Talk to any successful entrepreneur about how they have grown and sustained their businesses over time and the chances are the word resilience will come up in conversation. It’s one of the key building blocks required to create a genuinely sustainable business. But how exactly do you go about building this resilience on the entrepreneurial journey? The bottom line is that it all starts with you, the founder, the person with the vision for the business. Resilience comes from how you approach the world of business and how you handle the challenges you will undoubtably face. Firstly, it takes huge quantities of self-assurance, optimism, and self-belief, and very clearly defined goals at both a personal and business level. Secondly, it requires calm problem solving, the ability to find innovative solutions that push the traditional envelope. Thirdly, it needs a highly proactive approach to continuous communication and engagement with all those who are on this journey with you, from employees to suppliers, customers to family. Finally, it takes personal responsibility to ensure that promises are delivered upon, and that vision for the business is realised.

Talking to so many women entrepreneurs today at one of our regular networking events, one challenge kept being repeated, that of how lonely it can be as a woman entrepreneur. That’s why having a sense of community is so important when you are working so hard to build your business and your brand in the early days. It’s essential to have fellow women entrepreneurs around you who know how hard the journey can be and are there to offer advice, support, a shoulder to cry on, and be a source of inspiration when you need it. It’s also so important to have other successful women entrepreneurs to look up to, those that have reached the point where they can look at leaving a legacy and positive example behind for others to follow. So for all those experiencing a sense of loneliness on their entrepreneurial journey, remember that the strength found in a pride of Lionesses comes from a group of strong females being there for one another, working and collaborating together to get the job done, knowing that they are stronger together than they are alone. As Steve Jobs once said, “Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.” It’s worth remembering this on those lonely days of the entrepreneurial journey. 

Ask yourself this question - when was the last time you took a close look at your company’s brand and thought about revamping it or giving it a much-needed refresh to keep it relevant and dynamic? Chances are it was quite recently, as entrepreneurs are mindful of the importance of maintaining a strong brand in the marketplace. But ask yourself another question - when was the last time you thought about updating your personal brand as the driver of your business? It’s important to remember that our personal brands should be just as dynamic and ever changing to respond to where we are on our particular business and life building journeys. Also, our personal brands are the most important ones we will ever build, as they underpin everything else we do. They help us to connect with customers, partners and influencers; they help us to gain an audience for our thoughts, opinions and insights; they help us to be taken seriously; and they help us to be seen as experts and leaders in our field. So if you want to gain the edge in your business, work on your personal brand, it could be the most important investment you make.

Do you ever get the feeling that as an entrepreneur you are constantly looking at time in monetary terms, trying to squeeze the most out of every minute in the day because to a small business time really does represent money? Well, you are definitely not alone it seems, according to a new study by Stanford Graduate School of Business, but this approach to life comes at a cost. The study found that when you put a monetary value to your time, your stress levels automatically increase - by on average around 25% - that’s a big spike in stress in your life each day. And it appears that it also influences our thoughts around getting essential work/life balance. Those who constantly measure their time in monetary terms experience greater difficulty switching to relax mode, making it harder to do simple things like enjoying time with family and friends without constant clock watching. The bottom line is that it’s not good for our health and wellbeing, which means that it’s also not good for our business. The report contrasts the different approach taken in Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Spain, where those running businesses also take very long lunch breaks each day to relax, meet people, eat great food and just recharge the batteries to prepare for the rest of the day ahead. They also have some of the longest life expectancies and lower stress levels. Something to think about! 

How we start our day often determines how it will go for the rest of it, so it’s really important to ensure we have a morning routine that makes us productive, energized and ready for anything. Experts tell us that we function better and more efficiently when we have structure and repetition to kickstart our day, with morning rituals that make us feel good. So if you feel that your own morning routine is in need of a boost, then try these few steps to get it on track. Firstly, take a few moments to meditate, get those positive thoughts going, and focus on the type of day that you want to have. Secondly, get your body’s energy levels moving with a short, sharp exercise routine - it could be a quick jog around your neighbourhood, or some stretching, or a quick cycle ride, whatever you enjoy doing. Thirdly, eat a healthy breakfast and maybe catch up on some news to feed your mind as well as your stomach. Fourthly, plan your day, making an action plan of what you want to achieve. Finally, start the day with the most challenging task, one that requires you to be fresh and with your mind at its peak of performance. Now that’s a morning routine that can help you get more productive and achieve the results you are looking for.

When this year’s Africa Competitiveness Report was published and distributed at the World Economic Forum earlier this month, it made for both interesting and sobering reading. On the one hand, the report notes that Africa has a growing population of educated young people, but on the other, admits that there are not enough engines of job creation to ensure they will all have access to employment in the future. The solution, according to the report, lies in ensuring the African continent focuses its attention on increasing competitiveness, pushing forward structural reforms that can boost productivity, and create jobs and opportunities for young people. Whilst this is undoubtably a political and economic step in the right direction to providing the right environment for countries to grow and people to thrive, it’s not enough on it’s own to create a new generation of young people that can take the continent forward to the point where it can fulfill its true potential. We need to create an environment where young people can start to think more entrepreneurially, be given the tools and resources to create their own sustainable businesses, and be encouraged to take their socio economic destinies into their own hands through their entrepreneurial ventures. In particular, Africa’s young women need to be encouraged and supported to realize their own futures through the building of a new and exciting generation of women-owned and operated businesses.

These days we don’t stop to think about how the shared economy has transformed our lives because it’s just part of the way we do things. We Uber around towns and cities, we AirBnB when we visit new places - the shared economy has become part of the lexicon of our lives. For entrepreneurs and innovative startups with vision, it has also opened up minds to opportunities that would once have seemed impossible - being able to take on and revolutionize traditional industry and business sectors. And we can thank those early disruptors, the pioneers who created the whole notion of the shared economy and who introduced real and edgy competition to traditional industries through technology. It is also a reminder that behind these game-changing disruptive businesses were highly collaborative entrepreneurs, sharing their knowledge, technical expertise, insights and ambitions. They drove each other to get things done, to push boundaries, to try new things, to challenge established thinking. Collaboration in the shared economy is creating a new business landscape in which entrepreneurs can challenge the status quo, and in doing so, change the world we live in. It’s a great time to be a collaborative entrepreneur. 

More often than not, consumers know exactly what they want to buy. The problem is they are not always able to get what they want because it’s simply not available in the local marketplace, so they are forced to compromise. This opens up great opportunities for entrepreneurs to fill that gap and tap into a niche consumer market that is not being adequately catered for. Some of the most interesting companies in the Lionesses of Africa network are those that have been founded by women entrepreneurs who understand niche markets. Whether it’s creating beautiful designer lingerie for the larger woman; or chocolates for those with dietary challenges; or recycled furniture and homeware for consumers passionate about eco-solutions. Niche markets represent exciting business opportunities that can benefit both consumer and entrepreneur alike. As Seth Godin said: “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” So have you found your niche as an entrepreneur? 

Have you noticed that many of the really successful entrepreneurs around the world share one particular trait in common? Confidence! They seem to be brimming with it. Whenever they are heard speaking at a conference, or being interviewed in the media, or simply engaging with customers and talking with passion about their businesses and brands, they come across as highly confident people. And that in turn makes us, the listeners, feel similarly inspired and confident in their ability to deliver a great experience, product or service. So where does this confidence come from and were they born with it or did it come with life experience? The truth is, it is probably a combination of both, but that doesn’t stop the rest of us from learning how to be more confident when it comes to our own lives and businesses. It all starts with self belief. Speak to any of these successful entrepreneurs and they passionately believe in their abilities, their ideas, and the businesses they are building. This self belief and confidence equips them to deal with the hard knocks along the way, to find solutions to any challenge, and to seize any opportunities that come along. So if you feel a lack of confidence is holding you back from taking your business to the next level, then ask yourself the question - do you believe in yourself, in your business, in the value you are creating through your products and services? If the answer is yes, then you can harness that self belief to really take your confidence to the next level. It starts with you!

We are just one week into the month of May and already we have a packed and exciting programme of new initiatives and events to announce, including introducing the 2nd Cohort of 30 women entrepreneurs who have been selected to participate in the Lionesses of Africa Accelerator 2, powered by Standard Bank and Liberty. Each of these high growth potential women entrepreneurs will be making their way to the Standard Bank Business Incubator in Rosebank, Johannesburg this morning to meet one another, to introduce their businesses and product offerings, and to learn more about what lies in store for them on this unique growth programme. We will be profiling each of these women entrepreneurs over the coming weeks as they embark upon this game-changing journey to take their businesses to the next level and into corporate supply chains. Keep following their stories on all the Lionesses of Africa platforms over the coming days and weeks and watch their progress. We wish them all luck as they learn great new insights, gain valuable experience, and develop their businesses ready for the next stage of their growth. You can learn more about the Lionesses of Africa Accelerator here. 

So you want to grow your business - don’t we all? The question is how to do that in a sustainable way? Growth isn't just about increasing our customer numbers - meaningful growth comes from getting those customers to join you on your business and brand building journey. It’s worth remembering these four key steps to creating growth that can be sustained. Firstly, the trick is to get those new customers through the door, which means you need to develop an effective user acquisition strategy - it could be a combination of direct sales and marketing, event activation, social media campaigns, etc. Secondly, once you have those customers hooked, how do you get them to start using your products and services on a regular basis? That’s where your activation strategy comes in. Consider demo events, try before you buy incentives, promotional campaigns. Thirdly, you need to create an effective plan to get those customers to try your products, use them happily, and fall in love with your brand, that’s where your engagement strategy is key. You need to develop regular ways of connecting with your customers to keep them interested. It could be regular newsletters, invites to customer events, loyalty campaigns and incentives, etc. Finally, you need to make your existing customers your brand ambassadors, getting them and their networks talking positively about your products and services. This step by step approach to growing your business is more sustainable in the long run.

The World Economic Forum has been taking place this week and interestingly one of the key topics for discussion was the notion that there has never been a better time to be an investor on the African continent. After all, at the moment the continent ticks so many of the economic viability and long-term growth boxes that investors are looking for. In fact seven of the ten fastest growing global economies are all to be found in Africa (Libya, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Djibouti), with another three in the top twenty (Rwanda, Kenya and Senegal). Capturing the attention of the big global consumer brands is the rise of a powerful consumer market, the rapidly-emerging middle class in Africa, which is creating unprecedented consumer demand and opportunity. With a population of around 1.2 billion people in Africa and the youngest population with 40% under the age of 14, it represents an exciting market opportunity. The question is, will it be left to the big global consumer brands to take advantage of this marketplace going forward, or will there be a new generation of proudly African companies emerging, hopefully led by women entrepreneurs, creating world-class products specifically catering for this market? 

When you have a new business idea, or perhaps a new way of doing things in your existing business, how many times do you find yourself spending precious time and effort thinking about all the things that could go wrong before you actually do something about it? Do you convince yourself that you need to do more research, meet more people, get access to more specialist types of information? Are you actually afraid to start or to launch because you fear failure, or because your idea won’t be perfect at that stage? Are you in reality just becoming paralyzed to the point where you don’t actually take your idea any further than just that - an idea? If that rings a bell in your ear, then you are not alone. But the fact is that as soon as you make a conscious decision to take that idea and run with it, your mind switches into action mode. No longer do you overthink things, you simply do! As US marketing guru, Guy Kawasaki says: “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” So, what are you waiting for? Take that idea and make it a reality.

Have you noticed how smiling is contagious? It’s a natural phenomenon, if you smile at someone it’s almost impossible for them not to smile back, and it changes the atmosphere immediately. Try speaking to a room full of people and starting with a smile - the room smiles back at you - and it’s a wonderful life affirming feeling for everyone. But have you thought about how powerful a tool it is in business? As entrepreneurs we interact with people every day, from customers and employees, to suppliers and service providers, and everyone in between. It is so important that those touch points are positive and leave the right impression. So it’s interesting to learn that scientific studies (check out the Penn State University study on smiling) have proved that smiling makes people come across as more likeable, approachable, well mannered and even more competent. Importantly it also gives people another reason to want to potentially do business with you. Need a reason to smile? Then look no further than this famous quote by Marilyn Monroe who said: “Keep smiling because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”

Can you believe it? We are now at the start of May, and the year is almost half over already - where does the time go and why so fast? It makes it the perfect time to pause, take a step back, review where we are in our businesses and our lives in relation to where we hoped to be by now, and take action accordingly. It might be that we need to revise our strategy if original goals are not being achieved; or perhaps take a more aggressive approach to our sales and marketing plans if those precious revenue streams are not coming in fast enough; or maybe hire more staff if workloads are proving to be too much to deal with for our existing teams. It might also be that as entrepreneurs, we simply need to focus more and squeeze every bit of productivity out of each day, making the most of every opportunity that presents itself. So it might be a case of looking at the rest of the year and reminding ourselves that there is still more than half a year left to achieve our goals - it’s all about how we use that time. As Yale Professor Charles Richards said: “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.”

You love what you do as an entrepreneur; you love what you are creating; it excites you every day and gets you talking about your business with passion. That’s natural, it’s your baby and you are watching it grow and thrive. But human nature says that not everyone is going to share your passion in equal quantities, and there may also be detractors along the way, critics who just want to say something negative about your approach, your business model, or your products. It’s important to develop a filter that let’s constructive criticism in for the purposes of learning and growing, and let’s the just plain spiteful criticism out. Remember, it’s worth remembering that often such criticism is not always personal, it’s just someone else venting their frustrations in your direction. So acknowledge that you can’t always please everyone, and not everyone will love what you do all the time. Take criticism on the chin, learn from it and move on. 

It’s great to have ambition, and lots of it as entrepreneurs, but perhaps more important than ambition is knowing your why! What do I mean by that? Well, it’s that big vision or goal that set you off on your entrepreneurial venture in the first place. It’s the ‘big picture’ that motivates you to work harder and encourages you to devote all your energies to making it a reality instead of just a dream. It’s important to remember that in this increasingly consumer conscious society, people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it, and therefore being able to communicate your why is essential. There is a desire and a need on the part of consumers to connect on a deeper level with the entrepreneurs who are creating the products and services - to know their stories, to understand their whys. In the words of Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you know why.” So, this morning, take some time out to think about your own why, and use it as your means of keeping focused on the end goal.

Think about it - how many times a day do you check your phone, to see how many notifications are demanding your attention, how many social media likes or invites you have just waiting for a response, or how many messages are screaming at you to answer them? Chances are that you would be absolutely shocked if you actually counted the number of times your concentration, your tasks, and your life are interrupted by this deluge of information and 24/7 connectivity. The point is we are obsessed by our social media channels, our permanently connected lives, and we are scared of missing something critical if we decide to disconnect, for however short a period of time. As business owners, we know how powerful this connected marketplace is for our messages, brand positioning, products and services. But the challenge is to breakthrough the noise and connect with our customers and audiences by engaging with them on things that are important and of interest, instead of bombarding them endlessly and randomly. Consumer attention spans are getting shorter, but their time connected to their smartphones and other devices is getting longer. The trick for entrepreneurs is to engage in more meaningful, impactful and targetted engagement, actually connecting on a human level, and making consumers feel valued as they welcome you into their social media space.

Reading an interview with Sheryl Sandberg today, talking about how life experience has taught her many things on her entrepreneurial journey, one of which is “Done is better than perfect,” I was reminded again about just how right she is on this point. It’s all too easy to have lots of great ideas for new businesses, new products, new ways of doing things - but they remain just that - ideas, until they are put into action. It’s far better to stop focusing on making things absolutely perfect, and instead getting them out into the market. For many customers, they want their products and services now, not in six months’ or a year’s time once they have been perfected, and they will often be far more forgiving than you think. By focusing too much on this search for perfection, business opportunities will potentially be lost as competitors beat you to the post; customers may look elsewhere for their products and services; and your brand will not be viewed as an innovator. So, if you are currently sitting on that great new idea but hesitating because you don’t think it’s perfect to launch to the market, just take a step back and remember Sheryl Sandberg’s words and just get it done.

With any new startup business, one of the key challenges facing the founder(s) is that of getting customers. After all, you can create the most wonderful products and offer a great range of services, but at the end of the day, if you don’t have customers they remain the best kept secrets. The best way to really prepare your business to attract customers to your offerings is to start building your audience from day 1 when you officially turn your idea into reality. If you have done your research properly, you will have a pretty good idea of exactly who those potential customers are and what your audience looks like, what it wants, what appeals to it in terms of function, form and aesthetics. So the trick is to start connecting with your potential customers each day as part of your startup approach to building your business. How do you do this? It starts with having a conversation - try writing a daily blog which will interest your customers; or maybe create a vlog or a podcast where you can share your creative ideas and insights with them; or perhaps organize some networking events where you can potentially get to know them better. Taking this proactive audience-first approach means that by the time you are ready to launch your business, products and services in earnest, you will already have an engaged audience to convert into a buying customer base.