GEORGE NEWS - A business idea born from a love of chocolate and fresh vegetables has put Vanessa Jacobs, founder and owner of local enterprise Sow Delicious, among the 15 finalists in the national 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

 

Jacobs' innovative product, Slab of Seeds, is opening up the world of edible gardening for even the most inexperienced gardener.

 

Jacobs came up with the idea of prepackaging vegetable and herb heirloom seeds in 'slabs' that resemble chocolate slabs.

 

Starting to grow one's own food is as simple as breaking a block off a slab and pushing it into the soil. Jacobs says that being a foodie at heart, she was inspired by chocolate and the beautiful vegetables that heirloom seeds produce.

 

"To me, being an entrepreneur is who I am, not what I do, and to be nominated and recognised by my South African peers as a finalist, is both humbling and a great honour."

 

She started the business three years ago after looking for a solution to "solve my own food gardening dilemma". "It excitingly evolved into a business based around one of my great passions - edible gardening."

 

Jacobs entered the Emerging Entrepreneur category of the competition. Judging involved an inspection of the business' financials and an interview in front of a panel of four judges. Since being nominated as a finalist, many doors for Sow Delicious with well-connected South African companies have opened for her. It has also led to a lot of positive media publicity. "I can just imagine that actually winning the award will be like rocket fuel launching you into spaces you could never have travelled to alone."
According to the spokesperson of the contest, Gugu Mjadu, competition was fierce with a 40% increase in the number of entries from last year. The finalists were selected from 213 entries.
Serial entrepreneur
Jacobs attributed her success to being a "serial entrepreneur" who started her first business at the age of 19. "The thing that has set this business apart from all the others is that I have discovered who I am as a person and what brings me alive. I made it the core of what I do every day. To discover what you are good at and use those talents to better people's lives is the fountain of business youth."

In the beginning her products were sold online, but now 98% of her business is created through retailers. In George, Slab of Seeds can be found at Golden Harvest, Health & Living and Food Lovers' Market (from October). Negotiations with some of South Africa's biggest retailers are also underway and the product will be stocked more widely in coming months.

Jacobs works from a quaint Victorian house in Merriman Street with five permanent employees. She also employs seasonal casuals during peak times.

In addition to being a businesswoman, Jacobs is a wife to Deon and mother to Kyla (17) and Joel (14). Playing these three demanding roles can be very challenging at times, and would be near impossible if I did not have the support and active participation of my husband. We are true teammates that instinctively pick up the slack for the other when the need arises," says Jacobs.

 

Jacobs responded to a few questions from George Herald journalist Alida de Beer.

Q: Why are you successful in your business? What advice do you have for entrepreneurs starting out or trying to make a success in business?
A: I suppose I am what you would call a ‘serial entrepreneur’ as I actually started my first business at the age of 19. Fast forward 20 years and the thing that has set this business apart from all the others, is that I have discovered who I am as a person and what brings me alive and made that the core of what I do every day. To discover what you are good at and use those talents to better people’s lives is the fountain of business youth. Having purpose and making the contribution that is only yours to make is a powerful way to live. If what you do is infused with love and that love is ultimately focused on people, then the money is the wonderful by-product that follows you not the other way around.

A: As Henry Ford once said: 'Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right. So my major obstacle to overcome in the beginning on this journey was predominately my own mind. Breaking through personal mindsets and barriers and forging into new territory, can be terrifying. Fear of failure often drives entrepreneurs to great heights, but I have subsequently come to discover an even more effective driver - the expectation of success. Over time I developed the view that every obstacle or 'challenge' as I like to call it, is a step and invitation to greater heights, an exciting journey to discover the answer to a question unanswered. I ask: What can we learn from this to become better? And thus far it has happened that we have always discovered a better and more effective way of doing something that was operating at sub-optimum level. In business, as in life, it is all about your state of mind. If you think the impossible is possible, even if nobody else sees it, it can happen.

Q: Was it difficult to register a trademark?
A: It was not difficult to register a trademark because we partnered with good attorneys who specialise in local and international trade-marking, Adams & Adams. They not only gave us good advice, but were extremely knowledgeable and efficient. It is however a long process, time wise and took almost 2 years to register from start to finish and it is also a costly exercise, but the nice thing is that trademarks do not expire and remain the property of the company for life.

Q: How did you come up with the 'slab of seeds' idea?
A: I had always been scared of planting with seed as they came up in clumps or not at all, grew in haphazard rows and not beautifully landscaped ones, were planted too deep or too shallow and were so tiny that they were almost impossible to handle. I love to find solutions to challenges, I am a ‘path-finder’ of sorts I suppose. As I had decided to grow my new food garden from ‘heritage or heirloom’ seed and these types of plants did not come in seedling form, I had to overcome this obstacle to grow my own patch of fresh. Being a creative, I needed to bring inspiration back into my dusty old veggie patch. I love chocolate almost as much as deliciously home-grown veggies. Heritage or Heirloom seeds grow the most beautiful vegetables, like purple peppers, candy striped beetroot or round carrots so being a foodie at heart I was half way there and who is not inspired by chocolate?? So combining these two concepts where a match made in heaven and just made perfect sense to me.

Q: You say that by planting your seeds, one has a saving of 75%. How so?
A: Most people have no idea how incredibly abundant ‘grow-your-own’ is. Just 1 spinach plant can yield up to 2kg of spinach or 1 tomato plant can grow 50+ tomatoes. So for example if you bought a cucumber in the shops it would cost you about R10 but because each seed grows a vine that grows 15+ cucumbers it ends up costing you less than 60c, which is much more than 75%, so I am being conservative!

 

Q: How do you cope with the demands of a business and family life?
A: I married my high school sweetheart Deon and am mother to Kyla (17) and Joel (14). Playing the 3 demanding roles of business owner, wife and mother can be very challenging at times, and near impossible if I did not have the support and active participation of my husband. We are true team mates that instinctively pick up the slack for the other when the need arises. We have each found our roles and play an equal part in bringing in the income, bringing up the kids and running the household.

 

Q: How did you enjoy participating in the competition and what has it done for you?
A: Just being nominated as a finalist for the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award, has already opened so many wonderful doors for ‘Sow Delicious’ with well connected South African companies, as well as being exposed to so much positive media publicity, that I can just imagine that actually winning the prestigious title of ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award will be like rocket fuel launching you into spaces you could never have travelled to alone.
I have found the whole process extremely enjoyable and stimulating as each player in the ‘competition cog’ has been an expert in their field and delivered the type of service or product that makes me proud to be a South African. I walk away from this experience truly enriched and have already ‘won’ so much from just being in the nomination process.