Megan KahnMEGAN KAHN is the owner of Plan Ahead Events and Décor, a company she started 17 years ago, and manager of Cheers Hiring. Plan Ahead Events and Décor manages events for big corporates and individuals alike as well as weddings and other functionsMEGAN KAHN is the owner of Plan Ahead Events and Décor, a company she started 17 years ago, and manager of Cheers Hiring. Plan Ahead Events and Décor manages events for big corporates and individuals alike as well as weddings and other functions. Arrangements cover the entire event spectrum including invitations, catering, DJs, tables and chairs, and crockery. Themed décor, small details or big props, are a specialty. Plan Ahead is fortunate to have developed a partnership with Cheers Hiring, a company which has earned an enviable reputation in the functions and hiring environment, becoming one of South Africa's biggest in this field. After finishing school, Megan started her working career by joining the old Seaboard Hotel. She became interested in the hospitality industry; realising it was where she wanted to be and grow. Megan says she was fortunate to have supportive managers who allowed her to attend training courses. She says, "When you have passion for doing something, you want to grow and improve." This is the reason why she has never stopped learning. Jill of all trades Megan moved to Johannesburg when her husband was transferred there by his employer. After having her first child, she wanted to spend time being a mother rather than working in hotels and hospitality. She started "Plan Ahead" with only a computer, printer and fax machine. The company initially operated as a tour operating business, managing inbound tours of South Africa for overseas tourists. Four years later, when she fell pregnant again, Megan returned to Durban. As business in Durban was smaller and attracted fewer tours, she reinvented Plan Ahead to deal with events, conferences, functions, and activations. Working alone, Megan initially had to manage all aspects of the business and carry out everything that needed to be done, becoming a "Jill of all trades". The corporate and private functions business performed outstandingly for Plan Ahead until a recession about five years ago. With the slowdown in big functions, Megan realised that décor hiring for companies and people who did not want the "total event package" was taking off and more storage space was required to store equipment. As a result, about two years ago, the collaboration between Plan Ahead and Cheers Hiring started, and they now operate from the same warehouse. Commenting on what inspires her, Megan says that she is inspired by social media as well as chatting and socialising with different people. "Everyone's requirements are different, but I have always loved following David Tutera International Stylist to the famous. We like to pride ourselves in trying never to create the same look and feel for every client." Driven to become bigger and better Sometimes, especially after big, successful events, it is hard for Megan to believe that she has managed to arrange everything. "Once the event is over and you sit back and look and say to yourself wow, we did that and the client is happy - this keeps me motivated - I love a challenge." Every year she sets new goals for big events involving up to 2500 people but also for small ones. Although content with what she has reached, Megan is still driven to become bigger and better, growing both businesses, expanding nationally and into Africa. According to Megan, the requirements for women to be successful in her industry are no different from what they are for men. Her business used to be women-driven, but creative men are entering the industry, giving women good competition. "You need to work hard and be passionate about the business regardless of your gender, it is about you as person. You need to believe in yourself and do everything, including physical work." She laughs, saying that men are amazed when she picks up heavy things. "In our industry and life in general, what you put in is what you get out." You get up and move forward Megan credits her mother for supporting her and inspiring her to get where she is. She was a single mother who raised three children and fought cancer for ten years. She says her mother made her a stronger woman and she aspires to be like her. Her mother's motto was "No matter what happens, you get up and move forward." Megan strives to apply this to life and business. Balancing work with life is important. Megan has a teenage daughter and son who have grown up with their mom doing what she does. She says she supports them, but they also support and inspire her. This is important as her industry is not an easy one to be in, involving late nights and early mornings. She works hard during the festive season, but when it is not busy, she spends quality time with her family. She summarises her policy: "The laptop is off when I get home, so it does not interfere with what I do with my family." The advice that Megan would give her younger self is, "Believe more in yourself, believe that you can achieve things". She would add that it's okay to fail sometimes. Things don't always run smoothly, especially if you have your own business. "If you fall down, what matters is how you pick yourself up, move forward and to learn from failures." She would also advise socialising with more people who uplift and encourage you, who share the same passion as you; the earlier you can learn that, the easier it would become to run your own business. No matter what happens, you get up and move forward

Cheryl Govender

CHERYL GOVENDER is the founder and owner of The Cake House in Pietermaritzburg. She is a qualified chef and professional cake artist. The Cake House has become a leading provider of designer cakes including engineered life-size cakes. Cheryl's exceptional cakes, each a masterpiece, have been featured in magazines and on television, and The Cake House is recognised as a leader in new age sugarcraft.

Cheryl is inspired by successful bakeries and cake artists. She explains, "This is a tough industry and requires not only talent, but a business mind, people skills, market insight, tenacity, and continuous learning and growth."

One of her biggest inspirations is Buddy Valastro, an American baker who is the star of the reality television series 'Cake Boss'.

Be clear about what must be achieved

Cheryl believes she got to where she is now and reached her goals by being clear about what she needed to achieve and why she needed to achieve them. She says her career started when she was fourteen when she was handed down decorating tools that her sister no longer needed. "Although I was a real tomboy, beating the boys at their own games in the streets, I did girly stuff when I went home, like playing with cake decorating tools and my dolls," she laughed.

Cheryl learned about sugar art by reading books from the municipal library and often left the kitchen in a mess after experimenting. Her Consumer Studies teacher recognised Cheryl's talent; arranged for her to attend a cake decorating course, and gave her a toolset, which she treasures to this day.
This teacher, now a retired school principal, adopted Cheryl as a daughter, helped her to believe in herself, and became her mentor to this day.
Cheryl won a Consumer Studies Inter School Award in matric due to her passion for cake decorating, but at that time she considered it a hobby, not a career.

After a year at college, Cheryl married and became a mother. She joined the corporate world but kept on making decorated cakes as a hobby to supplement her income. When her son was two years old, Cheryl entered and won the Pietermaritzburg Royal Show sugarcraft competition. This led to her teaching sugarcraft on a part-time basis at the now FET College in Northdale, something she continued passionately for 25 years. This Cheryl said, was fulfilling: "empowering women has always been close to my heart".

Focus on one thing and do it well

Cheryl gained wide experience in the corporate world, including ten years in shipping and international travel, before she started her own export business. This business crashed during the worldwide financial crisis of 2008 and she "fell back on her hands", starting a food catering business that also provided cakes. Cheryl made a few designer cakes assuming there was little market for these due to the high prices, but word of her quality and expertise spread and orders increased.

A traumatic divorce, the demands of being involved in catering, wedding décor, training and making cakes at the same time, made her realise that she needed to streamline her activities. In 2012 she decided to focus on one thing only and do it well and opened The Cake House. Cheryl, a single mom had herself, her mother's assistance, two children, and a house. As she had lost her vehicle, Cheryl went everywhere in running shoes while carrying cake ingredients and other items in a backpack.

Nothing was handed to her; she had no money and could not get a bank loan. Cheryl understood the risks involved but her faith and trust in God helped her. She managed to buy all her industrial baking equipment from a helpful appliance store on a three-month cash basis. Her business remains debt-free to this day.

Business skills are unrelated to gender

In Cheryl's view, women and men need the same business approach, as the skills required for a successful business are unrelated to gender. "Tenacity, hard work, honesty, patience and endurance are equally required from men and women." She does, however, concede that women face more challenges. She has had to face abuse, being a mother, and a divorce.

Achieving a work-life balance boils down to discipline for Cheryl. "It is necessary to make time for your family and yourself, and also to rest, but not working can be scary for a business owner with much to do," she says. "I've had to learn to set boundaries, say no, and cut myself off from work when it's time to relax and unwind." Gardening, time with her family and puppies, and doing things outside of the business help create a balance.

Brand ambassador

Cheryl is happy with what she has accomplished thus far and readily give others credit. Without her mother, she could not have set up The Cake House. Without the help of her husband Alan, her family, and staff members, she would not have been able to grow the business. She feels honoured having recently being appointed a brand ambassador with royal status, for Rolkem Colours, one of the world's largest food colourant providers.

While Cheryl is satisfied with the place she has reached, she is not comfortable about remaining there. Cheryl dreams of making the province proud of The Cake House as a tourism attraction. With a growing support structure in place, she is prepared to take risks within her means and take the business to the next level.

Back