Civil Engineering October 2021 | Vol 29 No 9

36 October 2021 Civil Engineering the SANRAL regional office and learn exactly how their systems work, who approves payment, and so forth. Once I understood their value chain and internal processes, I made it my personal task to meet all the relevant SANRAL officials so that they know me as a person and not just a name. By building those personal relationships, it has made it easier to deal with payment issues and get faster service. This completely changed the dynamics of me getting paid. Another challenge was not fully understanding the pro- cesses, protocols and systems required for a business. When you start out you are a one-man show, required to manage the HR and finance side of things while still doing the technical work. Quality control systems end up taking a back seat because you are trying to push work to get paid. I often ended up putting systems in place only when I hit a challenge that required them. This became an issue when I had a problematic staff member that I could not dismiss because the protocols required were not in place at that time. This experience also taught me the importance of listening to my intuition and not letting my emotions get in the way. Previously, I found it difficult to let go of a staff member due to emotions, which in the end affected the business negatively. I am now a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Accelerator which is a programme within EO, which helps first-stage entrepreneurs to shape their business, implement the necessary systems and learn to navigate the world of business. This has helped us a lot with our systems and protocols, cashflow management, and implementation of processes to remind our clients to pay. I am also incredibly fortunate to have found the right talent and have good, competent engineers on board. I am currently busy with my MBA, which I think will also help me to bring a different dimension to my thinking, implement processes that I hadn’t previously thought of and elevate my busi- ness to the next level. Did being a young black woman carving out a space in the civil engineering industry pose unique challenges? MM  Early on in my career my first experience working on site was tough. As a young black woman, people tend not to take you seriously or look for mistakes in your work. I think I grew a tough skin and having a strong support system helped me a lot in navigating those challenges and addressing them with my seniors. Being vocal also helped my head office to support me. I think I started my business at a time when a lot of trans- formation was taking place, and the thick skin I grew as a young engineer has helped me to find some of the challenges less threatening. It is encouraging now that clients take you seriously and focus on paying emerging enterprises on time. My advice to young black men and women who want to enter this space is that if you really believe in yourself and your vision, it is doable. It is not about race or gender, but about being deter- mined as a person. Don’t be afraid, speak your mind and fight for what is right. In my own business I have experienced the challenge of racial undertones with clients and fellow colleagues, and I addressed it. I did not back down when I felt bullied as a small company, and I took it to the client’s head office. It was a big challenge, but my success was in being vocal and engaging with them to address the issue. I think being vocal has helped me throughout my career. The Experts on the Go team