So here’s an interesting fact! Did you know that most businesses in the world are family businesses, and that’s certainly the case in the US, where most small businesses are family businesses and, to the surprise of many, most large businesses are also family businesses. You may never have heard of them because they tend not to be traded publicly, and they do not go out of their way to advertise who owns these companies. But strong families and values are behind their success. In these businesses, the family relationship is as vital to the success of most companies as any other factor. So why are family firms more productive than their non-family owned peers? Well, it seems one key reason is that family owned firms tend to see not only higher employee engagement levels from staff, but as a result of this, they also secure higher productivity levels as well. There is a personal connection between employees and a family owned brand where the founders live the vision and mission of the business and set the right example for everyone to feel part of.

Have you noticed a particular trait that is shared amongst the most successful entrepreneurs? They seem to display an inner restlessness, a desire to never stay still, never sitting back and just enjoying their success. They seem to always be on a mission to strive to improve, or create the next innovation, or find another solution to a key challenge. Over the years, this restlessness has always propelled entrepreneurship and innovation forward. It usually reflects a need to make a difference or an impact. Often this restlessness is personally motivated, with entrepreneurs getting frustrated with the status quo, and indeed, there are usually very personal and passion driven stories behind many successful social or business ventures. So if you feel you are getting stuck in your business or in your life, and feel a little restless, then harness that inner restless dissatisfaction and those feelings and use them to propel your business and your life in a new direction.

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.

They often say that it takes visionaries and mavericks to make change happen, people who are not afraid to buck the system, or challenge the status quo in order to get new and exciting things done. Entrepreneurs tend to be such visionaries and often build businesses, products and innovations that go against the grain of the status-quo. And, they are definitely maverick - it’s part of their DNA. They have an inbuilt ability to envision what doesn’t yet exist, to challenge existing ways of doing things and ask tough questions about why things are made in a certain way when they could be done differently and better. It can be tough being a maverick in business and when your ideas fall on deaf ears in the early stages of getting your products and ideas out to market. But the important thing to remember is that most of the groundbreaking, trend bucking  businesses that have shaped our world today, were created by mavericks that were passionate about what they were doing and who believed in their ideas despite all the naysayers in the early days. So, celebrate and harness your inner maverick, and surround yourself with others who share your approach to life and business.

There is a famous quote by Kevin Systrom, founder of Instagram, that goes: “Every startup should address a real and demonstrated need in the world – if you build a solution to a problem lots of people have, it’s so easy to sell your product to the world.” Wise and very practical words for an uber-successful entrepreneur who knows what it takes to build a great, sustainable business. According to the market research firm, CB Insights, 47% of all startups fail because there is no market need for what they are making. So the question has to be, “What problem or need are you trying to solve with your business? The answer will determine if your business idea is valid, needed and will have a better chance of succeeding. But to build a sustainable business, you’ll need to ensure other people care about it as much as you do. So before you go off and spend your time building anything, make sure you have identified a problem worth solving or a need that requires a solution. Get that right and you might just have a business.

Look at any successful business that resonates with you and the chances are that you connect with it because you appreciate and understand its core values. It’s something to think about with your own business. When a customer makes that all important decision to buy from you, they’re endorsing your own values and those associated with your brand. That’s why it’s important to define the core values of your business right from day one. Customers need to know what you stand for as a business, what’s important to you, how you operate in the marketplace, how your brand is viewed by others. Your core values help to guide and safeguard your reputation, and help you to build a successful business that reflects who you want to be, and where you want to go in life. They also play a pivotal role in helping you to make big decisions. So, if you haven’t spent time defining the core values that are at the heart of your business, then you could be undermining your business and brand in the eyes of your customers and your employees.

In an increasingly consumer conscious society, where buyers want to better understand the provenance of the products they buy and the impact their purchasing decisions are making on society, Fairtrade standards provide a great guide. And, Africa’s impact driven retail entrepreneurs are embracing the Fairtrade philosophy to ensure their products are made to standards set by the Fairtrade Foundation. These standards were designed to help improve the quality of life for producers in developing countries and provide very specific sets of criteria in order to gain recognition with a genuine Fairtrade mark, certified by the Fairtrade Foundation. For those women entrepreneurs in Africa who are looking to break into powerful global retail markets and to win over conscious consumers who want to make a difference through their purchases, the Fairtrade standards and Fairtrade mark can provide a real market advantage and global recognition.

Women entrepreneurs are often motivated to start their new businesses because they see a gap in a marketplace or community that they know personally and very well. They respond to local needs and wants, they know when a particular product or service is not readily available, and additionally, they understand the customers who are in need of those missing products and services. As a result, they seize the opportunity, and create business and product offerings to fill the gap - whether that be in the retail or local manufacturing space, or in the specialist service sectors. Economists refer to these women business builders as “opportunity” entrepreneurs as they are market driven as opposed to those who are survivalist entrepreneurs who lack other options. These women opportunity entrepreneurs are key to Africa’s regional economic growth, particularly in their own communities, as they are building successful businesses that know their customer needs well, who create products that are highly targeted to meet local needs, and who employ and train local people as they grow. It’s a win-win scenario, particularly if they are given the support and development to take their businesses to the next level.

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.

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.

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. 

We all know that the life of an entrepreneur is not for everyone, that’s why it is very much a lifestyle choice when embarking on the journey to build a business. When friends and family around you are working 9-5, you are working all hours of the day to make things happen in your business. When others are planning vacations, you are planning how to take your next trip to meet a client and hopefully bring in the next big client. When friends are hanging out in a bar or restaurant as part of their relaxation time, you are at networking events, mixing with fellow entrepreneurs and making valuable future contacts. In the crazy world of entrepreneurship, life and work merge together - the secret is making it work for you so that you can enjoy both facets of your lifestyle choice.

It’s one of those key times in the life of any entrepreneur - knowing when it’s necessary to pivot in business. When you pivot your business, you change direction in response to realizing that the way you are doing things simply isn’t working and it’s time for a rethink. And, there’s nothing wrong with pivoting the business, after all, market needs change, customers change, technology changes, all factors that can necessitate a Plan B and a pivot. It’s all about making the right move for the future sustainability of the business. The key is knowing when to pivot. It could be that your business is experiencing difficulty in sustaining its revenue sources. Maybe your business model needs a rethink. Or customer feedback indicates that a business offering needs tweaking to meet their requirements. Ultimately, it could just be that your business is simply not growing as it should be, and new action plans are needed to move it forward. So take a good hard look at the business, start by figuring out where the growth and sustainability is most likely to be, and pivot in that direction.

Entrepreneurs are very often seen as leaders, whether they are setting new business or design trends, or creating innovative new products that shape future marketplaces, or disrupting existing ways of doing things. They epitomize the very notion of leaders from a business perspective. But it’s also interesting to see just how many women entrepreneurs are also leaders in their communities, using their businesses and their success as a means to help those communities to grow and thrive too. They say that the value chain created by women entrepreneurs is so much longer because they are hardwired to spread the benefit of their business success to others. They look at ways of tackling socio economic challenges in their local communities, they are interested in educating the next generation of children, and they are passionate about finding solutions to environmental challenges affecting those communities. These women entrepreneurs are real leaders, passionate about using business to make a lasting impact, and showing others how it is done. We can all learn from their example and be the change that is needed in the world through the businesses and products we create, and the experience and knowledge we share with others.

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.

How often as an entrepreneur do you find yourself spending precious time re-hashing mistakes or bad decisions you have made - over and over again? You are not alone! It seems that one of the hardest things for entrepreneurs to do is to stop pressing the replay button and to let that mistake or decision go once it has been made. It’s all about mindset - it’s important to learn from our mistakes and our errors of judgement, but then to move quickly on, incorporating those learnings as we go. As tech entrepreneur and founder of Dell Technologies, Michael Dell, says: “Recognize that there will be failures, and acknowledge that there will be obstacles. But you will learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, for there is very little learning in success.” Something to remember when you are tempted to press that replay button in your head and relive your latest mistake.

Co-working is rapidly becoming the norm in the world of start-up businesses. And it’s interesting to see how big business is also starting to tap into this way of thinking, with many of them setting up satellite offices for their innovation or intrapreneur teams in trendy co-working spots. As a result, co-working spaces are not only providing a sense of community for the independent entrepreneur who is looking to be part of a like-minded community, but also an inspirational environment for employees who want to think more like entrepreneurs. It makes for interesting and often dynamic spaces. Because they are often accessible 24/7 and people can come and go as they please, these collaborative spaces encourage interaction on what can often be an isolating entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial journey. Co-working is now a part of our entrepreneurial lives and thinking, and whilst it may not suit everyone, that sense of community created in these dedicated spaces is definitely a draw card for many. That’s why many businesses are now incorporating co-working into their strategies, seeing the value that can be generated from the experience.

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.”