Isaac Mbatha

Isaac Mbatha is the founder and CEO of Sky Tents. Isaac grew up in Newlands East and attended Barracuda Primary School. His schooling continued at a number of high schools, but he ended up at a school in Sydenham called Bechet Secondary School. Following the completion of his schooling, Issac immediately started working.

Commenting on his business career, Isaac said, “My first job was actually a taxi conductor. Obviously, you aspire to be a taxi driver. A few years later I got my license, I became a taxi driver and after that I became a taxi owner as well.”

Entering the tent industry was not something that Isaac intended. He was involved in washing and cleaning tents, but he never considered being a manufacturer as he was a middleman. However, he was regularly asked by clients to repair a tent if there was a tear from a windy event or to make an extra side wall, an extra window or extra roof if something went missing.

“As I was trusted by my clients, I was often asked to make something and then the curiosity started building of how do I make it? What do I need? And Sky Tents was born in 2015,” explained Isaac.

The company started in a very small scale making old fashioned peg and pole tents, which were either blue and white or red and white. From these beginnings the company’s range of products has grown to include stretch, frame, and dome tents, for a wide range of applications. In addition, Sky Tents services include the supply of tables and chairs, draping, mobile toilets, and mobile chillers. The company has also ventured into injection moulding.

CREATE AND GROW
Isaac said, “I think my purpose now in life is to create and grow an incredible company. I would like to become a better leader for my staff, clients, and suppliers. I would like to encourage people and show that it is possible to achieve in life. People say it’s hard or you need capital or whatever, but you’ve got to start somewhere. My purpose is forcibly pushing on, making people grow and looking for a better future.”

While Isaac’s accomplishments say much about his career success, he believes that they also say very little. He explained, “Every level is a new ball game, a new figure. I feel like currently where I am, I’m just touching the surface of manufacturing and what can be done. I still underplay myself quite a lot.”

While people around Isaac are extremely proud of what he has achieved and tell him how much he has grown, he still feels like there is so much more than he can do. “I really can’t put a point to to say that I’m extremely proud now. Maybe in a few years…”

WISE WORDS
Speaking of the best advice he has received, Isaac said that his father had always inspired him and was a man of wise words.

“He always made sure that he drilled into my head that when you want something you’ve got to go for it no matter what. You’ve got to just keep knocking on the door. Eventually that door is going to break down. He said consistency is the only way forward. I think that’s what I keep doing. And that’s also a part of Sky Tents’ journey of what makes us different from the rest as well.”

Isaac’s biggest challenge is growth. “You know growth is your blessing in disguise because the minute you feel like everything is crumbling down, you just become resilient, and you just keep going forward.”

While Isaac says that his biggest challenge is overcoming setbacks, he has learned to manage these occasions by being consistent in what he wants to achieve and pushing forward.

A COMPETITIVE APPROACH
In order to keep his staff motivated, Isaac uses a competitive approach. He explains that as in sport, his various teams want to come out on top.

“I just keep asking them, who won this week? Which department is pushing out a proper quality or faster product or has found even better ways of innovating? For example, a team may say that they have discovered that if we turn the processes around, this saves us 15 minutes on manufacturing time. So, while there is always teamwork, competition is always better at providing motivation.”

Isaac’s vision for the future of his company is sustained growth. Currently Sky Tents has opened quite a few branches around South Africa. The company has started to penetrate into Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regions around South Africa. “So, I’m hopeful that in the next five years that we would be dominating Africa and the globe,” he explained.

“My motto is always, ‘tired rhymes with fired’. You know when you get tired you are going to get fired,” explained Isaac. “You have to keep just going always.”

However, he added that consistency is always a key element that comes to mind. “There’s not one day that you can come into work and you can put your guard down. It’s just business and having that energy to always be confident and go for what you want,” Isaac concluded.