Sage advice from Steven Cohen, Sage Pastel's MD

Unfortunately I was not able to chat directly to Steven Cohen, Managing Director of SAGE Pastel; fortunately his PR team helped with the responses, which I am very grateful for.   

Sage Pastel was founded in 1989 by Steven Cohen and partners Ivan Epstein and Alan Osrin. Sage Pastel has been through a number of changes to reach its current form. Originally Brilliant Software, it became Softline, was briefly part of Persetel, was listed on the JSE for six years and was then bought by Sage plc, a FTSE 100 company, in 2003.

Steven's approach has been to keep accounting at the cutting edge of technology and turning accounting software into a business management tool. It is this attitude which has seen Sage Pastel’s chief product, Pastel Accounting, become the most widely used accounting software in South Africa with over 200 000 companies using it to run their businesses. 

Steven believes that small businesses are the true heroes of South Africa and he talks about “getting lost in the beauty of creating software”, describing his software developers as artists. 

With this background, I was very excited to learn more from him.

As you know by now, the first question I ask, is to find out what the most important business lessons are that these inspiring business owners have learnt since starting their own company. I think all, or at least most of the feedback so far is about hiring the right people for the team. 

Steven says, "It’s all about hiring the right people. In fact the word 'hiring' is a bit undermining. So let’s say it’s about getting the right people to join your business at the right time." 

How does Steven keep himself motivated? "I don’t really 'do' anything. If the subject is interesting, if the people you’re working with are good people, if you’re making a difference to customers’ lives, then I’m automatically motivated. I just don’t take things for granted."

When it comes to making inroads with strategic partners, Steven's advice - "Try to aim for a win-win scenario, be open, upfront and honest about  your ambitions, and what you want to get out of the partnership. Leave enough on the table where both parties make money."  Steven also says that very often there is a lot of talk about what the parties can and will bring to the table, but it is about delivering on promises made and making sure that the ‘nitty-gritty’ is done, this is paramount to the success of any partnership.

Steven’s marketing lessons includes keeping things uncomplicated, simple and clean. Speak the same language as your customers, sometimes you as the business owner may know more than your marketing agency, so it’s important that you listen to, and trust your instincts.

“Integrity in the workplace means everything!” believes Steven. You may be able to get away with things in the short-term, but in the long-term it will erode the very fabric of your business.

One of Steven’s biggest frustrations when it comes to internal and external communication, is “Verboseness or in other words, ‘Corporate speak'. People are rarely honest when it comes to difficult news” so here too (as with the marketing point above), communication should be uncomplicated and to the point.

“To be accountable in the truest sense,” is what running his own business means to him. One of my favourite questions is to find out what business owners love most about running a business, I really resonate with what Steven says, “Making a difference to people’s lives, especially to your employees and your customers.”

There will always be frustrations when running a business, what frustrates Steven about running his? “People who don’t get back to you (and I’m sometimes a guilty party here). Procrastination (and I’m sometimes a guilty party here)*.

“Committees who like to sit on the fence. People not taking responsibility for their actions and not being accountable. Ego’s getting out of control. People complicating things to make their egos feel better.”

(*~ditto! Although I am trying very hard to work on a 24 hour response rate back on emails – easier said than done. I feel the same about Steven when it comes to procrastination; fortunately my sidekick Mark is wonderfully inspiring when he sees procrastination rearing its ugly head; he always says to me – ‘Don’t procrastinate, INVIGORATE!’)

For more information about Sage Pastel visit www.pastel.co.za