It's been a tough year for many of us, let's face it.

With festive celebrations now behind us and not long to go until we usher in a new year, most of us (sadly including the Proteas) are enjoying a day or two off. The cricket hasn't exactly inspired anyone, but luckily I come to you with a podcast that I think you're going to love.

All-in on turnaround stories

Jared Kahn is a personal friend of mine and he has a track record in business that most of us can only dream of. Completely self-made and taking tons of risks along the way, Jared joined Earthchild in the very early days and helped grow it into the brand it is today: a place where grandparents go to throw their pensions at t heir grandchildren with expensive clothes. Now owned by Truworths, he has been through the full cycle of joining a turnaround story and eventually selling the business.

The joy of a turnaround is that it requires far less capital for you to get involved, as you're rescuing a bird with broken wings rather than buying a mighty eagle. He then did it again, this time with a homeware retailer you might be familiar with: Whitehouse. There is an aggressive expansion strategy underway, so you may have noticed this brand popping up at your local shopping centre.

At the same time, he has invested in a genetics business in the US that is making significant strides in the sports industry, working closely with major football clubs.

It's rare to find someone who can have success in both venture capital investments and risky turnaround stories in industries as tough as retail.

I thi nk it's obvious by now that Jared is someone worth listening to. In the latest bizval podcast, I interviewed Jared and learned far more about his journey and his "all-in" approach to business that is inspired by his love of poker. This is a podcast that you do not want to miss! You'll find it at this link>>>

And remember, if you are a founder of a business, you can still take advantage of our special offer this month in bizval that lets you perform an online valuation for free. You just need to enter the code REFLECT on checkout to qualify for a free bizval Live valuation worth R2,500. Choose bizval Live at this link and don't forget your code!

Missing the markets? Me too!

Aside from the implosion of the Tesla share price that I have believed for a long time was inevitable, you haven't missed much in recent days. I'll be back in your inboxes properly next week as the market starts to show signs of life again.

In the meantime, challenge your mind with the last episode of Magic Markets for 2022. We spoke with Marko Papic, a highly respected global geopolitical expert who has unorthodox views on the world that he shared with passion and (almost) no filter on our podcast. If you didn't get a chance to listen to the show when we released it in mid-December, you really should make time for it. You'll find it here>>>

I wish you a safe and fun celebration of the end of 2022 and the dawn of 2023.

Let's make it a year to remember!