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Michael Whife: An Innovator and Leader

Meet Michael Whife, the Chief Executive Officer of Selling Simplified Group, Inc. Wife has exceptionally portrayed his unique ideologies and methodologies to lift him and his company to its current stature. As the leader of global B2B demand gen company, Whife has introduced various disruptive technologies to the industry that meet growing demand through an innovative, data-driven approach to business.

Tycoon Success admires leaders like Whife and takes pride in featuring him in this month’s special issue: “The 10 Most Inspiring CEO’s to Watch in 2021.”

Below are the highlights of the interview:

Innovative Services & Solutions

Selling Simplified Group, Inc. (SSG) takes a holistic, intent-driven approach to demand generation and martech solutions. Whife shared that the business was born from the idea that there are more opportunities to track engagement and garner insights from content consumption than traditional lead generation programs capture. The company offers two core solutions to helping marketers make more meaningful B2B connections:

Visionayr: This all-in-one marketing solution is designed to give B2B marketers a real-time view of organic demand and intent surrounding their products and customers. Operating atop SSG’s robust global database of 170M+ global B2B records, Visionayr offers a unique way to share content, track engagement, and drive high quality demand.

Integrated Programmatic: The SSG approach to programmatic display hinges on first-party data. While third-party data is costly and assumptions-based, first-party data ensures 100% targeting accuracy. Our programmatic offerings can be leveraged in any multichannel lead gen strategy, ensuring targeting efficiencies and reducing ad spend waste.

Customer-Centric

While Selling Simplified’s core mission has always revolved around helping its clients making more fruitful B2B connections, Whife and his team approached that mission in a few different ways before finally finding a path that set the company apart and enabled it to grow.

They developed the idea when they witnessed a need to capture intent. They realized that the company could provide more value for its clients by delivering digitally engaged sales leads. “To do this, we would need data,” he shared. As its proprietary database of B2B decision makers grew, the lead gen sphere became increasingly data-driven and started leveraging more digital methods. Whife’s team was able to grow over the past few years because they have built a vast global database and because their smart technology and global presence has positioned the company competitively in the market.

Selling Simplified primarily serves software and IT companies in the B2B space and has adopted a human-centered approach to demand gen, which can often be lost in the world of big data and marketing technology. Whife is committed to identifying and analyzing human behavior that’s useful to both its clients and their prospects. He stated that many SSG clients praise the company’s unique and out-of-the-box approach. Its core values center around customer service and localization, which the company believes go hand-in-hand. He and his team don’t believe in simply servicing clients from overseas; they strive to create jobs in the countries where the company does business. At the end of the day, Whife shared that the company’s technology is designed to help people. “This is core to what we do and the marketing message that we promote,” he said.

A Strong Team

The collective success of the company has contributed to the overall drive of Whife’s team. Thanks to an outstanding core leadership team, Selling Simplified has been able to create an environment that nurtures and cultivates its employees as professionals in the industry and allows them to grow within the organization.

Whife continues to emphasize the importance of corporate social responsibility and giving back to the community. “When we talk about Selling Simplified’s hyper-localized approach to doing business, one of the biggest elements is our model of hiring local to create fully operational regional office,” he said.

In the Digital Age, quality data plays a crucial role in understanding the market and empathizing with the buyer’s evolving needs. Data is an incredibly personal form of currency that, when mishandled, can have dangerous effects. Selling Simplified has always taken data security and privacy seriously, and Whife considers this a major responsibility of him and his company.

Whife also stated that some of the changes that the company made to its operating model over the years have been tumultuous for the company and were difficult to implement as a leader, but in hindsight he would now say that they were in the company’s best interest.

Lastly, Whife shared that Selling Simplified has nearly doubled the size of its team and continues to employ some of the most, talented, innovative, and seasoned individuals in the industry. This accomplishment is truly the result of all of its team’s tenacity, first-rate customer service, and knack for ingenuity. Whife expressed that he could not be prouder to work amongst such a fine group of global leaders in an innovative company such as theirs.

Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do -Warren G. Bennis

Future Endeavors

As the company continues to gain midsize status, Whife sees Selling Simplified becoming a truly viable competitor to top publisher and demand gen companies. While their presence in the Asia Pacific region continues to grow and further cement their status as APAC market leaders, Whife has expansion plans for Europe, North America, and Latin America.

“As we continue to expand throughout the globe, we pride ourselves on maintaining a data-driven, culturally sensitive presence,” said Whife. Around the world, Selling Simplified captures data in-language, and all their records come from a subscriber opt-in network that complies with global privacy & data regulations. As they continue to open offices around the world and build a data capture system that mirrors the nuance of those regions, they are positioned to be the largest demand generation and data service provider in APAC and a competitive force in the world.

Selling Simplified also researches market trends to understand evolving needs and continues to set up global operations in an agile fashion. The company focuses on developing tools that improve their global database and add intelligence to the data. In the future, Whife intends to adapt their products and hone their hyper-localized approach to demand gen, highlighting their opt-in framework that guarantees real-time, quality intent data for clients.

Awards and Achievements

2020 achievements:

94 new employees are hired
200+ new clients are added to the clientele list
65% annualized growth was witnessed from 2019-20
5 new offices are opened across the globe
The company achieved industry benchmark gross profit margin with 84% increase
Named on Inc. 5000’s list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America for fifth straight year

Parting Advice

Whife stated that growth and success are huge motivators for any team, which includes collective success and individual success. He advised that one must be patient and believe in one’s team and their ability to deliver. One must also empower others to do their best work and continue learning and expanding one’s skill set, even if it has nothing to do with the day job.

For companies seeking global expansion, Whife shared some tips:

Be patient with expansion and understand that it requires cultural adaptation
Ensure leadership has an authentic sensitivity to culture and empowers the team to deliver
Understand every market’s unique business challenges and business customs
Account for data capture and privacy policies, and capture data in-language
Strive to support local communities, hire locally, and contribute to the world

Why is healthy diet important part of your life?

The key to a healthy, wealthy and prosperous lifestyle is a balanced diet. The main things that are essential in a balanced dietary food should contain all right foods in optimum quantities. A balanced diet contains proper amounts of carbohydrates, fibre, water, proteins, vitamins, fats, and minerals. Foodoholic people who do not live a healthy lifestyle are more prone to get diseases just because of the unnecessary food items that they eat. Cheatfood orjunkfood is very #delicious but you should be aware of the fact that which food is to be avoided and which food is to be taken. Other than the correct quantities and ingredients, correct time of eating particular foods is also a crucial aspect. International food festival is held every year to teach people more about healthy food. In this article, we discuss the benefits of a healthy diet.

These benefits of a healthy diet on a Human body are:

Reduces Disease Risk

A healthy diet gives you an additional protection to fight certain diseases. It helps you to regulate your blood cholesterol levels and provide your body with sufficient antioxidants. It is also researched and proved by the scientists that a combination of a healthy food diet along with an active lifestyle has potential huge health merits. Also, it reduces the disease risk.

Weight Management

The reason for an individual getting fat is the intake of processed and refined foods which are basically full of sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and calories. This is sufficient to undermine weight control. Eating more than the requirement of body certainly leads to an individual getting fat because of the extra addition of energy in the fat cells. It is good to be a foodie but keeping in mind that it is advised by the researchers that eating sufficient and healthy food at correct times decreases the risk of getting fat and helps you in obtaining proper weight management.

Brain Health

Omega-3 fatty acid is an example of a nutrient which is found abundantly in nutrient-rich foods such as fish and nuts. Omega-3 fatty acids are very vital for transmitting signals from eyes to the brain. This acid also aids in the positive moods as well as improves depression. As researched by the scientists, healthy diet enhances the brain function. It is also said that consumption of high saturated fat foods reduces the power of learning. Whereas diets which accumulate omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, are considered good for the overall brain health.

Immune System Strength

The immune system provides the ability to the body in order to fight the unwanted diseases entering your body. The immune system is a grouping of interconnected tissues, organs, and cells which in general stops the invasion of microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, and parasites in the body. Scientists have observed that malnutrition affected people are more vulnerable to infectious diseases. A healthy diet includes all the proper vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are required by the body in order to strengthen the immune system. Consuming adequate nutrients plays a crucial part in strengthening as well as maintaining the immune system.

Effects Of Wrong Eating Habits:

An immediate outcome of wrong eating choices of food deteriorates the health levels and may result in excessive weight gains that too in a short period of time or obesity. Various common diseases caused due to bad eating habits may cause you problems like high blood pressure, low weight, diabetes, heart diseases, weak bones or maybe even slow the development of the brain. It is very important to eat healthy food in order to stay healthy.

Top 10 Reasons to do MBA in Marketing Management

Having engineering in IT has a great scope in the corporate world. An engineer, who works efficiently to make the computer functional without any error, may be interested in computer software or hardware domain. An MBA in Marketing Management, also have good career growth opportunity in various industries. Let’s understand in detail.

What is Marketing Management?

Marketing Management is a process of finding the right market, identifying, marketing, communicating, and delivering the required products & services to prospective customers for satisfying their needs at an affordable price.

Reasons to do MBA in Marketing Management

There is no doubt that an MBA in Marketing Management has a bright future. There are several reasons to do that. You can go through the top 10 reasons to do an MBA in Marketing Management, which is as follow?

Understanding Business Scenario: Marketing Management is a broader term. An MBA gets thorough knowledge of multiple subjects like marketing, finance, human resource, corporate management, organization behavior, etc. The marketing domain is useful for understanding marketing research, brand management, sales management, and negotiation management. You know the whole business environment to market the products & services strategically.
Consumer Behaviour: The customer is a king. It is necessary to understand consumer behavior properly. It helps to analyze the consumers’ actual requirements to satisfy their wants.
Product Development: Marketing is a process of identifying the customers’ needs and providing the product as per their interest. It motivates you to make the product more qualitative.
Skill Development: Skill development is always required whatever you are doing in your life. Marketing management gives you a chance to improve your different skills. You learn other skills like lead generation, tele-calling, prospecting, team handling, and sales conversion.

High Job Responsibilities:Marketing management demands high job responsibilities. You have to perform different roles at various levels. It requires a positive attitude, never give up trait, and persistence to perform job responsibilities correctly.

Target vs. Achievement:Marketing management covers sales management too. There is more learning in such a job profile regarding setting up sales targets to sell the products and services and achieve them with consistent efforts.

Branding:Branding is a part of Marketing Management. It helps you out to get to know about the brand management thoroughly. You develop a skill gradually throughout how to build a brand.

Scope of Digital Marketing:Digital Marketing field is booming these days. It is useful for marketing your products and services online through SEO (Search Engine Optimization, SMM (Social Media Management), PPC (Pay per Click), Content Marketing, and Remarketing Campaigns.

Marketing Research Analyst: Under the Marketing Management scenario, you have the opportunity to become a Marketing Research Analyst. You get a chance to learn about collecting and analysing data to take out inferences from them for high efficiency.

Customer Relationship Marketing:Building relations with prospective and existing customers require good interpersonal skills. Marketing Management covers all such aspects. It enhances your conversion ratio and also maximizes your repeat business prospects.

Job Opportunities after MBA in Marketing Management

Marketing Management is the foundation of business growth. There are immense career growth opportunities after MBA in the marketing domain. Irrespective of any industry, all businesses do require marketing management. A master’s degree in Marketing Management promises you to get a starting salary ranging from Rs. 3 lac to Rs. 35 lac per annum or maybe more depending upon the company, profile, industry, and brand. Many reputed companies like Vodafone, Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, P&G, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Amazon, Flipkart, and many more.

Conclusion

Marketing Management comes with a lot of career growth opportunities. It is an art, and you learn a different set of skills in an MBA. It brings overall development in your personality. Without marketing, no company can survive at all. It is a way to know about the customers’ actual requirements and fulfill them with a commitment to satisfy them for mutual benefits.

The 10 Most Inspiring Business Women Making a Difference, 2021

Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, Ever-Passionate Leader Striving Hard To Scale African Enterprise Since 2008 at Future Software

Innovative, passionate, result-oriented, and a seasoned Information Technology professional, Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, CEO, Future Software Resources Ltd. has navigated through a 15-year journey of cross-sector industry experience in Nigeria, Africa’s largest emerging economy.

Because of her outstanding efforts and leadership as a fierce leader spearheading the company’s flanks, this leading lady has been recognized as an Obama African Leader, Forbes’s Top Ten Female Tech Founders in Africa, Global Digital Women top 10 Most Inspiring Women in Africa, Lionesses of Africa top 100 Women and Ventures Africa 42 most Innovative Africans.

Nkemdilim combines strategic, digital technology, and operational experience with a deep understanding of business transformation, change leadership, and risk oversight. She has designed and led strategy and implementation of digital marketing & digital transformation projects across Africa, resulting in enhanced customer experiences, customer acquisition & bottom-line growth, optimized and more cost-effective operations, and a more digitally skilled labour force within the organisations she has worked with.

Her entrepreneurial background, involvement in the global and pan-African Technology landscape, and a focus on building the Nigerian Technology ecosystem through enabling policy development, investing, education and mentoring, affords her a deep understanding of cutting-edge innovation, emerging & disruptive technologies, as well as access to a large network of technology leaders, policymakers and investors across the continent and globally.

She is also an experienced Non-Executive Director across not for profit, private and listed companies. On the boards she serves on Nkemdilim is trusted for her attention to detail, the ability to identify key issues and provoke deeper discourse to unlock alternative viewpoints.

Futuresoft & its Exclusive Service Portfolio

Futuresoft is a full-service digital agency & IT Solutions company, providing a broad range of business solutions for the scaling African enterprise, to consistently attract and retain its target audience. Futuresoft has over 13 years of experience in designing and managing digital properties and online activities of businesses across various industries.

Their understanding of technology, lateral thinking, and process-based approach allows the team to provide tailored, innovative, and sustainable solutions for businesses; empowering them to leverage all relevant channels to improve user experience, increase customer engagement and grow profits. The goal is to build lasting relationships and function as part of the customers team to achieve overall company success. Their two core service areas are:

Digital Marketing & IMC

The combination of our individual services by our team of strategists, content writers, developers, and analysts create a full suite of integrated marketing and communications with a well-coordinated approach. This combination is a well-blended mix of creative campaigns, animations, video production, digital advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and search engine marketing (SEM).

Digital Transformation

At Futuresoft we help you build out your Digital Transformation Roadmap. We empower our customers with smarter ways of doing business and frictionless ways of delivering a great customer experience to their customers. We bring years of experience across various industry sectors, as well as a wealth of experience in deploying digital technology solutions to the table, providing ways for our customers to maximise value creation across asset and operations lifecycles while improving profitability.

From the CEO’s Desk

Some of the major reasons that influenced my decision to be an entrepreneur are:

Wanting to put African businesses on the digital map and ensuring that African businesses are able to harness the opportunities Digital provides.
Wanting to build a life that allows me the freedom to manage my time, build my dreams, and create an impact.
The challenge that is entrepreneurship

The Clientele

The clientele includes private sector and government organisations as well as nonprofits and associations predominantly located in Nigeria. It is particularly well suited to work with the:

Scaling Business: the services are aimed at businesses in the growth or expansion phase that are already profitable; they are not the ‘best fit’ for most startups.
Result Driven Business: When companies are interested in setting clear measurable goals and meeting objectives, they do the best work.
Doubtful But Willing Business: When clients have already worked with other agencies that have underperformed, it creates a healthy challenge for the team to deliver the best results.
Business With Audacious Goals: They do their best work with clients that have big dreams and huge goals. It’s exciting for them to work with companies that want to disrupt their industries and dominate their market.

Nkemdilim Uwaje further apprised, “We focus on delivering excellent work and exceptional service, which sets us apart from many other agencies. Our cross-industry experience combined with in-depth marketing and technology experience allows us to build strategies and design campaigns that are aligned with business goals and deliver results.”

The Team & Corporate Ethos

Future Software’s vibrant and multi-dimensional team is led by Founder & CEO, Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, who provides leadership to the team and ensures high-quality technical work across all Futuresoft projects. The team is composed of experts in strategy, marketing, content, web design, graphics, branding, lead generation, ad campaign management, website development, SEO, and more with the right experience across multiple industries. The Futuresoft family values are anchored in excellence, integrity, customer centricity, continued learning, resourcefulness, and teamwork.

Major Hurdles & The Support System

The company has gone through multiple difficulties over the years, like:

Finding the right team
Creating adequate processes that support growth
Creating brand visibility and brand awareness within the right target segment

“It is said, “10 years of hard work make you an overnight success” …to sum it up, drive, discipline, diligence, and determination are the keys that helped Nkemdilim in her growth journey.

Creating a more Balanced and Equal Industry

Ensure gender diversity and gender parity across the board – from board level all the way down to entry-level.
Invest in the ecosystem – especially in the area of Digital Skills development
Get involved in policy development

Future Roadmap

Nkemdilim Uwaje is looking to expand the executive training offering as well as deepen the Digital Transformation consultancy practice. The team is very excited about building out their executive training academy for C-level executives and board members who are learning to navigate the digital world.

Favourite Book

The Alchemist – because it teaches key lessons on finding your why, pursuing your dreams and enjoying the journey.

Favourite Quote

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

A Piece of Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

Work hard, deliver excellence, document your journey, pay it forward, build and nurture the ecosystem, build your personal brand and gain visibility, position as a thought leader – have fun and enjoy the journey with its mountains and its valleys.

The power of a purpose-driven company: Phillipa Geard

The popularity of ‘purpose-driven’ companies has grown exponentially over the past decade, and for a good reason. Historically, businesses exploited every opportunity for the sole purpose of maximising profit for shareholders. That said, as a spotlight has been shone on the reckless exploitation of natural and societal resources for profit, more companies have begun the process of self-examination and internal change.

Today a growing number of business owners realize there’s real value in creating a purpose-driven company, and in supporting suppliers with which they can align their values. Here we ask the question, what does a purpose-driven company look like and why does it make sense to ensure that your business is backing brands that are led predominantly by purpose.

What does purpose look like in practice?

A purpose-driven company stands for something bigger than its products and services. So, how does a business successfully put purpose into practice? For RecruitMyMom founder and CEO, Phillipa Geard, the first step in creating a purpose driven company was to identify a significant need in the market, and then to address that need. “When starting my business, I identified a significant gap between the skills market and skilled mothers’ need to be employed with some measure of flexibility to allow for space for family responsibilities.” She explains, “Hence with RecruitMyMom purpose came first, profit second.”

This speaks to the point that purpose shouldn’t be something a company plugs in as an added extra. Rather, it should be something around which a brand is built, and it needs to run deeper than a motto or mission statement. Let’s take a closer look at why clients prefer to support purpose-driven companies.

Purpose-driven companies create long-term sustainable performance

When a company’s purpose is clear, its vision is relatable. Clients trust companies who operate closely to their purpose. Phillipa explains how purpose has driven repeat business with RecruitMyMom’s clients, “Companies that use our services to hire skills, all subscribe to the company purpose, and will keep on returning to RecruitMyMom whenever they need skilled women to add value to their businesses.”

Purpose streamlines decision-making

A company’s purpose guides all decision-making. Each business decision should be weighed against the company’s purpose to see if it brings you closer to the goal. “Our business’s purpose of giving women dignity through work, guides all decision-making.” Phillipa confirms, “This helps us to easily identify business opportunities which fit into our business strategy, and empowers us to better serve our clients.”

Purpose fosters loyal staff

A clear purpose will attract like-minded people to the company. The most effective teams operate with a common goal in mind. Phillipa Geard explains what this looks like in her team, “At RecruitMyMom, every person placed in a job is cause for celebration.” She says, “We measure our success at the end of each month in ‘number of lives touched.’ This measure is a motivator for our staff, as everyone treats the company purpose as a personal purpose.” When staff members work towards a shared vision, it influences and fuels every other aspect of the business.

Purpose helps to drive your business forward

Having a clear company purpose that resonates with the entire team is what drives a business forward and can guide innovation within the company. “At RecruitMyMom, there is continuous energy around solutions to support more women through innovative recruitment solutions. This has meant that through the tough times of job losses and pay cuts, RecruitMyMom has remained steadfast.” Phillipa Geard explains.

Authentic purpose, authentic results

Purpose-driven companies are led by principled people. These leaders are authentic in everything they do. They walk the walk instead of just talking the talk which means their companies deal with staff and clients honestly and with integrity.

When purpose is viewed as a foundation on which a business is built, it creates a deeper connection with staff and customers. Purpose-driven companies deliver value beyond a product or service, they achieve great results and are rewarded with continued loyalty from their staff and customers they serve.

This article was supplied by RecruitMyMom. We operate nationally in South Africa, and globally for virtual assistants.

Growing Your Business Post Covid -19: Morenike George – Taylor

I think a lot of business owners will agree that a lot has changed in the business world after the pandemic. A lot of businesses had to close down and the few that remained still needed to create innovative ways to survive. For some restaurants and hotels that meant starting online delivery for their food items. For others, it meant holding online consulting meeting with clients as opposed to physical meetings and changing physical conferences to online conferences.

On the other hand, some businesses boomed during COVID – 19. Businesses like E- learning platforms, Online Food Delivery, NETFLIX and Zoom were in the perfect position to grow due to the pandemic. Pharmaceutical companies also made money from sale of face masks, personal protective equipment and drugs people purchased due to panic and fear. The secret of success for businesses here was that they were in the right position in the market. At the Flux Group, we created a business, County Support which partnered with a local mask production company and sold over two million locally made face masks at cheap prices to Nigerians and helped businesses cope with the effect of the pandemic and adapt. If your business wasn’t ready to attend to customers from their homes or supply products and services necessary for survival, it may not have been able to adapt to take advantage of the economic situation created by the pandemic but there is no reason why your business should be left out of the post – pandemic economic boom.

I have itemized a few tips on how I think businesses can survive and thrive in the post – COVID -19 economy:

Prepare to think out of the box: All this time we have had a lull in business, should have been used and should still be used to create new ideas and schemes on money making from our business. At Flux, we used this time to find international partners for our real estate company Taylor’s Realties which now sells properties in several countries around the world. If you’re a law firm consider creating an online legal consulting chat box on your website. If you’re an event planner, find the best online apps for hosting events, synchronize them with music and food vendors and give your guests an unexpected experience. Are you a physical store? This is the time to consider becoming an online store. This is the time to try something new, improve your product and hit the market running.
Invest in marketing: If you had never taken marketing seriously before, this is the time to take it seriously. Now the world is more of an equal playing field and those with big stores can’t oppress those with online stores. Many people can’t and wouldn’t leave home and so online purchases have increased. If you can invest in a good digital marketer, you can forge ahead and hit the targets you need to.
Reduce costs: This is the time to analyse your business and reduce your costs, if you’re not using all that office space, reduce it and sub-let. You may need to downsize your staff, you may also need to cause members of staff to play more than one role. You need to look at your business and cut off all the extra luggage you have been carrying around.
Look closely at your profit margins: If you pay close attention, you would observe that some things have become more expensive post COVID-19. These price increases could affect your raw material cost, transportation costs, storage costs and more. The incidences of items getting lost in the mail have increased and as a result, so would the cost of insurance and these can all affect your price margins. The increase in margins affected our business Foodworths as the price of food skyrocketed. We couldn’t have the sales we used to do regularly, we actually had to increase prices. My advice to you is this: I know you do a 20% off sale every September, but the question is, can you really afford to right now? Never take your eyes off the bottom line.
Lawyer up: If your business didn’t have a lawyer before, this is the time to get a good legal infrastructure. You would need to ensure that your insurance contracts are reviewed to cover pandemics, strikes, riots and natural disasters. You would also need legal advice on how to disengage employees, negotiate lower wages and pay offs. Good legal support will help you follow up on contractors who don’t pay you and try to rely on force majeure clauses in your contracts. This is the time to actually review all those force majeure clauses in your contracts. Good legal advice is something every business owner needs.

I could go on and on about how to help your business thrive post covid if we had more time, alas we don’t and its time I say goodbye. Be that as it may, I think you should be very proud of yourself if your business survived the pandemic because a lot of businesses didn’t. The journey from here to success may not be an easy one but it would be worthwhile. Even if you lost your business during the pandemic, study the market, you would see that a lot of new businesses sprouted from the remains of those that died. Zoom has brought the world closer and people can now do business across borders better than they did before.

In the words of that great philosopher ‘if at first you don’t succeed? Try, try and try again’ With persistence and perseverance, a sprinkle of hardwork and a dash of good luck, you would overcome and achieve your dreams. Form a good reading habit and read books that develop you as an entrepreneur, learn about sales, profit margins, business in general and work hard towards a better tomorrow.

Liezl Thom: The Amazing, Inspiring Woman Entrepreneur, Helping People in Reframing their Life Story

A qualified Master Transformation Coach, Life Coach, Neurolinguistics Practitioner, and Inner Conflict Therapy Practitioner with a sustained passion for people’s welfare, Liezl Thom is one such inspiring woman who has been guiding people on their journeys to self-discovery and awakening. She helps people re-evaluate and change the stories they tell themselves about themselves, which liberates them from their fears and limiting beliefs and helps them harness the power of change. With an aim to inspire, guide, and help as many people as possible to give birth to their own expression of inner excellence, Liezl Thom established the foundation of Liezl Thom Coaching on 21st September, 2021.

An alumna of the prestigious University of Pretoria, Lizel did her graduation in Political Science. She is also an experienced Journalist, amazing Author, and renowned Producer, Researcher, and Media Trainer. Further, the inspiring lady shared about her journey- “I have always questioned everything – especially my own thoughts. My inquisitive nature led me to a career in journalism and I absolutely loved my job. Unfortunately, my exposure to the dark side of humanity created some serious internal conflict and cognitive dissonance, which eventually caused some mental health issues. As a result, I stepped away from an extremely fulfilling career and focussed my attention on healing myself. Through this deeply meaningful process, I discovered tools and processes I now use to help others reframe their narrative to change the stories they tell themselves about themselves.

What Influenced Lizel to be an Entrepreneur?

Her approach to work has always been that she works for herself – even when she was employed full-time, she viewed her employer as a client to whom she provides a service. She would not necessarily describe herself as an entrepreneur, because an entrepreneur creates jobs for other people, but Lizel empowers people to take charge of their own destiny.

Clients & the Unbreakable Faith

Lizel says that she has been extremely fortunate to have an eclectic mix of clients over the years but they all have one thing in common – the unstoppable desire to harness change to take charge of their own lives. It is said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. Change is inevitable, but it creates a momentum that, when used with intention, can propel us into the life of our dreams.

Her clients know that regardless of where they are in their journey, Lizel is their biggest cheerleader. She believes one of the biggest joys in life is to serve others and she serves her clients by opening their eyes and their hearts to their own inner wisdom.

The Key Players behind Liezl’s Success

“There’s a saying in coaching that “what you resist, will persist” so I try to allow and encourage change as much as possible. There are hundreds of teachers along the way – most of them we never get to meet in person, but through their books, their words can have a profound impact on the lives of others. Some of my biggest influences are Martha Beck, Louise Hay, Caroline Myss, Deepak Chopra, and Dr Joe Dispenza”, Liezl proudly shared.

From the Founder’s Desk

Covid-19 has changed the way we approach work irrevocably. It also reaffirmed – if we had any doubts before – that we as humans need each other to not only survive but to thrive. In South Africa, we have a concept called Ubuntu, which translates into “I am because you are”. Another principle we live by in South Africa is Batho Pele, which literally means “people first”. We have to put people at the centre of what we do – whether it is clients, shareholders, or employees.

A Day in Liezl’s Life

Liezl begins her day with a positive note saying to herself that it’s going to be a great day. She then goes down to her office and gets some coffee while scanning the papers. She meditates for half an hour before taking her son to school. After the school run, she hits the gym before taking a shower and getting ready for work. Depending on the day, the inspiring coach will coach clients, study, write blogs or proposals, do interviews, record podcasts or meet with collaborators or potential collaborators, create new tools, read and research. After work, it’s either time for family or studying Sepedi – one of the eleven official languages spoken in South Africa. On some days Liezl takes her son to soccer. She lives to have dinner together as a family as it creates the opportunity to connect. After dinner, she will either read or watch a series before meditating again and then preparing for bed.

Favourite Book

When asked about her favourite book, Liezl apprised, “Books can be some of our biggest teachers and it’s hard to choose just one favourite but if I’m pressed, I’d have to say “Finding Your Own North Star” by Martha Beck and then its companion, “Steering By Starlight”. I have several qualifications in coaching – but my first introduction to coaching was when I became a Martha Beck Life Coach. These two books formed the basis of my training. I often buy copies of North Star to give to people as I know it will change their lives as much as it did mine.”

Jewels in the Crown & Road Ahead

The leading lady has been a coach on two reality tv shows.
In 2018, she was honoured as one of the Coaching Top 50 by CV Magazine.
Earlier this year, she was awarded Best Life & Transformation Coach 2021 (South Africa) in the African Excellence Awards hosted by MEA Markets.

While discussing her future plans, Liezl Thom said, “I would love to inspire more people to find their own truth and to share the insights and wisdom I have accumulated with a wider audience. Over the past year, I’ve had several speaking engagements – which I absolutely loved – and I look forward to many more.”

Words of Wisdom

In the immortal words of Polonius: ”This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any (wo)man.” We first have to know who we are and what we want before we can make a difference in the world. You have to ask yourself What are your unique talents and gifts and how can you use them?

Favourite Quote

Staying positive in a negative situation is not naïve. It’s leadership. – Ralph Marston

Lynda Aphing-Kouassi: The Woman Behind Initiative to Empower Business Aspirants with Cabinet International Kaizene

“Be Still and know that I am God.” – Bible

These words effectively steer motivation for Lynda Aphing-Kouassi, Founder & Managing Director, International Firm KAIZENE, a renowned name in Professional Training & Coaching that aims for excellence, Transformation specialized in capacity building; coaching, the organization of institutional conferences and women empowerment through the accelerator focused on agriculture.

Personifying a rigorous, determined; hardworking, daring, disruptive, spiritual, passionate for development, optimistic, and self-motivated individual who diligently transverses the path to achieving, Lynda enjoys the reputation of chairing a front-runner in the industry with a name that has ripened since she rooted it years ago.

In her 18 years of professional journey, Lynda managed to navigate through a journey of new experiences working with different professionals and achieving realistic goals. She started her career in the banking sector at Santander, Societe Generale, Vaultex (a subsidiary of the HSBC banking group) as a team leader, director of investments, and then investment banker in London for over 15 years. This career gives her solid expertise in the banking and financial field and the management of human capital constituting for her the “heart of the development of any Companies and the Society”.

In recent years, she has decided to return to her country in order to share her experience through the activities of her cabinet KAIZENE and thus contribute (i) to the development of the African continent (ii) to the empowerment of women and young people in through mentoring, coaching and training and (iii) through the organization, since 2015, of the annual conference on infrastructure and construction. She is a member of the board of directors of the African Diaspora Network (ADNE) based in Brussels (Belgium), the British chamber of commerce and a member of the Institute of Directors of London (I.O.D).

KAIZENE, Focusing on Women Empowerment & Youth Inclusion

KAIZENE was founded in 2015 on the initiative of Lynda Aphing-Kouassi. It is a training company that aims for excellence, specialised in capacity building; coaching, the organisation of institutional conferences, and finally KAIZENE accelerator for women SME.

The leading lady came up with this initiative when she realized that there was a lack of adequate training for companies but mostly that the employee’s soft skills were not fully utilized; that women’s empowerment was at the back of the agenda, and youth inclusion slow. She decided to contribute at her level in the ways she knew possible:

KAIZENE is a team of experienced employees who put their expertise at the service of their clients. They all share the values of rigor; faith and excellence. It is based in London Pall Mall Piccadilly (United Kingdom) and in Abidjan zone 4 (Ivory Coast).

Here, the clientele mainly includes institutions; governments small and medium-sized companies. We instill in them values of determination, agility; excellence; ambition, innovation, efficiency, and commitment.

Some conference themes organized by KAIZENE

Mining, Oil and Gas (December 2015) – London, United Kingdom
Oil Sector: Challenges and Opportunities (April 2016) – Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Electrification of Africa (October 2016) – Cape Town, South Africa
Construction and Infrastructures (December 2017) – Dakar, Senegal
AGOA FORUM (August 2018) Cote- d Ivoire
Construction and Infrastructures (December 2018) – Kigali, Rwanda
Construction and Infrastructures (October 2019) – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ROADMAP CONFERENCE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF COTE-D IVOIRE (October 2020)

Challenges & the Driving Force

“Our main challenges have been the sustainability of the empowerment for a larger number of women and the integration of young people through vocational training not being discouraged we carry on and are doing intense lobbying to achieve our goals”, shared Lynda when asked about her major challenges during the journey.

She continued, “As a woman entrepreneur in Africa, we worked hard and smart; we have met some very talented people and institutions that have also contributed to our growth.”

A Day in the Leading Lady’s Life & Her Hobbies

Lynda’s day is punctuated by her family and her work from the moment she wakes up she prays; speaks to her family and gets ready for her daily meetings, then she has meetings with her employees. Her hobbies are watching animated movies; travelling, art and culture and spending with her few friends

Jewels in the Crown

Lynda Aphing-Kouassi has been recognized by Forbes and Financial Afrique mentions; ASCOM awards, TOP MANAGER awards for our Nobel initiatives and contributions. Besides, the CSR activities have earned her the recognition of Forbes Africa and Financial Africa magazines as a development actor.

Through her services, Miss APHING-KOUASSI wishes to make a contribution to the economic and social development of the African continent. In her perpetual quest for development, she deeply believes that the desire to succeed and move forward must overcome obstacles and difficulties.

Favorite Read

Lynda said, “I have read a lot of books but the Bible is where I draw my real inspiration.”

Future Roadmap

Lynda Aphing-Kouassi and her team will continue to train as many businesses as possible to help them grow, empower as many women as possible and change the mindset and integrate as many young people so that they become the African leaders of tomorrow.

A Piece of Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Be unapologetic; intentional; determined; Believe in yourself, pray; have a mission and don’t give up until it’s done; embrace failures, don’t apologise for who you are and stay true to your values, don’t look for people to love you or to like your quotes look for real tangible impact in people lives and remember to stay humble.

Tips to Women Entrepreneur before the Entrepreneurial Journey Starts: Annabel Biggar-David

How can we advance female entrepreneurship and what can we do to stop the backslide?

ABD: “Governments need to realize the importance of women entrepreneurs in their economy and to inspire entrepreneurial attitudes. Women in business, sometimes feel invisible. African Women have a voice that can no longer be silenced. We are wanting to be the change and help create employment. But it starts with young girls at home: instill in them a love for reading and learning which will lead them to a sense of curiosity about the world. As the sayings go: “Little girls with dreams become women with vision” and “It is easier to build strong children than repair broken adults”. Government needs to create links between women entrepreneurs and corporates. Have these corporate giants pledge their support to include women entrepreneurs in their supply chain and governments to be equally committed to keeping those conversations alive. For a successful African woman, it is your duty as a woman to help another woman. When women support each other, incredible things happen. I do mentor a handful of women in business including our female staff complement and recommend they participate in great accelerator programs that are funded by the government. To women, I would recommend learning the basics of business, study, read, job shadow, ask for help. Use what is at your disposal, visit internet cafes and google, programs are waiting for you to sign up with. In South Africa, an organization called Seda will help you with your business idea and help turn it into a reality.”

What would be your advice to women who want to start a business?

ABD: “Remember start-ups default state is a failure, as an entrepreneur we have to work to un-fail it. In business we mistakenly think it’s all about that great idea, it’s not. Everyone has ideas. The most successful companies are founded on a combination of frugality, wise spending, customer service, and superior products. Always spend wisely. Don’t go broke trying to look rich. That’s a mistake lots of entrepreneurs make. When you buy things, you don’t need soon you will have to sell things you do need. Do you know that 85% of your financial success is due to your personality, ability to communicate, lead and negotiate? Only 15% is due to technical knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, KNOW, ABSORB, BREATHE and LIVE every aspect of your business but it brings it back to this. People buy People, not products. They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Hustle like hell. I’ve begged, pleaded, and borderline harassed editors of magazines for free editorial. I hand-wrote letters to every single person who appeared on the tv show Undercover Boss USA, Dragons Den UK, Richard Branson, and every other successful person I admire asking for tips and mentorship.

As a women wellness entrepreneur what do you think is the most important skill that has helped you build your brand?

ABD: “Compassion! Knowing we are serving a purpose greater than ourselves. We have a great company culture and I personally strive to be flawless and impeccable with my word with my employees and customers. As women, our default state is to help and nurture. Honest, raw, and real conversations, exposing one’s vulnerability has opened many doors for me. I keep my values front and center. I believe Ego will destroy one. I am an open book, transparent about myself, my life, and my products. Persistence has taken me places, not talent or genius or even education. In business integrity is everything. Generosity and kindness go a long way too. I do not take the smallest gestures for granted as they speak the loudest. Being quite self-aware and
prioritizing personal development and that of my team, their development, and becoming the best versions of themselves is integral to my leadership style. I try and encourage strategic thinking, innovation, and action. This is the rainbow nation and we ensure to practice effective cross-cultural communication. I coach, motivate, and lead by example. I have a responsibility and need to develop others to succeed in their roles and prepare for future roles. Other roles include being a facilitator, strategist, visionary, a shoulder to cry on, a life and work coach but also being able to make tough decisions. Also, my company is a 100% black women-owned business and all of us come from disadvantaged backgrounds and gender bias- an inequality- is not a challenge we face as a company.”