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PERSONALITY PROFILE
Blake Dell — no
secrets to success
A farm boy, football fanatic, African languages guru,
and contracts director of Dells Plumbing Group.
By Benjamin Brits
Dell recalls his childhood playing out on the plot that his parents
owned, which was nestled among a small farming community.
Gleefully he admits he is a “farm boy”. He grew up with several African
people in the community and this led to his impressive ability to speak
seven of the African languages of South Africa, of which three of these
he is fluent in speech, reading, and writing.
Dell always had a mad love for African music, African cultures, African
languages, and football. In fact, he aspired to be a pro footballer when he
grew up. “My whole bedroom and ceiling were covered in football posters
— I was such a football fanatic,” he said.
After being elected as head boy at his high school, his love of football
landed him a football bursary and he was to study politics (because of his
proficiency in African languages) at Wits University. However, when his
matric results were announced, they were not quite what he had expected,
and the bursary was altered. Essentially, his entire life changed at that point
because he had to re-evaluate risking it to play football, or start a career.
HEADING IT INTO THE PLUMBING INDUSTRY
Dell decided to pass up the bursary and join his father who ran his own
plumbing business. This was a dramatic step in his life as he explained,
“Being head boy and then deciding to become a plumber, a lot of people
laughed at me and couldn’t believe it. They said it just wasn’t right.”
However, Dell persisted with his choice and believes that everything that
happened in his youth had been a catalyst for his ability to run such
big projects today. He commented that “With our dominant workforce
being African, what you often see is that there is a serious lack of
communication, which creates gaps on projects. Being able to effectively
communicate in many languages proves that communication is a major
element on site.”
Completing his trade apprenticeship through his father’s business, he
qualified as a plumber and was again faced with decisions on where to
direct his career. He knew he didn’t want to go into maintenance plumbing,
which was the core of his father’s business, but rather venture into
building, aiming for the best he could be at it. “I always felt I was destined
for greater things. I always wanted to be the biggest and best and I planned
not to stop until I got there,” he said.
April 2019 Volume 25 I Number 2
He was keen on the overseas destination of Dubai or Australia, where there
is a mass need for good plumbers. Not even considering being a manager
or a director, his intention was to go and slog it out with his toolbox in hand
and getting stuff done. His father, at this stage, really felt that Dell had
great value to add to the business and so Dell agreed to stay, based on
certain conditions, realising that with his father’s business savvy and his
construction knowledge and modern thinking in the plumbing industry, the
business showed potential to grow exponentially.
One of the considerations of staying on with his father, was that the plumbing
industry had undergone significant change over the 20 years that the
business had already existed, and it was an opportune time for change as
the sector entered a new technological era. With their combined input, the
business has experienced growth of almost tenfold over the past nine years,
making it one of the largest plumbing businesses in South Africa today.
“There is no secret to business success. You have to keep re-inventing,
moving with the times, and just delivering your best. The recipe is simple: You
have to be honest, loyal, work hard, and most importantly, you have to have
integrity in everything you do. If you follow this recipe, no matter what you do,
you will experience success,” Dell shared.
WHAT’S ON THE PODIUM
The most significant achievement in Dell’s career to date is the landing
of The Leonardo hotel in Sandton. The Leonardo is the biggest, tallest,
and most iconic building in Africa, so from project concept, tendering,
negotiations, and feasibility, to actually closing the deal, this has been a
significant achievement, especially being only 26 years old at the time. Dell
continued, “I had landed some big projects in the past but nothing as iconic
as this development, so I consider this the greatest blessing.”
THE INSPIRATION
“My inspiration is definitely not the money, because there isn’t big money in
the plumbing business,” Dell jested. “Money doesn’t have anything to do with
passion, no matter what you decide to do in your life.”
If you were overseas and building something like The Leonardo, “You would
be on the top of the pecking order and earning big money, living an equal
life to a doctor, but unfortunately, our economy doesn’t cater for this or those
sorts of profits. So, my passion is getting up each day to try and bridge the
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