Jan 27, 2000. Mpumalanga drivers' licence testing centres have been ordered to accept applications only from people living in the province. Don't be caught off guard when you go and apply for your driver's license. The Mpumalanga Provincial Government has published the new increases license fees and this will be implemented on February 1. To apply for a learner's license will now cost R139, and if you pass the issue of a learner's license.

Starting a driving school or any new business for that matter requires a great deal of planning. To ensure that the business is viable, you need to prepare a comprehensive business plan. Driving School requirements Driving instructors teach novice drivers, train truck drivers and public bus drivers and provide refresher courses for senior drivers.

Credibility counts for everything There are currently a vast number of unregistered driving schools offering training while using vehicles without dual controls or qualified instructors. Trying to cut corners is a practice that may well end badly. The Southern African Institute of Driving Instructors (SAIDA) is the umbrella body for Driving Instructors in South Africa and only accepts properly qualified driving instructors into the organisation. Their aim is to promote better working conditions for companies and instructors directly involved in the training of motor vehicle drivers. “We are working very hard to regulate the industry and are putting an enormous amount of pressure on the government to regulate the driving school industry. There are a number of laws relating to driving instructors, but there is no proper regulation”, explains Pat Allen, National President of SAIDI. The first step to becoming a driving instructor Any person who wants to be a driving instructor applies at their local testing centre to become an instructor.

The applicant will re-write their learners licence and then re-do a more difficult driving test. Once they pass these tests they can then apply for a driving instructor’s certificate. A person who wishes to be a driving instructor can only teach the class of motor vehicles he or she has been licensed to drive.

The instructor’s certificate is valid for one year. How to apply Apply at any driver’s licence testing centre for an instructor’s certificate. Complete an RI Application to registration as a driving instructor. You also must provide a medical certificate that you are in good health.

Along with the medical certificate, you need to obtain a report from your nearest police station showing that you do not have a criminal record. Once you have applied to the testing centre and completed the test they will refer your application to the MEC for approval. The process can take a few months. Once approved, the testing centre will issue the permit.

You will then be required to pay the prescribed fees: Gauteng R250 Free State R168 Eastern Cape R294 KwaZulu-Natal R350 Limpopo R244 Mpumalanga R525 Northern Cape R300 North West R163 Western Cape R150 (These may change without notice and are a guideline only) Driving School laws The driving school must conduct lessons in motor vehicles with dual controls. A brake (on the passenger/instructor side of the car) is the minimum and is necessary when an instructor is faced with an emergency the instructor will be able to control the vehicle. The motor vehicle must bear the name of the driving school or instructor for identification purposes.

This will also warn the public that the vehicle is possibly being driven by a learner driver. Record keeping is vital The instructor or driving school must keep records of each learner driver separately. The records must be available for one year after the learner has completed his lessons. • Name, identity number and address of learner • Period of lesson, with details of dates and hours per day instructed • Fees paid to the driving school • Number of hours driving lessons received in city or town • Number of hourly lessons received outside or in town • The date of which tested by registering authority and result of test A driving school can’t be without insurance Driving instructor insurance usually covers vehicles maintained by a driving school, with insurance coverage, including liability, theft and damage caused by collisions. This specialised insurance product also covers a car when it is being driven by a student driver, even though the driver is not specifically named on the policy. This means that if the student is involved in traffic incident, financial coverage is available.

There are a number of specialist insurance companies and brokers, such as Livingstone Brokers, Reef Insurers and Blue Disa Insurance brokers who will be able to prepare suitable packages. More information: For more information contact Southern African Institute of Driving Instructors: • Website: • Call: +27 12 998 3910. Thinking about starting a transport business? Forecasts indicate that the demand for freight transport will grow in South Africa by between 200% and 250% over the 15 to 20 years. Some corridors, (high volume transport routes that connect major centres), such as the corridors between Gauteng and Cape Town (which amount to 50% of all corridor transport) will increase even faster.

Your Free Cheat Sheet: The scope in the transport and logistics industry is varied – from a one-man show using a small truck to transport goods and offer services, to a fleet of transport vehicles which travel the length and breadth of South Africa’s roads. Road transportation includes commuter transport from taxis to bus transportation. It can be a tough industry and there are many threats facing transport businesses but if you get it right, you can build a successful business.

Brother Hl-2130 Driver Windows 98 here. What is covered in this guide: • How to start your transport and logistics business • How to get funding for your transport business • What are the costs involved • Finding customers and getting transport contracts • Getting onto suppliers lists • Buying trucks and employing drivers • What are the regulations and risks • Where to find guidance to start your business. Ready to get going?

Click the arrow button to learn how to start your own transport business. Start your property rental business using this guide I would like to start a property business where I purchase the properties and I rent it out, I already have a paid up property that I am renting out but my taxes are too high on the rental income so I am considering starting up a business. Could you advise me on where I can get more information on the requirements to start this and provide some guidance on whether it would be wise to pursue this business? Before starting any business, it’s important that you’re absolutely clear about why you’re doing it – and that it’s going to be something that excites you, drives you and challenges you in the long-term.

If you’re only considering starting a property investment and management company to try and reduce your taxable income, then I don’t believe this is an appropriate – or a sustainable – solution. You should rather consult a reputable financial adviser about other investment options that would better suit your personal needs. If owning and managing properties is, however, an opportunity you would like to pursue, I would then recommend that you start off by equipping yourself with a proper understanding of what it actually means to be a landlord. This will help you to make an informed decision about whether or not you want to start this (ad)venture as an entrepreneur. Related: At a very basic level, here are some of the things you might want to consider to determine if this is the right business for you: Initial cost.

This is what you need to consider, cost wise, when you start up your business You need to consider the initial cost that you will be incurring when setting up the business, especially since you have a property in your personal capacity. You will need to transfer the property from your personal capacity into your business and pay transfer fees and transfer costs. These costs will be calculated based on the current value of the property. The work and planning No matter whether you’re a residential or commercial landlord, property management requires a great deal of work and planning. Remember you will be responsible for all aspects of the property: From purchasing it to maintaining it on a day-to-day basis. This involves everything from transfer to managing the monthly utility bills, all the way through to replacing the geyser when it bursts and ensuring your tenants behave appropriately in the building.

You would also need to source your tenants and ensure that they pay you on time. All by yourself.

Starting your business alone? You need to know this From a start-up perspective, you would probably need to do all of this yourself in the beginning. As such, you would need to work to build up your own database of reputable suppliers: Plumbers, electricians and handymen. It’s important that you find experienced, qualified suppliers that you can trust, and who will be able to deliver on time and cost-effectively. This can be a very time consuming process. Also consider that you would need to be on hand to facilitate all of this work: Arranging the call-out with the supplier and the tenant; overseeing the work delivered; paying the supplier etc. Related: Business owner development Above and beyond that, you’re then going to need to develop yourself as a business owner.

You will need to equip yourself with the skills and knowledge required to lead and manage this business in order to make it both sustainable and profitable. This will require a significant investment from you: Time, effort and money. The more you commit to this journey of personal and professional development, the better your chances of success. If you can picture yourself doing – and enjoying – all of the above, it’s then equally important to consider if this is a viable opportunity. The greatest barrier to entry in this sector for you as an entrepreneur is probably going to be finance. You need to be conscious of this from the outset. • Do you already have access to the funds you need to purchase the properties you are going to rent out?

• If not, what are your plans to secure this funding? And what are the returns you are expecting? • Also consider the funding of the business itself.

How will you finance this, especially during the first year? My recommendation here is to take the time to do your homework – and the maths. While this could be a business opportunity, it might not be something that will be possible for you to do on your own. Related: If you have a feasible plan regarding the above, you then need to start working on developing a model for this business – as well as a strategy and plan. All of these will require research on your behalf: From reading Entrepreneur to accessing websites, possibly visiting walk-in centres etc.

This will include unpacking the actual opportunity itself – and determining if there really is a demand for your service offering. Please note that the above are thinking or “trigger-points” – listed simply to give you an idea of some of the things you need to consider, as well as the mindset you will potentially need to adopt as an entrepreneur. Your response to them should give you a good sense of if this is the path you wish to walk.

Remember that entrepreneurship is a journey – and every day on this road is a learning opportunity. If it is for you, embrace it whole-heartedly, don’t be afraid of failure and be sure to seek out the assistance available to you. Is It for You? Does children’s laughter sound like music to your ears? Do you enjoy the idea of six kids chaotically crawling at your feet at any given moment?

Then read on for your perfect business. The number of working parents – including single-parent families and families with both parents employed is climbing, creating an ever-growing need for quality child care. That need is creating a tremendous entrepreneurial opportunity for people who love children and want to build a business caring for them. Related: Child-care services range from small home-based operations to large commercial centers and can be started with a small investment.

You can stay very small, essentially just creating a job for yourself, or you can grow into a substantial enterprise with potentially millions of Rands a year in revenue. You also have a tremendous amount of flexibility when it comes to the exact services you choose to offer. You may limit your clientele to children in certain age groups or tailor your operating hours to meet the needs of a particular market segment. You may or may not want to provide transportation between your center and the children’s homes and/or schools. You may want to take the children on field trips. As an alternative to child care, you may want to consider a business that focuses solely on providing transportation for children.

Of course, the basic work you’ll be doing − caring for someone else’s children − bears a tremendous amount of responsibility and requires a serious commitment. When the children are in your custody, you are responsible for their safety and well-being. You will also play a key role in their overall development and may well be someone they’ll remember their entire lives. Filling an important need. Starting an educational business in South Africa is always beneficial One of the biggest challenges facing South African families today is caring for their children while the parents work. According to Stats SA 39% of women head households in South Africa. A higher percent than ever of married-couple families, both husband and wife work outside the home.

The labor-force participation of women in their childbearing years continues to expand. As the number of working parents rises, so will the demand for child care. Another issue that has an impact on child-care issues is the new, 24-hour global market. Occupations with a high number of employees working nights and weekends − such as janitorial, hospitality, customer service and technical support − are experiencing substantial growth, and workers in these fields find obtaining quality child care an even greater challenge than their 9-to-5 counterparts. For many working parents, there is no single solution to their child-care needs. More than a third use more than one option, such as day-care centres part of the time or full time or use domestic staff to provide care for children who don’t attend a daycare centre.

Related: Do you have what it takes? What are the characteristics of a person who would do well operating a child-care. The person needs to be energetic, business-minded, a competent leader, have a pleasant personality, be professional, be willing to take calculated risks, be a good role model, have strong financial resources, be consistent in expectations of the staff, and be consistent in the delivery of service. A child-care business can easily be started in your home with just a few weeks of planning and a modest amount of start-up cash. A commercially located centre takes a greater investment of time, energy and money. The size and type of business you choose will depend on your start-up resources and goals for the future. Many child-care providers are satisfied with a one-person operation in their home that generates a comfortable income while allowing them to do work they enjoy (and possibly even care for their own children).

Others may start at home and eventually move to a commercial site as the business grows. Still others begin in commercial locations and are either content with one site or have plans to expand.

The Beginning Stages. Start-up blocks Start-up checklist As you complete your startup efforts, use this checklist (and tailor it to your own needs) to make sure you’ve covered all your bases before you open your doors. • Type of centre: Will you operate from your home or a commercial location? • Licensing: What licenses are you required to have and from which agencies? What are the requirements, costs and lead times? • Training and certification: What types of training and/or certification do you need?

• Market: What are the child-care needs of your community? • Location: Choose a site that is appropriate and affordable. • Legal requirements: Check on zoning and any other legal issues. (See regulations later on in the story) • Financial issues: Estimate your start-up costs and identify the source(s) of your start-up funds.

• Health and safety issues: Plan for accident and illness prevention, and develop emergency procedures. See regulations later on in the story) • Programs: Develop an appropriate schedule of activities for the children. • Equipment: What do you need to adequately equip your centre, where will you get it, and how much will it cost? • Insurance: What coverage do you need to adequately protect yourself and the children in your care? • Staffing: If you plan to hire people, know the required staff-to-child ratios and develop your human resources policies. • Links: What community and professional resources are available to you?

Related: Conducting Market Research Prime candidates who need full-time child care are parents with infants to 5-year-olds. Parents with children over 5 are good prospects for after-school care programs. The market segments most likely to use child-care services are dual-income families and single-parent households in most income brackets. A number of government programs help low-income families pay for child care so the adults can stay in the work force.

Within this very broad market is the narrower group of clients you’ll serve. Use market research to figure out who these people are and how you can best attract them to your center. Says the primary market at four of her six locations is parents who are upper-income working professionals; the other two centers serve a number of middle-income families as well as those being subsidised by public funds. Says about half her clientele consists of dual-income families, and the other half is single mothers who receive government assistance as they work through programs designed to get them off welfare. The goal of market research is to identify your market, find out where it is, and develop a strategy to communicate with prospective customers in a way that will convince them to bring their children to you. Opened her first centre, her demographic research revealed that there were 9,000 children from infant to 5 years old within a 5-mile radius of the site; half the pre-school children in the area were in day care of some sort because their mothers (or both parents) worked; and the number of households in the area was expected to double within a decade. Download Album The Best Anggun C Sasmi here. Contained in that 5-km radius were six child-care centres serving approximately 800 children. Brenda B.’s research wasn’t as sophisticated.

Living in a small town, she knows just about everyone and is well aware of the lack of child-care services. “There’s such a need for day care,” she says. “I go through periods where I’ll get as many as five calls a week from parents needing care, and I don’t have room for them. I’ve had families on my waiting list for up to two years.” Related: What licenses do you need to start a pre-school?

Department of Social Development Early Childhood Development Centre have to be registered with the (DSD). This registration can be done through your local branch of the DSD. The DSD suggest that you follow the following steps: • Complete an application form for registration as a place of care. You can get the application form on the web. This is how you can choose your location to start your business How to find the right location for a child-care business?

If you’re going to open a center on a commercial site, it makes sense to locate your facility close to your target market. Some parents may prefer a center close to home; others may choose a center close to their workplace. In the latter case, parents get to enjoy more time with their children during their morning and evening commutes, as well as the opportunity to spend time with them during the course of the day, perhaps for lunch or special programs.

Some site suggestions to consider include: • A facility within or adjacent to a residential neighbourhood or near a school • A facility in a shopping centre where parents with children are likely to pass by • Sharing a facility with other community organisations • Office and planned light-industrial parks with a sizable work force. Opening a child-care centre at home If you’re going to open a child-care centre at home, discuss your plans with family members and neighbours before you open. Younger children may resent other children coming into your home and changing their lifestyle. Older children − especially teenagers who will need to be told what’s expected of them and what they can expect as your business gets off the ground. Spouses may not completely understand the time commitment involved in this business, so talk about things in detail well in advance of bringing the first client in. You may find that your extended family and friends don’t really understand what’s involved in a professional child-care business and may think that, since you’re at home during the day, you’re “not really working” or you’re “just baby-sitting.” Talk to your neighbours about the impact your business will have on them in terms of traffic (as parents drop off and pick up their children) and noise (think about the decibel levels five or six children can generate when playing). Let them know what steps you’ll take to keep any irritation or inconvenience to a minimum, and reassure them that they should feel free to contact you with any concerns or questions.

Some family child-care centre operators have certain rooms of their homes designated for their business; others use their entire homes. Your decision will be based on your state guidelines and personal preferences. Has a playroom for the children, but they are not restricted to that area; she says she pretty much uses her entire house and her large, fenced backyard for her business. Sherri Ax’s house in Durban has a living room that serves as the primary child-care area. The Funds How much cash is needed to start a child care business So what do you need in the way of cash and available credit to open your doors? Depending on what you already own, the services you want to offer and whether you’ll be home-based or in a commercial location, that number could range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of Rands. As you consider your own situation, don’t pull a startup number out of the air; use your business plan to calculate how much you need to start your ideal operation, and then figure out how much you have.

If you have all the cash you need, you’re very fortunate. If you don’t, you need to start playing with the numbers and deciding what you can do without.

Start-up costs can be low Many of the child-care entrepreneurs we talked with used their own personal savings and equipment they already owned to start their businesses. Because the startup costs for a family child-care business are relatively low, you’ll find traditional financing difficult to obtain − banks and other lenders would much rather lend amounts much larger than you’ll need and are likely to be able to qualify for. A commercially located centre will take a more substantial investment and would likely qualify for a bank loan. Estimates that she initially spent R3000 to R4000 on equipment for her family child-care centre. She shopped at second hand shops and accepted donations of used toys and other items from friends and acquaintances. Spent considerably more – about R40 000 – to set up her family child-care centre because she remodeled her garage to serve as the primary room for her business as well as added a bathroom for the children.

When she opened her first commercial location, she used a combination of personal savings and credit cards to pay the expenses. By the time she opened her second location, she was able to qualify for a commercial loan. Took out a second bond on her home to get the R105 000 she needed to adequately equip her commercial centre when she opened. In Miami, put R250 000 of personal savings into her children’s transportation service. Deborah B.’s start-up costs Johannesburg, were in the range of R40 000 to R50 000, which she funded primarily with personal credit cards. As you’re putting together your financial plan, consider these sources of startup funds: • Your own resources. Do a thorough inventory of your assets.

People generally have more assets than they immediately realise. This could include savings accounts, equity in property, insurance policies, unit trusts, and other investments.

You may opt to sell assets for cash or use them as collateral for a loan. Take a • Look, too, at your personal line of credit. most of the equipment you’ll need is available through retail stores that accept credit cards.

• Friends and family. The next step after gathering your own resources is to approach friends and relatives who believe in you and want to help you succeed. Be cautious with these arrangements; no matter how close you are, present yourself professionally, put everything in writing, and be sure the individuals you approach can afford to take the risk of investing in your business. Though most family child-care centres are owned by just one person, you may want to consider using the “strength in numbers” principle and look around for someone to team up with you in your venture.

You may choose someone who has financial resources and wants to work side by side with you in the business. Or you may find someone who has money to invest but no interest in doing the actual work. Be sure to create a written partnership agreement that clearly defines your respective responsibilities and obligations.

Government programmes Take advantage of provincial and national government grants and funding programs designed to support small businesses. Women, minorities should check out niche financing possibilities designed to help these groups get into business. Related: Regulations, legal and licences.