Entrepreneur Advice from Lilian Muhammed: Know your purpose

November 22, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Lilian Muhammed, founder of LONDRÉ TAN (South Africa) — **Lilian Muhammed**, founder of LONDRÉ TAN (South Africa)

Know your purpose....

"Know your purpose and always stay focused on your passion. Many other thoughts and obsessions will come your way as you plan your great journey, but lean on your first love - PLAN A."

- Lilian Muhammed is the founder of LONDRÉ TAN, a company that designs and manufactures handcrafted leather bags, purses and precious stone jewellery in their studio in Johannesburg, South Africa. The brand was created with the aim of producing great quality, locally made fashion accessories with exceptional craftsmanship, and a modern look and feel.

Credit: know your score and keep tabs on it!

November 21, 2017 Melanie Hawken

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by Sylvia Walker, author of SmartWoman

Most of us will all need to apply for credit at some time in our lives, and as an entrepreneur, this is almost a certainty. By taking ownership and being pro-active in managing your credit, you can avoid any unpleasant surprises and make sure that financial support will be there when you need it most.

Top 7 Lessons to Help You for Maximize the App-ortunity in South Africa - What brands can learn from the country’s most successful apps

November 21, 2017 Melanie Hawken

We love mobile and have been fortunate enough to work on the initial versions of many of South Africa’s leading apps over the last 7 years. In some cases, we have continued working with these brands throughout the course of their app journeys and these are some of the fundamental (as well as subtler) learnings anyone looking to make a dent in the space can take from this experience.

The power of listening

November 21, 2017 Melanie Hawken

It happens often: we appear to be listening but in fact we are so distracted by other thoughts, other people, and other things we have to do, that we’re not really actively listening. Or we’re thinking about what we’re going to say next and how we can say it so that we sound fabulously articulate and intelligent. We don’t entirely hear what the person in front of us is saying. We’re not getting the whole message. In our careers, it’s critical that we are heard. But it’s just as critical that we hear, that we truly hear. Our ability to really listen to others is as vital to our overall presence.

Quote of the Day by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

November 21, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels — Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels

"You’re not in a dynamic business if you’re not experiencing challenges."

- Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and Managing Director of soleRebels (Ethiopia)

Entrepreneur Advice from Margaret Hirsch: Turn stress on its head

November 21, 2017 Melanie Hawken

You need to learn to turn stress on its head....

"I believe stress is a figment of imagination; a way of thinking about what you don’t want to happen. You turn this around and think about what you do want to happen‚ and amazingly enough it actually happens.”

- Margaret Hirsch is one half of a dynamic husband and wife duo that founded Hirsch's Homestores. Back in 1979, as a secretary, together with her husband Allan, then an appliance repair man, they unwittingly became entrepreneurs who went on to build an appliance, electronics and furnishing retail empire. Today, Hirsch's Homestores is the largest independently owned appliance and electronics business in Southern Africa, with 18 Hirsch stores and four Samsung concept stores.

The art of managing your finances as an entrepreneur

November 20, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Have you ever asked an entrepreneur how much they make? And they respond with a ‘million from last month’ but no smile coming with it? Or any triumphant fist in the air? Yep. It is because it is deeper than that. Revenue is the easiest part of operations; if you have built a good brand and something people want/need; you will have sales easily. The trick is ‘where are those sales going’?

Quote of the Day by Farai Simoyi

November 20, 2017 Melanie Hawken

"Live your life with an open mind, open heart, and open arms; you’ll be amazed at what gifts life has to offer.”

Farai Simoyi, founder of Farai Inc.

100 LIONESSES: Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, the shoemaker with a deep social conscience

November 19, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels, the world's fastest-growing African footwear brand and the only Fair Trade-certified footwear company in the world. Growing up in a poor suburb of Addis Ababa, Bethlehem decided that there was only one way to defeat poverty – use local craftsmanship to make products that can compete in the global marketplace. She decided on footwear and today 70,000 pairs of shoes leave her factory every year. soleRebels has been expanding rapidly and has 18 stores around the world, including in Silicon Valley (USA), Japan, Singapore, Austria, Greece, Spain and Switzerland, along with an aggressive e-commerce marketing strategy. in 2015, Bethlehem launched a new venture, Republic of Leather, offering bespoke, hand crafted Leather wear and accessories; and in 2016 she launched an equally ambitious new coffee venture called Garden of Coffee with the objective of taking Ethiopia's ancient coffee culture to the world.

Roomila Roothoorodoo, a Mauritian entrepreneur building a business that captures special moments for its clients

November 19, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Roomila Roothoorodoo, founder of Focus Events (Mauritius) — **Roomila Roothoorodoo**, founder of Focus Events (Mauritius)

Whether you are staging a major conference or special event such a wedding, or you need to produce a video that tells your corporate story, it’s essential to bring in the specialists. In Mauritius, one passionate photographer, Roomila Roothoorodoo, founder of Focus Events, is bringing her creative talents to the table.

Nondumiso Pikashe, a South African entrepreneur creating a proud indigenous wine brand

November 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Nondumiso Pikashe, founder of Ses’fikile Wines (South Africa) — **Nondumiso Pikashe**, founder of Ses’fikile Wines (South Africa)

Exciting things are happening in South Africa’s winelands with a new generation of entrepreneurs making great wines for the local and global market place and building new brands to watch. Ses’fikile Wines, founded by Nondumiso Pikashe, is one such brand with high aspirations.

African Entrepreneurship Award announces 15 women finalists

November 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

The African Entrepreneurship Award, a $1million prize sponsored by BMCE Bank of Africa for African entrepreneurs with for-profit business ideas that create jobs and improve lives, has just announced the finalists for the 2017 awards. At the start of 2017, 5,349 entrepreneurs from all 54 countries in Africa, and 45 in the diaspora, applied for the Award. Now, one month before the winners are announced, a panel of mentors has selected 41 finalists from 19 African countries, and 39% are women entrepreneurs (15 in total).

ESSENTIAL READ: Clay Water Brick: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs Who Do the Most with the Least by Jessica Jackley

November 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva — **Jessica Jackley**, co-founder of Kiva

In the tradition of Kabul Beauty School and Start Something That Matters comes an inspiring story of social entrepreneurship from Jessica Jackley, the co-founder of Kiva, the first online microlending platform for the working poor. Featuring lessons learned from successful businesses in the world’s poorest countries, Jessica Jackley’s book, Clay Water Brick, will motivate readers to more deeply appreciate the incredible entrepreneurial potential that exists in every human being on this planet, especially themselves.

Cape Town’s women entrepreneurs lean in for inspiration and great business networking

November 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

L-R: Kgotso Masekwameng, Simone Musgrave, Melanie Hawken, Jesslyn Schlamm, Vicki Bain — L-R: Kgotso Masekwameng, Simone Musgrave, Melanie Hawken, Jesslyn Schlamm, Vicki Bain

On a beautiful sunshine filled day on 10th November, in the shadow of Table Mountain, 80 women entrepreneurs from across the Western Cape gathered together for the last Lioness Lean In Breakfast event of the year in the city. The venue was once again Workshop 17 in Cape Town’s bustling V&A Waterfront area. In prospect was a morning filled with inspirational startup story sharing from successful women business owners, and great business networking.

Quote of the Day by Johanna Mukoki

November 17, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Johanna Mukoki, co-founder and group CEO of Travel With Flair Travel (South Africa) — **Johanna Mukoki**, co-founder and group CEO of Travel With Flair Travel (South Africa)

"I am an entrepreneur. I was born a free spirit and I cannot think of any other way to work or live."

- Johanna Mukoki, co-founder & CEO of Travel With Flair (South Africa)

Entrepreneur Advice from Divine Ndhlukula: Three big mistakes you must avoid

November 17, 2017 Melanie Hawken

What are the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur needs to avoid making....

"There are three big mistakes in my opinion. One is failing to learn the job adequately. Second one is not having a strategic vision and thirdly, lacking financial discipline to distinguish personal funds from business funds thus stifling the business from growing."

- Divine Ndhlukula founded SECURICO Security Services from humble beginnings in Zimbabwe in 1998. Divine identified a need in the market for a quality oriented security company and she has driven SECURICO to become the market leader in Zimbabwe. She has tackled a previously male-dominated industry head on and her business success story is nothing short of remarkable - marking her as one of Africa's most tenacious and inspiring women entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Advice from Thato Kgatlhanye: Business and friendship is a different ball game

November 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Thato Kgatlhanye, co-founder of Rethaka — **Thato Kgatlhanye**, co-founder of Rethaka

Advice on friends as business partners....

"You can't say because you've known your friend since grade four, you'll work well together in business. No - you have known them since you decided to start a company together. So get to know your business partner as a business partner, not a friend, because business and friendship is a different ball game."

- Thato Kgatlhanye is a co-founder of Rethaka, a woman-owned South African business that is focused on improving the world around it. Through the company's green innovations such as the Repurpose Schoolbags, it is redefining societal problems and turning them into solutions. Thato is making it her business to uncover sustainable opportunities that create a far-reaching impact for low-income communities, with a particular focus on children and women.

Quote of the Day by Eva Muraya

November 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Eva Muraya, founder and CEO of Brand Strategy and Design, Kenya

“I am an advocate of business being an important instrument of development. In fact, business is the fabric for development.”

- Eva Muraya, founder & CEO of BSD Group (Kenya)

Outsourcing 105 – The ins and outs of using a virtual accountant

November 15, 2017 Melanie Hawken

By Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect & co-founder of SnappSales

Didn’t think it was possible to outsource your accounting? Not only is it completely feasible, but if accounting is not your forte you’ll be eternally grateful you did.

Entrepreneur Advice from Paula Quinsee: Be realistic with your expectations

November 15, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Paula Quinsee, Author, Relationship Expert & Life Coach — **Paula Quinsee**, Author, Relationship Expert & Life Coach

Be realistic with your expectations....

"Being an entrepreneur is not for the fainthearted but you won't know how far you can fly if you don't give it a try. Be realistic with your expectations, surround yourself with a support structure, build part-time if you can and get the foundations in place before you take the leap and lastly network, network, network."

- Paula Quinsee is a Relationship Expert & Life Coach in South Africa, working with individuals and organisations on EQ skills, conflict management and more. Paula is author of the book 'Embracing Conflict - a self-help guide filled with practical tools to help you navigate conflict and challenges in your life'. As a competitive athlete and adventure seeker, Paula knows from experience what it takes to set goals, overcome obstacles and achieve success, and she has a passion for mentoring the individuals and groups she works with.