Too many South African business owners are waiting for a quick breakthrough, a once-off big contract, a sudden spike in sales or a “game-changing” partnership to turn everything around. But according to Gary Bateman, founder of Mechanics of Business, that mindset is exactly why many businesses struggle to grow, or cannot retain sustainable growth. “You don’t build a successful business on chance,” says Bateman. “You build it by focusing on the mechanics; fixing what’s broken, optimising what works and ensuring every part of the engine runs smoothly.
The Temptation of Quick Fixes
South African business owners are facing mounting pressure: an economy growing in low single digits, inflation and rising input costs, access to finance and credit constraints, intense competition and now the uncertainty of tariffs. SMME statistics are challenging with almost 70% of small businesses in South Africa closing within the first 5 years. In this environment, the temptation to go for short term solutions such as heavy price discounting, expensive short-term credit, delaying supplier and tax payments or cutting quality and service corners is very real.
Don’t get me wrong, Quick Fixes are sometimes unavoidable, they help manage urgent risks, protect cash flow and keep the wheels turning today, but they can also lock businesses into a cycle of firefighting instead of building resilience. Survival is necessary, but it can’t become the strategy. If your fundamentals aren’t in place, growth won’t last, and you’ll be stuck right back where you started.”
The Mechanic’s Mindset for Business Success
To grow and thrive, businesses need structure. Bateman outlines three critical areas to start applying basic mechanics to the business.
1.Systems: Build a Business That Doesn’t Depend on You Alone
The business system is the framework, the integrated structures that ensure processes operate consistently and at scale. Remember, if your business only works when you do, it will never be scalable and will never build significant exit value.
“Your systems are your engine,” says Bateman. “Without them, every day is chaos. With them, you can focus on working on the business, and not in the business.”
2.Processes: Repeatable Success Beats Random Luck
Many businesses don’t document how things get done. That means if a key employee leaves or demand increases, everything starts falling apart. A process is a step-by-step sequence of activities or tasks designed to achieve a specific outcome, they are repeatable and define how the work gets done.
Map out your critical processes; how you get customers, how you serve them, how you manage cashflow. Then start implementing ongoing improvements. Small improvements applied on a regular basis can yield big results.
“A strong process is like a blueprint,” says Bateman. “It helps you build success repeatedly, not accidentally.”
3.Strategy: From Reaction to Design
Operating without a clear strategy forces businesses into a cycle of reactivity of chasing clients, imitating competitors or depending on seasonal luck.
True strategy is intentional. It means setting measurable goals, understanding your market dynamics and building an action plan that reflects where you want to be, when you want to be there and critically, how you are going to get there.
As Bateman notes: “Strategy isn’t a buzzword. It’s the roadmap. Without it, no tactic however creative will deliver sustainable growth. Positioning defines the customer needs you meet, market problems you solve, the industry segments you serve, your value proposition and the differentiation competitors cannot easily replicate.”
From Firefighting to Resilience
Running a business shouldn’t feel like constant firefighting and last-minute scrambles. Sustainable growth comes from a mechanic’s mindset; disciplined, analytical and committed to addressing root causes rather than symptoms.
There is no shortcut for poor planning or broken processes. But with structure, clarity and disciplined execution, businesses can unlock the resilience and momentum to grow stronger, faster and with greater purpose.
