the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Mandisa Makubalo, ceo, Unlimited Experiences SA
We are living in times where the way of doing business and living has been redefined for years to come. Pandemics are generally known for taking years to reach their full destructive potential, it is therefore critical for organizations to behave responsibly during the different phases of the pandemic. The consequence of irresponsible behaviour is a new era of disputes that are going to need to be resolved by employers.
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From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
About to start our usual writing session for the Lioness Weekender and discussing all the fascinating topics we have been lucky enough to experience in business, and our Head of Finance pops into the room, sits down, hands over a nicely typed warning for our readers, plus a lovely picture of a Grizzly Bear tapping his fingers and patiently waiting!
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Kathryn Main - Money Savvy Kids
We all know that life during COVID 19 is filled with countless unavoidable worries of the financial kind. Some may feel it more than others, but we all feel it non-the-less. We are losing our jobs, taking salary cuts and closing our once thriving business. Basically, we go into level 1 of survival mode when it comes to our finances due to the crunch we feel.
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by Catia Mondlane
The current circumstances have brought a new, unfamiliar and extraordinary market era. It is one where many are being guided to creatively re-think and re-construct their businesses to build resilient companies and bounce-back from any future boundaries. It is becoming clear that the contingency plans previously established are not enough to face the actual situation, and coming up with a plan that could strategically create a positive shift is where many have been focusing their energies. The urgency to implement might be higher than before as each day passes, and uncertainties seem to be greater than sureness.
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by Nomazibulo Tshanga, Ziyana Business Consulting
On 1 June 2020, we have seen South Africa move from a prohibitive national wide lockdown to a more economic active alert level 3. This means that millions of employees have returned to work as 70% of the economy has re-opened for activity.
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From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Sadly those in a Leadership role simply cannot relax. Remember, if leadership were easy, everyone would do it. So while you have been pacing up and down your living room worrying about your business, employees and customers during this lockdown, your employees have not had such pressures. There is no doubt they will have had other pressures (and none of us ever can start to gauge the weight or worry others may carry and certainly not judge), but from a business perspective they are not the ones trying to work out where the cash will come from to pay for the salaries, lights or stock.
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by Gabriela von Ille
As communications professionals, we have spent the last couple of years convincing B2B and B2C clients that social media is an important communications tool for the success and growth of their businesses. Of course, this tool has always been deployed in combination with events, public relations, and face-to-face marketing. For various reasons, many clients, especially in more traditional industries, have been hesitant to adopt social media, arguing that social networking platforms expose brands to the risk of being publicly attacked or losing control and offer a questionable return on investment (ROI).
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by Catia Mondlane
With the market dynamics taking place where businesses are tending to be more virtual then physical, it seems that selling services is more promising than products or goods, because when one sells services it is actually selling something untouchable with little or no tangible requirements. This has got many wondering if moving from the provision of single products to continuous service agreements wouldn’t be more profitable, since the customers are provided with a range of models and a variety of solutions.
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by Sharon Castle - Lifestyle and Wellness Coach
Today I’m feeling particularly troubled about the amount of people who are feeling stressed and anxious in this current lockdown situation. In spite of all the info and positive advice out there I find most people are still allowing themselves to be exposed to the kinds of things they just don’t need to.
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From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Having received many questions about last week’s blog discussing the value of certain customers and how we seemed to be quite happy to lose customers, we just want to make one point before we move to an unemotional and purely clinical look at your products. The undercurrent of both these letters is Time.
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by Thandekile Moloko
Many of us have well wishes for the new decade that many have crowned 20-plenty. With the pandemic ushering us into a year that doesn’t really seem like plenty, there are a few things that we need to bear in mind. Sure, these are trying times, we are all worried about our families, mental wellbeing, job security, and the ever so important financial security. This period of our lives has somewhat placed a spanner in the works of what is meant to be a great year.
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by Sylvia Walker, author of SmartWoman
It’s been a tough year financially as the world has reeled under the impact of Covid-19. For many, the financial impacts have been far-reaching and it’s been a daily battle just to keep afloat. As the economies slowly start opening up again and business start operating, some people are left with financial devastation – how and where do you start rebuilding and moving ahead?
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by Nomihlali Ntszunguzi
Robert H. Schuller says, “tough times never last, but tough people do.” This statement says it all for entrepreneurs especially during this time. This is our time, a time to grab the bull by its horns and show off our skills and gifts to this changing yet exciting new economy.
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by Wuraola Ademola-Shanu
As business owners, what can we learn from other brands doing it right during this pandemic? While it’s hard to know what each day will bring, these brands are listening to people’s pain points and acting on them with a heavy dose of empathy mixed alongside it.
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From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
The lockdowns are starting to be reviewed and in some cases reversed, but have we been making full use of our time to prepare our businesses for when the doors open and life returns to some semblance of normality?
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Impact Partner Content: Absa / by Justin Schmidt
The manufacturing sector saw capacity utilization fall to 79.3% in February, a 7-year low, indicating that there was rising pressure on the sector even before COVID-19 enforced lockdown restrictions. This underutilization was driven by a lack of demand, as well as the high levels of load shedding.
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by Sharon Castle, Lifestyle and Wellness Coach
Just over two weeks ago, my sister of 72 died suddenly and in moments my life changed. Receiving a call from my niece (my sister’s only child) who lives in Australia, early on Friday morning the 10th of April, which was also Good Friday in the Christian calendar, was the alarm bell ringing that something was wrong. She called to let me know that my sister, who lived in a Care Community about an hour from where I live, was unconscious. It was 6.30am and I was still relaxing in bed with my husband enjoying our morning coffee.
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by Lizl Naude, founder of Lilly Loompa
If there is one thing this pandemic and subsequently this lockdown has confirmed, is that I am a TOTAL homebody! I am in my absolute element being at home.
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by Nontobeko Mbuyane, CEO & Founder of Bee’s Beauty Haven & Glutaspa Group
Indeed, our businesses are going through tough times, but the question is, are you only going to fold your arms, panic and watch your business crumble? The answer should be no, a great mindset now would be to try and turn every challenge into an opportunity to innovate and stay ahead of your business game.
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by Ronel Jooste CA(SA), Financial Consultant, Speaker and Author of ‘Financially Fit and Wealthy’
Concerns were rightfully raised about the various relief options which have been announced to help individuals and businesses who have been affected by the national lockdown in South Africa, enforced to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. It became evident that most relief funding options are in the form of a loan repayable with interest.
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