Please introduce yourself and your educational background?
I completed business metric in 2000 and I’ve done short courses in Time management, Project management & a few others. I’ve also completed an A+ pc technician course in 2000. Most of my skills are self taught. I am very motivated to succeed.
What is your business all about and what inspired it?
Just Pc’s started almost by accident, I was always thinking of ways to sell this & that. I see myself as an opportunists so when I was presented with the opportunity, I took it immediately. Please see my value proposition below:
Just Pc’s is a Cape Town based ICT company that specializes in the refurbishment of 2nd hand computers, corporate e-waste solutions & the eco friendly disposal of E-waste. Together with our partners in Gauteng & KZN we offer a national one stop solution to corporate companies & the public alike, be it: Asset recovery, E-waste disposal, secure destruction of data, refurbishment to sell back to staff or refurbishment for donation. Just Pc’s is a registered member of the E-waste association of South Africa (EWASA) and a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher with more than 5 years experience in the computer refurbishment industry. Just Pc’s sell affordable quality refurbished computers direct to the public. We also sell in bulk to a dealer network across SA & export to countries like Namibia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
What were you doing before launching your business?
I did my business metric & briefly worked as a web designer. When the company that I worked for liquidated, I decided to fix computers for friends & family. This taught me a lot about computers and gave me the building blocks for Just Pc’s.
How did you know there is a market for your business?
I did not do any research, I placed free ads in the Cape Ads & got quite a response from that. After I convinced my mother to place my first small ad in the Cape Ads on her credit card, it was self sustaining.
What planning did you engage before launching?
Nothing, you could see the free ads that I placed as a bit of market research but most of my business was based on gut feel.
How many people do you employ?
7 permanent & 1 temp
Are there any major challenges that you had to overcome before launching your business?
Funding
Social media is the current buzz word, do you use it to market your business?
Not really, I use twitter from time to time
What three industry blogs do you read to keep abreast of your sector of the market?
None
Given an opportunity to contribute content on an industry blog, would you welcome that offer?
I would welcome the offer, but I am not that great with words
How important is your website to the daily operations of the business and are you happy with its current state?
Our website is very important & contributes to most of our bulk sales. We also get many e-waste solution enquires from companies & corporate through our website. I would like to give it a facelift at some stage but it still looks professional & is very informative.
What are your current business challenges that you still have to overcome?
Building up sufficient cash flow, finding more corporate companies to participate in our “green” drive.
What are your short and long-term business plans?
For the next year I will be focusing on the refurbishment of 2nd hand computers for corporate companies, these computers will be donated to Non-profit organisations & schools.
Within the next 3 years I want to establish sound relationships with more corporate companies to build on my existing source of stock.
5 Year plan: I want Just Pc’s to play a very big part in the donating of computers previously owned by corporate companies to NPO’s & schools, but in the same breath not losing sight of its main objective: supplying low cost yet reliable pc’s to the public.
5-10 year plan: I want to roll the Just Pc’s concept out into the rest of SA & Africa, to assist in the disposal of E-Waste & making computers available to people who have no access to computers.
Please share with us your major business highlights since being in operation?
Our turnover has increased by 65% in the last financial year.
In closing, how do potential clients reach your business?
Most of our clients are referred to us by existing clients. A very small percentage reaches us through local newspapers & then through our website and other internet sites. We sell directly to the public.
