Lefa Molete CA(SA) is the founder and managing Director at Molete & Khumalo Inc. With over five years of auditing experience, Lefa graduated with a BCom Accounting at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2005. Furthermore he obtained his Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting in 2007 at the same institution, whereupon he eventually qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Lefa joined KPMG in January 2008 as a trainee accountant and ultimately got promoted to being an Audit Supervisor until he left the company in March 2011 to found his own consulting company.
I Am Driven By | There are intrinsic and extrinsic factors that drive me. The extrinsic factors are universal to all people, things like the need to eat, have a roof over my head and support the people I love. The intrinsic factor, which is the most important one is my burning desire to leave this earth completely spent. I don’t want to be buried along with unused potential and unreached dreams. When I lie there it must be because I have nothing left to give to this earth.
My Highlights | Highlights of my life –
Being able to make my grandmother happy and look after her. She is the reason I’m not selling tomatoes on the side of the street today.
Highlights of my career –
Starting and growing a business at the age of 26.
Cover story on Accountancy SA – June 2014
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Top 35 under 35 Chartered Accountants – 2014
Finalist in the South African Professional Service Awards (SAPSA) in the Young Professional of the year category – 2014
Destiny Man Magazine Power of 40 – 2014
Blaque Magazine Future Master – 2014
Shanduka Black Umbrellas – Multiple Award Winner – 2013 & 2014
The Difference Between Good And Great | The difference between good and great is passion. You can work hard and do good but passion is the light that keeps the midnight oil burning. Passion is what ensures you reach your destination and beyond even once the car has run out of gas. The simple truth is when you are passionate about what you’re doing it stops being work and starts being fun, so you never work a day on your life.
A Key Talent | The strength I most value in myself is my inner phoenix. The ancient story of the phoenix that rises from the ashes resonates with so many moments in my life. The year my father passed away I couldn’t deal with the loss and I failed at university that year. My first business venture which I went into starry-eyed failed and I found myself in an unfamiliar place, debt. In my current business, there have been hurdles but we are standing today.
My advice: I’ll use the hypothetical situation of climbing a mountain during a storm. At the bottom of the mountain, it’s miserable, dark, wet and the mountain looks impossible to climb. Once you get higher and start going through the clouds it becomes even worse, you can’t breathe, you can’t see and it is easier to go back down than to keep going up. When you get the top you will be above the storm, with the sun on your face and clear blue skies.
- VISION
When you are at the bottom of the mountain beneath the clouds, where it is dark and the storm clouds a brewing visualize where you want to be and keep that image close to you. See yourself above the clouds with the sun on your face.
- CONSISTENCY
Climb the mountain every single day and each day climb a little further than the day before.
- KEEP MOTIVATED
Don’t pitch your tent in the valley. The journey will have valleys and peaks, don’t sleep in the valley, walk through it. Don’t go to bed in a low place, keep yourself motivated.
Principles I Live By | The principle of Ubuntu (I am because you are) is one that if applied by all will ensure we advance as a human race. We need to put people first. Realizing that we live in a community, work in a community and are not an island of our own will change the way we treat each other and do things.
Lessons I Have Learnt | R1 can ruin your life. Many great people in our country have lost everything including along with the good works they’ve done because of corruption. Jackie Selebi did great things for this country, fought great battles and had a great legacy, but people will forget all of that, he lost it all because of a few bad decisions. Don’t sacrifice your morals, your beliefs and the things you know are true for money, power or respect because all those things will fall away just as quickly as you received them.
Dealing With Doubt | Self-doubt, fear and negativity are all intangible things. I fight these things intangible things in my life by working. I put my head down and I start the work that needs to be done and I finish the work that needs to be done.
I left a comfortable job to start a promising business with a few friends. I had other lucrative offers on the table but decided that I wanted to be my own boss and be the captain of my destiny. I invested my life savings into the business and it fell apart so quickly. I lost everything and found myself in severe debt.
With no job, no house, no car, no company and no income I went back home to live with my mother. People were happy to see my demise, there was negativity all around and I doubted my ability to make sound decisions. It’s easy to feel great about yourself when everything is going well.
I went back to basics, I put my head down and I started working. I made about 500 calls a day to get clients and that is how Molete and Khumalo Chartered Accountants was birthed. I conquered the intangible feelings with tangible work.
I Am Inspired By | My grandmother is my role model. She saw the Lefa that I am today when all I and everybody else saw was a naughty boy who would amount to much. She treated me as the man she knew I would become and molded me to become that man today.
It’s important to keep people close to you that have your best interests at heart, who see you and treat as a better version of yourself
The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | I want to be living proof that your background doesn’t determine your future. What determines your future is your mindset and your personal drive.
We live in a world with many problems, once you decide that you are going to be the solution no matter your current circumstance you will go anywhere you want to go. Don’t stop until you find a way because there is always a way.
