You could be forgiven for thinking that the Insta story about the businessman with the flashy car and mansion in the background is a realistic depiction of entrepreneurship. It could not be further from the truth.
What no one tells you about entrepreneurship is that success does not happen overnight, your family will probably call you crazy (and not behind your back) and you will want to quit.
These are things Nigel and Christynn Jacobs know well. For the past four years they have been steadily building their business Jacobs Jam in the lush Ceres valley and growing their reputation as the only pomegranate jam manufacturer in the world.
Recently they signed a lucrative contract with Shoprite and they are now in talks to export their jam.
It sounds like they are living every entrepreneur’s dream. Remove the Insta lens and you will notice the hard work behind the scenes: the Shoprite deal took three years of negotiating, they had to comply with strict, expensive food safety regulations and they did not take home a salary for a year.
“After three years of knocking on the door, we are finally listed at 300 Checkers stores in the Western Cape. It is a pilot launch and soon we could be listed nationally. Our jam is also sold at select Spar stores,” says a proud Nigel Jacobs.
“It’s been a long journey and we are just getting started. I grew up in Mitchells Plain and my wife Christynn’s hometown is Hawston in the Western Cape. We both had humble beginnings and I had to work several jobs to put myself through university.”
It should come as no surprise then that Jacobs Jam has a strong social impact in Ceres. They employ mostly women and youth, and they provide valuable training for unskilled workers in a rural area where jobs are desperately needed. “We want to empower from within, to give opportunities to people that may not have the same opportunities at bigger businesses.
“In addition, we donate jam to NGOs who run feeding schemes for vulnerable people. We are environmentally conscious and have a no-waste target. Our packaging items are recycled and upcycled, we buy from recycling centres and we recycle water,” says Nigel.
The transition from having successful careers in the corporate world to starting their business took a few months. They registered Jacobs Jam in May 2018, resigned from their jobs to run the business full time in 2019 and have not looked back since.
“Having our own business has given us the creative freedom to build our brands and put our heritage on display.”
“But entrepreneurship has also taught us difficult lessons; patience is one of them. As a small business you are always at the back of the line. It takes time to get to the front of the line.
“Applying for funding is one of the hardest things any small business owner will do: one application takes between 3-5 months. Then buyers would string us along for months, only for the deal to fall through, sometimes after as long as eight months – we had nothing to show for all that time, money and effort.”
These challenges forced them to develop a resilient mindset, to take it one day at a time and celebrate every win. This mentality helped them build a factory during lockdown, go up against established brands and get their product onto supermarket shelves even after the political instability that followed the 2021 riots.
Last year, Nigel and Christynn won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Western Cape Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards, a testament to their determination to succeed and willingness to learn from their mistakes.
Despite the harsh reality that 70 to 80% of businesses in South Africa fail within the first five years, entrepreneurial training has been proven to be one of the contributors to success.
Jacobs Jam is a participant on Fetola’s Social Entrepreneurship Impact Lab which gives them access to a mentor and a peer network: “We do not feel alone in this journey. The mentorship is fantastic – it’s like having a sounding board to bounce ideas off and I am surrounded by passionate people who want to see you succeed is priceless,” says Nigel.
Jacobs Jam is a participant on Fetola’s Social Entrepreneurship Impact Lab (SEIL™) which gives them access to a mentor and a peer network.
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About the Author
Terrena Rathanlall is the SME Media Portfolio Manager at Fetola.
