by Eldari Visser
This time of the year is when writers like to look back and reminisce on the year just gone and to get new ideas. Let’s get it clear - this past year was like flat green cold tea! Yuck. We can all do with something new.
Read more5 Reasons why your business should get better at Email Marketing
by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho
One of my mantras is “go where your customers are”…. and inboxes are one of those places you will find them! Studies have shown that people working in corporate environments easily spend between 4–6 hours every day doing their emails. Whether you are focused on a B2C segment within a specific income bracket or offer B2B services, do you really think that you are doing your bottom-line any favours by not prioritising Email Marketing if your target audience is spending this much time on their emails?
Read more4 Tips to Much Better Emails
by Laura Camacho
You are surely familiar with email drama. Perhaps you got involved in one yourself, where the misinterpretation of a message, or one that got sent to the wrong person, spun off into a totally unproductive soap opera segment.
Read moreThe 101 of dying when you're a Homeowner
by Sinal Govender and Claire Keet, cofounders of life.file in collaboration with property specialists, Araujo Attorneys
Buying a property usually involves a bit of creative thinking. You walk into a show house and start to imagine it as a home - your home. Your mind’s eye paints feature walls, open plans the kitchen and pictures your life - and all its big, happy moments - unfolding in the space. The last thing you’re likely to be thinking is: “what happens if I buy this home and then... die?”. People don’t like to think about and plan for the worst bits of life, like dying. (Who can blame us?!). But death and property ownership is a pretty big deal that we just don’t talk about enough. If you own property, or plan on entering the market, here are some of the most important things to know about kicking the bucket when you’re a homeowner...
Read moreTricky Situations – 10 Tips to Handle Them Eloquently
by Anja van Beek
As an entrepreneur and a Chief People Officer (CPO) you may have faced/experienced various challenging scenarios. One of my coaching clients shared this specific dilemma with me: She has recently been appointed as the HR Director, and within the first few weeks at the company, one of their clients contacted her. The client attended a social event hosted by their company and the client made a complaint against the CEO and stated the CEO consumed too much alcohol and was inappropriate and out of line. How’s that for a tricky situation? Where do you start this discussion with your CEO? How do you address this in a respectful yet candid way?
Read moreThe strain of making clothes
by Brigette Mashile
A lot of people always say to us ‘just a simple dress, nothing difficult’ and we just stare at them. The words in my mind as I stare at a client saying this, ‘then maybe you should make it’; because if it is that simple…..I mean!? My favourite lecturer said to us, the simpler looking clothes are difficult to make versus the difficult looking ones. This statement will only make sense once you start making clothes, it sounds impossible but it is true.
Read moreA Life Worth Living
by Elizandra dos Santos
Living is the biggest challenge that human beings face, and most of them exist and are driven by the feeling of fear. Fear is not bad if it is used as a feeling that moves us to take action, which is not the case I am referring to in this article. I speak of fear as a paralyzing feeling, a feeling that makes us uneasy, no matter if it is in our imagination or real facts.
Read moreThe Great Return…Back to the Office
by Alice da Silva
I share my thoughts on how to prepare for the return to the office, with the aim of minimal disruption - emotionally or to productivity. The preferred objective is for the change to be as seamless as possible, so that one’s energy can rather be spent on being positive to embrace the new challenge, instead of ruminating on the negatives, and focusing on resistance to leaving the home office.
Read moreThe 101 of dying when you're a landlord
by Sinal Govender and Claire Keet, cofounders of life.file in collaboration with property specialists, Araujo Attorneys
“Buy an investment property,” they said. “It’ll be a fantastic long term investment,” they said. Before making this enormous life decision, it’s important to think about all the aspects of being a landlord. There’s a lot to consider - like calculating when you’ll start turning a profit, finding (and keeping!) a reliable tenant, handling a lease agreement, becoming a member of a body corporate, hiring a managing agent, dealing with burst geysers, furnishing (or not furnishing) your property. A lesser discussed item on the list is what will happen to your properties and tenants when you kick the bucket one day...
Read moreHow Strong are your Boundaries?
by Kathy Mann
One of the things that contributed to my recent health collapse is poor emotional boundaries. I didn’t have strong boundaries established and that meant that anyone could impose almost anything on me. I wasn’t firm enough, even with my children, in articulating what is for me and what is for them.
Read moreAre you a People Pleaser?
by Paula Quinsee
Do you find it difficult to say no to others? Do you find yourself agreeing to things that you don’t want to do or functions you don’t want to attend? Are you constantly worried about what others might think of you and that you don’t want to disappoint or let others down? You might very well be a people pleaser. The important thing here is to know the underlying causes of what has contributed to this type of behaviour.
Read moreEmbracing the Present
by Edna Reis
We constantly trap ourselves in the past or future and forget to live in the present. But the thing is: we have to learn to let go, we need to release the things we no longer need, things that have hurt us, things we will no longer experience. We all know this; we all have read books or came across a quote about it. Psychology has been showing us the facts on the dangers of being stuck in the past and the future.
Read moreExploring the mindset of adopting good accounting practices
by Charmel Flemming
Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner who feels like there aren't enough hours in the day? Do you feel so bogged down with daily tasks that you can't get around to implementing strategic plans in your business? Do the phrases "accounting", "tax submission", "compliance", "forecast" make your skin crawl? Don't worry; this is not one of those tiresome infomercials.
Read moreDesigning For Others and Me
by Justina Luelo
When I came across Human Centered Design it was love at first sight. The thought that I can innovate with Humans and for Humans was a new concept for me and I wanted to explore it. The idea of exploring HCD for new innovations and improve services and products was great but, the idea of working with people who are looking to innovate getting into the entrepreneur life style was even greater, well, why not?
Read moreCovid Traps
by Brigette Mashile
This week I read another meme which reminded me that it has been close to 3 years of Covid reality! I mean, I know but why are we counting? Who felt the need to remind us? This year, I no longer have a fear of Covid because of the amount of things, people and realities I have lost from it. It’s a ‘whatever happens’ kind of relationship now. Covid must Covid, and I will Brigette every day. I am so nonchalant about it because of the amount of times it has tried to trap me, for example:
Read moreThe Myth of Always Being on the Hustle
by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie
“We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.” — Taoist Proverb
Maybe, like me, you were socialized to believe that working harder and hustling more were the keys to success? I can't quite trace back to where this settled into my psyche as the modus operandi, but I remember hearing from my parents that the devil would find work for my idle hands. I wasn’t a fan of the devil, so I kept busy. And then there was 80s and 90s tv with the 'I'll rest when I'm dead' battle cry.
Read moreHow to Use Earned Media, Owned Media & Paid Media to Increase Revenue
by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho
In order to design a robust multi-level digital marketing strategy and create a cohesive content plan, incorporating the 3 elements of earned, owned and paid media is crucial. Earned, owned and paid media efforts are important to your overall business objectives and should intersect in your content marketing strategy.
Read moreAre New Year’s Resolutions Still Relevant in My Life?
by Teboho Seretlo
2021 is gone and here we are in the first days of 2022, with 52 weeks at our disposal. The first weeks of January, that crazy time when we are tempted to put together some new year’s resolutions that we may never look at again until 2023 comes, and we do the same exercise again.
Read moreUsing Networking to Market Your Business
by Zodidi Gaseb
How important is networking to small businesses? Ask a small service business where they get most of their customers, and they are likely to indicate some form of word-of-mouth marketing.
Read moreYou can never change with a Resolutions List. Here’s what actually works
by Lori Milner
“A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.” - Tony Robbins
2021 required a new set of tools for working and a new way of being. In order to thrive in 2022, you need to follow the same theme. Do not approach your new year’s goals with the same thinking as last year - you know it well, ‘This year I am going to get healthier, start running, write that book or do that course”. Inevitably after about two weeks, your motivation wanes and you drag up the same list the next New Year’s Eve. How about ditching the resolution list and replacing it with a ‘drop list’?
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