UA-8884037-5 Palesa PhiliDCCI represents the business community. As CEO, Palesa oversees the organisation, ensuring good governance and that the Chamber fulfils its mandate which is to look after its members, who are mostly from the business community of the Durban regionPALESA PHILI became the CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) after a very successful corporate career. This included being in an executive role with a computer company looking after the organisation's services in the southern, eastern and central regions of Africa, being the executive head for Vodacom Business in KZN and then the regional head for MTN. DCCI represents the business community. As CEO, Palesa oversees the organisation, ensuring good governance and that the Chamber fulfils its mandate which is to look after its members, who are mostly from the business community of the Durban region. The Durban Chamber identifies government policy relevant to organised business in Durban by amplifying core issues that impact on business with short, medium - and long-term perspectives. At the heart of this unit are industry-specific forums and area forums (Western, Northern, Southern, and Central) that engage on a monthly or bi-quarterly base. "Our forums provide the coal face of interaction between our members and the Durban Chamber. This is where we get city officials and provincial policy makers to interact with our members in terms of any plans that are being put in place as well as business opportunities that are available," says Palesa. Advocacy is central to the role the Chamber plays and partnership approaches to complex and problematic issues affecting business are promoted. The Chamber's extensive networks also connect members both with local and international organisations. Success is inspirational Palesa attributes her success and where she is today to her Christian faith, hard work, and dedication. Numerous people assisted her along the way and she has had a number of different mentors for different aspects of her career and life who have helped her. Success inspires Palesa. She adds, "One does not want to be around something that is negative or does not work." Successful people across the country and across the world attract her attention; what they are doing attracts and inspires her. "I try to see what I can do personally, in my own way, to add to the betterment of my city, my province, my country, and the world at large." Keep your eye on the ball, the rules for women are different "Women definitely need to approach business differently to men," says Palesa. And thinks the existence of "The Boy's Club out there" cannot be denied and that women cannot fit into the club. "As a woman, typically, as you grow in your career, as you go higher, you become more of a loner as there are very few women up there." Palesa adds that males are still in the majority at the top of the corporate world and that the rules for women are very different. "As a woman, you need to be clear about your objectives, why you are where you are and what it is that you want to achieve." Palesa says one of her mentors told her that one is at work to do work, not to make friends, and you need to make sure the job gets done. Her advice to women is, "When you encounter corporate politics, it is important to keep your eye on the ball, understand the rules are different for you as a woman, and then you should be fine." As she is a wife and the mother of two boys, achieving a work life balance is not easy for Palesa. She says she is too busy to attend social gatherings like "breakfasts for moms" and is too busy for tasks like personally dropping her boys off at school. This results in her not knowing many of the moms, but Palesa is fortunate that her husband helps with most of the parental tasks. Her support structure is important to her. "Without their assistance, I would not be able to do everything I need to do and achieve a work-life balance," she adds. Looking back at herself when she was younger, Palesa would advise herself not to take things at face value but to analyse these and ensure that she makes the right decisions. She explains that she would react spontaneously when she was young so she would tell herself to listen more before making decisions. There is much more to achieve Compared to what she would still like to accomplish, Palesa does not think that she has achieved much. If she looks back at her corporate background, Palesa says what she did was mostly target driven to make profits for an organisation. Her involvement with the Chamber does, however, give her a greater purpose and this enables her to achieve more of what she wants to achieve. It enables her to make a difference and impact on many people. Palesa explains, "I always had a thing in me, even when growing up, to give back. In everything I do I try and give back in my own small way. I would like to look back in five years from now and say this is the number of jobs I helped to create, and this is the number of entrepreneurs I have assisted to grow and get where they are." She adds she would like to see measurable growth, and only once she gets there would she be happy with what she has achieved. You need to be clear about your objectives, why you are where you are and what it is that you want to achieve
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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.

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