Molped Feature on Odunayo Eweniyi: Co-Founder, PiggyVest
Molped sanitary pad is a product from Hayat Kimya Limited (manufacturers of Molfix diapers), and is a skin-friendly, ultra-soft, sanitary pad, designed to make young girls feel as comfortable, soft, and secure as they feel beside their best friends. Molped’s breathable layer keeps young women fresh, and it’s skin-friendly, cottony soft layer does not cause irritation. Molped sanitary pad is every girl’s best friend, helping them be more confident, and supporting them through their periods. Molped has partnered with She Leads Africa to highlight the beauty and importance of valuable female connections. About Odunayo Eweniyi Odunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of PiggyVest. She previously co-founded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa with the largest database of pre-screened candidates. She has 5 years’ experience in Business Analysis and Operations and is a First-Class graduate of Computer Engineering, Covenant University, Nigeria. She was named one of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology in 2019 and one of 30 QuartzAfrica Innovators 2019. She sits on the advisory board of TrainFuture, an education technology company based in Switzerland, as well as the Gender Lens Acceleration Best Practices Initiative, a collaborative effort of Village Capital, US and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi). In 2019, she was named SME Entrepreneur of the Year West Africa by The Asian Banker’s Wealth and Society and she is the youngest Nigerian on Forbes Africa list of 20 New Wealth Creators in Africa 2019. Odunayo was also one of the featured speakers at the World Bank-IMF Annual Meeting in 2019. She is one of Business Day’s Spark 2019 Women to Watch and made the World Women in Fintech Power List for 2017; the YNaija Most Influential People in Technology 2017 and 2018. She is a 2018 Westerwelle Young Entrepreneurs fellow; and she is a recipient of The Future Africa Awards Prize in Technology 2018. In honour of her work, she was named one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria 2019 by Leading Ladies Africa, one of 50 most visible women in Tech by Tech Cabal in 2019. She is also included on the #YTech100 2019 list of the brightest Nigerian technocrats. She is the Her Network Technology Woman of The Year 2019. She was also voted The Most Influential Young Nigerian in Science and Technology 2019. She works to support the inclusion of women in technology by working with hubs and female-focused networks like For Creative Girls, GreenHouse Labs, She Leads Africa, Itanna etc. She is also the cofounder of the women’s community, Wine and Whine Nigeria. You can connect with Odunayo on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. What does friendship mean to you? Well to me, friendship means mutual understanding and reciprocity. I like to think of all my friendships as safe spaces that are characterized by genuineness, shared values and free of ignorance and discrimination. Can you tell us of a time when any of your girlfriends connected you with a career or business opportunity? Yes actually, in a previous life I was a part-time tech journalist and my friend, Dami, connected me with a well-paying, writing gig at an international magazine. I even ended up working there for well over a year. Is there a time when your friend(s) helped you through a difficult situation in your career? I have a young career, so no difficult situations have stood out there, but my friends are constantly helping me out of sticky situations, and outside of work, they always come through for me. How many women do you have in your power circle, and why did you choose them? I have five women in my power circle and the thing is, I wouldn’t say I chose them, as much as they accepted me for who I am. As a person with Asperger’s syndrome, I am definitely an acquired taste. So these five women, who are actually angels really, have moved through life with me with an understanding of who I am and I, them. But in addition to that, we share values, and despite having varied and many different goals, we work towards it together by supporting each other. How do you think young women can network with other women to achieve career success? To be honest, I think that would be much the same as they network with anyone else. There’s really no special way to relate with women. I think if you just treat people in general with empathy and respect, then you’re well on your way. What is your fondest memory of you and your girlfriends, from when you first began your careers? I actually started having girlfriends, or friends at all, after I started my career. So the memories we built, were built after we all started working and were at many different points in our lives. Finally, what advice/tips do you have for young career women, to help them build and maintain valuable relationships with other women? I think this is really general advice to maintain valuable relationships with everyone. It’s this simple, have empathy, have respect and always pay it forward. To add a caveat though, I 100% believe that female friendships save lives, so I definitely encourage young women to have specifically female support systems. But just overall, move through the world treating people fairly, whether you want from them or you’re giving to them. #MyGrowthSquad series is powered by Molped (@MolpedNigeria). Connect with them on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Sponsored Post
Foodies Salone: Disrupting the Sierra Leonean hospitality industry
Foodies Salone is a Branding and Marketing Consultancy Firm founded by three young visionary women: Mariama Wurie, Aminata Wurie, and Onassis Kinte Walker. In this interview, Mariama shares her story and thoughts about her journey as an entrepreneur. How I turned my passion for food into a business When I moved back to Sierra Leone in 2016, I started working for a local and an international NGO at the same time. Since the NGO didn’t have an office, it was quite common to work from a café or restaurant to use the free Wi-Fi for the day. I spent a lot of time in my car driving between meetings and coffee shops. Every day, my colleagues and I would work in a different place: new restaurants, new hotels, new cafes, etc. Coming from Montreal where the food scene and customer service culture is amazing, I noticed this was not the case in Freetown. Everywhere I went, there was always a reason to complain to the manager, or ask to speak to the owner. Very quickly I realized that the same complaints were coming up wherever my partners and I went. We summarized that these problems were usually around product and service. In most restaurants, there was a lack of consistency in quality and menu variety – most restaurants served burgers, fries, pizza, pasta, shawarma. Most restaurants didn’t adjust their menus to focus on local ingredients. A lot of waiters were poorly paid and managers often did not invest in hospitality training. We thought solutions to these issues will help restaurants achieve variety and consistency. Services like menu consulting, branding and customer service are just what many Freetown restaurants needed. With Foodies Salone (Foodies), we decided to build something that would motivate establishments to step up their game and improve their standards. How we started Foodies Salone We tested out our business model through a lifestyle Instagram account. Our strategy was to highlight restaurants that were building Sierra Leone’s dining culture. Any featured restaurants had to be locally owned, pay fair wages and have good customer service. With Sierra Leone’s small economy, restaurants rely on a limited customer base to make a profit. Within months of running an Instagram account, Foodies Salone began to influence consumer behavior. Our social media test allowed us to establish ourselves as an authority in branding, marketing, staff training, online listing and advertising, and business development to the multiple restaurant owners who began to reach out to us to improve their product and service. Soon enough, demand became bigger than 3 of us could handle. With our business model tested and validated, we created our service package, registered our company, and opened a bank account. Lessons we’ve learned Educating the market At the beginning, restaurant owners did not understand what we were trying to do. We were talking about apps, websites, and social media, but they barely knew how to use Pinterest. We worked extremely hard to find simple ways to explain what we did and how it would help them. Factoring in knowledge and infrastructure gaps was not something we had initially considered. For startups looking to innovate in unstructured markets, this should be something to consider in your game plan. Be patient with your monetization plan As three young African women trying to run a business in our own country, we faced a lot of hostility. On top of that, my own friends were quite skeptical about what I was doing. The beginning was quite hard because I had no money. I was dead broke for the first nine months. Most people knew about the Foodies Salone Instagram page, but they did not understand how we planned to monetized the brand. They were constantly asking me: “do you even have a real job? How do you make money? How can you afford to travel?” When we started, we made a conscious decision not to touch the money we made and to re-invest all the profits into the business. I was living on my savings and nothing was coming in. It’s only when it became hard to put gas in the car to drive to a meeting that we started using part of the profits. Just stick with it. You’re broke? Yeah, it’s a start-up. It will get better. Advice for anyone looking to start a company? Solve a problem. Necessity is the mother of invention. If you are looking for inspiration on what kind of business to start, think about things that are lacking in your routine. Do NOT accept freebies. Some people will try to get you to work for free with gifts. Always assess the value of what you are given and the reasons why they are given before accepting. Stay professional. As a woman, people will be more critical of you. Make sure you keep everything professional. Stick to business. Looking to boost your business/career? Sign up for the Motherland Mogul Insider program here.
Molped Feature on Yasmin Belo-Osagie: Co-Founder, She Leads Africa
Molped sanitary pad is a product from Hayat Kimya Limited (manufacturers of Molfix diapers), and is a skin-friendly, ultra-soft, sanitary pad range, designed to make young girls feel as comfortable, soft, and secure as they feel beside their best friends. Molped’s breathable layer keeps young women fresh, and it’s skin-friendly, cottony soft layer does not cause irritation. Molped sanitary pad is every girl’s best friend, helping them be more confident, and supporting them through their periods. Molped has partnered with She Leads Africa to highlight the beauty and importance of valuable female connections. About Yasmin Belo-Osagie Yasmin Belo-Osagie is a co-founder of She Leads Africa and is one of the board of directors at FSDH Asset Management. She graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University with a bachelors degree in History and with a minor in Finance. Thereafter, she completed a culinary course at the renowned Le Cordon Bleu Paris, before getting her Masters in Business Administration from Stanford and JD from Harvard Law. Her career started as a business analyst at the prestigious Mckinsey & company, where she worked for two years on finance and consumer goods, in Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Switzerland and Kenya. She then founded She Leads Africa in 2015 with Afua Osei and serves as the chief operating officer (coo). In 2018, she joined FSDH Asset Management as a director. You can connect with Yasmin on LinkedIn and Instagram. What does friendship mean to you? To me, friendship is really about support and what I would call co-upliftment. It’s having a group of people who are there for each other and think about ways to make themselves better. I also love to laugh, so I especially like being around people who are funny and make me laugh. When I talk about co-upliftment, I am not saying we have to text each other every single day. However, I find myself inspired and uplifted by my friends, just by observing the way they live their lives, and handle their careers, it drives me to want to succeed as well. Can you tell us of a time when any of your girlfriends connected you with a career or business opportunity? So this happens to me all the time. I find that my friends are constantly helping me out when I find myself in tight situations. I have an example from when I was doing some work for a client and I had made a mistake and was now running out of time. One of my friends came through and connected me with her husband who worked with us and helped me save the situation. Last year, I was trying to contact the singer Kandi Burruss for an event I was planning and a friend of mine connected me with her manager. Even beyond work, it’s the other million little things my friends do for me. With all that’s going on with me at work, I also needed to shop for my wedding dress. A friend of mine, knowing that I won’t be able to make the appointments, went and made them for me. Not only that, she took the time out of her workday and went with me to all my dress appointments. Is there a time when your friend(s) helped you through a difficult situation in your career? My time at graduate school was particularly difficult, because between lectures all day, working with my team at She Leads Africa and the time zone differences, I just had so much to do. There were definitely days when I was overwhelmed and just stayed in my room crying and questioning myself. During this time, my friends were a big source of encouragement to me regardless of the time I called them. They were particularly helpful, always checking in with me, reassuring me and allowing me just to complain whenever I wanted to. How many women do you have in your power circle, and why did you choose them? I would say I have a small circle of like 3 or 4 women including my sister and my cousin, and a slightly larger one of like 5 or 7 other people I have connected with, due to my relationship with my core circle. In choosing my friends, I really look for people with whom I share similar values. So one such instance is that I take my career very seriously, and so I look for people who take their careers very seriously as well. The women in my circle, have gone to some of the best schools, are at the top of their careers and work in the best companies. So when we are together, there are always conversations about our careers and what our next professional and financial moves are. Another thing I look out for is people who make me laugh. I love to laugh and I don’t take myself too seriously, so that’s something I really look for in my friends as well. I like to spend time with people who also love to laugh and don’t take themselves too seriously. I also like people who have some amazing character traits. So in choosing my friends, I like people who are kind, honest, have integrity and are thoughtful as well. Lastly, look I love having fun so most of my friends are people who love having fun as well. I believe that life is to be enjoyed, and when we go out, it should be lit. So I definitely like people who also like to enjoy life and have a good time. Basically, we work hard and play hard too. There’s a saying about how you’re the average of 5 people you interact with, and it’s so true in my case because if you look at my friends, you’ll better understand the kind of person I am. How do you think young women can network with other women to achieve career success? For networking, I believe in networking based on shared interests. So a book lover for example,
STEM WOMEN: 5 Reasons To Be Proud according to Black Panther
We need more STEM Women in Africa. In 2018, Black Panther solidified its place in pop culture as one of the greatest movies of all time. In addition to highlighting #blackexcellence, the movie also normalizes African women’s place in STEM. This representation in popular culture is especially important considering WEF reports a 47% global gender gap in STEM. If you are an African STEM woman, here are 5 reasons you should be proud of according to Black Panther. 1. You are Ingenious Wakanda is nothing without its Vibranium, and no one knows how to leverage this special resource better that Shuri – the Black Panther’s sister. Throughout the movie, we can see how Shuri’s inventions have helped the Wakanda’s advancement in technology. From Blank Panther’s nanotechnology suit to the sound-absorbing sneakers, Shuri’s inventions solved a lot of problems for both Wakanda and her brother. Shuri should remind you of why you are a STEM Woman – to create, invent, innovate and deliver life-transforming solutions to the world. The next solution the world needs is in you! 2. You are Important While the movie is not called “The STEM Women of Wakanda” (Marvel, we wouldn’t mind a spin-off), if you take away Shuri’s inventions, the Black Panther would be a very different film. As a STEM professional, you may never get billboard-sized recognition you deserve, but that doesn’t make your work any less important. Your solutions behind the great things your organization speaks volumes about how valuable you are. 3. You are Emotionally Strong For those of us, especially in engineering, we see ourselves in positions to exercise physical strength but how about emotionally? Angela Bassett was the perfect actor for the mother of our superhero. Queen Ramonda was an embodiment of strength! Sometimes, we see our products or solutions come to life only to die a few months or years later. Many times, we even see our ideas die before they see the light of day. No matter the odds, we are wired to stay strong and not give up. 4. You Know Your Stuff Shuri, the STEM Gem of Wakanda, knew her stuff. She could explain anything to you and knew the workings behind everything powered by Vibranium. You could never catch her off guard. Women continuously have to prove themselves in every professional field. It’s a much tougher battle in male-dominated STEM fields. As a But for you, you prove this wrong every day you step into the office and do what you do. As a STEM woman, you prove your worth every day by dazzling all with the depth of knowledge you have. Take pride in your investments to improve yourself every day! 5. You are Multi-Talented Not only was Shuri a tech guru, she was also a warrior. She did not opt to stick to her lab but got involved in what made her work valuable. As an African STEM woman, you have a unique perspective the world needs. You have been blessed to do so much, you should never feel streamlined to stereotyped functions. You can always step into new vacant shoes and know what to do – because you can! Are you a #STEMWoman? Share this post and tell us what you are most proud of accomplishing. Contributing Editor: Judith Abani
How to resign and run your business full time
Congratulations! You’ve decided to make a full-time commitment to your business. Before you give your notice and burn bridges your work enemies, remember that your network and relationships are especially important to you as an entrepreneur who is just starting out. Leave smart. Testing the waters—To resign or not to resign? If you are going to be a full-time entrepreneur, you have to make sure you’re financially and legally in the clear The golden rule before quitting your job is to make sure you have 3-6 months worth of your fixed-income saved up before leaving. If your finances are not in check, you should reconsider resigning. It is not unusual to start your own business journey while being employed. If you want to keep your “day job” while starting a business, please ensure you’re not violating your employment contract. If in doubt, seek legal counsel and/or inform your current employer about your new venture. Employers and courts take contractual agreements seriously, so do not call your employer’s bluff. For example, there was a case in Nigeria where an employee entered into a service contract where he was not to engage in a business similar to the employer’s business within a certain geographical area for one year. Less than 3 weeks after he started work, he breached the contract by resigning and joining a rival company in the same area. The Nigerian Supreme Court held that contracts that prevent employees from engaging in a similar business as the employer are enforceable as long as the contracts are “reasonable with reference to the interest of the parties concerned and of the public” (Leventis Motors Ltd. v. Andreas Koumoulis (1973) 1 All NLR (Part 2) 144 at 146). Diving in – Your resignation Before you resign, review all your employment contracts, if applicable. The contract usually details the resignation procedure, how your resignation must be presented, and the necessary resignation notice period – 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. It is important that you follow the rules sis! You do not want to expose yourself to unnecessary legal liability by ignoring those words in black and white. Secondly, check if you signed a non-compete agreement with your current employer. Will your new venture involve the use of your employer’s proprietary information? If you did sign one, make sure that the scope of your new venture does not fall within the scope of services your employer offers, and that your new venture will not apply your employer’s proprietary information. Finally, are you planning to start the new venture with a coworker? Ensure that you and your co-worker’s departure will not result in a breach of your contract or your employer’s policies. Also, ensure that your potential business partner is not subject to any non-compete agreements and will not be using any proprietary information in the new venture. Keep your start-up team in legal tip-top shape. It is important to dedicate time to thinking through your resignation. There is no point in rushing to the finish line without laying the right foundation. Got a question? Send a message or voice note to +2349078653509 on Whatsapp anywhere in Africa for our new video advice series – #AskASis. Contributing Editor: Diana Odero
iCreate Africa, building skills for the next generation of Nigerian youths.
Held in one of the vibrant cities of Nigeria, Lagos, by iCreate Africa, the iCreate Skill Fest is Africa’s biggest skills competition with over 2,500 people gathered to experience 80 skilled candidates compete at the National finals. What went down at iCreate Skill Fest! The two- day event featured 14 skilled trades varying from Construction, Creative Art & fashion, Technology, Educational Training Conference, the iCreate Skills Awards, and lots more. Out of the contestants, 13 ladies competed in cooking, fashion, art, carpentry, barbing and more, of which Mojisola Akin-Ademola emerged the only female gold medalist and Champion (top in her category, fashion). As a way of curbing unemployment and empowering youth, the iCreate Skills competition is an innovative strategy designed to promote skills-trades professions amongst the youth as a means to bridge the skill gap, thereby boosting the economy. The iCreate Skill Fest partnered with GIZ SKYE, Robert Bosch Nigeria Limited, Sterling Bank Plc, AGR Ltd, Siemens Nigeria Ltd., The Fashion Academy Abuja, Trace, House of Tara, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Society of Nigerian Artists, Soundcity, ULDA, Pedini, amongst many others. The iCreate Skills Fest 2019 champions! Emerging top in their category are, Ibraheem Ridwan (Carpentry), Christopher Olaniyi (Tiling), Miracle Olasoyin (robotics), Mojisola Akin-Ademola (Fashion), Ifedayo Emmanuel Bello (cooking), Emmanuel Abanobi (make-up), Kelvin Hassan (Barbing), Oluwaseun Akanbi (Electrical installations), Chima Solomon (plumbing), Leonard Manzo (automobile technology), Toheeb Ogunbiyi (Website development), Precious Audu (graphic design), Lot Madaki (leatherworks), and Oluwaseun Akinlo (Art). The Idea behind iCreate Africa The Founder/CEO iCreate Africa, Bright Jaja aims to use iCreate Africa to create five million jobs in five years. Bright Jaja aims to rebrand the general perception of skilled workers and place more importance on technical and vocational skills through the skills fest. iCreate Skills Fest is a platform that promotes skills excellence, showcases skills standards and careers, demonstrates benchmarks of excellence in teaching and learning and creates interest in public sector agencies and private organizations to invest in skills development. Winners of the iCreate Skills Fest 2019 receive technical training from various partners. The platform iCreate Africa has created for young female artisans, is paramount for gender equality and inclusive economic growth in the continent. After recording huge success last year by hosting 4 competitions across four regions, directly empowering 180 skill trade professionals with startup capital and equipment. iCreate Africa is creating a skills ecosystem and projecting skills in the mainstream, they are most convinced that the concept is a viable solution to curb youth unemployment and prepare the youth for the future of work. Skills are the future of Nigeria! iCreate Africa urges the public to invest in skills and target the next generation of Nigerian youths. These youths will power the economy, across the world. iCreate Africa,Skills change lives.
Struggling with your New Year resolutions? Try this instead.
If someone bet you $5 for every month you keep your resolution this year, the odds are that you’ll lose start losing money by mid-February. If you are already struggling to keep up with your New Year resolutions, you are not alone. Why most of us suck at keeping resolutions Studies have shown that New Year’s resolutions have a failure rate of 80%. One reason why we struggle to keep our New Year resolutions is that we see resolutions as short-term goals. So the second we fail to keep them, we throw in the towel. It’s simply not sustainable for most of us to stay committed to a big goal for a year without losing steam. That’s why it makes sense for organizations to plan out the year in quarters. Milestones make it easier to accomplish big goals. Make mantras. Not resolutions. In the first episode of the new video series, SLA Tips, co-founder Yasmin Belo-Osagie makes a case for starting the new year off with mantras over resolutions. High achievers like Melinda Gates also opt for mantras over resolutions. Whether your mantras are 1-word, quotes or phrases, you are more likely to achieve success with them compared to resolutions. What mantras will you make to help you #SLAY2020? Looking to network and get personalized tips for your career or business from experts? Join the Motherland Mogul Insider program now.
Career hacks from 4 Motherland Moguls for 2020 motivation.
As Motherland Moguls living in the new millennia, we have a diverse group of women in leadership to get inspiration from. Here are lessons from 4 African women who have #slayed the past decade to help you to reach your Vision 2020 goals. 1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Get your receipts ??♀️ Chimamanda’s success in the literary world comes from her ability to consistently publish high-quality work. The secret sauce for the Queen of African Literature? Reading Chimamanda is an avid reader and researcher. Half Of a Yellow Sun, her second novel and an international bestseller, took four years of intense research and writing. This commitment to learning and research is a skill any Motherland Mogul needs for success. 2. Bonang Matheba: Invest in yourself sis ? Nothing says investing in yourself like putting your name on something and sharing it with the world. Bonang has established her name as a valuable brand that will make everything from Champagne to mobile apps valuable. Bonang’s success comes from years of strategic self-investment. If you ever doubt that you can do something, pull a Bonang. Bet on yourself and see how far you can go. Get your SLAY Festival Early Bird Tickets 3. Lupita Nyong’o: Don’t put yourself in a box ??♀️ Since her breakout role in 12 Years a Slave, Lupita has fearlessly stretched herself. In 2018, she announced she will be making her producer debut in Hollywood in the film adaptation of South African comedian, Trevor Noah’s book, Born A Crime. The movie is set to be released this year. In late 2019, she debuted as an author with her children’s book, Sulwe, which instantly became a New York Times bestseller! #goals Lupita gives us that go after your dreams inspo. 4. Yvonne Orji: Do it with what you got ??♀️ After a show she was writing for got cancelled, Yvonne focused on creating her own opportunities with the resources she had. In 2016, Yvonne created and starred in First Gen, a sitcom she piloted on YouTube with the goal of selling it to a major network. While the show never got picked up, it caught the attention of Issa Rae and producers at HBO when they were casting for Insecure. Yvonne has continued to leverage her resources and network to get things done. She created her hit podcast with fellow Nigerian comedienne, Luvvie Ajayi, launched an international comedy tour and is scheduled to publish her first book in March 2020. The lesson from Yvonne – start with what you have and build from there. Want to invest in yourself for 2020? Join the Motherland Mogul Insider – an 8-week online program to help you grow your network and reach your professional goals.
5 Career Lessons Sho Madjozi Taught Us In 2019
If you have not heard of Sho Madjozi, you must be living under a rock. This year, the 27-year-old proud Tsonga ambassador from Limpopo solidified her spot as an international superstar with hits like John Cena. While she’s been in the rap scene for barely 3 years, she’s found major success in a short time. This year, she won the Best New International Act category at the BET Awards, launched her first fashion collection in collaboration with Edgards, and got the world taking the #JohnCenaChallenge. After learning all we could about Sho Madjozi’s career, here are 5 lessons all Motherland Moguls can apply to accelerate their career growth. 1. Use your strengths Maya (Sho Madjozi’s legal name) has spent years honing and leveraging her writing skills to build a career for herself. Whether she’s doing screenplays, poetry or rap, she understands her core strength and has used that to explore career paths including journalism, performance poetry and rap. Develop your strengths and use them to build your career. When you bring something valuable to the table, you set yourself up for accelerated success. 2. Get involved in your community Sho Madjozi has always used her talents to try to shape or change the community around her. As a poet and journalist, she discussed racial identity and the effects of colonialism on the modern African. Now as a rapper, she promotes Tsonga culture and inspires young Africans to be proud of their roots. How does that apply to you when you get to the office in the new year? Plug into the issues of your company, clients, customers and see how your talents can change things. Your involvement keeps you visible and valuable. 3. Collaborate with strategic partners One major way Sho Madjozi accelerated her career growth this year was through her strategic partnership with Edgars. Through her collaboration with the retail brand, she launched her first clothing line at the same time as her album. To reach your career goals, it’s always easier and faster to get some help. Seek out strategic partners within your network that will help you reach your business goals. A great start is to find a mentor. 4. Know your worth In an interview with Africori, Sho Madjozi explains that African artists need to understand that they are very hot in the market right now and need to negotiate their value appropriately. Understanding the value of your skills and experiences is important to accelerate your career. 5. Bet on yourself The most important to take away from Sho Madjozi’s hustle this year is to bet on yourself. Sho Madjozi’s success in the past year has been with no label support. She has continuously taken chances and invested in herself. You must take swings and get out of your comfort zone to grow – volunteer to be team lead on a project, pitch that idea in your head, and start that side hustle! What lessons will you use to SLAY your career in 2020? SLAY Festival is coming to Joburg in 2020! GET YOUR EARLY BIRD TICKETS NOW
HOW TO MANAGE DIFFICULT CLIENTS IN 2020.
With the decade is almost over, it’s the perfect time to check the relationships that are important to us. Whether you are an entrepreneur, side hustler or corporate climber, maintaining a good relationship with your clients is an important part of your success. Unfortunately, not all clients make it easy to build a positive relationship. How do you get that schmoney and manage difficult clients without losing your mind? Apply some Emotional Intelligence! Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand other people’s emotions, empathize with them and respond to them appropriately. Here are 3 tips to help you manage tough clients using Emotional Intelligence: 1. Be self-aware The first step to empathizing with your difficult clients is evaluating yourself. Think about how you communicate with your clients – are you showing them that you care? If you are a manager or business owner, is your company encouraging a culture of empathy for clients? 2. Listen Intelligently Just like your personal relationships, listening is an important part of maintaining positive client relationships. Sometimes, clients are difficult because they don’t feel heard. Consider what your clients might want from you, even if they haven’t expressed it. Listen actively by noting pain points, asking follow up questions and keeping the lines of communication open. 3. Understand your clients’ personalities Clients are people too. When you manage people, it’s important to understand their temperaments. Cholerics tend to be logical and use focus on facts. Stay proactive and result-oriented with choleric clients. Melancholics pay attention close to details. You must your processes for efficiency with them. Phlegmatics can be indecisive. Be patient and helping them understand the information they need to make a decision. Sanguines tend to be carefree and impulsive, so you might consider keeping communication informal to keep their attention. Understand your clients, their personalities and deal with them appropriately. Which of these tips will you use to manage your difficult clients in 2020? Ready to SLAY 2020 in Johannesburg? Get your SLAY Festival tickets HERE.