Talking heads: From immigrant nobody to a business somebody

Name: Kira Schaffler

Position: Director of remuneration consultancy Higbee-Schaffler

Age: 43

Born: Johannesburg, South Africa



What makes your day at work?

A happy client, seeing a new idea put into place, a new initiative, and of course, growth. It's literally a month-by-month growth, and to see the signs of that is just fantastic.

How did you you get to where you are today?

A lot by chance, and a lot by design. After an around-the-world trip, the first job I fell into in my early 20s happened to be with a Johannesburg remuneration consultancy business - and I didn't even know what it meant.

I stayed there for 10 years, and I was lucky enough to have around me some of the gurus of remuneration in the South African market, and learned an enormous amount from them.

What was the most important lesson you learned on the way up?

To take risks, and have a clear picture of where one wants to go. I have a nature that has more ideas than time to implement them, which is frustrating sometimes for my colleagues...

It's translating those things, all of which seem exciting at the time, into which are commercial realities, and which are just pie in the sky.

Who was your most important mentor?

The chief executive of the company I worked for in South Africa, FSA-Contact.

The chief executive of that business has "entrepreneur" stamped on his forehead.

I still find myself looking back and wondering what he would do with particular business challenges, and then almost implementing what he would do.

How have you dealt with pitfalls in your career?

Thrown into the middle of the whole career was this little thing called "immigration."

When you change countries, you're a nobody, a nothing. You're an unknown and you start from the bottom of the heap.

In a fairly aggressive way, I knew it was a matter of survival. I had to market myself and my colleagues as somebodies.

You gain a profile, and by doing that you win the business.

I've always had a pretty clear idea of where I want to go and how.

I guess it then comes down to a matter of timing, and waiting for the right time and the right opportunity."

What advice would you give to a young person starting out on a business career?

Try everything! Stop at nothing, and absolutely try everything that's thrown in your way, particularly when you're young, because you have so little to lose.

Don't channel yourself too early.

There are so many opportunities out there in the market for so many ideas, and I think a lot of people get swept up in one idea too early on.

What's the biggest challenge for your organisation in the present economy?

Companies out there are really wanting much more flexible payment solutions, and that means being a lot more creative.

It means listening to the client a lot more and really trying to see their particular needs, instead of trying to provide a solution that's canned or off-the-shelf.

What one thing would you have done differently?

I think I would have started my own business earlier.

You wait until there's some catalyst that sets you on your way.

If you have a sense that you can run your own business and you're prepared to take the risk, don't wait, don't hesitate.

What ambitions do you have?

For our business, the goal's very clear - we're going to the top of the heap, not necessarily from a size point of view, but very definitely from a quality point of view.

From a personal point of view, as the business grows, I'd like to move out of working in the business, and actually work much more on the growth and strategic side.

That is where my interest lies.

The fact it happens to be a remuneration consulting business is secondary; I could be selling hamburgers and I would be happy, as long as I had a business to work on.

How do you relax?

I play tennis, and I walk. We sail when we get the chance - that's it really. Any kind of sporting activity is fun and great.

* Kira Schaffler talked to Kim Williams.