By Jo Duxbury 
Have you ever tasted a chocolate cake made from an Ina Paarman bake mix? Perhaps one has even saved the day for you. They’re pretty good – and they’re idiot-proof. So they should be, because it took 121 iterations of that cake mix for Ina and her team to be completely satisfied that they’d found the perfect recipe.
Persistence in pursuit of excellent quality is a trademark of Ina’s business. She advocates ‘constructive discontent’: keep refining until you get it right. In the 20+ years that have seen her garage-based cooking classes evolve into a wildly successful foods business, Ina’s focus on quality and care has served her well.
Speaking at a session for women in ICT at the Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town recently, Ina shared some insightful yet completely common-sense business philosophies:
- When choosing a business partner, find someone whose skills complement yours. If you’re too alike, you’ll just compete with each other. Rather, find a partner who meets a need that you can’t provide for yourself.
- Similarly, have a good mix of skills and personalities in your leadership team. This will keep everyone on their toes, ensure that nothing is overlooked, and will create a more dynamic and interesting environment.
- Spot and seize opportunities. The best way of doing this is to listen to your customers – which so few companies do. Listen and respond – have an outside-in approach. And listen to what customers are not saying, as well as what they are. True insights can be gleaned from reading between the lines.
- Be financially disciplined. Understand the difference between what your company (and staff) needs, and what it wants. Invest in the former; be prudent about the latter. You never know when tough times might be ahead, so make sure you have a financial cushion to see you through them.
- Success takes persistence, passion and a lot of hard work. Ina says she spends a few hours working on Sunday afternoons so that she can ‘have a slight feeling of control for a few hours on a Monday morning!’. Amazingly, she also answers many of the questions on her Facebook page herself – a strong indication of how important she believes it is to listen to and engage with her customers.
It’s a cliché to say how inspiring it is to meet someone, but in this case, it’s very true. As well as being a highly accomplished businessperson, Mrs Paarman is warm, authentic, funny and wise – a wonderful role model for South African entrepreneurs.
