by Felicity Cowie, author of Exposure
In my earlier blog for LoA, What Exactly is Media Relations, I said there are at least eight mega benefits of media relations for any business to consider:
Read moreThe Continued Business Case for Stillness
by Lori Milner
What does stillness mean to you? For most high achievers, it ironically creates a sense of anxiety because there is a belief that stillness equals stagnation. What if you replaced the word stillness with self-reflection, a strategic pause or personal mastery? What if I could convince you that stillness is the key to your success rather than something that prevents you from your goals? It's what master life coach Rich Litvin says, 'slow down to speed up’.
Read moreIs there such as thing as divorcing a client?
by Teboho Seretlo
I am an independent business consultant, meaning I earn my revenue from paying clients, who are prepared to pay for my time and expertise. I get most of my clients from word-of-mouth, followed by social media. In the last few years since I started this consultancy, I have realized that it is very important to know your worth and be confident in what you can deliver. If you don’t know your worth, you will be chopping and changing things such as your fees, the minute a client complains about your fees. You don’t want to get into such a debate with a client, especially if the client is not even one of those that contribute a lot towards your monthly revenue. Once you get into such a debate, then rest assured the client will always come back to you with this line of cornering you into lowering your fees.
Read moreHow to Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking
by Lori Milner
As much as you dread public speaking and presentations, this is one of your most incredible opportunities to demonstrate value and catapult yourself in your career. If it's not your strong suit, you'll shift away from speaking opportunities and convince yourself you're an introvert or prefer to be behind the scenes. How can you shift your perspective and develop these skills, whether conversing with a few people, presenting to your team or addressing an auditorium? Here are seven things to consider:
Read moreGoing green is on everyone’s lips: How green is my valley?
by Eldari Visser
Amidst the huge outcry of global warming warnings and several energy crises looming, a group of big corporations and government sectors, NGOs and Greenpeace nature lovers are putting their minds together, to find the next best solution for our planet. Operation “Going Green” seems so be on all the agendas. Some agendas are very close to serious activism if you ask me. We read in newspapers from around the globe on some of action taking place, some even to the tone of tomato purée and art! Gosh…
Read moreQuiet Quitting: Setting Boundaries or Employee Engagement Crisis
by Kulani Shiluvah, Founder of Shiluvah & Chief Solutionist
Quiet quitting is the new hot topic in the human capital space and everyone and their aunty has their point of view, with the majority coming to two conclusions that quiet quitting is a result of an employee:
Setting boundaries with their work (chasing the elusive work-life balance we always talk about, or
The worsening employee engagement levels
So, what is quiet quitting and why is it causing such a global stir?
Read moreJust Get Started!
by Nontobeko Mbuyane
We all have big dreams, big goals, and big ideas on what we think our life should look like, or how we think life will end up. Some of us meticulously plan out our lives, envisioning and letting ourselves daydream as we think about all the stuff we would love to accomplish. The problem is, a lot of us have trouble reaching the potential we have set for ourselves. Time kind of flies by, and we end up looking back and wondering what went wrong. Well, one reason stands out like a sore thumb: We never really get started doing the things we truly want to do.
Read moreLet’s trade, shall we? Part 4: Human resources in business
by Tsitsi Mutendi
This week we continue on our journey with Ms. Olivia Simbajena. Ms. Simbajena is a businesswoman whose business falls under the category of SME and MME. Hers also falls under the category of Family Business. As we have defined before Family Business is a business started by an individual for the benefit of his or her family and is then run by the individual to serve the interests of their communities as well as those of their family. Family Business’s main characteristics are that a family owns the majority shareholding of the business. However, from the characters and their situations, although fictional, we are starting to see that there are dynamic intricacies that effect Family Businesses. Laying down a foundation by introducing our fictional business owners will help to establish context when we go in-depth and unpack more problems and solutions for Family Businesses.
Read moreWould you consider employing someone with a criminal record?
by Jenny Reid
In 2018, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) partnered with the Charles Koch Institute to launch research on individuals with criminal records in the workforce in the USA. In 2021, they revisited the topic with some interesting findings. Recently the 2021 Getting Talent Back to Work Report was issued by SHRM. Whilst the findings are US based, it is worth unpacking the main elements of the report.
Read moreYour friendship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have
by Lori Milner
The relationship with yourself is the foundation upon which every other aspect of your life develops. Your health, wellbeing and happiness are directly proportional to how you treat yourself. If you want a different life, it's nothing to do with more money or career success. It is all about making decisions that are in your best interest. I remember asking my coach for the unconditional self-love and acceptance checklist; I wanted an excel spreadsheet with a bullet list I could work through and tick off each item. By the time I'm done, voila – a new friendship with myself!
Read moreMy ABC of Business - 10 Things I learnt after 10 months in our first retail shop
by Lizl Naude
Having a retail space is a huge responsibility and not one I thought I would get so soon. But in October 2021, I was offered a great deal on a small space, and I decided to take the leap of faith and open up shop! I was both terrified and excited at the same time! After a few weeks of renovation, we officially opened on 19 November 2021.
Read moreInside Customer Care
by Helena Naitsuwe Amadhila
Our businesses exist to serve customers. As entrepreneurs, we should know our customers inside out to be able to serve them better, and to meet their diverse and unlimited needs. Customers are unique people and this calls for entrepreneurs to care for their customers in a unique and individualized manner. This will ensure provision of tailor-made services and products to customers which will results in customer satisfaction and retention. These customers could also share the exciting customer care received and recommend the business to other people and as a result, there will be increase in customer base. Entrepreneurs should also know that customer care requires patience, discipline and the ability to learn, adapt, adopt, adjust and implement.
Read moreLet’s trade, shall we? Part 3: Family structures in business
by Tsitsi Mutendi
This week, we continue on our journey with Ms. Olivia Simbajena. Ms. Simbajena is a businesswoman whose business falls under the category of SME and MME. Hers also falls under the category of Family Business. As we have defined before, a Family Business is a business started by an individual for the benefit of his or her family and is then run by the individual to serve the interests of their communities as well as those of their family. The Family Business’s main characteristics is that a family owns the majority shareholding of the business. However, from the characters and their situations, although fictional, we are starting to see that there are dynamic intricacies that affect Family Businesses. Laying down a foundation by introducing our fictional business owners will help to establish context when we go in-depth and unpack more problems and solutions for Family Businesses.
Read moreThe ultimate goal is to outgrow bad habits, not break them
by Lori Milner
A bad habit is a pattern of behaviour that sabotages you somehow. The language associated with habit change is that you want to start a good habit and break a bad one. Breaking a habit assumes that the problem is with the habit, but really, it's about your beliefs, triggers and actions about what this habit will give you.
Read moreHow emotionally intelligent is your team?
by Anja van Beek
As we enter year three of the pandemic and confront global difficulties that force us to live in a state of uncertainty, empathy in the workplace is now taking on a new level of significance and necessity.
Read moreStepping-stones to your goals
by Dr Alison Hofer & Angelique Adcock
When students ask me how they should go about achieving their life goals, my answer is always “Work Backwards”. Sometimes you are fortunate enough to have wise people around you to support and guide you. Sometimes you must figure it out yourself, and this is where the “Work backward’ method is just genius.
Read more3 Steps you can take to live by design, not default
by Lori Milner
Think about a personal goal you would like to achieve – it could be getting fitter, eating healthier, reading, starting a course or a new hobby. The typical pattern is you begin on a Monday, you manage to keep it up for about two weeks and then fall back into old ways. You probably have attributed this pattern to a lack of willpower. The good news is that the solution to keep the promises you make to yourself has nothing to do with motivation.
Read moreIt takes courage to be yourself
by Kathy Mann
I’ve been thinking about how we become so conditioned by other people’s expectations of who we are and who we ought to be. I attended university in Cape Town and I had to wait a year because my father didn’t want me to leave home. I wonder what the cost of that year of earnings equates to, compounded over my career? Anyway, in my wisdom, it was worth the wait and I found a good career path, nice and respectable. I’m learning now that I have other talents that could be used to make a more fulfilling career path for me in future.
Read more17 Essential qualities of great startup founders
by Farida Yahya
The early days of most startups are full of creativity, passion and sometimes doubt. At this point, most startup founders double as operations managers and business owners. They have the title but barely have enough time to actually do the work required of a founder or chief executive officer, which is, the ability to step away from the daily operations and create a long-term vision and strategy that will sustain their company.
Read moreConsistency
by Brigette Mashile
Consistency: acting or done in the same way over time, especially so as to be fair or accurate - Google
Every guru in every speciality will tell you that you can do anything you set your mind to, and you will excel if you are consistent in it. If you have a strategy and you follow it religiously, over time it becomes easier and you start seeing the results of your efforts. The simplest example is gym. A lot of posts on social media on the subject of weight loss talk about being consistent. Even if the exercise is 5 minutes long, as long as you are consistent daily, at some point you start seeing a difference.
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