Startup Story

If the past 18 months has taught us anything, it’s the need to better cope with stress, and in South Africa, a real specialist in this field is Kathy Mann. Her consulting business offers help and advice to all those who are finding it difficult to cope with stress and looking for a better way of managing it.

LoA chatted to Kathy Mann this month to learn more about this much needed specialist service that is providing a real life-line to so many stressed out people.

What does your company do?

I offer a service called Reframing Stress which shifts beliefs about stress to be more positive. Research shows that our beliefs about stress affect our health, our bodies, our happiness and our longevity. I teach people about a variety of helpful stress responses and move people into a space where they see stress as an ally, rather than something to be feared or avoided.

“I teach people about a variety of helpful stress responses and move people into a space where they see stress as an ally, rather than something to be feared or avoided.”

“My service shifts the source of suffering when it comes to stress and moves clients to a much happier and healthier place.”

What inspired you to start your company?

I developed a stress-induced auto immune disease that caused great disruption in my life. I want to help people to avoid such an event.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

My service is pretty unique. Many people focus on stress management methods such as meditation or deep breathing. While these strategies are powerful and useful, they don't address the underlying beliefs. My service shifts the source of suffering when it comes to stress and moves clients to a much happier and healthier place.

Tell us a little about your team

I am the brand and am supported by people who help me with marketing, tax and IT advice.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

When I got so sick from stress, I was the MD of a small family business with five staff that managed R80 million of our clients’ money each month. I learnt many lessons and I loved some aspects of the business, but it was not my passion and it created great stress for me working out of alignment with my strengths and talents. The illness prompted me to write my first book and to start sharing the lessons learnt so that others don’t have to suffer as deeply.

“I love it when I have shifted someone's thinking to be more positive, to empower people into a place where they feel that they can cope with life's adversities.”

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

I have published two books on stress and plan to publish many more in the areas I'm passionate about. I'm working on an online course to teach people how to harness stress. I want to take my offering to the US market as the pool of people who want to work on themselves is much greater and I believe I can make a difference to a broad group of people. My short-term goal is to reach 1000 people with my message.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

I love creating positive change in people's lives. I love it when I have shifted someone's thinking to be more positive, to empower people into a place where they feel that they can cope with life's adversities.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Make sure you have a strong WHY for starting your business. You will feel like giving up a lot but if you have a strong connection with a deeper purpose, you will persevere and succeed.

Contact or follow Kathy Mann

Why LoA loves it…

If there was ever a time when people needed real help and guidance in dealing with stress, it is now. The past 18 months have been the most stressful in living memory for many, and with so much continuing uncertainty affecting life and business, the need to live with and positively harness stress has never been more necessary. Kathy Mann knows from personal experience just how damaging stress can be in our lives if we let it control us, so she is now bringing all her expertise and personal knowledge to the table to help others. Her books and her new service offering really provide an alternative, more positive way of looking at stress and help us to better navigate life differently with stress as part of it. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa