I have known about this meeting for some time and have not yet worked out what needs to be said. My packaging business partner has a brother who is a billionaire and is very well connected with other businesses and within government.
The brother is based in Johannesburg which is the area we plan to grow over the next couple of years via myself so any help would be appreciated. The brother has never been asked for help in the past and I questioned my business partner why and I believe it is to do with pride and ego. Family matters can be complex so who knows what the real reason is and I will find out shortly.
Asking direct family for help does not diminish your standing and I do believe this will only add to their relationship. It takes a bigger man to ask for help and I guess it could be humbling for my business partner and why he has asked me to handle this meeting. If the shoe was on the other foot and the brother was in the same position I guarantee you he would have asked for a helping hand. I can guarantee you the brother got some kind of help along the way to turn his company into a successful business and what made him very wealthy.
I am not even sure if my business partner has mentioned to his brother we are having a business meeting so i do not want to prepare something that would make the meeting awkward. My understanding is we will discuss this informally once I have been introduced and we will sit down and have a few drinks together. I need to be prepared for any scenario with the possibility this is just an introduction with the main meeting happening at a later date which I am also fine with. The brother is not going to turn his brother down asking for help and will do whatever he can which should be some serious door openings.
The relationship I have with my business partner is close as we have known each other since 2009 and we understand how each other thinks. This is why i feel the meeting may not be anormal meeting and just cannot see this happening on a Sunday with the families around. There is so much unknown as I do not know how close the brothers are even though I know they value family.
If this was my brother I would have asked for help and vice versa would help any family member if I was in a position of influence. Everyone calls on favors and I know I owe favors and have favors to collect if needed. These are just normal business relationships we have so family members they are not favors and are just things we would do not expecting anything in return.
The government connections or contacts I am curios to see as Transnet which handles the ports and freight are moving more into the logistics business with a change of strategy. We have "Ports" appearing away from the harbors which are becoming key logistic points which are huge storage areas for containers and distribution centers for goods in transit. This is the area I believe we can pick up and grow our business very quickly. Without having contacts there is no chance of landing these contracts and why we need someone in the know.