by Teboho Seretlo
Fellow Lionesses, it’s been a minute! As we step into a new year, I find myself reflecting deeply on my journey in 2024—the lessons I have learned and the priorities I am setting for the year ahead.
Read moreAbout being ghosted
by Teboho Seretlo
What does the term “ghosting” even mean? I looked it up on Google and this is what comes up: “Ghosting is when someone who used to be friendly or even romantic with you suddenly cuts off all communication without explanation. While most people think of ghosting in a digital context, meaning a friend or dating partner stops responding to texts, emails, calls, etc., it can happen across all social circumstances.” For me, where it says it can happen across all social circumstances, this is true. However, I daresay it happens across the spectrum, professionally too.
Read moreLet’s talk about payment, late payment or non-payment issues
by Teboho Seretlo
All in the day of a small business owner in South Africa.
It’s been a minute and my creative writing juices dried up while I was chasing some business opportunities and non-paying clients out there. So, these past few weeks, I have been finalizing some projects, dealing with good news of funding applications I submitted on behalf of clients being successful and all sorts of other things. My spirits have been high after landing these successes and I was excited at the prospect of my bank balance swelling, if only a little bit.
Read moreShould it be more about attention management and less about time management?
by Teboho Seretlo
Counting the number of hours spent on any given task, is it really practical? I know that in some management consulting firms, pay is arrived at using time-sheets of how much time you have spent on a particular project. I have also come across APPS that help you manage your timesheet to make it easier to collate and send to those who will be paying you for your time and maybe vice-versa - it could be you paying a consultant/contractor you have hired, based on time.
Read moreBeing bullied and harassed in the workplace - My Story
by Teboho Seretlo
There have been a lot of articles, social media posts and research done on this topic of bullying and harassment in the workplace. It seems that this is a huge challenge festering and lurking out there and one is left wondering if, like issues of sexual harassment, discrimination etc, which some companies even go to the extent of having an HR Policy about, are the ones that occupy our minds more.
Read moreIs there such as thing as divorcing a client?
by Teboho Seretlo
I am an independent business consultant, meaning I earn my revenue from paying clients, who are prepared to pay for my time and expertise. I get most of my clients from word-of-mouth, followed by social media. In the last few years since I started this consultancy, I have realized that it is very important to know your worth and be confident in what you can deliver. If you don’t know your worth, you will be chopping and changing things such as your fees, the minute a client complains about your fees. You don’t want to get into such a debate with a client, especially if the client is not even one of those that contribute a lot towards your monthly revenue. Once you get into such a debate, then rest assured the client will always come back to you with this line of cornering you into lowering your fees.
Read moreWhy is it so difficult to ask for help?
by Teboho Seretlo
In an article that I recently read, which led me to a TED talk with the same topic by Heidi Grant, I came across some very useful tips, coupled with a deeper understanding of why I am always struggling to ask for help. I used to be the top student in my class since primary school and getting a prize at every prize-giving ceremony was etched in my childhood memory. Seeing my parents sitting there and watching with pride as I stood up to claim my prize. I never participated in any sports. Could it be that the individual achievement was an incentive for me to perform well and that all the praises were for me and not a team? Could it be that I valued being viewed as an independent person who was good at solving her own challenges without “bothering” others and asking for help? Luckily, as I progressed in life, I quickly learnt that collaborating and asking for help is very normal and was not a sign of weakness on my part.
Read moreMy journey of “heart-breaks” in choosing business partners and associates - what I have learnt
by Teboho Seretlo
In my line of work, as a sole business owner of my consulting business, I often rely on a professional network of associate consultants to get some of my work done. Example - if there is a specific project that I want to work on, be it responding to a published tender or putting together a proposal for a specific project, I often prefer to gather professionals in my networks to ensure we put our best foot forward and we offer a team with as diverse skills as possible. I also welcome other consultants approaching me to work with them on their own projects, especially if I can add value to their projects.
Read moreAre New Year’s Resolutions Still Relevant in My Life?
by Teboho Seretlo
2021 is gone and here we are in the first days of 2022, with 52 weeks at our disposal. The first weeks of January, that crazy time when we are tempted to put together some new year’s resolutions that we may never look at again until 2023 comes, and we do the same exercise again.
Read moreFunding - The F’ Word in Business
by Teboho Serotlo
Often in my line of business I come across lots and lots of small business owners who are looking for funding for their business. Clearly access to funding is one of the biggest challenges that small businesses are faced with. To begin with, I think the big question is, actually do you really need the funding? Have you looked at other options? What are these other options?
Read moreThree Lessons Learnt - My life from Corporate to Business Owner of a Franchised Store
By Teboho Seretlo
A little bit about me. I have worked for more than 25 years in corporates since 1989. These included Unilever, SAB, The Coca Cola Company, Momentum and finally Nedbank. I held various positions from being a technical trainee going through the brilliant graduate programmes of these illustrious companies. These positions offered me very well-rounded general management skills, from logistics, financial management, project management, human resources as well as transformation/B-BBEE.
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