Satty Rose Mhdluli, owner of Thabile Shuttle and Tours, is the winner of the Sansui 9.7-inch tablet.
Readers of Small Business Connect say their most popular mode of connecting to the internet is via a mobile 3G/LTE connection and not as some would expect – a fixed ADSL line.
This is one of the findings of the readership survey conducted by Small Business Connect in April as part of its plans to refine the information it offers small business readers.
The survey produced “some very interesting results”, says Small Business Connect publisher Christoff Oosthuysen.
About a third of the newspaper’s readers use mobile internet connections.
This is followed by ADSL of various speeds as the second most popular connection, accounting for about a fifth of readers.
“It is interesting to note that all readers are connected to the internet in one form or the other, which shows that the strategy for delivering content through a hybrid of a freesheet newspaper and online resources offers the best reach,” says Oosthuysen.
The survey showed that the newspaper is by-and-large consumed by the target market of people who classify themselves as “entrepreneurs” or “business owners”, with only 16% falling into this broad category. Most describe themselves as either an “entrepreneur” or “business owner”.
As with the general trend in the small business market, most are men (79%), while a good representation is achieved among black entrepreneurs (84%).
Readers are very impressed with the content and believe it to be highly useful for business owners.
The average score out of five on the question “How useful is the content of Small Business Connect for small business owners?” is relatively high at 4.15.
Only one percent of readers say that they are not active on any social media platform. They are, however, not committing to one platform only with Facebook being used by a third of readers, while other platforms, such as of LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+, account for about a fifth each of readers.
Oosthuysen notes that Small Business Connect is making an impact in informing entrepreneurs about the support that they can get from various business development institutions.
About 30% of Small Business Connect readers reported that they use services offered by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Tablet for winning reader
And the winner of the Small Business Connect reader survey is…Satty Rose Mdhluli.
Mdhluli is the proud owner of a brand-new Sansui 9.7-inch tablet.
She says the prize will come in handy because she can now manage her Uitsig-based business more effectively using the table which also has 3G and WiFi capabilities.
“I’m very happy because this could not have come at a better time. Just days before I was told that I am the winner, my computer was damaged and I was struggling to manage my business because of it,” she says.
Mdhluli excitedly explains that the newspaper has helped provide information on how to grow her business.
She says the informative news in Small Business Connect has been beneficial to her business, Thabile Shuttle and Tours.
“My business hit a slight slump in November last year. Were it not for the information provided in the newspaper I get at the Department of Trade and Industry offices, perhaps I would’ve struggled more to create newer angles on how to take my business forward,” she says.
Before she started her transport business in 2008, Mdhluli worked for her father as a taxi driver for more than 20 years.
She now owns a growing fleet of minibus taxis and takes clients on national and cross-border tours every week. Mdhluli won the tablet after completing a 25-question reader survey in Small Business Connect’s April edition.