Dawn Beech, Rachel Staddon and Rose Chaplin - the startup story of three tenacious South African entrepreneurs providing a virtual assistant service to busy people

July 7, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Dawn Beech, Rose Chaplin & Rachel Staddon, founders Virtual Concierge Services (South Africa) — **Dawn Beech, Rose Chaplin &** **Rachel Staddon**, founders Virtual Concierge Services (South Africa)

We all have increasingly busy lives and there never seems to be enough time to do all the things that need to be done each day, balancing work and family life at the same time as building businesses and corporate careers. But, three South African women entrepreneurs have joined forces to provide a solution. Their company, Virtual Concierge Services, offers a range of services to tackle all those tiresome tasks that take up so much valuable time.

Entrepreneur Advice from Tinyiko Mareane & Boitumelo Mogoai: Fight for your dreams

July 7, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Tinyiko Mareane & Boitumelo Mogoai, founders of Nik Muffins (South Africa) — **Tinyiko Mareane & Boitumelo Mogoai**, founders of Nik Muffins (South Africa)

Fight for your dreams....

"Do not give up no matter what. Fight for your dreams. When people can't do something, they want to tell you that you can't. Don't let them. You made a promise to yourself to succeed, so be a woman of your word to yourself."

- Tinyiko Mareane & Boitumelo Mogoai are the founders of Nik Muffins in South Africa, a social enterprise that sells muffins and customised cupcakes and cakes and uses the portion of profits to assist girls in Soweto by teaching them life skills, giving them access to mentorship, and providing them with information resources they are typically unable to access.

Marang Marekimane - The startup story of a South African entrepreneur with a passion for helping small businesses to become sustainable

July 6, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Marang Marekimane, founder of Business In Theory (South Africa) — **Marang Marekimane**, founder of Business In Theory (South Africa)

Talk to any entrepreneurs and the chances are they will tell you that one of the biggest challenges is creating businesses and brands that are sustainable and can exist for the long haul. South African entrepreneur, Marang Marekimane, has recognised this challenge and her company Business In Theory is poised to help others to get their systems and processes in place to create solid, sustainable businesses that can go the distance.

Aleshia van der Ploeg - The startup story of a legal expert turned entrepreneur with a passion for helping SMEs and startups

July 6, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Aleshia van der Ploeg, founder of VDP Legal Consulting (South Africa) — **Aleshia van der Ploeg**, founder of VDP Legal Consulting (South Africa)

Making the move from the world of working in law firms as an employee to an entrepreneurial life as a legal consulting firm is one that Aleshia van der Ploeg knows only too well when. Today her company, VDP Legal Consulting, provides her with the opportunity to live her working life on her own terms whilst fulfilling her passion for providing expert legal advice to those SMEs and startups who need it.

Quote of the Day by Nelly Tuikong

July 6, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Nelly Tuikong, founder of Pauline Cosmetics (Kenya) — **Nelly Tuikong,** founder of Pauline Cosmetics (Kenya)

"I started the business with only $400 to produce product samples and bootstrapped my way to where we are today"

- Nelly Tuikong is the founder of one of Kenya's first homegrown cosmetics brands, Pauline Cosmetics. Nelly provides practical solutions to women's beauty and lifestyle. Her brand not only delivers great quality and beautifully packaged products, but also creates unique, fun and interactive ways to learn makeup techniques and product knowledge so that women can become their own makeup expert and artist. Nelly's products are available all over Kenya and East Africa.

100 Lionesses: Alldens Lane Founder and CEO, Ruka Sanusi, leads delegation of Ghanaian and Nigerian businesswomen on inspirational fact-finding tour to Johannesburg

July 3, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Ruka Sanusi, founder & CEO of Alldens Lane (Ghana) — **Ruka Sanusi**, founder & CEO of Alldens Lane (Ghana)

This week, emerging female business owners from Ghana and Nigeria got the chance to experience a week of instructive and inspiring life and business lessons, when one of Africa’s leading business advisory and consulting firm founders, Ruka Sanusi, CEO of Alldens Lane, led the group on a fact-finding tour to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bronwyn Kilroe - The startup story of a South African entrepreneur and coach who is teaching the world how to laugh to beat stress and find happiness

July 3, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Bronwyn Kilroe, founder of Laughter Sessions (South Africa) — **Bronwyn Kilroe**, founder of Laughter Sessions (South Africa)

We probably all know those corporate environments which exude stress the moment you walk into them. Well, one South African entrepreneur, Bronwyn Kilroe, founder of Laughter Sessions, has created a highly successful business that reminds companies and organisations about the power of fun and laughter to create positive and productive working environments.

Essential Read: Shut Up and Do the Work - The entrepreneur's guide to creating massive success by Stephanie Synclair

July 3, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Shut Up and Do the Work is the ultimate guide for experienced entrepreneurs, new entrepreneurs and those with dreams and ambitions of entrepreneurship, who know without a doubt that they were born to do more, be more and have more, yet they can't seem to grab it. In this book, entrepreneur, business coach and speaker, Stephanie Synclair shares her recipe for creating massive success, by making a fundamental shift in mindset first.

Tinyiko Mareane and Boitumelo Mogoai - The startup story of a South African social enterprise uplifting the lives of young girls by creating a business that bakes for change

July 3, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Recognising a need in society to help young girls to learn essential life skills and get access to inspirational mentors, was the catalyst for two South African entrepreneurs to create their social enterprise, Nik Muffins, to make a difference. Tinyiko Mareane and Boitumelo Mogoai are turning a passion for baking into a means of raising funds to build a sustainable and effective social enterprise with a big impact.

Lebo Shange and Thembi Nkosi - The startup story of two South African entrepreneurs on a mission to address feminine health issues in their country

July 3, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Lebo Shange (top) & Thembi Nkosi (bottom), founders of Coincido (South Africa) — **Lebo Shange** (top) & **Thembi Nkosi** (bottom), founders of Coincido (South Africa)

Many women in South Africa are embarrassed to discuss their feminine health issues with others, especially when they need to seek medical attention. Two entrepreneurs with a background working in the pharmaceutical corporate environment have built a business, Coincido, that offers women a solution - easy to use home diagnostic tests that can help protect and better care for their health.

Entrepreneur Advice from Emma Tandoh: Don't let the fear stop you

June 30, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Emma Tandoh, founder and CEO of Outspoken Edge (Ghana) — **Emma Tandoh**, founder and CEO of Outspoken Edge (Ghana)

Don't let the fear stop you....

"Do it already! It's important to take the leap and make the mistakes early. Don't let the fear stop you; just jump and build your wings on the way down. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to be self-motivated and constantly create opportunities for yourself. In my career, I’ve had absolutely nothing handed out to me on a silver platter and there's no shortcut to the success you envision for your business."

- Emma Tandoh is the founder and CEO of Outspoken Edge in Ghana, a digital marketing and content development business that offers a tailor-made bouquet of e-marketing, social media and content marketing and web services for SMEs and women-led businesses in Ghana and across Africa. Emma is an ambitious, resourceful, multilingual writer, digital media and technology enthusiast. She studied Information Studies, Economics, and Geography at the University of Ghana, Legon, graduating in 2007 with a BA Honours in Geography and Resource Development.

Quote of the Day by Donna Rachelson

June 30, 2016 Melanie Hawken

“Our entrepreneurs are resilient. They are primarily working from home and funding themselves with small amounts of capital while facing the well-known challenges of finding customers and raising finance.”

- Donna Rachelson is an entrepreneur, branding and marketing specialist, author and well-known speaker. As a successful businesswoman and investor in businesses, Donna is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs and women, uplifting them with her unique brand of inspiringly practical, results-driven guidance. Donna is the author of three books: Play to Win: What Women can learn from Men in Business; Branding & Marketing YOU and Branding & Marketing YOU Through Teams. She is founder of Branding & Marketing YOU and currently Chief Catalyst at Seed Academy – a training and incubation ecosystem for entrepreneurs.

Quote of the Day

June 29, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Margaret Hirsch, co-founder of Hirsch's Homestores — **Margaret Hirsch**, co-founder of Hirsch's Homestores

"Think big. It’s easier to think big than it is to think small."

- Margaret Hirsch is one half of a dynamic husband and wife duo that founded Hirsch's Homestores. Back in 1979, as a secretary, together with her husband Allan, then an appliance repair man, they unwittingly became entrepreneurs who went on to build an appliance, electronics and furnishing retail empire. Today, Hirsch's Homestores is the largest independently owned appliance and electronics business in Southern Africa, with seventeen branches and concept stores spread throughout South Africa.

Entrepreneur Smarts: Personal change....

June 28, 2016 Melanie Hawken

In my last article we spoke about S-curves, the underlying lifecycle of all innovations, and how important it is to manage transitions from one S-curve to another. Explained in terms of curves, it sounds so easy. But it isn’t. Every curve represents something - a project, a venture, a dream, a team of people - that we have loved, cared for, poured our life into. And when these things change, we have to change too - and that is not easy.

Lioness Lean In Breakfast event prize draw winners to spend a day at Babette’s Bakery learning to make artisan bread

June 27, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Babette van der Walt, founder of Babette’s Bread (South Africa) — **Babette van der Walt**, founder of Babette’s Bread (South Africa)

This month’s Lioness Lean In Breakfast event in Johannesburg on 23 June not only had a great panel of speakers, great networking and great women entrepreneurs connecting for business, but also a unique prize draw. One of the guest speakers at the breakfast, the inspirational Babette van der Walt, founder of artisan bread bakery, Babette’s Bread, invited two lucky ticket draw winners to join her forthcoming Introduction to Artisan Bread Workshop to be held on 1 July at her Maboneng-based bakery.

Babette Frances van der Walt - The startup story of a South African artisan bread baker turning passion into profit

June 27, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Many successful entrepreneurs talk about the power of turning a passion into a business. In the case of Babette van der Walt, founder of artisan bread-baking company Babette’s Bread, her passion for the art of bread-baking led her to making the ultimate career pivot in her life.

100 Lionesses: Mo Abudu listed on Business Insider's Top 100 Business Visionaries creating value for the world

June 26, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife TV has been listed on Business Insider‘s Top 100 business visionaries creating value for the world. She is the only African on the list with a ranking of 56 on a list of 100 people from all over the world. As the head of one of Africa’s most successful new media ventures, the Nigeria-based television network EbonyLife TV, endeavors to tell real African stories and change the conversation around the continent.

Starting a business with absolutely NO money

June 26, 2016 Melanie Hawken

What a scary thought – not only starting a business, but to start off with no capital - yikes! If you read any article related to entrepreneurs, from Silicon Valley to the African continent, the very first thing you read is that they’ve got funding. But is funding the be-all and end-all? What if you don’t have access to immediate funding, but you have an amazing business idea that will change the world? Well, the alternative is to bootstrap it, to become really innovative to start this amazing business idea of yours.