An overlooked benefit of women’s entrepreneurship to their economies is their natural strength as skills coaches and job trainers. Women are not only creating much needed new jobs through their businesses, but are also heavily invested in training up their staff. It is often said that the best kind of training is that received on the job, and it is here that women entrepreneurs are making an incredible contribution to training and skills development in their communities. It stands to reason that having created a job the entrepreneur has every reason to ensure the new hire is able to do that job productively and to the very best of their abilities. So whether it is a new sales person, a new machinist, or a new admin assistant, women entrepreneurs are not only creating the new job, but are also training up the new hire. And, because these women know people are their most valuable asset, they are more committed to training people than just about anyone else. In a nutshell, women entrepreneurs across Africa are not only job creators, they’re also great job trainers. It’s time policy makers start to recognize this fact and start to better support women entrepreneurs.

There’s a big difference between starting a business and then successfully running and growing that business over time. It can be a hard slog with continual stress, pressure to effectively manage finances through the inevitable peaks and troughs, managing and developing your employees, retaining your existing clients and finding new ones, and still finding the time to innovate and develop new products and services along the way. It can be a lot to deal with, and unlike corporate employees, you can’t simply leave it all behind at the office each day when you are an entrepreneur. Stress management amongst entrepreneurs is a continual challenge. That’s why you need a really effective support network of fellow entrepreneurs, friends, family and people who can be there when you need them, to offer advice, a shoulder to cry on, a familiar face to have a moan to when the going gets tough, and a cheerleading brigade when you have something to celebrate.

We all do it as entrepreneurs - we avidly watch how the very successful business builders are getting it right, how they are marketing their products to the world, and how they build sustainable brands that resonate with customers. Often, the temptation is there to try and emulate their success by replicating the way they do things in our own businesses. But it’s important to remember that those entrepreneurs got it right by forging their own paths, doing things their own way - being leaders not followers. Success comes when we recognize that it is precisely what makes us unique that resonates with others, and that goes for our businesses, products and brands too. There is a great quote by the legendary writer Jack Kerouac who says: “When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.” It’s all about following your own unique entrepreneurial path.

You only have to watch popular tv shows such as Shark Tank and others to see that ‘the pitch’ has become an all important asset in the entrepreneur’s toolbox. It’s a powerful way of connecting directly with potential customers, investors and partners and explaining why they should buy your product or service. So, what’s the secret to creating a powerful pitch that will win people over? Well, it all starts with knowing your audience and appealing to their interests and needs. In any pitch situation, start by doing your homework on your audience, understand what they are looking for, and what makes them ‘tick’ - and also, if possible, their previous buying patterns. This will give you a starting point. Next, ensure your messaging is simple but clear - your audience needs to know what you are trying to achieve, what your goals are, and what actions you need them to take. In any successful pitch, there needs to be a clear ‘what next’ on the part of the audience, leading them to make a decision. So the question is, how powerful is your pitch?

If your business is operating in a busy or congested marketplace, how do you find a way of differentiating yourself and your brand from everyone else around you? How do you make that all important connection with customers when they are being bombarded with rival brands, products and messaging 24/7? No matter what product or service you want to provide, it’s all about doing your homework, studying the market and whose playing in it, watching to see what brands and products are connecting with customers, and then importantly finding practical ways to differentiate your offering. You can do this in various, equally effective and impactful ways - personalize your products and take a more bespoke approach; change your look and feel to reflect a completely different and more cutting edge brand persona; change your customer service approach to offer something that none of your competitors are doing. How you differentiate is up to you, but at the end of the day it’s all about standing out in the marketplace and getting those potential customers to notice you and your brand, and importantly make that purchase.

How often do you see companies, business leaders, and event programmes talking about the importance of innovation, finding the next ‘big idea’ or new way of doing  something that can change the face of an industry sector? But innovation is only one part of the process, it’s not the end game. Jim Clifton, the Chairman and CEO of Gallup, made an interesting observation on the subject, saying, “An innovation has no value until an ambitious entrepreneur builds a business model around it and turns it into a product or service that customers will buy. If you can't turn an innovative idea into something that creates a customer, it's worthless.” The bottom line, as Jim Clifton suggests, is not that there isn't enough innovation, it’s that there aren't enough entrepreneurs turning those innovative ideas into viable businesses.

Have you ever wondered where all the time goes to each day? You start out the morning raring to go, feeling focused and ready for anything that life and business throws at you, but by the end of the day, you feel like you have hardly accomplished any of the tasks you set for yourself. Sound familiar? As entrepreneurs with increasingly busy lives, and lots of conflicting time pressures, sometimes it’s essential to take a step back and get some help when it comes to learning how to manage time better. There is a great book which might help all those battling with time management in their businesses right now. Written by Allyson Lewis, The 7 Minute Solution: Time Strategies to Prioritize, Organize & Simplify Your Life at Work & at Home is great for small business owners who have a problem planning their day. It takes a very different yet highly practical approach, encouraging readers to spend only seven minutes in the morning and seven minutes in the evening putting a business game plan together to maximize each day. If you are at that stage where every minute matters in your business and life, then this could be a good read to point you in the right time management direction.

They say you are never too old to learn, and when you are an entrepreneur you never stop learning, particularly from those around you. Put a group of like-minded entrepreneurs together in a room and within minutes, experiences will be shared, networks will be opened, and advice will be given - often, whether you want it or not! But that’s the wonderful thing about being amongst people just like you. You can learn from each other’s mistakes, and hopefully not repeat them. You can get insights into how to launch new products or break into new markets from those who are already there. You can glean useful trade tips from specialists who have great experience of doing business in tough industry sectors. And importantly, you can make connections that can stand you and your business in great stead when it comes to gaining knowledge and getting access to specialist expertise. There is a great quote from uber successful global entrepreneur, Cher Wang, co-founder and chairperson of HTC Corp, who says, “As entrepreneurs, we must continue to ask ourselves ‘what’s next?’ It takes humility to realize that we don’t know everything, not to rest on our laurels, and know that we must keep learning and observing.” Great advice!

As an entrepreneur, if you have ever felt that your business is beginning to shape your identity because your whole life revolves around it, then you are not alone. It seems like more and more of us are dedicating almost all our waking hours to work on our businesses, putting other things such as hobbies, recreational activities, personal relationships, healthy eating and even sleep to one side. This approach inevitably means we become one dimensional, and this isn’t healthy for us, the business, or those around us. It also increases the chances of burn-out. So, how do you reclaim your identity and maintain a healthy sense of self outside of your business?  Well, it all starts with your schedule. Make a conscious effort to book time in the diary for you and your family and friends; times for doing the things you enjoy, whether it’s exercise, reading a book, watching a movie, or meditating; set boundaries - times and places where everything except business is talked about; and build personal relationships that are based on you and your interests, not your business. Here’s to reclaiming your identity so that you and your business ultimately benefit.

It can happen to the best of entrepreneurs - that period of time in business when you know it’s important to keep things fresh and to ensure products and services stay relevant and interesting to your customers, but your creativity dries up! New ideas suddenly refuse to appear, inspiration is hard to find, and you hit that proverbial creative wall, worried you will never have an original idea of your own again. The truth is, creative slumps are par for the course in business, and they can strike at any time. The trick is to find ways of getting that spark back in your life, and there are some practical methods to do that. Start by surrounding yourself with other creative entrepreneurs, get a dose of their passion and enthusiasm for their new ideas, be stimulated by the conversations you will have. Try something new, develop a new interest or skill that could help the business further down the line, set up a chat with someone whose creative work inspires you, and share experiences. Chances are, you will beat your slump, and if all else fails, at least you will know you are not alone.

The world is becoming more and more conscious of the impact we are having on the planet, both as individuals and as the businesses and organizations we run. By now, we should all be well aware of the environmental benefits of making green decisions. When we choose to recycle and conserve resources, we preserve the planet for many future generations. This environmental responsibility extends to our business life as well as at home. But the planet isn’t the only one to benefit from our efforts to go green. If you’re running a business, you can enjoy regular cost savings, as well as demonstrating to clients that you are a sustainable business that treads lightly on the environment. Here are a few ways you can start to green your business. Go paperless in the office. Cut down travel and organize more online meetings. Automate your book-keeping. Conserve energy in the workplace through smart lighting. Recycle and reuse. And, green your supply chain by identifying like-minded green companies to do business with.

Everywhere we look there are distractions - our smartphones constantly encourage us to check on things that are happening in our 24/7 connected world; our team members want to bounce ideas around or chat about projects in a constant stream of engagement; our electronic meeting schedules remind us throughout the day of people to see and deadlines to make. We live in a world where there’s always another distraction to take us away from what we should be focusing on. But research points to a need to stop multitasking and working at a shallow level, and instead to focus our attention on individual tasks, and to remove the distractions around us until those tasks are completed. So here are four tips to cutting the distractions and getting the job done. Firstly, put your smartphone on silent and out of sight for the set period of time you have allocated to your task. Next, inform your team that you are not available for meetings or discussions during that time. Thirdly, switch off any electronic reminders or email alerts. Finally, be in the moment, just focus on the task at hand and it will get done quicker and less painfully.

Speaking about what it takes to build a successful life and business, best-selling author and serial entrepreneur, Tim Ferris, said, “Focus on being productive instead of busy”, and he has a point. As entrepreneurs we all have busy lives, that’s just a given, but if we really want to accomplish our goals we have to become more productive. It’s not about the number of hours worked, it’s about doing things that will move our businesses and lives forward. And, it all starts with knowing when your body feels at its most productive in the day - if you are a morning person, then harness those early hours of the day to tackle the most pressing jobs before most people have arrived at their offices. If you are more of an afternoon and evening person, then get your scheduling right to ensure you have quality uninterrupted time to work on your priorities, and squeeze in any essential meetings. Create a productivity checklist to review at the end of each day to ensure you have achieved your goals. Now, that’s being productive!

Ask many entrepreneurs why they made the choice to build a business instead of working for someone else and chances are they will tell you it’s because they wanted to be their own boss. And that’s fine, it’s a great motivation to go out and fulfill the dream of working for yourself. But the reality is that being in business means that you still have to deal with the challenges of working with clients who sometimes make you feel like they are bosses in the workplace. Deliverables and deadlines still have to be met, products and services have to be created and targets reported on, senior executives who are paying your bills to answer to. The trick is to ensure that you are the boss of your business from the outset, setting the ground-rules when you engage with clients so that they are a win for both parties. As a business owner, there will always be people you need to answer to, but there is a way of managing that process so that it works for you.

Women entrepreneurs often spend too much time worrying about the competition, and not enough time focusing on what makes their business more attractive to customers in the marketplace. It’s a common trait, but one that needs to be avoided. Competition is a reality, but how you approach it is what sets you apart in business. Celebrate what makes you and your business unique, and remember that no other company or entrepreneur has your story, so leverage that fact with your customers. Acknowledge that we live and operate in a new economy, one that celebrates sharing and collaboration, so perhaps instead of seeing other entrepreneurs as competition, explore whether there is the opportunity to share expertise and collaborate to win new business.  And importantly, stop comparing your efforts and results with those of other entrepreneurs. Everyone has a different business building journey they are on, so learn from others, celebrate and be inspired by other entrepreneurs’ success, and focus on your own journey. It’s a mind-shift that is needed, but one that is worth the effort.

It’s said that a business is only as good as its people, and in a startup, everything revolves around people. In those early days of building your business and developing your products and services, it’s essential to build the right team, and often that’s the hardest part of the journey. Make the wrong hiring or partnering decisions, and it can cost the business quickly, but get it right and build a team that works and thinks well together, and it can be the fastest way to success. This is a fact that most entrepreneurs underestimate. A dream team is made up of people who bring the right combination of skills and experience to the table, but most importantly, the right collaborative mindset and a winning mentality. It’s not just about bringing in as many people as possible in the early days in order to speed up the process, it’s all about getting the right people to the table and into the team. South African entrepreneur, Emma Kaye, founder of Bozza, has some great insights on the subject. She says, “You can see your company turn in a heartbeat from just a couple of bad people. So the most powerful thing for me is choose your team very carefully because your team is you. Always employ people who are far better than you at what you do, and empower them.”

There’s a big difference between starting a business and then successfully running and growing that business over time. It can be a hard slog with continual stress, pressure to effectively manage finances through the inevitable peaks and troughs, managing and developing your employees, retaining your existing clients and finding new ones, and still finding the time to innovate and develop new products and services along the way. It can be a lot to deal with, and unlike corporate employees, you can’t simply leave it all behind at the office each day when you are an entrepreneur. Stress management amongst entrepreneurs is a continual challenge. That’s why you need a really effective support network of fellow entrepreneurs, friends, family and people who can be there when you need them, to offer advice, a shoulder to cry on, a familiar face to have a moan to when the going gets tough, and a cheerleading brigade when you have something to celebrate.

Many successful entrepreneurs will tell you that their businesses have grown and been sustainable over the years because they have taken conscious decisions to live frugally in the startup years and reinvest back into the businesses. It’s a wise strategy to adopt, particularly because so often one of the biggest challenges facing fledgling businesses is managing cashflows at critical times, and ensuring there is always a source of critical capital available when the business needs it most. But the temptation is always there in any startup business to take cash out in the moment, instead of reinvesting it for the longer term. So take some advice on this subject from one of the most successful women entrepreneurs on the African continent, Divine Ndhlukula, founder of Securico Security Services in Zimbabwe, one of the country’s most successful businesses. She says, “Don't be tempted to take cash out of your early-stage startup venture....when a bit of cash starts rolling in, have the discipline to know that it is not your money yet.  It is still the business’s money because you want the business to grow. So for you to sustain it and enjoy phenomenal growth, that anyone going into business wants, you need to reinvest all the little bits of cash that you get then you can be assured that your business will grow.” Great words of advice!

Building trust in your business, particularly amongst your employees, is a critical foundation stone for success. As the founder of your business, it’s so important that those around you have trust in you, your judgement, and your leadership. When your employees, your shareholders, your suppliers and your customers trust you, they are more likely to engage with the business. And that’s where transparency comes in - if as the founder of the business you are transparent in your leadership and your decision-making, then that in turn will inspire those around you to adopt your values in their own working lives. It’s really all a matter of practicing what you preach. It sends a message that openness, sharing, and collaboration are all core values in your business and ones that are adopted from the top down in the business. So if you want everyone to join you on this entrepreneurial journey and fully engage in all aspects of the business, then transparency is key to building that all essential trust that is needed for success.

In an ultra competitive business environment where the challenges for women entrepreneurs trying to break through into key markets still exist, collaboration could be the key to generating stronger business outcomes. Collaborative, win-win partnerships with like-minded women can open up new business opportunities, strengthen business offerings, put additional power behind pitch situations, and ultimately speed up growth. When thinking about embarking on any partnership arrangement, many women entrepreneurs voice concerns about trust - they worry about potential partners possibly stealing their ideas, poaching their customers and their employees. But ultimately, successful partnerships are built on trust and loyalty, and it should be remembered that behind every successful company and entrepreneur, there is a network of supporters, strategic partners, and mentors. They appreciate the power of partnerships to bring something fresh to the business table, to fill the gaps where key skills and experience are needed. That’s why women entrepreneurs should perhaps look to complementary partnerships being the smart business decision to make.