DAISY ADUL: CEO Kenya’s first cloud-based salon software shares her takeaways from the SLA x Dark and Lovely Accelerator residency
Daisy Adul is an experienced professional in marketing and client relations. She is also the founder of Uneeq Salon software, Kenya’s first cloud-based salon software. With a demonstrated history of running sales and operations for several organizations, Daisy has built a team that prides itself in offering a unique and customized experience for customers while guiding them to achieve their maximum potential.additionally has a track record of exceeding targets. Having worked within the Logistics industry with multinationals such as FedEx Express, Bollore Logistics for over a decade, inherently understanding how vital customer service, marketing, strategic planning, and implementation is to a business. Daisy is one of the top 5 She Leads Africa x Dark and Lovely Beauty Accelerator, finalists. In November 2018, she attended the accelerator residency boot camp at the L’Oréal HQ in Johannesburg, and she shares her experience in this article. Tell us about your business Uneeq is a software company providing affordable and convenient cloud-based business solutions such as inventory management, customer data collection, invoicing, payroll, financial reports, branch management, appointment scheduling and so much more within the beauty and wellness industry. [bctt tweet=”I am highly driven by what the world has to offer and hope to leave it better than I found it – @daisy_adul ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How did you hear about the SLA x Dark and Lovely Beauty Accelerator Being a follower of She Leads Africa on social media, I have always followed the remarkable work they do with women across Africa. I receive their monthly newsletter, and so this is how I found out. At the time I didn’t think much about it, but after watching Accelerator programs held in the past, I was sure this is exactly what myself and the business needed. Talk about perfect timing. What are your 5 key tips for submitting a winning application? The first thing which you cannot stress enough is your story. [bctt tweet=”Anyone can come up with a great idea, and anyone can be an entrepreneur but what sets you apart and what exactly is it that makes your business a need rather than a want.” username=””] Secondly, it’s your pitch deck which is basically a layout of key information about your business that aims to attract potential investors. Your pitch deck should be captivating enough. Keep it short and simple but highlight key points such as what problem it is your trying to solve and the solution. Know your market, your competitors, challenges you face and some of the steps you have taken to overcome these challenges. [bctt tweet=”Be real. As simple as that. Do not oversell your business at the same time do not sell yourself short.” username=””] Highlight your milestones or personal success within your business or as an entrepreneur. Nobody wants to be associated with a boring brand. Tell us about your experience during the SLA x Dark and Lovely Beauty Accelerator residency. In one word, eye-opening. When I first came to the program, I thought I knew exactly what I was doing regarding my business and its structure. It gives you clarity on some key things we usually tend to overlook in our businesses. Meeting other fabulous boss ladies doing phenomenal things within their space and realizing that I am not alone in this was cool. The assurance that in one way or another, we all face challenges in our businesses, but we can’t give up. After all, the motherland needs more women in leadership positions. Support from the entire team at SLA and experts from Dark and Lovely also made the week bearable. Moments of self-doubt became winning moments, and courage to speak up about my business is something I take home with me. What was your highlight of the residency program Definitely learning how to create an excellent pitch deck. As a business owner, what would you say is your unique selling proposition? Being the first Salon software within the Kenyan market and across East Africa is something we pride ourselves in. But that isn’t enough, ensuring that this software is integrated for the African market through understanding the missing value chain from 3 fronts that are salon owners, customers and technicians are the extra miles we have gone. What’s the most important thing the SLA Accelerator residency has taught you? Tomorrow is always a better day. During the week we all had low moments, and at some point, I wanted to give up. But surprisingly enough on the last day when presenting our pitch decks, I was not the same person who had walked into L’OREAL office on Monday. I was bold, confident and passed on the exact message I had been struggling with which is simply how brilliant my business is. I learned how to stop selling myself and my business shortly. One of your exercises during the residency was to create a vision board for 2019. What’s that one goal you MUST achieve in 2019? What is most important to me currently is self-development in all areas of my life. And so the one thing I intend to accomplish in my 2019 is to get recognition for my business in various platforms for women in business through growth and restructure. What’s your secret sauce? How do you get your glow up? Staying Authentic and being unapologetic about wanting more. Are you a Tea or coffee gal? Definitely a coffee girl. “Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee” –Stephanie Piro, Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
7 Personal Productivity Tools for every woman
With so much to do in your daily lives, you need some productivity tools that can make you better organized, work smarter, become more effective, and achieve optimal results. Here are a few personal productivity tools that can help you do better in your personal life, work and business. Google Drive Google drive is a cloud storage service by google with which you can back up the files on your various devices in the cloud and access them on any other device across various locations using your gmail ID. You are also able to share files and collaborate with others on projects across different locations. Google drive also helps you create various folders for files to save your files. When devices synced with the google drive app are low on storage space, you can easily save the files on the application and delete them from the device to free storage space. The google drive application gives 15GB free storage space, if you need to use more than this amount of storage space , you can upgrade to the paid plans. Evernote Evernote is an application that lets you collect your thoughts, track them, share them (when you want to) and organize your day to day activities and yearlong goals. With Evernote, you are able share notes with team mates as you brainstorm or work on a project, you can manage team access to your Evernote account. You can also access the app from any device connected to the internet and notes saved on it can be easily searched. The Evernote app has a scanning feature that can be used to capture and register business cards as well as search documents. This app comes with virtual post it notes which can be used to organize and set reminders. Moneyfy Monefy is a personal finance app that’s useful for money management. This app helps you track your spending habits and create charts that clearly show your spending pattern. You can even customize some features on the app to suit your lifestyle – expenses, currency and language. It is easy to create and update detailed transaction lists on this platform (daily, weekly, monthly). The app puts together reports of your transactions at intervals (decided by you); it lets you set monthly budgets, share access with others, back up and export data as required. The basic version of the app is free to use, however, there’s an upgraded version that comes with extra features and you can get access to it for as low as N500/month. Another personal finance app that can complement Monefy is Goodbudget – this app can be applied to help you save for big expenses. Quality Time App Quality Time App; this application lets you know how much time you spend on your phone (hourly, daily and weekly) and how you spend it. With this app, you can easily identify applications on your device that you are addicted to. You can use this app to curb/manage excessive phone usage. There are even features on this app you can activate to alert you (or someone else) when you are spending “too much” time on your phone. A Vision Board A Vision board is built as a representation of where you are going (vision/goal) using images, picture, quotes. It is a goal setting tool on which defined vision/goals are illustrated visually .In a world where there’s so much fighting for your attention, there’s need to define your dreams and focus on them and a vision board can help with that. It is best to place this tool where it can be seen regularly; this lets you constantly feed your subconscious mind with what you want to achieve and how you want to feel. This tunes your mind in on your focus so that it constantly works to bring these dreams to life (whatever you focus on expands). Famous people like Ellen Degeneres and Katy Perry have spoken about how they used vision boards at one time or the other to bring their dreams to life. The process of creating a vision board is engaging; it connects you mentally to your dreams and there are no strict rules to it. You can inspire, motivate and affirm your way to your dreams using this tool. Post It Notes Post it notes are small sticky sheets of paper for taking notes and setting reminders; you can use it to track and organize thoughts by pasting these notes where they can be easily spotted for the required timely action, it comes in very handy when multitasking. These notes are easily pasted or detached from surfaces and leave no stains or residue. Post it notes are visually invasive when compared to software applications but they help direct attention to where it is needed. Virtual post it notes now exists, but I doubt they can take the place of the physical post it notes. Adult coloring Adult coloring is simply coloring for adults; sometimes we need to calm our young, active and energetic minds to prevent burnout and increase focus and concentration. Research shows that coloring has therapeutic benefits for adults; It is said to improve mindfulness and reduce anxiety. This can translate to reduced stress levels as well as better focus and concentration on work. Consider this a good way to manage stress and increase productivity. Adult coloring apps like ColorMe is a good place to start, you can also go for hard cover adult coloring books if that’s your preferred option. Now, go and live your best life! If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.