The prestigious Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, the international business plan competition created in 2006 to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs, has just announced the finalists for Africa for 2018. Three female entrepreneurs from Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda have been announced as the Sub-Saharan Africa finalists. Melissa Bime, founder of Infiuss, who after witnessing too many unnecessary deaths as a nurse in Cameroon, has developed a digital supply-chain platform that gives hospitals access to local ready-to-use blood supplies. Audrey Cheng, founder of Moringa School, in Kenya is making real educational change happen in the country. She set up a multi-disciplinary coding school in Kenya with her savings to help young Africans learn digital and professional skills needed to increase their chances of employment. And, Evelyn Namara, founder of Vouch Digital in Uganda, who developed a digital voucher system changing the way subsidiaries are exchanged in the country to help farmers. Find out more here.

If there is one thing that separates out the Gen Z market from its Millennial predecessor, it’s that it grew up with social media and tech as a way of life. Gen Z is a far greater consumer of online content than any other generation, and therefore makes purchasing and lifestyle decisions that are heavily influenced by online media. Gen Z commands a whopping US$ 44 billion in spending power, and therefore getting the approach right to tap into this lucrative market is key. Businesses that look to get their products and services in front of Gen Z are turning to media channels and platforms that are much more visual. After all, this is the video generation that gets its content via YouTube as opposed to mainstream TV, choosing content that is created for them, and increasingly by them. They are driven by the idea of connecting with brands through immersive experiences with likeminded people, either online or in-store - just go to any Apple store to see this in action. For entrepreneurs looking to reach Gen Z for their own business growth, it’s about creating meaningful and relevant brand experiences and content that will genuinely resonate with this visual generation.

We all know that sales are key to a successful business, but how effective is your sales funnel? An effective sales funnel is the process a client or customer takes with you and it means understanding their business journeys, their pain points and their problems that need solving. The key is to have multiple offerings for a sales funnel that cater to the needs of your customers, and that also retain them. For example, offering an incentive, such as free advice or tips sheets on a particular subject, to sign up to an email subscription list; or a free webinar that will excite your customers and build your customer base; or a free product or consultation which will open up sales opportunities for future business. A great sales funnel is like a ladder - it’s all about understanding your customers’ needs and providing solutions, one rung at a time.

In the early years of any business, most entrepreneurs are just glad to have clients, even those that are small and high maintenance, or the large companies that you use as loss leaders to build your name - it is all about cash-flow and building momentum. And that’s fine - for a while - but this approach is not sustainable in the long term. The secret to success is being able to identify where the business is most profitable, which clients are delivering the most income and best return on effort investment, and then focus on those.  It means perhaps letting go of those high maintenance clients that are simply not bringing in enough revenue for the business, or alternatively, raising prices to the point where it makes business sense to retain them. Profitability momentum comes from keeping a close eye on revenues and workflows, researching market rates to stay competitive and relevant, and continually evaluating effort to profit ratios.

We are all busy people, that’s the life of an entrepreneur. But that doesn’t mean there is no time to learn something new each day - it’s what keeps our minds and ideas fresh. The trick is to build knowledge acquisition into our daily schedules - whether it’s delving deeper into a news article on a particular subject; or trying out a new app that can add value to our lives and businesses; listening to a TED talk by an inspirational entrepreneur; or learning a new language because it could be good for business or simply enriching our lives. By making time to learn something new each day, even if it is just for five or ten minutes, it is a mind and life-enhancing habit that can only have benefits for ourselves as entrepreneurs and as individuals.  As Kofi Annan said: “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society, in every family.”

They say if you want to become more productive, you need to be consistent, and it all starts with how you kickstart your day. If your morning is routine filled, positive, life-affirming, then it sets the tone for the rest of the day, and you can better cope with the challenges that might arise. Many well-known women in business have created legendary morning routines that they believe give them the competitive edge. For example, Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue magazine, plays an hour-long tennis match at 5.45 am each morning. Ariana Huffington, founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post, practices yoga and meditates. Others simply start the day with a relaxing cup of tea and a catch up with the news on their laptops. Now, we all know that not everyone is a so-called ‘morning person’, but even for those who struggle to get motivated in the first waking hours of the day, a great, regular morning routine can only help to kickstart greater productivity.

It’s estimated that big business loses an incredible US$ 75 million a year due to unproductive meetings that absorb too much time on the part of all those attending them, and those arranging them behind the scenes. And, it’s not just a big business problem - it’s the same for small businesses, even more so because a small business cannot afford to spend time and effort on activities that do not add real value and return on time investment. The trick is to get smarter with those meetings that really do have to be done. For example, ask yourself the question; “can this meeting be done remotely and online instead of in-person?” Online meetings are inevitably shorter (much shorter) and achieve the same result, with no wasted travel time and no need for longer, drawn out meetings simply because everyone has taken the time to travel there. Today, it’s all about organising smart meetings that deliver on objectives but don’t use up valuable time.

As the old saying goes, “Life happens when we are busy making plans”, and we have all experienced those moments in life and business when all our meticulous planning goes out of the window due to an unexpected event or occurrence. In truth, life never goes as planned - or very rarely. As entrepreneurs, it’s about being flexible enough to deal with the unexpected when it does inevitably happen. Whether it’s a supplier not delivering essential materials or projects to meet an important deadline; or your computer crashes with all your client and accounting data - do you have a back up plan?; or you get sick just before a big client pitch presentation - can your team cover for you and win that business without you? There will always be those unexpected curve balls that will upset your carefully made plans, but the trick is to expect the unexpected and not get derailed.

Here’s a question for you! When you are creating your business model and your business plan, do you think about how you want to spend your time, and how to get the balance right between work and life? Often, passionate and enthusiastic people leap head-first into a particular business model because they get excited about the service or product they have created, or by the potential money to be earned. Yet, there is a reality check to this approach as it may not bring the happiness or lifestyle that is ultimately desired. So before you finalise your plans for the year ahead, ask yourself a few key questions. Firstly, what is the cost of your ideal lifestyle and what are the logistics associated with that lifestyle? Secondly, how much time do you want to spend travelling for the business, or how much work could be done from one place, or online? Thirdly, do you have family commitments that will need to be accommodated and that will limit your availability at certain times? By answering these questions, you’ll be able to create a business model that fits with the life you want to live.

It can often be frustrating being an entrepreneur, and particularly when you are working so hard to move forward but when things inevitably take longer than expected to happen in the business. It’s a normal reaction, we want things to happen quickly and to keep moving at a pace in the right direction. At times like these, it’s important to keep focusing on the progress you are making, no matter how small that progress might seem. As the saying goes, building a business is a marathon and not a sprint, so you have to be in it for the long-term. So, celebrate the wins as you go, no matter how small, and keep your eye on the bigger picture. Think like a marathon runner and break down the business race into smaller, more sustainable, bite-sized pieces. This will help you to maintain your focus, your energy levels, and importantly, your motivation.

For many startup entrepreneurs, working from home is not only a necessity in the early days but it is also an amazing lifestyle improvement over going into the office every day. However, the downside can be that it is a little isolating. So, the trick is to find your happy workplace outside of your home office environment, one that is stimulating, has connections to other entrepreneurs, and that is convenient. Here are a few suggestions, with the advantages to each one. Firstly, the coffee shop - the favourite hangout of freelancers and solopreneurs alike and a great place to network and connect with like-minded people, plus the added advantage of great Wifi. Secondly, hotel lobbies are great places to meet with clients and do some general networking, plus the working environment tends to be a little quieter than the coffee shop equivalent. Thirdly, restaurants and cafes are good places to surround yourself with other people, to grab some lunch whilst you are working, and to connect with clients. Finally, co-working spaces are the perfect environment in which to meet fellow solopreneurs, to swap notes and experiences, and of course, to grab that all important coffee. So, where’s your happy workplace?

Everyone has them - the inevitable bad days in life and in business. Those days when, no matter how much you have planned for things to go right, they simply don’t - and it can be stressful, right?  So, how do you get over a bad day quickly and effectively? It starts with banishing the negative thoughts, because these inevitably trigger negative emotions too if left unchecked, and they have a nasty way of pushing out all the positive thoughts and feelings. Next, get rid of all those behaviours that are affected by negativity, for example, getting irritated by those around you; or getting defensive when asked difficult questions; or becoming bad tempered about the smallest things. Press your personal reset button by doing some simple things - take a deep breath; smile; say something nice to those around you; act kindly to another human being; and talk to someone. Those positive natural endorphins will start to flow around your body and help to change your mood and your attitude to life and business.

There’s no doubt about it, market intelligence is an important component of doing business. But when it comes to gathering marketing intelligence, only 56% of small businesses with 11 to 50 employees dedicate someone to the task. And only 32% of businesses with 1 to 10 employees do so. In the recently published 2018 State of Market Intelligence Report, Crayon CMO Ellie Mirman says the data is there because of the online presence companies have. She goes on to explain, “Market Intelligence is quickly becoming indispensable for successful businesses, and understanding its importance can make you or break you in today’s ultra-competitive market.” The report identifies that holistic competitive intelligence is important when it comes to winning. 79% of those businesses questioned stated it is critical to gather the data in a timely manner, and when it comes to tracking competitors, 93% identified competitor websites, while 88% identified content accounts, 87% identified social media accounts and 84% identified news sites as the things they tracked the most.

Everyone talks about the world going digital, and the impact of the digital economy on our everyday lives. So making for interesting reading this month is the 2018 Global Digital report published by Hootsuite and We Are Social, which has some fascinating facts and numbers. Did you know that with a global population of 7,593 billion people, there are now more than 4.021 billion using the internet. In 2017, Africa recorded the most significant increase in internet users, with 435 million connected over 1,272 billion people. This is 73 million new users or 20% more than the year before. The strong progress is attributable, according to the report, to a greater penetration rate for mobile phones in Africa, spurred by rapid development of high-speed networks. In Africa, the Southern part is the region with the highest internet penetration rate (51%); North Africa (49%); West Africa (39%); East Africa (27%); and Central Africa (12%). This powerful, digitally connected continent represents exciting market opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Africa in 2018.

Ask any successful entrepreneur what makes them get up each morning, full of energy and enthusiasm to make the most of the day ahead; what drives them to greater heights in business each day; what keeps them going even in the toughest of times; chances are they will tell you confidently why they exist to do what they do - they know their why! They know their purpose in life and in business. Knowing your why is a fundamental building block to a successful entrepreneurial life journey. The leadership expert, Simon Sinek, famously said: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” He cites key examples from different eras such as the Wright Brothers, Apple Computers and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who made their mark in the world not simply because of the uniqueness of their ideas, but because they identified their “whys” early on in their journeys and were able to successfully communicate them to others, achieving worldwide success as a result. So the question you have to ask yourself is, ‘What is your Why?’

Listening to the discussions and debates at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month has been quite revealing in terms of seeing how some of the biggest decision-makers, opinion-formers and market-shapers see the future of business. One interesting speech came from business magnate Jack Ma, the executive chairman of Alibaba, one of the world’s most influential l e-commerce businesses. He was talking about what makes his own businesses successful and what sets them apart from the competition, saying: ”If you want your company to be successful; if you want your company to operate with wisdom, with care, then women are the best. 37% of senior management in Alibaba are women. Part of the 'secret sauce' of our success is because we have so many women colleagues.” The core message from Davos this year has been one of recognising the critical role played by women, and particularly women entrepreneurs, in driving a new socio-economic future in the world. Canadian leader, Justin Trudeau, used the platform to launch a series of new women led initiatives, including the publication of an important report on the future of business from the Canada-US Council for the Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs.

There’s a great quote that goes: “Don’t go into something to test the waters, go into things to make waves.” Being innovative is part of the entrepreneurial journey, finding new ways of doing things or new ways of solving problems. However, the way to take an innovative idea and get it ready to launch in the marketplace requires a specific approach, which starts with solid market research. It’s amazing how many entrepreneurs simply develop an idea or product and launch it into the marketplace without actually doing some solid research first. Consumer insights are critical. Once you have taken that idea to the next level, and your initial research is telling you that your new product or service could have a customer base and be viable, then it’s all about Beta testing. So what exactly is Beta testing? Simply, it’s the last stage of testing a product with potential users before it makes it to the final marketplace. Beta testing is a great way of fine tuning a new idea, product or service, based on feedback from actual users. It’s only when you rigorously test a new idea that you will create an offering that can sell and find its place in the market.

Every entrepreneur knows that feeling in the early days when you have seemingly unending energy and enthusiasm, when you are brimming with new ideas every day, and everything is exciting. But how do you maintain that feeling when you are an established business, and when the demands on your time and resources seem unending? It’s all about keeping it fresh, one small action at a time. Try refreshing your website and your social media platforms so that your customers experience your business in a new way. Or revisit your strategy and set some stretch goals for yourself and the business - that will keep you on your toes. Or develop some new products and services to meet the changing needs of your customer base, and then find some innovative new ways of communicating those new developments to your audience. Or why not embark on a new customer engagement strategy and launch a new survey to find out what your customers think and need. Keeping it fresh in business starts here!

Did you know that on average, only 1 in 26 unhappy customers actually complain about a product or service they have purchased, and 91% of these unhappy customers who are non-complainers simply walk away. That is not a good situation for any business to have to deal with. After all, not only does this mean you have unhappy customers to deal with, but the likelihood is that they are telling friends, colleagues and family about those experiences too, extending the negativity chain in your brand space. The bottom line is that every successful business needs constructive, honest and continual feedback from customers. It’s important in order to ensure that product and service offerings from the business are constantly refined and improved. The challenge is to put effective feedback loops in place, not just from customers directly but also from employees, partners and other key stakeholders. As Elon Musk says: “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better. I think that’s the single best piece of advice.”

Ever wondered what it takes for your brand to really make an impression in the marketplace and connect with potential customers? Well, according to a report by the Harvard Business Review, it’s all about building brand loyalty by sharing values with your consumers, and making the right type of connection. In fact, 64% of consumers surveyed in the report cited shared values as the primary reason they have a relationship with a brand.That means it’s not the number of interactions a customer has with your brand, but the quality and relatability of the interaction. That’s where smart content marketing comes in. When you distribute high quality, consistent, value-driven brand content that resonates with a potential audience, it can increase revenue by up to 23 percent and at the same time increase the perceived value of your brand. It’s a powerful way of ensuring your brand makes that all important impression.