Entrepreneur Advice from Lynette Hundermark - Trust in your abilities

March 23, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Lynette Hundermark, co-founder & chief product officer, Useful & Beautiful (South Africa) — **Lynette Hundermark**, co-founder & chief product officer, Useful & Beautiful (South Africa)

You need to trust in your own abilities....

"Don’t feel intimidated, trust in your abilities, follow your passion and go with it. It took me a year longer to have the courage to do what I am doing. I was afraid of failure and also looked out and only saw boys doing it. I had to take that leap of faith and go with it and trust that I could do it..."

- Lynette Hundermark is an enterprising South African techpreneur and co-founder of Useful & Beautiful, a mobile product strategy, design and development company. Lynette has a degree in Computer Science & Psychology and prior to launching on her own held various technology roles with companies such as the Naspers Group, HSBC, Citibank, and Tesco. Lynette's appetite for the mobile space while keeping abreast of the latest industry trends has established her locally as an expert tech commentator and opinion leader. She is also involved in a variety of mentorship programmes that aims to build a greater community of passionate people in the tech and mobile field. Read Lynette's startup story.

Own your NO

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner: author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress

One of the toughest challenges of being an entrepreneur is the constant distraction from many perceived opportunities. We suffer from FOMO in that if we don’t get involved in this project, event, deal, you name it – we’ll lose out. Most of the time, these alluring projects do exactly that – lure us away from our core focus and ultimately this leads to more stress, burnout and lack of balance (not that it exists anyway).

Karen Carr and Hanneke Schutte, two South African entrepreneurs turning a passion for pets into a thriving business

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Karen Carr & Hanneke Schutte, founders of Benji + Moon (South Africa) — **Karen Carr & Hanneke Schutte**, founders of Benji + Moon (South Africa)

As any pet-lover will tell you, trying to find the perfect products for those furry friends in our lives that are also aesthetically pleasing to the eye in our homes, can be quite a challenge. However two enterprising women from South Africa have the solution. Benji + Moon is a business that creates beautifully designed, compassionately driven pet products that will make both owners and their beloved pets happy.

Celebrate What Makes You Different

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Dr Laura Camacho, founder of Mixonian Institute

There has never been a better time to be different. After centuries of human success related to blending in with our tribes, we now rejoice in and embrace our personal quirks, our obsessions and even our weaknesses. Our individual uniqueness offers opportunities in a time when technology seems to be taking over so much of our lives.

We are all different, but the same

March 22, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

Last week I met a man…wait, I had an interview with a man! He gave off the energy that he believed he was more important than me, or many of us. He had an attitude about him, which I proceeded to be ignorant of, sending him further into his ego. We all meet people like this, every-single-day…and so you learn to just exist with them. I was doing just ok until he said, “What else do you have to offer, I’ve met so many like you, you are all the same.”

3 Tips to overcoming Procrastination and clearing your to-do list

March 20, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Deborah Hartung, founder of Pivot PeopleTech

No matter how good our intentions are, we all have those tasks at work or in life, that we just can’t seem to bring ourselves around to doing. We build them up in our minds and turn molehills into mountains and make excuses for procrastinating. Then we berate ourselves for our tardiness or cause our blood pressure and stress levels to skyrocket – it’s really a vicious cycle. Break free from the chains of procrastination and anxiety with these 3 handy tips!

Art of disruption: Handle with care

March 20, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Leigh Ann Gowland, founder of Employee Driven Change

If you were an artist creating delicate glass sculptures, how would you display your masterpiece to the world? A labour of love would be packed carefully and only displayed to art lovers. In an era of disruption, agility and demands for fast change, entrepreneurs are continuously pivoting, re-inventing and introducing new ideas. An aggressive, urgent launch of an idea could be risky. Take some time to prepare for the impact of change. Handle with care when disrupting.

The Power of Choice

March 20, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Tatenda Rungisa, Human Resources Practitioner and co-founder of Twin Connect Solutions

We make choices from the very moment we open our eyes in the morning. We make the choice to either wake up to the alarm clock or simply snooze it to an hour later, ultimately forgetting all the appointments that could make one’s career or business flourish. This is a simple sign that the choices we make on a daily basis can either bring us closer to, or further from, our dreams.

Quote of the Day by Nkatha Gitonga

March 19, 2018 Melanie Hawken

“Start as soon as you have an idea or a solution you are passionate about.”

Nkatha Gitonga, founder of Yakutti (Tanzania)

Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World by Tina Seelig

March 18, 2018 Melanie Hawken

In her latest book, Creativity Rules, international bestselling author and Stanford University professor, Tina Seelig, adapts her wildly popular creativity course to a practical guide where entrepreneurs can put their best ideas into action.

Tatenda Ndambakuwa, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur helping farmers become more productive through app development and data science

March 18, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Tatenda Ndambakuwa, founder of Shiri (Zimbabwe) — **Tatenda Ndambakuwa**, founder of Shiri (Zimbabwe)

Many entrepreneurs are driven by a passion to solve problems or address key societal issues. For Tatenda Ndambakuwa, founder of Shiri, her driving force is to address food security challenges by helping farmers in her country to become more productive and efficient using the power of technology.

Masana Sangweni, a South African event planner passionate about making moments memories

March 18, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Masana Sangweni, founder of Sanaandi Events & Hospitality (South Africa) — **Masana Sangweni**, founder of Sanaandi Events & Hospitality (South Africa)

Events are very personal occasions and for the clients hosting them finding the right event planner who can create the right experience is crucial. That is where South African entrepreneur Masana Sangweni, founder of Sanaandi Events & Hospitality, comes in. She helps her clients create beautiful and unique event memories that last.

Lionesses of Africa heads to Berlin for the latest START-UP NIGHT! AFRICA event

March 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

The potential for greater collaboration and trade between Germany and the African continent has never been more exciting, and particularly for women entrepreneurs. That’s why the 2nd Startup Night Africa event which is taking place on 20 March in Berlin, hosted by the BMWi in partnership with Lionesses of Africa and championed by Minister Brigitte Zypries, comes at exactly the right time.

Accept help, even when you think you don’t need it

March 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect and co-founder SnappSales

I had the good fortune of attending the Lioness Lean In event last week in Johannesburg. Very inspirational to be in a room of business women who are buzzing with excitement with new product launches and celebrating business growth! As you can imagine, when surrounded by this calibre of women, you instinctively think, “Wow, these women can do it all” and yes more than likely they can. But should they?

Lose the business lingo and keep communication simple

March 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko

Each time I speak to someone who renders a service I need for the business but know nothing about, I let them blab on with a straight face and say, ‘ok cool, I heard nothing but proceed’. They laugh; and attempt to explain again. And I start venturing into my happy places filled with waterfalls, meat, whisky and music… then return for the expected ‘uhhmm’. This goes for the accountant, the digital marketing ‘what what’, the furniture creator guy, etc. I tell them you have no clue what ‘arm scye’ means and is needed for in garment construction…wait what is garment construction?

Quote of the Day by Diana Opoti

March 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

"Find a niche. Turn what you like into a business. Passion fuels business!”

Diana Opoti founder of Diana Opoti PR (Kenya)

Entrepreneur Advice from Joselyne Umutoniwase: Just be yourself

March 16, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Joselyne Umutoniwase, founder of Rwanda Clothing Home Ltd (Rwanda) — **Joselyne Umutoniwase**, founder of Rwanda Clothing Home Ltd (Rwanda)

The biggest advice I can give to a start up is....

"Just be yourself and do things the way you planned before. Of course you will get lots of advice, but take what you think fits best with your own idea - nothing else. Keep positive people close to you."

- Joselyne Umutoniwase founded Rwanda Clothing Home Ltd in Rwanda in 2010. Joselyne is a fashion designer who specializes in colorful print designs and combining African fabrics with international styles. Her designs have been sold all over Africa and now she wants people in Europe and America to be dressed in Rwanda Clothing.

Quote of the Day by Ally Angula

March 15, 2018 Melanie Hawken

“We learn every day. You think you have it and then you realize you don’t.”

- Ally Angula, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia)

Entrepreneur Advice from Sheila Afari - Just start!

March 14, 2018 Melanie Hawken

Sheila Afari, founder of Sheila Afari Public Relations (South Africa) — **Sheila Afari**, founder of Sheila Afari Public Relations (South Africa)

Just start!...

"There will always be 100 reasons not to, but we can’t let 'what ifs' or fear, or lack of funding keep us from getting started. Failures are just building blocks to success. Mistakes are lessons you learn from that can only help you improve and do better. We need to be champions of our own dreams and surround ourselves with positive people and supportive people that keep us on track."

- Sheila Afari is the founder of Sheila Afari Public Relations, a bespoke PR agency operating from Johannesburg, South Africa. Sheila is passionate about showcasing the best of African brands to the rest of the world, and is differentiating herself and her company in the marketplace as a result.