The story began in 1985, when Johannesburg-born Pete Whitehouse, having completed his senior schooling in Natal, moved to Cape Town to complete his compulsory military training. This achieved, he registered to do a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Cape Town, with the intention of becoming a Chartered Accountant. It was half way through his postgraduate year that he realised that auditing and accounting was not his passion, and he instead took up a position at Gilbeys, and consequently completed a qualification in Chartered Management

Accounting. He remained at Gilbeys for five years, after which he moved on to gain experience as a Financial Manager in both the retail and IT sector.

Never having quelled his entrepreneurial spirit, Pete soon realised that there was a gap in the Cape Town market for a niche recruitment and labour broking concept - an industry that was well established in London. He resigned from his job, sold his BMW to raise finance, and in March 1997 he opened Contract Accountants in Cape Town. Using a borrowed desk and chair and a shared half-day secretary, he set out to use his experience in the finance industry to grow his business. 18 months later, having opened a second office in Johannesburg, Pete was made an offer by JSE-listed The Laser Group, who bought Contract Accountants in as part of their Human Resources division, with Pete still at the helm of Contract Accountants.

Pete attributes his success to a number of factors: "Coming from a finance background I had specialist knowledge in this field, which gave me credibility, and of course I stove at all times for excellent service. I threw out traditional HR norms to try something new, using fresh ideas and following the overseas concept of labour broking. Cashflow management is also crucial, particularly in such a cash-intensive business." Pete kept a tight control on his finances, hand-delivering or couriering invoices to clients to avoid delayed payment to himself and his contractors. He also stresses using technology to make things simpler: "I have great faith in today's electronic capabilities, believing that technology can only enhance my company, and in fact I currently uses Bizland's eBilling and BizPay systems to efficiently manage my invoicing and payroll systems."

One of the pitfalls that Pete mentioned was that he tried to expand too quickly: "I had a very successful first year, but made the mistake of getting caught up in the hype and too quickly opened a second branch in the Northern Suburbs, which was unsuccessful. I had to go back to basics and not be too proud to admit that I had made a mistake."

Pete offers the following advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: know and understand your business and focus on what is important. He believes that while it is important to have dreams, there is a fine line between not having enough and having too many. "To be an entrepreneur, you need to be able to do things one hundred percent - sometimes taking risks in order to "create your own luck". Stick to your passion, manage your cashflow, and most importantly, do your research - you will never know for sure unless you try, but make it a qualified guess! And finally: cash is king!"

When not spending time with his wife and children, Pete divides his time between all things outdoors, including golf, league hockey, cycling, and running (he has completed the Argus and Two Oceans a number of times, and even has a Comrades marathon under his belt!). As if this wasn't enough, he also enjoys scuba diving, bridge jumping and parachuting - clearly the quiet, unassuming exterior is a cover for the adrenalin junky inside!

Pete sees The Laser Group as a dynamic organisation with a huge future, and is confident of the way forward.

Click here to visit Contract Accountants' website.