I once sat in an inspirational talk by the former CEO of Accenture Clive Butkow. He gave a lot of tips that day, and one of these was “use other people’s brains”. How I interpreted this as, was find a mentor. Find someone who has taken the journey before who will help guide you in…
Dipuo Gqola of Wahlumaa Trading Enterprise in La Lucia, Durban, says she only realised the importance of a business plan after she attended the business modelling course at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs).“I used to think a business plan was a waste of money and time. And both of those are in short…
A business model is something you create for yourself in the primary phase of starting a business – in other words the “blue print” of your business. It helps clarify that you have a product or idea that people are interested in and are willing to buy. A business model also helps identify who your…
Thinking about launching a business or almost there already? Have you ever taken time to just sit and think about what type of an entrepreneur you are? In Part One of Small Business Foundations we look at different types of entrepreneurs and ask the question, “Which one are you?” Knowing which kind of entrepreneur you…
Matoyana Founder and CEO Nokwazi Mzobe is a woman of many talents. As well as being a Business Consultant and respected Thought Leader, Nokwazi teaches part-time at the GIBS Enterprise Development Academy. We chatted to her to find out more about her teaching journey and why she does it. Hi Nokwazi, how did you become…
Mandela Day gives us pause to think about how much we actually give back, and we’re reminded that every day should be Mandela Day. But in our busy lives it’s not always easy commit to things, even the most important ones. Here are some initiatives that inspire us and will hopefully help to motivate your…
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Sustainable Brands Summit. This was a gathering of local and international brands, social entrepreneurs and sustainability advocates sharing their stories, thoughts and strategies around sustainability. The information I received from this event left me thinking, “What am I doing about sustainability in my business?” “In a volatile…
I’ve always wanted to write a book, I even attended one of those free book writing seminars. I was thinking seriously about putting pen to paper when I mentioned my plan to a client and she suggested I create a book for the project we were working on. While I envisaged myself as an author…
As a proudly owned female business we are invested in women and their success. In this article we explore some of the reasons why women go into business for themselves and make a success of it. #1 No Choice “Necessity is the mother of invention.” English Proverb “Option A is not available. So let’s kick…
Your entrepreneurial path is likely to be a strikingly individual one, because it’s driven by unique-you. That doesn’t mean there aren’t different types of support along the way. In this article we share six Thought Leader websites which inspire or help us – we hope you receive value from their content too. 1) “As soon…