have to take the time to find them. Entrepreneurs need to be honest, have a burning curiosity and be passionate.

What is your view on crime?

I understand if someone grabs a chicken from one of our stores and eats it because they are hungry, but I can’t understand it if someone kills an innocent person while stealing their TV. Treat everyone who helps you in life well. Respect others, it is best way to live. It works for me.

How do you view mistakes?

If you make a mistake once, it’s fine, but if you make the same mistake again you are stupid.

Do you work hard?

Yes. I get up at five each morning and I never go to sleep before 9.30pm. I live with those post-it notes all over the place. I have ideas all the time and I am always writing stuff down.

How do you measure success?

One measure would be happiness and another would be the things around you that you want, like your family. If you got the material things around you and you are not happy, then you are not successful. We don’t work hard for the money; we do it for the challenge.

Are you a good listener?

When my daughter finished school she got accepted into US universities. At first I wasn’t keen but I listened and kept an open mind and we took her to see them. She realised how far away they were and landed up at Stellenbosch. I really listened to her and she made a decision we were happy with.