by Deborah Hartung, founder of Pivot PeopleTech
Success: you or the universe?
by Sylvia Walker, author of SmartWoman
Every now and then I come across someone who has a burning desire to write a book. Whether it’s to see their name in print, or to achieve some kind of status that goes along with being a published author, it’s a serious bucket list item for many. This always takes me back to my own situation and how I fell into the world of writing books. I use the word “fell”, because it was never a burning desire of mine to write a book. Although I had written a fair amount of material in my professional career, I had never considered the idea that I might be an author at some point. I had not even studied languages at university.
Read moreOwn your Story… about time!
by Lori Milner, author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress
What is the story you tell yourself? But a more interesting question is what is the story you tell yourself about time? Your story is made up of your beliefs and the vocabulary you use to tell that story.
Read moreHands off my Sundays
by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
I don’t work on Sundays. No wait, I don’t do anything on Sundays! And this seems to boggle a lot of minds. People have numerous reasons why I should see them on Sunday. It’s fascinating. I have thus far taught my body to refuse all when I wake, I can literally spend the entire day (10 hours) in bed reading, eating and watching things on the laptop. Lazy right? Yep, yep, yep. But I have my reasons - give me a chance to explain.
Read moreRecruiting and Retaining a Winning Team
by Kulani Shiluvane, Founder and Chief Consultant at Shiluvah
What are the key driving forces behind your business? Is it your product? Your service offering? Is it your price offering on your product or services? NO! What drives your business and the real success behind your organization is your TEAM. Therefore, if you want a growing and successful business, a business that is profitable and thriving, it is crucial that you have the right team driving your business. So, how do you go about recruiting and retaining a winning team?
Read moreOwn your Memories
by Lori Milner, author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress
At this point in the year, we are gobsmacked that it’s November and repeatedly tell ourselves how the year has flown. But when we create days that are memorable, they seem to stick longer in our mind and it feels like time slows down just a little bit.
Read moreBeing the boss you have always wanted: Entrepreneurs and leadership
by Kulani Shiluvane, Founder and Chief Consultant at Shiluvah
The decision to take on the entrepreneurial journey carries with it a number of novelties – the biggest (well at least for me) has been becoming your own boss, and hopefully at some stage somebody else’s boss. This means taking into consideration the kind of boss you want to be and more importantly, how your boss characteristics will impact the culture of the company as a whole, and how that culture will determine the health (both financial and otherwise) of your company and its people.
Read moreThe trendiest thread
by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
The world follows the US and UK for everything…literally everything. Maybe it’s because these places monopolize our media? It’s tougher to find out what is happening in Malawi than in Los Angeles. And see how far Los Angeles is compared to Malawi and to us? In fashion as well, retailers do their research in the UK and US first; then the rest of Europe. We are one season behind, so we are well set up for this follow-on game. But I can tell you that South Africans, just like Africans, have their own preferences. We take some of the trends, leave some, and make others in our own way. This is a list of what I have noticed this year making clothes for South African ladies.
Read moreWe should be chasers in business
by Phindile Ndlovu, Founder and Director of Bhekizenzo Foundation
There are so many things I witness every day on my way to work. I see the same people rushing to work late. I see school children excited and almost dancing their way to school transport services. I also see ladies fixing their make up in vehicles by the robots. What struck my attention was when I saw two different sets of people - the sellers and the beggars in the streets.
Read moreGrow Your Brain
by Laura Camacho, PhD
Did you know that your brain is constantly rewiring itself? That’s what neuroplasticity is all about. Use this knowledge to grow your brain! Psychologist and researcher Dr. Carol Dweck coined the “growth versus fixed mindset” framework more than 10 years ago. This concept allows you to train your brain to be a better problem solver by adapting more of a growth mindset.
Read moreOwn your Anxiety
by Lori Milner, author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress
The equation, ANXIETY = Uncertainty x Powerlessness, comes from Chip Conley’s insightful book ‘Emotional Equations’. Chip believes that the product of what you don’t know (uncertainty) and what you can’t control (powerlessness) creates the emotional condition of anxiety, which is greater than the sum of its parts.
Read moreAre you an Ant Queen?
by Eldari Visser, founder of PicketFence Life
The wonderful, crazy city buzz is a place that energizes most of us, whether it’s New York, London, Milan, or Jozi, and many more cities in Africa. High tempo, people doing their things, and life goes on and on and on… Very much similar to an ant city.
Read more6 Tips for Top Customer Engagement on Mobile from the 2018 PriceCheck Awards
by Lynette Hundermark, co-founder of Useful & Beautiful
Speaking at this year’s annual PriceCheck Awards Ceremony, CEO Kevin Tucker noted that the Tech and E-commerce Awards are more important than ever before. He said that while 2018 has been a tough year for retail, it’s an industry with massive potential for growth.
Read moreDealing with Disappointment: Just Let It Flow
by Deborah Hartung, founder of Pivot PeopleTech
It’s a fact of life that we don’t always get what we want and it sure isn’t always fair. Being a woman in business and in leadership, you’re bound to have to face more than your fair share of disappointments. Here are some tips on learning to move with the flow of life and not let temporary disappointments become permanent setbacks.
Read moreMaybe the pie is really big enough for all of us
by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
Competition is a subject I did in marketing at college. We were reviewing the ways companies compete for markets. Direct competition and indirect competition. Direct competition is CocaCola and Pepsi. Indirect would be CocaCola and all banting products. This subject tells us that there’s one market for all these companies, and they must all fight for their attention. Ways of fighting include pricing, ingredients, advertising, location, pairing with other power brands in the industry, and of late going green/healthy. Are you exhausted already? Me too, but read on…
Read moreOur role as entrepreneurs is bigger than us
by Thato Mokhothu-Ramohlanka
Recently I had the privilege of attending a workshop where I delivered a talk to a group of young learners about career development. This is a topic that is very close to my heart because many people are forced into unwanted careers for many reasons. The bottom line is that there is an enormous need for career guidance in underprivileged schools. This is specifically because advanced institutions have career coaches and counselors to assist learners in aligning their future goals and aspirations with their talents and capabilities from the early stages of their schooling.
Read moreOvercoming failure
by Kathryn Main, founder of Money Savvy Kids
When I think about failure I truly believe I am an expert on this subject. I have failed in every area of my life many times - personally, financially, and in business. If you want advice on how to handle failure, ask an expert!
Read moreThe challenge of people who order late
by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
It’s the height of any fashion season right now. Whether you are a designer, seamstress, wholesaler, model, photographer or PR person in fashion, you are busy from August till January. And all your ‘please order in July for September’ advice has fallen on deaf ears. You are managing those who listened and risk managing those who didn’t. No matter how many no’s you can say, someone always convinces you to ‘pretty please help’; most of the time you help because it is someone you like and want to dress….again.
Read moreMy ABC of business: Why you should keep hustling
by Lizl Naude, founder of Lilly Loompa
Are you working really hard to build your business? Are you always on the look out for new opportunities to get income? Do you constantly follow up on clients and try and persuade them to buy your product/service? I have a newsflash for you…you’ve been hustling! Yes…you are a hustler!
Read moreThe thrill of being backstage
by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
Last week I was in Durban taking part in the KZN Fashion Council’s AFX expo. The main reason I agreed is they said there’s a fashion show and I will be showing. Well duh! Nothing is more exciting to a fashion designer than ‘hey here is a platform, come and show us what you can do’; everything is planned and in place, you much just show up. Thank God! So, I was already 80% into finishing the new range; I completed it and headed down. This range has been in my head for 4 months - I am that person….everything is in my head…writing it down is another mission.
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