Hayley Stephen is a property salesperson with the Investpro group in East London.
She was also the number 13-rated squash player in the 45 to 50 age group at this year's World Masters, and a regular Border player.
“There is no doubt in my mind that sport and business go well together,” she said.
“Many deals are done on the golf course, or after a game, which is understandable.
“With golf, after an hour or so into four or five hours on the course, you run out of casual chat and talking about business is a natural follow-up subject. Not that you would sign a deal after golf or a squash game, but in my case it eases the way into a presentation.”
After leaving East London for a career in Johannesburg, where she met her husband and had two children, she had no time for sport and didn’t touch a racket for 23 years.
“After I returned to East London, I started playing again when a business acquaintance’s squash team was short of a player and he asked me to fill in, and that was the start of regular games.”
A friend asked her if she was going to compete in the World Masters Squash Tournament in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in August. Age groups range from 35 to over 80, with over 600 players competing.
“I recall saying I was not in that league, but was convinced to give it a go. I was in the 45 to 49 age category, and was 45 at the time, so I was one of the youngest.
“I loved it, and lost only two games in a dozen, which placed me in 13th spot.
“My next international goal will be to compete in the next age category, 50 to 54, and my goal is to get into the top 10.
“Sport, more specifically squash, has been really kind to my business career. It has given me a really extensive network.
“There is an element of trust. If you play sports against people who cheat you are unlikely to do business with them.”
“I played a match recently and my opponent asked me what line of business I was in.
“One thing led to another and I was given a mandate to sell a property, which I did. Sport smoothed that deal, but obviously you have to perform.
“Investpro is not a sports company,” she said, “but the directors are all sportsmen, and support the members of the Investpro team that are involved in sport. Sport opens business doors.”
The three directors, Dan Taylor, Robin Knott and Justin Price have all represented Border in various sports, either in open age groups or at senior level.
Her father, Dave Stephen, played golf for Border Seniors and cricket for Border.
Her brother Daniel played Border cricket and over 40s cricket for SA.
Hayley’s success in squash started with a lucky break.
She was visiting a friend who had to play in a tournament to select the Border girls school team, and during a break in games she had a few hits on a vacant court. She had never been on a squash court before.
The few hits impressed one of the selectors and she was chosen for the team for an interprovincial tournament. After this she stopped tennis, her main sport, and every year after that she played squash for Border.
The often-quoted adage that “people prefer to do business with people they know, like, trust and respect,” (Stefan Drew, Creating Business Growth) cannot be ignored, and sport can assist in building all four.
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