It was a typical summer’s evening when a small group of Cape Town-based wealth managers made their way to SHIO, a Japanese-inspired restaurant situated in the uber-trendy De Waterkant.

INN8 invited our valued advisers to engage in a real conversation with James Wilson, founder and CEO of the Amdec Group whose property portfolio places the business among the country’s largest private property owners.

Over a four-course dinner inspired by modern Japanese dining, James shared with the table the trials and tribulations he had gone through in an effort to build his business from the ground up – literally. He also related his experiences in scaling the business in a difficult environment and tough economic climate, and lead discussions on disruption, technology, changing needs of the customer and scaling a business to be an industry-recognisable force.

Apart from the delicious food served by sensational restaurateur, Cheyne Morrisby, here are some of the highlights from the evening’s discussion:

• Focus is key. In a world full of distractions, it’s crucial to keep your eye on the ball
• Trust and empower your staff. Lead your business with a clear vision and constantly communicate it to your people
• Cash flow is king. Pay close attention to it
• Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks when trying to grow your business. This could be as small as investing in a new, faster laptop or deciding on that 12-month cellphone contract
• There is plenty of great technology available. Evaluate what will work best for you and test it out before you implement. Fail early and fast
• We all make mistakes. Learn from them and reinforce those lessons in your business
• Pay close attention to your customers’ changing needs – they pay the bills, but don’t be led by fads
• Culture and people are very important for long-term success. Recruit according to culture fit, not qualifications

We know the world of the wealth manager can often be an isolated one, which is why we want to create relaxed, intimate and insightful events that advisers can appreciate. After all, our mission at INN8 is to change the way investments are done and know that the only way to achieve this is to make you, the adviser, at the centre of everything we do.

We collaborate with advisers to be the partner they need in building their business. We continually strive to find ways to add value and to challenge their ways of thinking. Our Dinner with INN8 series is an integral part of our collaboration mantra.

By all accounts, the evening was a great success, with our guests gaining valuable insights into growing their businesses, alongside the delicious flavours of Japan.

About Dinner with INN8

INN8 is adviser inspired – we ensure that the adviser is always the centre of our universe and everything we do is created with them in mind. Our Dinner with INN8 series is one offering of our practice development hub, created to assist wealth managers in building their practice, going further than usual to bring real value to the wealth manager. The dinner series aims to create a peer-learning environment in a relaxed atmosphere, enabling wealth managers to connect with each other, learn from insightful speakers and share knowledge and insights with each other.

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