In business there will always be difficult decisions to make - how to launch, when to grow, who to hire, when to test a new product, which new market to try and break into. The list of big and potentially difficult decisions to make is endless. Often it can seem like we are on our own on this lonely and tough decision-making journey as founders of our businesses. Add to that the tendency of women entrepreneurs to be self-critical when difficult decisions have to be made that could potentially take the business to the next level. That’s when it is good to have the support and insights of your peers, your fellow women entrepreneurs who know exactly what you are going through, and who are ideally placed to listen to your plans and the decisions you have to make. This validation is both encouraging and essential, as it provides that non-bias feedback you need to ensure you make the right decision that is best for you and ultimately for the business. Remember that every woman entrepreneur has been faced with difficult decisions to make of their own along their business building journeys, so you are not alone. Tap into your peer network and get the validation you need to make the right decisions.

Think of successful entrepreneurs and one word that might come to mind to describe them would be confident. Confidence is a core skill that women entrepreneurs need to master if they are to fulfill their business goals, but for many it may not come naturally. Although it is possible to appear as confident when talking enthusiastically about a product or service on offer, that confidence may be short lived as nagging doubts and concerns about where the next sale, customer, or cheque is coming from are never far away. The good news is that confidence is a skill that can be learned and practiced, but it is important to remember that it should also be accompanied by authenticity. To appear as confident to a new potential customer, or to a room full of strangers when you are speaking or presenting your business, does not mean you have to have the loudest voice. It is more about talking the language of confidence, speaking with genuine passion for what you do, engaging your customers or audience in your unique business story, and above all, being your authentic self. That winning combination will instill a sense of confidence not only in yourself but all those around you, and that in turn will lead to success.

So just how many motivational podcasts have you listened to over the past few months? How many self motivation books have you read, or workshops have you attended to keep your entrepreneurial spirits high and your business mind focused? If you are anything like the women entrepreneurs who are part of our Lionesses of Africa community, then the answer is probably quite a lot. As business founders, it is our responsibility to keep going during challenging times, to keep pushing ourselves to find solutions, and importantly, to keep everyone else motivated around us. The good news is that there is such a wealth of resources to tap into when we need a good boost of motivational support and advice, thanks to the fast-paced digital world we live in. One of the best ways to get a good dose of inspiration is to listen to the words and insights of other, more experienced women entrepreneurs who have gone before you. Hear how they have successfully dealt with their challenges, their failures, their doubts, and ultimately how they have achieved their goals, despite the inevitable hard times. If you find yourself in need of some Lioness inspiration, then look no further than our Business Unusual platform where you can listen to inspirational podcasts and read some insightful articles. Motivate your way to success Lionesses!

Many business owners think that communicating with customers is a one way street - putting lots of information and messages out there and hoping that some will stick, resulting in greater brand awareness and ultimately sales. But the fact is that listening to customers is just as critical for business, and an essential part of all communication planning. There is a great example of a business that spent months innovating and developing a new product, finally getting it ready to test with consumers before launching into mass production for the marketplace. During the first phase of testing, it was noticed that consumers were using the product incorrectly, meaning that the business had to spend time and effort in explaining how to properly use the product for best effect. The business soon realized that they needed to listen to their consumers, to find out what the problem was, and then fix it using that invaluable feedback. The ability to listen, and then learn, is a key trait of highly successful entrepreneurs. Richard Branson says on the subject of listening, “If you want to stand out as a leader, a good place to begin is by listening. Great listeners are often terrific at uncovering and putting in place strategies and plans that have a big impact.” So, how good are your listening skills and are you putting them to good use for the business?

As women entrepreneurs, we all have ambitions for ourselves and our businesses. For some, that ambition could be to build a business that can take care of ourselves and our families, and create a legacy of opportunities for our children in the future. For others, that ambition takes the form of fulfilling a personal passion for creativity, providing a vehicle to design beautiful products for the world to buy. But there is another group of women entrepreneurs for whom ambition means something very different. These women are driven to keep building, innovating, growing, diversifying - they constantly push boundaries, looking to create the next big thing that can change the world and people’s lives. They have ambitions beyond their own businesses and are deeply driven to achieve success in all aspects of their entrepreneur journeys. This type of woman entrepreneur may be smaller in number but their impact is significant, as they are leaders who inspire others to follow in their footsteps. Dan Sullivan, a leading global business coach and founder of The Strategic Coach, says: “I estimate that for every 400 entrepreneurs in the world, one of them will become an ambition entrepreneur who will continually create entirely new kinds of products and services, new approaches, new ideas, and new strategies, which will then be utilized by the other 399 entrepreneurs for the rest of their careers.” So the question is, are you simply ambitious, or are you an ambition entrepreneur?

Every business needs to have a clear strategy, a roadmap for implementation, and tangible goals for everyone to work towards in order to achieve that all important success. That strategy helps every to have a shared sense of purpose and a clear understanding of the role they have to play, helping to shape decisions and guide actions. Having short-term goals is good for day to day operations, keeping people focused on delivery and productivity, but as founders it is important to ensure that the strategy doesn’t lose it’s focus on the big picture, the ultimate end goal. It is all too easy to become reactive when times are challenging and to lose that sense of purpose when you are concentrating on keeping the business going by achieving short term goals out of necessity. But the role of a founder is to maintain a line of sight over both sets of goals, as that is essential to ensure the business not just survives but thrives over the long-term. Sporting icon and entrepreneur, Roger Federer, has some great insights on this subject, and he has used them well to build his own global business and brand. He says, "As great as it is to achieve short-term goals, you need to use them to motivate and inspire you – always keeping your eye on the long-term plan and the big picture." Wise words!

How familiar is this scenario? It is 11pm, you are still at your laptop trying to finish and send out a proposal to win some much needed new business, and you have been working since 5am that morning? At the same time, you are constantly checking your phone for messages, responding as you go, not giving anything 100% attention, and simply taking the concept of multi-tasking too far. You ate a quick sandwich and grabbed a quick coffee on the go for lunch, and have just remembered that you are yet to have dinner. You are feeling stressed, tired, emotionally drained and your productivity levels are going down. On top of all that, you are missing out on quality time with your family and friends because you are working non-stop. The concept of work-life balance remains just that in your life, a concept. If all that sounds all too familiar in your entrepreneurial life, then it might be time to hit the pause button. Burn-out amongst entrepreneurs is all too common, and no matter how pressurized your business life is, it’s essential to try and get some quality YOU time into your daily life too. Plan your daily diary to include regular breaks, and also try and finish your working day at a reasonable hour, so that you can get that all important family relaxation time. Remember, your business depends on you staying fit and healthy, so take your YOU time seriously!

Look up the definition of a self starter, and you will see it pretty much describes one of the key traits of being an entrepreneur. A self starter is a person who works on or undertakes a project on their own initiative, without needing to be told what to do or to be supervised by others. A self starter motivates themselves to complete key tasks and projects according to set deadlines, and can work well alone. Typical words used to describe a self starter are also those often used to describe entrepreneurs - go-getter, boot-strapper, high-flyer, hustler, opportunist. So, it stands to reason that self starters make better entrepreneurs. They know that if something needs doing, they roll up their sleeves and just get on with the job. They are highly proactive, not waiting for others to give the go-ahead. Instead, they see the opportunity or the project at hand and they formulate the strategy and action plan to get the job done, efficiently and effectively. That’s a self starter - that’s an entrepreneur who turns ideas into reality instead of just talk.

Delegating effectively is a key trait of great entrepreneurs, and delegation is essential to the future success of any business, especially as it grows beyond the startup phase. Good delegators tend to achieve higher and faster growth rates than those with less of this talent; they tend to generate higher revenues over shorter periods of time; and they tend to create more jobs at a faster rate too. Gallup identifies six key differences between entrepreneurs who are good delegators and those who find delegating difficult. Firstly, delegators know that they can't accomplish everything themselves, so they are willing to relinquish tasks to others. Secondly, delegators develop team capacity using a strengths-based approach, to get more done, faster. Thirdly, delegators ensure that employees have everything they need to do their jobs for maximum productivity. Fourthly, delegators focus on outcomes, not processes. Fifthly, delegators encourage new ideas and approaches to accomplishing goals, empowering employees to take ownership of key tasks. Finally, delegators communicate frequently with employees, creating an open atmosphere of constructive feedback and shared goals. So, if you want to move your business to the next level, then learn the art of delegation.

Being able to pitch your business, brand and products to potential customers is a core skill for any woman entrepreneur, and pitching is definitely an art-form - but one that everyone can master with plenty of planning and practice. This past month, Lionesses of Africa partnered with Volkswagen South Africa, to host the first VW Lionesses Den pitch competition. At stake, the opportunity to secure vital cash injection into the winning businesses, at a time when cashflow is everything to any business during this tough time. With our teams watching over 400 video pitches, it gave us the ideal opportunity to really see the approaches taken by women entrepreneurs to pitching. Congratulations to Ntokozo Mbuli, founder of television production company Sugar Bean Pictures, who took away the big competition prize by wowing all the judges with her powerful pitch. This is definitely a woman entrepreneur to watch over the coming months and years! If there is one overall learning to take from this experience, it is that the women who take their pitching really seriously, who prepare their presentations diligently and professionally, who rehearse until they perfect their messages, are the ones who stand out from the crowd. In the competitive world of business, the lessons are the same - if you want to get your business and brand noticed by potential customers, you have to present yourself professionally, passionately, and convincingly. That takes work and practice, lots of it - but ultimately it’s worth it when you win the business!

So what happens when you receive that call or email you have been waiting for - the one that tells you your business has been shortlisted to pitch for that all important big contract? The one that could be the game-changing contract you have been waiting for to really grow your business to the next level? Once the excitement has died down, then reality hits - are you pitch ready? Do you have that winning business pitch researched, prepared, and rehearsed? If not, then the real work starts now. You can prepare all the presentations, business plans, product demonstrations you like, but if you are not 100% ready to powerfully pitch them to those critical buyers, then it is all in vain. Remember, you need to share your unique story, talk about what makes your business different from the pack, be professional, be well prepared, and importantly know your data in great detail. You are pitching for the win, so make it count!

We are all experiencing a changed world now, no matter where we live or what we do, Covid-19 has changed so many aspects of our lives and we are having to adapt according to the new rules. It’s the same for our businesses. We all started the year with a clear vision of where we were going, what we wanted to achieve, and then circumstances out of our control changed everything. For many entrepreneurs, this time has often felt like swimming upstream, knowing that change is necessary for the business to survive these challenging times, but finding that change hard. Reinventing and adapting to thrive is not a new concept for entrepreneurs, it has always been part of the journey. In his famous book, ‘Invent, Reinvent, Thrive’, Lloyd Shefsky talks about how successful entrepreneurs need to strike a delicate balance between sticking to their vision and adapting to a changed world’. He says, “It’s much like driving a car - you always are looking forward but peripheral vision lets you know if somebody on the side is entering your lane or doing something ridiculous, so that you can back off and prevent an accident.” It’s all about adapting to change, reinventing to meet the new situation, surviving and going on to thrive as a result.

“Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement them are priceless.” Those were the words of Mary Kay Ash, the legendary American businesswoman and founder of the hugely successful Mary Kay Cosmetics company. And she should know! Having built her business from the ground up, she created a global empire which, when she died, had more than $1.2 billion in sales and an international sales force of more than eight hundred thousand in at least three dozen countries, plus a personal fortune of $98 million. What separates entrepreneurs from the rest of the world is that they know how to make ideas real - how to turn that spark into a full-blown business. They put in the long hours, the hard work, the investment into turning those ideas into what they hope will be viable businesses. Anyone can have an idea, but implementing that idea is what very few people do - that’s why entrepreneurs are a breed apart!

With the global economy now reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and many countries now entering difficult periods of recession, attention is turning to small businesses as ways of boosting local economic growth. There is a recognition that entrepreneurs, and particularly women entrepreneurs, are key to keeping local communities going. They create jobs for local people, they introduce new products, services and technology solutions into local markets, and they support local needs. To see the impact that women entrepreneurs make in tough economic times like these, you only have to look back at their role as big job creators and stabilizers of the economy following the 2008-2009 Great Recession. For example in the US, women-led businesses added around 1.8 million jobs between 2007-12. Given the critical role played by entrepreneurship in fueling economic growth, there is an even greater need for big corporates and governments to provide more access to market opportunities for women entrepreneurs, providing them with the opportunity to both survive and thrive during this time. Investors also need to deploy more capital to support women-owned businesses to aid their future growth, as the world emerges from the Covid-19 recession. Given that women-led businesses in a post-recession environment have been shown to create significant numbers of new jobs, supporting them in these impact driven ways just makes sense.

If you want a great brand ambassador, one that has a powerful voice for your business, then look no further than yourself as founder. As a passionate business owner and as the creator of your brand vision, your leadership voice is important as it is the one that will resonate most powerfully with your customers. The question is, are you really harnessing the power of your voice to make those all important connections with your customers? Are you being heard, are you getting your brand message and positioning across? Are you using your voice as an industry influencer and thought leader? Your customers, your employees, your partners, your investors are all looking to you to be a leader. So are you taking your own leadership skills seriously and are you investing in continually developing them to benefit both yourself as an entrepreneur, and of course, your business and brand. Having strong leadership skills are key to the success of your business, you need them in every facet of your life, from inspiring your employees, through to negotiating with suppliers and distributors. Make that investment today in improving your leadership skills so that the business can benefit tomorrow.

Talk to any number of women entrepreneurs and many of them will tell you that they love the process of creating their products or conceptualizing their service offerings, but they are not nearly so comfortable about negotiating those business deals. Taking the time and making the effort to learn the art of negotiation is definitely time well spent for any woman entrepreneur who wants to seriously grow their business. Successful negotiation requires good interpersonal and communication skills, whether you are closing a deal, building win-win client relationships, or leveraging supply chains. If you have the right negotiation skills in place, it can lead to better supplier relationships, enhanced competitive advantage, and the ability to manage potential conflicts. Other benefits include helping you to prepare and plan efficiently, present better business propositions, think clearly and rapidly under pressure, and enhance your powers of persuasion in a sales environment. So, how are your negotiation skills?

They say that patience is a virtue, but as entrepreneurs it is not a trait that is familiar to many. We tend to be passionate, overly enthusiastic, business warriors who dash in where others fear to tread, often regretting the speed at which take the leap without having spent the time to really reflect on our decisions. Patience is a highly underrated skill for entrepreneurs, and it is one we need to pay closer attention to, as there are times when patience can pay real dividends. For example, think about how important it is to bring the right people with the right skills and personality into your business, and how taking your time to make the right decision on those people is critical. Exercising patience, doing the research, getting referrals, scanning the marketplace for that people talent, is a necessity. Remember the old fable, ’The Tortoise and the Hare’ - slow and steady wins the race - it’s all about being patient.

Adaptability - it’s a word that is synonymous with entrepreneurs. It’s defined as the ability or willingness to change in order to suit different conditions. In business, change is constant, and in order to survive and thrive, it’s essential to remain open to new ideas in response to the marketplace. You need to keep testing your strategy, your business plan, and your product offerings to ensure they remain vital and relevant. You need to keep talking to your customers, getting feedback, finding out what they need and want in a changing world. You need to identify possible risks to your business due to changing market demands or realities, and develop mitigation strategies before those risks turn into a crisis. Importantly, you also need to be really honest with yourself and change the direction of your business if you feel it is becoming out of touch with the marketplace. Just think back to those iconic business names of the past that failed to adapt to the changing world, and as a result, were left behind - Kodak, the camera and film brand that didn’t see the digital picture revolution coming, is a classic example. Adaptability is a key quality for success - make sure it is a trait you develop too.

It doesn’t matter how long you have been an entrepreneur, how many businesses you have built over the years, how much experience you have - there is always something new to learn. Investing in your own personal development as a business founder is key to its longevity. As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, it’s essential to keep up with new trends, new ways of doing things, new technology, new ways of thinking in order to stay relevant to your customers and your marketplace. That means you have to stay at the top of your game. Investing in your personal development can take so many forms - it could be reading the latest business management books; attending practical webinars; taking a short course at a local college; or downloading a new digital business tool or app that could revolutionize your business. Today there are a wealth of expert self development resources just a click away on your laptop, so there is no excuse. And remember, as you invest in yourself and your own personal development, keep paying it forward and share that knowledge with the next generation of women entrepreneurs who are coming up behind you.

Take a moment to think about the women entrepreneurs who inspire you the most, the women entrepreneurs you look up to, the women entrepreneurs you aspire to emulate one day. What stands out about them, what do they share in common? Chances are that a key trait they all share is Confidence. It’s what sets them apart from other entrepreneurs, it’s what attracts people to want to do business with them, and it’s what enables them to get up each morning and feel they can achieve their goals. So how can we all gain that essential confidence that will help us in our business and personal lives? Success is what breeds real confidence, and you need to celebrate each small success you achieve, using it as a building block to bigger things. It’s all about validating yourself and your business idea; it’s about proving to yourself that you are authentic, valuable, worthy of success. The more success you achieve, the more confidence you’ll have to keep going, and the more successful you will become. Confidence and success go hand in hand!