So it’s 17h50 on Friday,29 December 2006 and I have just got to say that I am utterly exhausted and exhilirated. Boy oh boy what a year it has been.

For Avo it has been a year of phenomenal growth both for the business and for the people in the business. Some much has happened this year that it is quite hard to comprehend.

For those of you who are really close to Avo you will know that this year has been really scary, some people stand in the fire, but I think we were the bloody fire.

We had serious financial challenges, we had spooks, we had a wedding, we had babies, we had a death, we had tears, we had fear, we had anger, we even had periods of feeling absolutely desolate but we also had each other. And so we laughed, shared, grieved, cried, screamed, moaned and held on to each other for dear life. Eventually we emerged, battered, bruised, greyer, wiser, more tolerant, more accepting of difference and a thousand times more powerful …on top.

And now we stand at the birth of our new dawn, and our company remains intact, as youthful, soulful and spontaneous as ever. Yes, despite the challenges we have faced, we look forward to the year ahead, simply because 2006 has shown us that our strength lies in our team. When others buckled or were decimated the Avo tree stood strong and proud.

So to the Avopeeps, thank you for the year that was. Thank you for weathering the storm with us. Thank you for giving of yourselves when there really wasn’t any more to give. But most of all thank you for just being there day in and day out, doing your level best to meet and serve our clients.

May the year ahead hold joy, happiness, good health and PROSPERITY for all of you. May we grow stronger and taller knowing we ROCK !!! Here’s hoping that you all have an amazing new year.

Love, Elaine

Hey everybody

Just thought I would share the awesome news with you.

You all of course remember Vince, well the matric results are in and yes !!!! He has passed!

This just a really short note to let Vince know that I am incredibly proud of you. I know that this year has been quite difficult for you. I also know that there have been many times this year when you have felt like just throwing in the towel and saying enough is enough. But somehow you stuck to your guns and persevered. Vince, I salute you…well done and my very best wishes for the YEARS ahead.

My challenge to you though, is to take all that you have going for you, to embrace it and run with it. Vince be all that you can be, achieve all that you dream of, measure your success not by others but by yourself. Take this moment and make it the start of a beautiful future for you.

Know that Glen and I will support you wherever your life may take you.

I am very proud of you.

Lots of love

Elaine

Many of Avos Tadpoles participated in the Brand of One course run by Tracy last week. The few dreary faces from the early start soon vanished with Tracys active and ‘vibey’ personality, and within the first half an hour the whole group was participating and enjoying the course.

In amongst the playful atmosphere we actually learnt some valuable stuff, and I think we all left feeling enriched and eager to put our new found brands to practise. I now understand exactly how important branding is, and how much of a profound impact it has on your ability to make money. I also now understand the link between your brand and what you offer to a company. See Trace… I was listening!

Charles, who is our newest member on the Tadpole team, explained it as a “very constructive course” and he said that it actually taught him about himself. Tarryn said it was lots of fun, and she loved the way Tracy got so involved with us and researched our intrests to develop a fitting course. Lucinda enjoyed the passion Tracy had when presenting the course and she said it gave us more insight into how we should brand ourselves.

So on behalf of all the participants I would like to say thanks Tracy, for a wonderful course that we all enjoyed immensely. Job well done!

Hey all!

So I’m finally a Tadpole. A part of Avo. An employee. Wow, sounds pretty big doesn’t it. Also sounds like a lot of work and responsibility to carry. People depending on me to get the job done, and done to Avo’s extremely high standards. Business image rests on my shoulders. Stress of deadlines. Relentless streams of work, sinking me beneath it. Managing colleagues and managers to develop strong working relationships. Pulling together last minute deals to secure valuable clients. And making superb coffee for the boss to ensure a conflict free day…

So when do I start?

I’m really looking forward to my time here at Avo. I believe it will be full of valuable learning, and it will give me a better education than school ever could. I’m excited and willing. So please don’t ever hesitate to give me a call. I hope to learn something from everyone here because I think that everyone has something exciting to teach me, and I them.

Thanks everyone!

Avo I’m here…

Jono.

What an exciting time for us! Avo Vision, together with Andre Grobler from CanDo, have given birth to our new company: Ngikwazi Field Marketing (Pty) Ltd! And for those of you still out of the loop on this, we were recently awarded the contract by Gidani to help set up the new national lottery!

If you happen to pop by our Avo offices over the next few weeks, you’d be forgiven for not actually recognising the place: there are teams of people and PCs set up in every conceivable corner. All meeting rooms have been relegated to ‘garden venues’, and there are so many new faces around that not even the Avos know for sure who’s who!

All the Ngikwazi people are busily delivering on the Gidani contract: its a simple matter of finding 8000 retailers nationally who would like to sell lottery tickets; accrediting them by making sure they are fit and proper in order to operate the new lottery, and then training 30 000 retailers and their staff on how to operate the new machines. And all of this needs to be landed by 1 April 2007! Ouch - huge ask for the next 3.5 months!

But our team is all over it! We’re having the time of our lives, learning what it takes to launch a lottery.

Next year, Ngikwazi will move off the Avo premesis, and begin to operate independently of its ‘Avo mama’. We should be about ready to launch our ‘Footprint’ womens empowerment business by then. So Elaine and I go back to the task of running Avo, setting up Footprint, and applying all our new learnings as Non-Exec directors of Ngikwazi into how we run both companies.

Bongani Khumalo, Chairman of Gidani, charged us with using this lotto opportunity to build a sustainable, empowered business that we all can be proud of. That’s just what we intend to do. At last we have a vehicle that will help us make a sustainable impact as we build South Africa.

Hi people.

Its taken me a while but I’m finally here now, aboard the ‘’Avo bullet-train'’, ready to take charge and be put to action.

I’m Vincent Xethu, a Tadpole at Avocado Vision that has the opportunity to make a difference in this unique company. It’s not everyday that you find places like this and I would like to thank Jules and Elaine as well as the Avo team for their support.

I’m no ‘’Super man'’ yet, but watch the SPACE.

There was another great article in The Star Workplace today about Persuasive Conversations, which is also one of the courses that Avo offers.

In it Andre Grobler, one of our associates, talks about how “learning to make a powerful and persuasive conversation is good for both business and your social life”.

To quote Andre from the article: “Persuading others is all about being adaptable to their behaviour”, “If you can modify or adapt your approach to various people, all of whom have differing personalities and ways of doing things, that allows you to connect more effectively with others. By understanding both myself and other people, I can modify the way I come across and connect with them better”.

So much to learn, so little time!