I was lunching in New York today with best selling author and entrepreneur, Julia Pimsleur, the inspiration behind the book Million Dollar Women, the essential guide for women entrepreneurs looking to take their businesses to the next level and to $1 million revenues. We were discussing the things that hold women entrepreneurs back when it comes to thinking big - and guess what, it seems that often the biggest barrier for many women entrepreneurs is themselves. Over the past 20 years, women in the US have started nearly twice as many businesses as men, but astonishingly only 3% of all women business owners ever make revenues of $1 million or more - that’s in stark contrast to their male counterparts. The figure in Africa is even lower. So what needs to be done to rectify this? Firstly it’s all about changing the mindsets of women entrepreneurs - we need to start thinking about building significant businesses from the get-go, and then having the confidence, skills and the determination to make them a reality. It’s about building the right foundations, developing powerful networks, raising capital, and getting the necessary coaching and support. It’s also about learning from those women entrepreneurs who have built their successful $million businesses and applying those learnings to our own businesses.

Most entrepreneurs that have been around a long time will tell you that at some point or other, you will experience ‘the Dip’ on your business journey - that moment when you are through the honeymoon phase of building your business and brand, and you hit a proverbial wall. Seth Godin brilliantly writes about this moment in his book appropriately titled ‘The Dip’ and describes the inevitable time when seemingly overwhelming hurdles and barriers stand in the way of the desire to succeed. It could be when you run out of initial funding for the business, or you run out of time to get critical products to market, or you suddenly feel demotivated just doing the same thing day in and day out. But Godin believes that this dip is what ultimately separates the successful entrepreneur from the quitter, because at this point it’s all about sheer perseverance and the will to keep pushing no matter what. So, if you are going through your own dip right now, remember you are not alone. Try to remain focused on your end goal, don’t let your seemingly overwhelming fears subsume you, and remember a dip is temporary, you willcome out the other side.

Building a sustainable business requires careful, well thought-out planning for the future, and ensuring that precious money earned is made to work for the business, not wasted on unnecessary expenditure. In the early days, it’s essential to take a frugal approach to spending, knowing how to distribute money wisely and getting informed on how to best manage money kept in the business. There will be lots of temptations along the way, for example putting money into new product or platform development, which in theory is okay, but it’s essential to ensure that all the necessary research has been completed before going into production. A badly researched market landscape may result in the creation of products that simply don’t have the market size to be viable, and as a result, wasting precious time and resources. Try to stay nimble in the early days - it’s not about renting expensive offices or factory spaces, or hiring lots of employees, or buying expensive suits and cars. It’s about being agile enough to respond quickly and effectively to opportunities that present themselves, and keeping expenses to a minimum until those precious first customers, orders and cashflows start coming in. Conserving profits provides a much-needed cushion to prepare for growth and the inevitable challenges that will emerge along the journey.

Do you sometimes feel you are stuck in a rut, not able to see clearly or find solutions to key challenges in your business and in life, or to see new opportunities for what they could be - exciting steps into the unknown? It happens to all of us at some time or other. The solution lies in opening your mind - being open to new ideas and expanding your way of seeing and connecting with the world, expanding your perspective, experiencing new things, and therefore opening your mind to new possibilities. The secret is to start with a few mind-shifting steps to get the ball rolling. Why not get out of your usual work space once or twice a week and into a more unusual, creative environment, such as an outdoor cafe, an art gallery or sculpture park, a trendy co-working space? Why not take your next few meetings in an entrepreneurial coffee shop or tea room, where artisan entrepreneurship is celebrated and like minded entrepreneurs gather to share creative ideas. Or maybe make a point of taking half an hour each morning or evening to read a chapter or two from an inspirational book written by a fellow entrepreneur who has been where you are now. Sometimes all it takes is a few steps to open your mind to new things, and as a result, a world of possibilities opens up.

There is always so much talk in the world of entrepreneurship about what it takes to build a million dollar business. Is it a case of understanding if there is a ‘secret sauce’, a cast-iron recipe for success, or if it simply comes down to sheer guts, determination, hard graft, and of course a big vision that can be turned into reality through a combination of all of the above? Julia Pimsleur, author of Million Dollar Women, and an expert on the art of thinking and going big in business, has an interesting take on this subject. She says, “There is one major difference between entrepreneurs who succeed in "going big" and those who don't. The ones who DO know what they are good at, own it, ace it, and outsource the rest. The ones who DON'T keep doing it all themselves and stay small, or worse, burn out and shut down.” So, if you want to grow your own million dollar business, take a leaf out of Julia’s book, and look at your strengths and your areas of personal expertise, focus on those and build your team and supplier network to provide the support that you need to fill in the gaps. Check out Julia's website for more insight, advice and tips to grow your million dollar business - www.juliapimsleur.com

I experienced one of those moments earlier this week that we talk about a lot at our various Lionesses of Africa networking events - being ready to go with our elevator pitches at any time as entrepreneurs, as you never know who you will bump into. This was certainly the case when I was in a corporate elevator in Johannesburg, returning to the ground floor from a meeting in the upper floors of the building, when a young entrepreneur had the opportunity to pitch his business to a senior decision maker from the client company he was chasing. Such opportunities are rare and have to be grasped immediately. The entrepreneur introduced himself to the potential client, who then asked what he and his company did - there it was, the invitation to do the elevator pitch. The problem was that the young entrepreneur was so keen to meet and get to know the client, he completely forgot to make the pitch as the elevator reached the ground floor, missing out on a golden opportunity. Such opportunities very rarely come around twice, so it’s important to be ready. Prepare and practice your elevator pitch on a regular basis, and hone it until it’s both informative and impactful. Remember that if you can’t get your business, brand and product message pitched in around 15 seconds, then the chances are you won't make your message stick with your potential client. So get practicing that elevator pitch now! 

If there is one thing that entrepreneurs know all too well, it’s that it’s easy to get paralyzed by overthinking things, particularly when you are about to launch a new business, product, service or innovative idea. You are excited at the prospect, but you start to become distracted by all the noise out there in the marketplace, worrying about the potential competition, the market reaction, whether the idea is new enough, good enough, etc. In these situations it can get stressful if you let all your negative thoughts about possible failure start to creep in as a result of overthinking. The important thing is to harness all your positive energy that comes from your excitement about your new business or product, and to keep thinking about the bigger picture instead of myopically stressing about everything that could go wrong. As Pinterest founder, Ben Silbermann says, “Don’t over-analyze everything. I myself have been guilty of over-thinking problems. Just build things and find out if they work.” Great advice.

If you are one of those women entrepreneurs who has reached the point where to take your business to the next level you realize you have to scale, it’s worth taking time to consider what that potentially means in practical terms to your role as founder/ceo. Inevitably, it means handing over certain aspects of the business to other people to implement on a day to day basis in order to free up your time to focus on the high growth activities needed. That often means hiring in new people to expand your team; it could mean bringing on board a highly experienced personal assistant to manage your time and your diary better; or possibly outsourcing key administration aspects of the business to external specialists. The bottom line is that scaling your business requires you as the founder and visionary to set the pace for growth, and that means providing the right environment in which you can make sustainable and smart decisions to take the business forward. To achieve that goal you need to focus, extract yourself from the mundane tasks that will detract from the big picture, and learn to delegate better to members of your team. Happy scaling!

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?