the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Anja van Beek
One thing we know for certain is that we can’t solve today’s challenges with yesterday’s wisdom. We need to choose a growth mindset. What I have seen in my coaching practice is that if we don’t stretch ourselves, we are often nudged by some external event to be stretched to grow. But what does this mean? How do you embrace a growth mindset?
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by Kathy Mann
In my corporate life I spent a lot of time mentoring graduates and I can tell you that it was the best part of my experience. Better than the projects that saved the bank millions. I felt appreciated and I knew that I was making a difference. The relationships were mutually beneficial even though the graduates thought that only they were getting something out of it. They were enthusiastic, grateful and eager to learn. I found working with them enormously rewarding.
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by Brigette Mashile
Many of my peers struggle with taking a day off. There are many reasons why, but it’s taboo to just not work for 24 hours. We fail. Especially in an era where all communication is tied to the phone, we keep it with us every minute of the day. You would have to switch it off the entire day to have a day off. And then, find a way to switch off your brain. Then, you need a day or two to actually get over the constant anxiety of wondering how it is really going without you!
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by Josefa Massinga
Let’s talk about the importance of customer feedback. But what does feedback mean and what is its importance in our business? Being an entrepreneur it is not just about selling and profiting. As entrepreneurs we offer products or services that are sold with the aim of meeting a demand. Consumers have needs and buy what they think is important to them. Because we are in this area of selling products, it is very important to hear or know what they want.
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by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie
Gone are the days when we clocked into our work day in the morning and clocked into the rest of our lives in the late afternoon. There was a clear separation between home life and work life and we could attend to the different parts of our lives without it being contaminated by the other parts of our lives. Where we were was where we were and we were able to give it our full attention.
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by Felicity Cowie, The Media Relations Coach
Media relations is frequently muddled up with public relations and that is very unhelpful for businesses seeking media coverage. Fundamentally, media relations is about working with journalists. Whilst the intention is to ultimately reach the public (be it customers, investors, talent or the world at large) via media coverage, it’s critical to understand that in all media relations work your audience is journalists. And journalists are under no obligation to do what you ask. You have no rights to approve or request changes to their work otherwise it wouldn’t be the independent third party endorsement which makes it so valuable.
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by Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho
I spent yesterday evening talking to my friend and leading wealth coach in Nigeria, Abiola Adekoya, on her maiden edition of Disruptors with Abiola Adekoya, an IG LIVE series focused on Disruptors, Industry Trends, Wealth Creation and how to navigate the 21st century with all its quirks and kinks.
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by Kathy Mann
This weekend I went on a women’s retreat. On the first night I admitted to the ladies that I was really there to escape my children. Of course, I also went to renew myself and spend some time alone. It is the first time I have attended a retreat and I’m glad to say that there were no intolerable team exercises or war cries. The activities included art, dancing and reflection (including guided meditation).
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by Rewa Udoji
In Africa, Art has rarely ever been a priority. In schools, the Arts are considered a lesser educational endeavour and pursuing a career in this space has long been openly discouraged. On the transactional side, African Art collectors were seen as eclectic with most buying African art more for the aesthetics than as an asset - the latter attribute however, being assigned to art by international artists. In recent years however, African art has been accruing higher prices at auction houses all over the world. This, coupled with increased demand have placed a spotlight on the African art scene, highlighting a lively arena that had previously been viewed as unsophisticated by the international art community.
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by Lori Milner
If you could stop one habit today, what would it be? As a professional coach and trainer, I have asked this question in hundreds of workshops, and without fail, the one habit that always comes up consistently is procrastination. Procrastination is the habit of putting off something until later. When you repeat this habit on a consistent basis, it becomes detrimental not only to your productivity but also to your emotional state. Feelings of self-hatred, self-criticism, judgement and fear taunt you when you’re at you’re lowest.
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by Anja van Beek
We currently work in businesses where we find five generations in the workplace. This means if you’re a manager in your 30’s you’re most probably managing team members that are 10 or 20 years older than you. In my career as an HR leader for a multinational business, we have appointed many younger managers based on their leadership potential - not their technical skills - which resulted in them managing older team members. How do you feel about reporting to someone younger than yourself?
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by Catia Mondlane
Nowadays, the idea of being an entrepreneur has been the main theme. From small community campaigns to large international platforms which have not only sold the idea that entrepreneurship is the way to success and financial independence, but also recently adopted the inclusive method where women empowerment programs have been the main target of the moment, not just encouraging them but funding their brilliant projects.
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by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie
Avoidance is one of the more sinister patterns that we adopt. Firstly, by avoiding the discomfort we’re trying to escape, we ironically make it permanent in our lives. Secondly, as a function of avoidance, we make our power to improve our situation invisible to ourselves. We make the cycle of pain and avoidance perpetual and even permanent for ourselves.
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by Kathy Mann
It is well-documented that laughter is good for you. In fact there seems to be quite a movement to stimulate laughter as a mechanism to reduce stress. I met someone once who conducts team workshops to laugh together for this very purpose. In my research on methods of healing, I’ve also come across Laughter Yoga, some sessions of which end with ‘laughter meditation’. I understand the benefits of laughter, but I also know that this is just not for me. Just as some people simply are not interested in meditation or a gratitude journal, forced group laughter is just something I can’t bring myself to do.
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by Erica Paiva
Have you ever found yourself looking into the future imagining what it could be, how it could be, and how happy you can be and years later, living that future, looked back and saw how much you lost? How much did you not feel? How much were you deluded by the dictates of society? Ehhh this is normal and very common believe me.
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by Izane Cloete-Hamilton
Whether you work in a large corporate, a small-medium enterprise or own a business, you've heard about benchmarking. Renowned business leaders often highlight the importance of benchmarking to the success of a business.
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by Josefa Massinga
Hello Lionesses. Today I am writing about being successful in life, not that what I'm going to write is really the path to success in life. But I believe that from what I'm going to write it can help each of us to find some light. I believe we are all successful in some area of our lives. We have all achieved great goals and victories in certain areas of our lives. Success is in each of us. We have to accept the life we have and know how to say that our life is a great success.
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by Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho
Digital marketing is entirely a world of its own and a digital marketing revolution is taking over the world! It is almost impossible to know every element as it comprises numerous features, limitless possibilities and ever changing features. It is a challenging task to have mastery of the subject when it is not a core business focus.
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by Zodidi Gaseb
I had just moved into my new manufacturing site when Covid 19 hit. We were suddenly plummeted into lockdown and reality struck. Businesses were forced to shut down, strategize and make ends meet in one of the most challenging phases the modern world has ever known. I had to let my team go, we tried minimizing work as sales were not met, but the shift in consumer priorities forced me to evaluate my own priorities.
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by Lori Milner
I am a collector of gems but not the shiny kinds. I surround myself with incredible mentors who guide me and seem to show up when I need them most. Luckily, I am not dependent on actually meeting these incredible people but can access their knowledge whenever I need it. Books are my happy place. Over the years, I have collected valuable nuggets and gems that I often go back to when I need a jolt of inspiration or if I’m feeling stuck.
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