Annabel Biggar-David, a South African eco-warrior creating a unique holistic retail lifestyle experience

April 1, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Annabel Biggar-David, founder of Organico (South Africa) — **Annabel Biggar-David**, founder of Organico (South Africa)

There is a growing interest on the part of consumers to find products that have been created with a gentler footprint on the planet. So it’s exciting to hear of a great holistic lifestyle store in South Africa, Organico, created by passionate social entrepreneur Annabel Biggar-David. This is a business that has environmental sustainability at its heart.

Quote of the Day by Sandra Idossou

April 1, 2018 Melanie Hawken

"Being an entrepreneur made me realize the enormous resources women have. Women can be good entrepreneurs, wives, mothers etc, all combined in one person."

Sandra Idossou, founder of The ServiceMag (Rwanda)

Quote of the Day by Margaret Hirsch

March 30, 2018 Melanie Hawken

"Never listen to anybody who tells you, you can’t do it. You know you can so just get on with it.”

Margaret Hirsch, co-founder of Hirsch's Homestores (South Africa)

Choices ignite possibilities

March 29, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Nokubonga Mbanga, founder of Self Insights

Earlier this month, the world recognised International Women’s Day on 8 March, a time to reflect on progress made, to celebrate successes, and to inspire continuous improvement of women equality. It will take 217 years to close the gender parity gap according to the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap report. These figures are alarming, as they don’t seem to improve from last year’s figures (117 years in 2017).

Why we constantly need to check our Values

March 29, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Paula Quinsee, Relationship Expert and Author

Values are our moral compass, they guide us each day in our thoughts, actions, behavior and decision making. We use our values in every area of our life such as our goals, relationships, decisions, the workplace, leadership and more. They serve as the tick boxes against which we mentally reference ourselves as to making the right decisions and choices based on the situation we are facing at that time.

Big Question of the Week: What is the Soundtrack to your Life?

March 28, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner: author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress

Cal Fussman is a New York Times bestselling author, world-renowned interviewer, podcast host, keynote speaker and corporate consultant on interviewing and storytelling. I first came across Cal on the Tim Ferriss Show podcast and recently discovered one of the most thought-provoking articles in a while and wanted to share it you.

Celebrate the unique person you are

March 27, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

This article is to celebrate yourself as you are. Whoever you are and wherever you are, if you are alive, you are doing pretty well. It’s so tough living today, and avoiding destruction daily. We have more reasons to give up on some days; to just say aaag suka, I’m done. But there is a chemical balance God bestowed upon you that makes you keep breathing everyday and the next, and as a bonus actually excel in a few areas in life. This is my list of reasons why I am still alive and running a business in this economy.

Just enjoy the show!

March 26, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Lizl Naude, founder of Lilly Loompa

My husband can be quite philosophical at times. Both of us are big movie watchers, and try to always dissect a movie once done watching. We watched the Brad Pitt movie, Moneyball, recently. And I think, since we saw it the first time, my hubby has watched it at least four times again! Here are some thoughts stimulated by that experience.

Marjon Meyer, a South African HR specialist on a mission to help people become better versions of themselves

March 26, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Everyone encounters difficulties and challenges in their lives at some time or another, and often specialist help and coaching is needed to overcome those challenges. Marjon Meyer, founder of the specialist Training and HR Consulting business that carries her name, has the expertise to help others to fulfill their potential in life and business.

5 guidelines for a market-friendly business name and why it’s important

March 26, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect and co-founder of SnappSales

The launch of a new business is always exciting! You’ve probably left your corporate job, told your friends and family about your new venture, and you’re putting the finishing touches on your ideation before going public.

What is in your financial backpack?

March 26, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Eldari Visser, Managing Director, PicketFence.Life

Getting ready for a trip is always exciting - to pack the bags is all part of the fun. Seasoned travellers have a lot of tips on how to be a pro in getting everything in and you can find many examples of practical tips on social media. Packing for a trip to the wild is a different story.

Africa’s digital women entrepreneurs shine in Berlin at the 2nd 'Start-up Night! Africa' event

March 25, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Lionesses of Africa officially kickstarted its global women’s entrepreneur showcase event programme for the year back in our favourite European city, Berlin, on the evening of 20 March. Lionesses of Africa founder and CEO, Melanie Hawken, joined Former Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries, and other leading entrepreneurial eco-system players, to showcase and celebrate innovative digital entrepreneurs from both Germany and Africa.

Cofounding The Right Way: A practical guide to successful business partnerships by Jana Nevrlka

March 25, 2018 Melanie Hawken

What do Jobs & Wozniak, Page & Brin, Ben & Jerry all have in common? They were cofounders who built successful businesses together. In her new book, Cofounding the Right Way, author and entrepreneur Jana Nevrlka, shares her insights on how to build successful business partnerships that are a win-win for all concerned.

Entrepreneur Advice from Lynette Hundermark - Trust in your abilities

March 23, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Lynette Hundermark, co-founder & chief product officer, Useful & Beautiful (South Africa) — **Lynette Hundermark**, co-founder & chief product officer, Useful & Beautiful (South Africa)

You need to trust in your own abilities....

"Don’t feel intimidated, trust in your abilities, follow your passion and go with it. It took me a year longer to have the courage to do what I am doing. I was afraid of failure and also looked out and only saw boys doing it. I had to take that leap of faith and go with it and trust that I could do it..."

- Lynette Hundermark is an enterprising South African techpreneur and co-founder of Useful & Beautiful, a mobile product strategy, design and development company. Lynette has a degree in Computer Science & Psychology and prior to launching on her own held various technology roles with companies such as the Naspers Group, HSBC, Citibank, and Tesco. Lynette's appetite for the mobile space while keeping abreast of the latest industry trends has established her locally as an expert tech commentator and opinion leader. She is also involved in a variety of mentorship programmes that aims to build a greater community of passionate people in the tech and mobile field. Read Lynette's startup story.

Own your NO

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner: author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress

One of the toughest challenges of being an entrepreneur is the constant distraction from many perceived opportunities. We suffer from FOMO in that if we don’t get involved in this project, event, deal, you name it – we’ll lose out. Most of the time, these alluring projects do exactly that – lure us away from our core focus and ultimately this leads to more stress, burnout and lack of balance (not that it exists anyway).

Karen Carr and Hanneke Schutte, two South African entrepreneurs turning a passion for pets into a thriving business

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Karen Carr & Hanneke Schutte, founders of Benji + Moon (South Africa) — **Karen Carr & Hanneke Schutte**, founders of Benji + Moon (South Africa)

As any pet-lover will tell you, trying to find the perfect products for those furry friends in our lives that are also aesthetically pleasing to the eye in our homes, can be quite a challenge. However two enterprising women from South Africa have the solution. Benji + Moon is a business that creates beautifully designed, compassionately driven pet products that will make both owners and their beloved pets happy.

Celebrate What Makes You Different

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Dr Laura Camacho, founder of Mixonian Institute

There has never been a better time to be different. After centuries of human success related to blending in with our tribes, we now rejoice in and embrace our personal quirks, our obsessions and even our weaknesses. Our individual uniqueness offers opportunities in a time when technology seems to be taking over so much of our lives.

We are all different, but the same

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

Last week I met a man…wait, I had an interview with a man! He gave off the energy that he believed he was more important than me, or many of us. He had an attitude about him, which I proceeded to be ignorant of, sending him further into his ego. We all meet people like this, every-single-day…and so you learn to just exist with them. I was doing just ok until he said, “What else do you have to offer, I’ve met so many like you, you are all the same.”

3 Tips to overcoming Procrastination and clearing your to-do list

March 20, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Deborah Hartung, founder of Pivot PeopleTech

No matter how good our intentions are, we all have those tasks at work or in life, that we just can’t seem to bring ourselves around to doing. We build them up in our minds and turn molehills into mountains and make excuses for procrastinating. Then we berate ourselves for our tardiness or cause our blood pressure and stress levels to skyrocket – it’s really a vicious cycle. Break free from the chains of procrastination and anxiety with these 3 handy tips!