Men with Momentum: Wikus Olivier Founder and Managing Director of CreditSmart

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Wikus Olivier’s main responsibility is to give vision and direction to the company and its team members. He also has to ensure that all the efforts and exploits align with the company’s strategic vision and calling.

Wikus enjoys seeing his people grow. He says that only a few of the appointed staff at CreditSmart were 100% qualified at the time of employment. By upskilling and proactively developing the employees at the company, he has witnessed how a lot of them went from good to great.

Maintaining personal relationships with your clients becomes increasingly difficult as your business grows, but Wikus believes that one should never lose that personal touch. According to him, their clients are not just numbers, they know them all by name. He says this is what sets them apart from other businesses.

Wikus truly believes that they are called to impact people’s lives by addressing the financial issues they encounter. “Debt and finances are the main reason for divorce in our country. By taking care of consumers’ finances, we keep families together.”

Resilience is the most important part of succeeding in business for Wikus. The only thing that is guaranteed in business are the challenges that come with it. Wikus had to learn how to depend on people. He says without his team he would not have been where he is today. He had to learn how to delegate and trust people to do their jobs as well as make peace with the fact that he cannot do everything by himself. In doing this, he has also learnt to appoint people who are “smarter” than him.

Wikus advises that one should actively pursue and discover your purpose and calling in life, as this will lay the foundation for God’s plan to be executed in your life. Through sheer ambition Wikus has ventured into various opportunities that were not aligned with his purpose and calling. All those ventures failed. “The moment I became aware of my purpose and calling, I could move in obedience and automatically the provision came. Things just started falling into place, and I experienced peace and true fulfillment. Your calling is usually something bigger than yourself – something through which you can make an impact and bring restoration.”

In times of doubt, Wikus makes sure that the company’s efforts are aligned with its vision and strategy. For Wikus, knowing what your purpose is, also plays a huge part in pushing through times of doubt. If he has done his part and the team has done their part, the most they can do is trust in the process and have faith that their efforts will bear fruit.

To refocus, Wikus does three things: The first being his quiet time in the morning when he spends time with God. He uses this time to gain some insight on decisions he has to make, as well as asking God for guidance, wisdom and knowledge. Secondly, he enjoys going mountain biking a few times a week. This allows him to gather his thoughts and at the same time improves his fitness levels. Lastly, once a quarter Wikus takes a whole day off to disappear into nature where he spends time in prayer and planning for the quarter to come. He call this his “rock time”. He says his wife normally tells him that he may need some “rock time” whenever he gets difficult to be around and is under stress.

Wikus says marrying his wife was the best decision he could have made. The success of CreditSmart would not have been possible without her by his side, always supporting and pushing him to do and give his best. A moment that has defined him as a child was the day he decided to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour. He says it has put him on a lifelong mission to fulfil the purpose and calling God has intended for his life.

Get in touch:

012 054 5755

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Text by Justine Fortuin

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