I have many conversations with people around the world who ask how best they can help women entrepreneurs on the African continent to grow, and there is a very simple and practical answer - buy from them. And that goes for women entrepreneurs themselves. If we all make conscious purchasing decisions to buy from other women entrepreneurs in our network, to procure essential services and products from a fellow woman entrepreneur, then we are helping them to grow and they in turn are more likely to support others in the same way. It’s all about investing in each other through sales, and as a result, growing women-owned businesses and brands that can make a real difference in the marketplace. Something to think about the next time you need to make that purchase, in your personal or your business life.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

I was speaking at an event recently in Europe and one of the attendees came to chat to me during the networking session and commented on a remark I had made about how I am constantly blown away by the spirit of collaboration and supportiveness in the Lionesses of Africa community. She seemed genuinely surprised and said that her experience of women entrepreneur networks was one of female competitiveness, where no-one really likes the idea of sharing in case someone borrows an idea or concept and gets to market with it first. I had to share with her that my experience of women’s entrepreneurship in Africa and in the Lionesses community is very different, and ultimately supportive. I am a great believer in the idea that we are far more powerful if we go together on our entrepreneurial journeys, and if we harness our collective energy, knowledge and expertise to ensure we all fulfill our business potential. So let’s continue to raise each other up as women entrepreneurs here in Africa and show the rest of the world the positive things that can happen when women entrepreneurs support and empower one another. 

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

Today,  I am back in Johannesburg to host one of my favourite Lioness Lean In sessions for women entrepreneurs in this great city, and there is no doubting the enthusiasm and vibrancy of the community here. What I also love about these sessions is the number of connections made, and the amount of business that is done during the networking. It’s always interesting to see and hear women pitching their businesses to one another, and that’s one of the reasons we introduced a Ladies Who Launch feature into our regular Lioness Lean In event programmes. It provides the perfect opportunity for women business owners who are launching a new product, business or service to pitch to a highly receptive audience of fellow entrepreneurs, all in 1 minute. Now that might not seem a lot of time to get your message across, but as is often the case, you have very little time under normal circumstances to make an impression, so 1 minute should be more than enough time to pitch yourself and your business to a prospective client. The question is, are you pitch ready when the opportunity strikes and to make it count?

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

You have probably all heard the story of the plumber with the leaky tap, always fixing everyone else’s leaks but never their own at home, constantly putting the job off till later - inevitably leading to it never getting done. I regularly hear similar stories from women entrepreneurs I meet, who spend their lives and all their time working flat out to make their customers lives better, easier, more enjoyable, more efficient, etc., but never getting around to doing the same for their own businesses. Now, I am not sat here pontificating on this subject from a lofty height as a great example of someone who gets this right all the time herself. In fact, I have been working on getting my new personal website finished all this year (and yes it’s June already and it’s only getting ready to launch now), so I know what I’m talking about from personal experience. Chances are, most of us women entrepreneurs are perfectionists at heart, we want everything to look its best when we launch in the public domain, but as I often tell myself (all the time) and other entrepreneurs, done is better than perfect. So if you are feeling like that plumber with the proverbial leaking tap, stop procrastinating and just get it done!

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

I was reading a great article this weekend by Beth Jenkins in the Stanford Social Innovation Review on the subject of Social Intrapreneurship, which looked at how increasingly big companies are tapping into the entrepreneurial talents of their employees to make big social impact change happen. You may be asking, what exactly is a social intrapreneur? According to Beth, it’s an entrepreneurial employee who develops a profitable new product, service or business model that creates value for society and for the company they work for. It’s a fascinating subject and its good to see more examples of big business in Africa getting into this way of thinking. In fact, at Lionesses of Africa we partnered with the Liberty Group in South Africa last year to roll-out a series of Lioness Lean In sessions for intrapreneurs, to inspire and encourage their women employees to turn their innovative ideas into viable businesses and change solutions. It was good to see! Big business often underestimates the sheer depth of untapped entrepreneurial and innovative thinking amongst its employees. It would be good to see other big companies proactively championing their budding social intrapreneurs and partnering with them to make big change happen.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

At Lionesses of Africa, we never need an excuse to showcase women entrepreneurs and their great brands and products as part of a special themed week or month, and this week is no exception. Inspired by Father’s Day Weekend coming up at the end of the week, we tasked our editorial team to go out and scour our network for some great new gifting ideas, proudly women-made in Africa. And the good news is, they came back hugely enthusiastic about the number of women entrepreneurs in our community launching and promoting their great new Dad-friendly products to celebrate this special day. So all this week, we will be showcasing some great women owned brands from across our community that have created some wonderful gift ideas for that special Dad in our lives, all selected by our roving reporters. We are featuring exquisite silk pocket squares from Eki Orleans, Africa cufflinks from Mary Jean Jewellery, trendy footwear with style and eco-friendly attitude from SoleRebels, the great Toast Ale, a beer with a unique and impactful backstory, and the latest male grooming products hot off the press from Rain. Look out for our special Image of the Day features in our Good Morning Lionesses newsletters each day this week. Happy shopping!

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

If there’s one topic of conversation that keeps coming up time and again at our Lioness Lean In and Start-up Night! Africa events, particularly when I’m chatting to the women entrepreneurs who are our guest speakers and pitchers, it’s that they are not confident public speakers. In fact, I will go so far as to say that the word used most often by many of them is that they are nervous about taking to the stage and speaking in public to an audience. Yet, it’s a skill that is worth learning as it’s good for business. Chances are at some point you will have to talk to a group of investors, or perhaps do a live television or radio interview, or speak at an industry conference on your specialist subject, or address your employees. Public speaking is part of the journey for entrepreneurs, and remember there is no one better than you, as the founder of your business, to speak on its behalf. Fortunately, effective public speaking is a communication skill that can be learned. And, as I have seen many times before at our Lionesses of Africa events, often the most reticent public speaker can turn into a star on stage. 

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

I don’t know about you, but I find comfort in certain routines, both in my personal and my business life. I like knowing that my early morning routine is the same, no matter where I am travelling in the world. It sets the right tone and gives order for my day ahead. That sense of routine is like an anchor that keeps me grounded, no matter how busy or chaotic my life might get. And trust me, when I am travelling across different time zones and keeping up with a ridiculously busy schedule in different cities and countries, knowing I have a routine to stick to makes life so much easier to manage. I’m not on my own in this respect - my love of a good early morning routine is shared by such well known entrepreneurs as Jessica Dilullo Herrin, founder of online fashion merchandise store Stella & Dot, who gets her day started by caring for her mind, body and soul with meditation and exercise; or Huffington Post founder, Ariana Huffington who sets her intentions for the day with yoga, meditation, and Bulletproof coffee before starting work. The bottom line is that whatever works for you, it’s good to have a routine.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

At our recent Start-Up Night! Africa event in London, I spent a lot of time chatting amongst our presenters and audience members about what makes a luxury brand today, and how this notion has changed over the years as society and buyers have evolved. Our conversations turned to the impact that millennials have had when it comes to making buying decisions,  placing greater importance on knowing a product or brand’s back-story, understanding provenance, and demanding a more ethical approach to sourcing materials and production techniques. This has created a wider interest in the marketplace in the whole concept of ethical luxury, in brands and products that have a deeper cultural significance, that celebrate all things natural. Africa’s women entrepreneur luxury brand builders are well placed to gain from this re-defining of what luxury means - they have fascinating personal stories to share, and a deep appreciation of the power of provenance, knowing where their raw materials come from and the cultural and economic significance of those materials to local communities.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

I was reading the story of FUBU, the uber successful American Hip Hop clothing and apparel brand this week and it was interesting to see how the business and brand first started out, in the founder’s house turned factory. If there was one thing I gleaned from the story, it was that building a genuinely global brand takes time, and it’s all about finding your niche in the marketplace and building that market by getting to really know the community you are targetting and what it wants and needs. This 25+ year brand has done that really successfully, and has constantly kept itself fresh by reinventing its product offerings to tap into its constantly evolving and growing fan-base. The lesson to be taken away from the FUBU story for other would-be entrepreneurial brand-builders is to start by finding your niche, creating products that will appeal to that market, building your brand from the ground up within that community, and scaling over time organically. It’s a good business lesson to learn.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day!

There is nothing quite as exciting as seeing traditional African design, indigenous raw materials, and ancient craftsmanship methods being reinterpreted in a fresh, contemporary way by a new wave of talented women designers inspired by their cultural heritage. Our cover story today features one such entrepreneur, Mimi Shodeinde, a great example of a highly creative entrepreneur, inspired by Africa and its design ethos, but building an exciting, contemporary global furniture and homeware brand like no other. There is renewed interest around the world in finding fresh, edgy contemporary design that is influenced by the strong African design tradition, but taken to a whole new level. This has created an unprecedented opportunity for a new generation of young women designers to emerge on the scene, keen to celebrate their African heritage but with design ideas that are anything but traditional. Look out for our regular feature articles each day at Lionesses of Africa that showcase the work of some of the most creative women entrepreneurs from across the Continent and the Diaspora who we are tipping to be tomorrow’s design success stories. 

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

I was doing some background research this week for an article I was writing, and I accidentally came across one of those random interesting facts. Did you know that this weekend, on 3 June to be precise, it’s the first official celebration by the UN of World Bicycle Day? Now you might be wondering why I mention this fact and what it has to do with women’s entrepreneurship. But it made me think about some of the incredible, high impact businesses that have been founded by women entrepreneurs across the African continent, which have bicycles at their heart. They are great examples of the UN’s message that the bicycle is a symbol of sustainable transportation and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production. So, to celebrate World Bicycle Day, I would like to encourage you all to check out some of the great stories we have published at Lionesses of Africa on women entrepreneurs who have launched eco-friendly, bicycle based businesses on the continent. Read about Winnifred Selby and Bernice Dapaah, cofounders of Afrocentric Bamboo Bikes in Ghana; and Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, founder of WeCyclers in Nigeria here.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

There was a great quote we published last week by the inspirational soleRebels founder, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, who said, “You’re not in a dynamic business if you’re not experiencing challenges.” How true! This quote came back to me as I was chatting to two wonderful women entrepreneurs in my network, both in the retail sector, but one a start-up and the other a highly established serial entrepreneur. Both were in the midst of taking their businesses to the next level, expanding their product offerings and trying to break into new markets. And, both were experiencing significant challenges along the way, notably in the access to funding and access to global markets environments. Often we may be tempted to think that the longer you have been around as an entrepreneur, and the more businesses you have built, the easier it gets and the fewer challenges there are to be overcome. These conversations were a great reminder that when we build dynamic businesses there will always be challenges, it’s part of the journey. 

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

You know that old saying, ‘first impressions count’ - well, it’s still true today, especially in business. I was reminded of this again at a recent conference where I met with a large number of women entrepreneurs in a networking session. I was struck by just how many of those women didn’t take the opportunity to make a memorable, lasting impression when meeting with their fellow conference goers. Firstly, many of them didn’t have business cards to exchange, and secondly, few of them had their ‘business pitch’ at the ready. Studies show that first impressions are made within the first 17 seconds of meeting someone new. This means that before we even get sufficient time to demonstrate our abilities, the first impression is already cast. In life and in business, we often only get one chance to make a great impression on the people we meet, we need to make it count.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

I was following up this week with some of the amazing young women entrepreneurs I met in Mozambique at our recent Lioness Lean In events there, and I have to say their energy and enthusiasm was refreshing. The economy in the country is experiencing many challenges right now, and this is undoubtedly impacting on the business environment. But women entrepreneurs are realizing that their economic destinies lie in their own hands, and that by building sustainable businesses that produce quality products and create services that both local and pan-African customers want to buy, they can be part of the economic solution. So it’s good to see a tenacious new generation of proudly Mozambican, women-led businesses and brands emerging in all business sectors of the country, starting small but with big ideas - and they have some great role models to follow. All this month at Lionesses of Africa, we are featuring the inspirational startup stories of Mozambican women entrepreneurs who are helping to create a new business spirit in the country - read all about them here.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

You know that feeling, when you walk into a coffee shop, store or restaurant, and you are greeted by the owner or staff as friends, made to feel welcome and at home immediately, and then given a great customer experience? It’s what keeps you going back, time and again. I was reminded of this yet again when returning from one of my frequent business trips. My first port of call is always my favourite local coffee shop (although ironically I am a tea drinker, not a coffee lover!). I am always greeted by the amazing staff on arrival, who know my order (a pot of Earl Grey tea) and have it waiting for me at my favourite seat in the window. They happily chat and fill me in with what has been happening in the neighbourhood whilst I have been away, and generally make me feel like family. It’s a truly great customer experience, and as a result, I go back time and again, recommending it to everyone I know. As entrepreneurs, creating a memorable customer experience is a powerful sales tool - and it’s all starts with your people!  

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

These days, what’s the first thing people do when trying to find out more about you and your business? They check out your digital presence, of course! So, when was the last time you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and checked out your own digital presence to get that first external experience of you and your brand? We live in a 24/7 digitally connected world, so it’s important to have a strong, authentic digital presence, both personally and for your business, that works for you; that people can connect with and feel like they can trust. It should also be the first place that people can get to learn more about you and your business before they make that all important face to face connection. So if you haven’t checked out your own social media pages or your personal or corporate websites recently, then now could be a good time. After all, you never know if that next potential big client is evaluating your digital presence right now!

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

We all know it takes hard work and many hours of effort to open up new business leads and get new business relationships started. But it seems that many of us entrepreneurs also battle to make those potential new leads count by not following-up promptly after that lead has been opened. Now it could be for lots of reasons. A follow-up could get lost along the way as we get caught up in our busy lives. We may have every intention of calling our prospect but we get caught up in our business operations, and because we didn’t systematically schedule a follow-up in the diary, it doesn’t get done. Others may simply not want to appear pushy by following-up the next day, and several times over thereafter. Often when we don’t receive an immediate response to a follow-up, we assume disinterest and walk away, forgetting that these people are just as busy as we are and can forget to follow-up too. The bottom line is that you can differentiate yourself from your competition by proactively making the effort to diligently follow-up with your prospects and customers and being much more methodical about the process.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

Let’s be honest, it’s exciting but often slightly daunting when you try and break into a new global market with your business. And it can seem literally a world away from what you know and are familiar with. So it’s always best to take baby steps in getting to know that market at a personal relationship level before you make the leap with both feet. Going global means recognizing and getting to know different business cultures and ways of doing things; it means getting to know people on the ground who can make your experience easier and much more enjoyable; and it means doing your market homework well in advance of any visit. It’s one of the reasons we originally launched our Lioness Lean In events across the African continent and our Start-up Night Africa! events around the world. They provide a women entrepreneur friendly, supportive and safe community in which to put a toe into the water in each marketplace and build relationships before you go out there on your own. Check out which cities we will be visiting next here.

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie

Have you noticed that when it comes to looking after our health, we don’t think twice about visiting our doctors or wellness clinics and getting our regular health checks, just to make sure that everything is in good shape. So why don’t we take the same approach when it comes to looking after the health of our businesses on a regular basis? A good regular business health check means you can stay on top of what is and isn’t working, what the biggest challenges are, where the majority of income streams are coming from, and what is working best with your marketing and communications activity. It all helps to ensure you are getting the most from the business. The other benefit from this approach is that you can also have a ‘fun’ check, seeing where you got the most enjoyment from the business in any given month - after all, we all embark on this crazy entrepreneurial life not just to make money and make a difference, but also to enjoy the lifestyle and freedom that comes with it. 

Have yourself an inspired entrepreneurial day! - Melanie