the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Catia Mondlane
As far as the actual situation has been prolonged, predicting when will it stop and what would be the long term impacts hasn’t been easy, which undoubtedly forces most manufacturers to seriously rethink their operations. We are aware that for one to sell products requires money and space up front. Storing one’s inventory can be challenging around this time, especially if you have a lot of product to sell and not so many customers to buy them.
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by Nontobeko Mbuyane, CEO & Founder of Bee’s Beauty Haven & Glutaspa Group
We might not know it or honestly aware but the cry we hear from deep in our hearts comes from the wounded child within and healing this inner child’s pain is the key to transforming anger, sadness, and fear. What might shock you is that we all have a wounded inner child. I missed out on a business deal that I was working on the other day and my wounded child was so pained and afraid that I wouldn’t have another great business opportunity coming my way. Feeling helpless and defeated, my wounded child wanted to just break down, yell or even scream. All we need to know is that the wounded child is never “wrong” or “bad.” It’s really just a child trying to take care of its needs in the best way it can.
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by Ronel Jooste
Cash flow is critical to any business despite the size or type of business. Cash flow can be compared to a river. A river will always flow into a dam or the sea, and for the river to remain flowing there needs to be a constant inflow of water. At some point there might be a cascade where the water will be tumbling down over rocks and building up to that cascade the river needs even more water flowing in. When there is a strong inflow of water the cascade turns into a beautiful picture. Similarly businesses need a constant inflow of cash to support their cash outflows in the form of expenses, paying suppliers and repaying debt. When a business has a solid inflow of cash and manage the outflow of cash, the business can ultimately grow and thrive.
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by Lori Milner
I am fascinated by what makes some people set goals, show up and achieve them while others set goals, think about them and then make excuses and often blame external factors about why they haven’t.
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by Kulani Shiluvane, Founder and Chief Consultant – Shiluvah
The 1st of May 2020 saw South Africa move from level 5 to level 4 of the national lockdown, a measure taken by the South African government to curb the impact of COVID-19. This means that while essentials workers and an estimated 1.5 million workers will go about their business of work in this new normal, we find ourselves in the rest of the South African population working from home (WFH) for those that are able to and this will continue to be the new normal.
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by Sylvia Walker, author of SmartWoman
The world is in crisis, grappling with a new reality. With lock downs and other rules to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, money issues have rocketed to the fore. Many business face ruin as they cannot operate, individuals find themselves off work with no pay, others may be on short pay and yet others are being retrenched as their businesses can no longer operate. Some are fortunate, though, in that they can work from home, or are being paid by their employers irrespective of whether they are working or not.
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by Nomazibulo Tshanga, Ziyana Business Consulting
As the global pandemic deepens and the human cost of Covid-19 rises, the novel coronavirus is sending shocks through the world economy. Across industries, organizations are now taking action to protect their employees, customers and also minimize the economic damage. I wonder if that’s the case for all organizations?
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by Phindile Tapula, Founder and Director of Bhekizenzo Foundation
I want to chat to moms who want to experience joy and peace every day in their lives. This is for moms who want to enjoy motherhood and even through its hurdles, experience the calm in the storm. A life filled with joy, love and peace is possible. You can have it all, if you work on it all.
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by Claire Holden, Empowerment Coach
I’m passionate about empowerment – “the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.” This is the area of coaching that I focus on and where I do most of my ongoing learning. The challenge with empowerment is that we don’t often realise how much of our personal power we give away on a daily basis until we feel resentful, run down, fed up and / or confused and uncentered.
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by Lori Milner
If I asked you to describe your ideal day, could you do it in detail? It sounds like an obvious question but the answer is only clear when you have given yourself sufficient time to find the answer. The answer is not in Google, Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook (that’s everybody else’s curated lifestyle). A lot of the time, we have goals that create the roadmap for our days and years but have you stopped to ask yourself if this is your goal or are you trying to please someone else? That someone else can be the ‘you’ of 5 years ago and now your priorities have shifted but you haven’t sat down long enough on your own to catch up to this fact.
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by Marta Roff, founder of Maputo Relocation Solutions, Mozambique
I was challenged to write about my view of the world after COVID-19. Since I have no capabilities to predict the future, I decided to rather change the wording and write about my view at the moment and what I wish COVID-19 would change in humanity.
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by Tapiwa Matsinde, Atelier 55
There is a lot of advice coming at us right now. As entrepreneurs having to adapt in this time of crisis, we are being asked to read this, watch that, do this or buy that. And taking in all the information can at times be overwhelming. Understandably in this time of uncertainty, you want to shore up your business for what comes next but as you read, watch or listen are you considering what all this information means for you and your business’ future.
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by Eldari Visser
Without a doubt we have been attacked. Many of us feel it in our core as humans. We hear of devastating news, people that mourn and people that suffer. This has a tremendous impact on the psychological thinking of a human as validation that we are still in control. We surely don’t feel in control. The only way to feel in control is to make a living. Work makes us feel that we are..... in control!
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by Susan Frances, co-founder of Abilities
‘Sophia’ is not alone…we all need development.
In the past when organizations wanted to cut costs, they would take product specialists or salespeople and convert them into facilitators. Learning & Development (L&D) in many organizations was the business unit for ‘hospital passes’.
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by Clare Appleyard, founder of Katannuta Diamonds
We live in an information economy, where you can find virtually anything you want, somewhere on the internet. Want to learn how to bake a cake? There’s a recipe website for that. Want to learn how to change the battery in your computer? There’s a YouTube video for that. Want to learn how to meditate? There’s an app for that.
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by Lori Milner
In the practice of Yoga, there is a principle about contentment called Santosha. This quote sums it up beautifully - “From an attitude of contentment, unexcelled happiness and joy are obtained.”As a self-leadership expert, I make sure I implement the principles I read and study so I can internalise it and become the change I want to make. My favourite quote which I am paraphrasing is ‘Information is not enough – otherwise we would all be millionaires with 6 packs’. It’s not enough to read about these principles, we need to integrate them and apply them in order to see results of personal growth.
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Grace Stevens
Female entrepreneur, baker extraordinaire and mother of four, Grace Stevens understands that during lockdown many entrepreneurs are thinking about their business’ livelihood and sustainability. However, for many women managing their businesses in such an unpredictable climate whilst providing the love, care and comfort their families need can seem like a daunting task. So, what is Grace's secret to this seemingly superwoman status?
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by Kim Williams
Cape Town based interior creative and behavioural specialist Kim Williams says that during the lockdown we can be more creative with how we use our space if we are going to get the most out of spending more time in our homes. During the COVID19 pandemic, we should be able to connect with our domestic spaces on a deeper level, increase their functionality and adapt their aesthetics to suit our new needs.
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by Phindile Tapula, Founder and Director of Bhekizenzo Foundation
Working from home is tough during this pandemic outbreak. As a mom, this time is demanding. From scheduling and prioritizing playtime, preparing food more often than before, being on time and prepared for Zoom meetings. I have decided to share some tips for moms to stay sane and better manage working from home. Disclaimer, these tips work for me, they may not work for you. I am sharing them in order to inspire moms to establish their own systems. I suggest you try these tips and if they work, great and if they don’t - change them and make up your own.
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