Entrepreneurship has always been around me.

My father and grandfather started their own engineering firm out of a cow shed, and I can remember as a young child visiting the mines and the factory and helping with counting the cents for the wages.

My mother and grandmother started a home industries shop, and I remember helping to deliver the thirty chocolate cakes and dozens of sausage rolls every day.

My work history has involved quite a few start ups, and ground-breaking projects which were the first of their kind.

So it's not much of a surprise that I find entrepreneurship so fascinating, and ended up starting my own business seven years ago. Then the one matchstick project followed, with the aim of not only helping my own business with some office space, but also with the ultimate and more important goal of helping other entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground, by offering some of the office space to them.

This journey has led me to meet many more amazing entrepreneurs. Two of those entrepreneurs who I traded with for 375 T-shirts are Eran Eyal and Eric Edelstein of Springleap.com, who provide a platform for up and coming designers. And my story also reached Allon Raiz, an entrepreneur who runs Africa's only unfunded for-profit business prosperator, touching many other entrepreneurs lives by helping them develop and grow their businesses (including my own).

"Entrepreneurship is not just about business. It's about the birthing of an idea, the tension between fear and hope, and the ability to live in the space between what could be and what is." – Allon Raiz

Why I mention these three entrepreneurs here is because of how our paths have crossed- again. Allon, together with Eran and Eric are now running a competition to find a T-shirt design that encapsulates entrepreneurship. How exciting!

And they are giving the winning designer R10 000 (US$1250) in cash, an inspiration pack and worldwide exposure. Wow!

So I'm calling all designers and entrepreneurs: here's an opportunity to have some fun! All you need to do is express your understanding of this phenomenon called entrepreneurship in a black and white design, and submit it by the 8th December 2010, and you could win!

For all the details and rules and dates and suggestions, check out the "I am an entrepreneur" competition page.

Have fun, and let me know which design is yours, I'd love to check it out and possibly vote for it to win!

A while back I was vuvuzela'd by Nikita Ramkissoon. Now I might get henna tattooed by her! Nikita is a Freelance Journalist, Photographer and Mehndhi Artist who has made me an offer for some of my T-shirts, in one of my latest 3-way trades.

She is offering a 20 person henna or Mehndhi party with photographs (which will be saved to disc and given to the host a week after the party). This means that she will do one henna temporary tattoo per person for up to 20 people at the party. This offer could also be used by a Bride for her Bridal Mehndhi (simple, both hands and feet) and then the offer can be topped up (with some cash) to include Mehndhi for the Bride's family and friends. This offer has a value of R1515, which is what it will cost for 8 of my Springleap T-shirts. If the party or Bride is more than 15km outside of Greenside, Johannesburg, travel costs may need to be added. Henna (also known as Mehndhi) is a natural product with no side effects that has been used for centuries to dye skin, hair and fingernails. I had the privilege to go to Mumbai for a friends wedding, and as part of the 4 day celebrations that I was invited to, I had my hands henna’d:

So, would you like to throw a henna party? It's ideal for a hen party! Or just some alternative entertainment for that large dinner party you're planning? Or a crazy team building activity? Or are you a Bride-to-be and want to trade with me for your Bridal Mehndhi? If you are interested in 20 henna tattoos or one Bridal hands and feet package, give me a call on 0837302979 to take this 3-way trade! You'll get the henna for R1515 Nikita will get 8 Springleap T-shirts And I'll have 8 T-shirts less to trade on!

We unlocked the SWARM Badge (50 people) on Foursquare!

For the first time in Africa!

Yayyy!! Wooohooo!

But unfortunately we didn't get to the Super SWARM Badge (250 people). That we'll unlock at the next SWARM Party.

Thank you to all who got behind the one matchstick SWARM Party, especially our sponsors:

• SAB - Castle Lager
• Jolandie Rust
• Glow Bangles
• Distro Tech
• Poken
• Rabin Harduth of Comic Revolution
• Stan of the Bluesroom

Must get some sleep now, after all that celebrating and listening to the awesome bands!

I'm sitting here doing a blog on Finding Noah, but just realised that you don't have to find Noah, because I know where they will be. ;)

Finding Noah is a three piece rock group with Jacques Du Bruyn on lead guitar and vox, Dale Paulson on bass and Josh Roscoe on drums! They are newly reformed, with new songs and a new hair-do for the lead singer!

You'll remember their hit from last year, that made it to number on on Highveld Stereo in Augusts 2010, called "This is your moment".

So to find Finding Noah, and hear them live for the first time in their newly formed band, come to the SWARM Party on 20 November at the Bluesroom.

Here's a little interview I had with them, and a bit of that hit "This is your moment" to tantalise your ears!

(youtube video here)

VIP Tickets include entrance, a Springleap T-shirt and 2 Castles- book with me.

For more info check out the invite here.

Telana Simpson, also known as the 'Matchstick Girl, has been trading a single matchstick up in value with the ultimate goal of reaching office space, which she wants to offer to start-up entrepreneurs to help them get their businesses off the ground.

She is hosting South Africa's first SWARM Party where she has organised four of South Africa's up and coming bands to play at the Bluesroom in Village Walk. The bands are Broken People, Mantis Moon, Finding Noah and Book of Thieves.

Event: one matchstick SWARM Party
Date: 20 November 2010
Venue: Bluesroom, Village Walk, Johannesburg
Time: 19:00

A SWARM Party is an event that involves the exciting social networking, location based game Foursquare.com, which is new to South Africa but growing rapidly.

Foursquare is a free online game with a phone application where you create an account and connect with your friends. When physically at a venue, you check-in to the virtual venue and can see if any of your friends are there, or where they are at that time. You can leave tips and recommendations about the venue and see nearby venues and specials they are offering. The person who checks-in virtually the most in a two month period to a certain venue becomes the "Mayor" of that venue.

The more things you do on Foursquare, the more points and badges you earn which are displayed on your profile. The points are also displayed on the leaderboard so you can see if you are beating your friends or who is in the lead.

Businesses can make use of foursquare to engage with their increasingly mobile customers by offering discounts and prizes to their loyal customers when they check-in virtually at their venue. They can also track how their venue and specials are performing with the free analytics.

This one matchstick SWARM Party is an opportunity for South Africans to play Foursquare and unlock the hard-to-get Super Swarm Badge. It is an offline event where at least 250 people will be getting together to take part in an online Foursquare flashmob at the designated time. They will be part of the Crowd Swarm, and all 250 people who check-in on Foursquare at the venue, within the same hour, will get points and be awarded the coveted "Super Swarm Badge" on their profile.

Simpson is going for a record of this SWARM Party attempting to be the first to unlock the Super Swarm Badge on the African continent, while at the same time helping her finish her tenth trade and get one step closer to making her 'one matchstick office' dream a reality.

What is one matchstick about?
Simpson traded a matchstick for a pen, which she traded for a toy frog, and the toy frog for two books. The books she traded for two cases of First Sighting wine, and has continued trading up in value. She is currently on her tenth trade which involves trading 375 designer T-shirts from Springleap T-shirts. She believes she will get to her office after three or four more trades.

Tickets: VIP tickets for R183 include a Springleap T-shirt, two Castle Lagers and entry to the SWARM Party. General admission is R40.

RSVP, tickets and enquiries: Telana Simpson on 083 730 2979 or onematchstick@gmail.com or http://www.onematchstick.co.za/