Being a small group means fast and top-notch service
by Katy Chance,
2015-05-05 06:35:00.0
MARUSSIA van der Merwe studied financial management before coming to SA but switched to marketing management.
After being offered jobs as enchanting as selling vacuum cleaners, in 2003 she joined forces with a friend in Stepping South, which eventually became Expats On The Globe.
Connie Peter has an extensive business management background and worked for EY (then Ernst & Young) for many years, eventually running its corporate law division, setting up its immigration service throughout Africa, and becoming an associate director.
They are equal partners in their business and have never had any external funding.
The company, which now has 12 full-time staff and about 10 part-time, intercultural consultants, was created with their own money — "and my savings from EY!" says Peter.
Both say that being small means they encounter some bullying from big companies, which seem to think they should be so grateful for the business they will drop their fees, but neither can think of any instance in which their being women has been used against them, nor for them.
Bolloré’s Meryl Bengtsson says "the fact that it is a self-made entrepreneurial endeavour with two women at the helm, is incidental to our doing business with them.
"The important criteria are the speed, service and personal attention they provide and that is why we use them. That said, it is a bonus knowing we are supporting small business — and particularly one run by women."
Peter says Bolloré puts pressure on them to get things done quickly. "It has a lot of French expats in SA, and has also moved some into Namibia.
"The company is fast-paced which works well with us because we have the same approach, we’re very responsive, we communicate effectively throughout the day, and into evenings with the HR director. With expats you have to over-communicate; if not, they feel worried."
And the two are not looking to get bigger for the sake of it: "It is about the quality of our clients," confirms Peter. "Not the quantity, which is why we want to partner with companies such as Bolloré and grow with them."
Marussia van der Merwe and Connie Peter, directors of Expats On The Globe, at BD-TV in Rosebank. Picture: FREDDY MAVUNDA
MARUSSIA van der Merwe studied financial management before coming to SA but switched to marketing management.
After being offered jobs as enchanting as selling vacuum cleaners, in 2003 she joined forces with a friend in Stepping South, which eventually became Expats On The Globe.
Connie Peter has an extensive business management background and worked for EY (then Ernst & Young) for many years, eventually running its corporate law division, setting up its immigration service throughout Africa, and becoming an associate director.
They are equal partners in their business and have never had any external funding.
The company, which now has 12 full-time staff and about 10 part-time, intercultural consultants, was created with their own money — "and my savings from EY!" says Peter.
Both say that being small means they encounter some bullying from big companies, which seem to think they should be so grateful for the business they will drop their fees, but neither can think of any instance in which their being women has been used against them, nor for them.
Bolloré’s Meryl Bengtsson says "the fact that it is a self-made entrepreneurial endeavour with two women at the helm, is incidental to our doing business with them.
"The important criteria are the speed, service and personal attention they provide and that is why we use them. That said, it is a bonus knowing we are supporting small business — and particularly one run by women."
Peter says Bolloré puts pressure on them to get things done quickly. "It has a lot of French expats in SA, and has also moved some into Namibia.
"The company is fast-paced which works well with us because we have the same approach, we’re very responsive, we communicate effectively throughout the day, and into evenings with the HR director. With expats you have to over-communicate; if not, they feel worried."
And the two are not looking to get bigger for the sake of it: "It is about the quality of our clients," confirms Peter. "Not the quantity, which is why we want to partner with companies such as Bolloré and grow with them."
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