Chimuka Moore

“Aligning yourself with a similar type of business can be a powerful way to expand quickly,” writes Karen E. Spaeder at Entrepreneur . Alignment has long been a tried and tested marketing technique that can also build powerful relationships with others. When you align yourself with another brand or business, you say to both of your audiences, “What matters to one of us matters to both of us. Thus you can attract each other’s potential clients. Alignment doesn’t have to take place online. For example, if when you shop at your favorite clothes store, you receive a “percentage off” voucher from a different store, those two stores are being aligned. The implication is that if you like one store, you will also like the other. As famed marketing expert and bestselling author Seth Godin writes, “Alignment isn’t something you say. It’s something you do.” Here are two easy ways to align your brand with another brand: Choose a social cause to openly support: If there is a socia

“All that’s expected of you is to be your authentic self. It allows you to focus on building organic relationships with like-minded people who you can add value to.” — Chantelle Martins, Joburg head of the Fine Women Business Network via Women’s Health SA There is a myth that networking is a superficial process, but this is simply not true. Remember that if you have a family and/or friends, you already have a network. At its core, networking is simply getting to know new people and keeping in touch with those that you esteem. In this article, I offer two tips for women entrepreneurs in Africa who want to network effectively and authentically. (For more on this, take a look at my article “ Making the Right Connections: A Networking Guide for Women Entrepreneurs Doing Business in Africa.”) Here are three tried and tested tips for authentic networking: Start with who you know: If you already have a few friends, even if they aren’t entrepreneurs, you can start by asking them

If you are already blogging as a female entrepreneur, I recommend the following tips from three of Africa's top women bloggers. They can help you to take your blog further and create the content you desire. Find your voice: Bloggers often agree that voice is vital. MsAfropolitan , multiple-award-winning writer and blogger, suggests in her post 7 tips for African women bloggers : “I would like to encourage you to do everything you can to find your voice. Understand, however, that this ‘finding’ is a process. You will not wake up one morning and encounter your voice wrapped in a box underneath your pillow, and even if you did chances are that it would change as you change. I’ve come to see voice as not about speech but about sound. Voice is namely what evolves from really listening.” Read more here . Don’t fear questions: Public relations specialist and lifestyle blogger Charell Star writes that bloggers should never be afraid of questions: “It’s impossible to know everyth

It is all too easy to believe that successful women entrepreneurs in Africa have been fortunate from the beginning, when the truth is they have all overcome challenges. In this post, I share tips from three successful female entrepreneurs on some of the biggest mistakes to avoid when growing a business in Africa. Get capital in perspective : Ory Okolloh, Director of Investments at Omidyar Network , has founded multiple successful companies. She told CNN , “Most entrepreneurs think capital is the biggest problem they have—but it’s not.” Okolloh recommends that entrepreneurs prioritize their own understanding of the marketplace and how they can develop a strong position in it. “You can have all the capital you want,” says Okolloh at CNN, “but if the market fit and ability to adjust are not present, your startup will likely not succeed.” Mistakes can be your best teachers : For Sheila Afari of Sheila Afari Public Relations , mistakes are a vital part of entrepreneurship—and tryi

Africa offers rich opportunities for women entrepreneurs, but your efforts are unlikely to succeed without support, courage, and strong research. In this post, women entrepreneurs who are successfully doing business in Africa offer tips to those who are just starting out. Develop a Plan and Implement with Courage: Njeri Rionge is one of Africa’s most successful women entrepreneurs. The co-founder of numerous multi-million dollar companies, including Wananchi Online , said in an interview with Mfonobong Nsehe at Forbes , “ You need only to believe in yourself, trust your gut feeling and develop a clear plan or strategy. Keep it simple and implement that plan step by step with courage, conviction and love above all.” Ultimately, Rionge says flexibility is important. “Be open minded and flexible to change course when needed, and listen to your customers.” Look for Mentors: Kenyan eco-preneur Lorna Rutto is the founder of EcoPost , a company that is famous for transforming plast

Women entrepreneurs in Africa often avoid connecting with prominent influencers in their industry, believing that more established entrepreneurs won’t have time for someone who may be lesser known. Outdated gender stereotypes also don’t help women to feel confident in reaching out to bigger names. However, there are ways of sensitively making such connections. Remember that you can be of help and value to others, no matter how big their names might be.   Below are three tips for successfully connecting with powerful influencers: Be helpful: It is important to give before you receive, and this applies to networking, too. Offering just a little help can get you noticed, especially if you have access to social media. Following a powerful entrepreneur on Twitter, and sharing their posts and articles can inspire them to reach out to you, especially if you commit to doing this regularly, without bombarding their feed. Other ways to be helpful include writing a blog post that featur

For female entrepreneurs who are launching a business in Africa, high self-esteem is important. Self-esteem helps you to deal with day-to-day challenges more smoothly and to see the lesson in every struggle. I hope that these quotes from Africa’s women entrepreneurs will help you to develop an empowered attitude, in spite of the challenges your business might face before it starts to grow. “When going into business, you should view yourself as a business person – people treat you the way you treat yourself. If you come in feeling at a disadvantage, you are already at a disadvantage.” – Phuti Mahanyele (Quote source: XtraSpace ) “Nineteen people may love your work, but the twentieth one will hate it and will tell you so. You cannot allow that to affect you. That may sound trite, but there is huge risk in letting criticism get you down.” - Carrol Boyes, owner and designer at Carrol Boyes (Quote source: XtraSpace ) “My advice to women all the time is: If you want a certain

Rather than simply providing quality products or services, today’s businesses must develop strong and trustworthy brands. As Chizor Malize, CEO of Brandstone Consulting, says in an interview with Raheem Akingbolu at Africa.com , “Smart businesses engage the consumers who, today, want to participate and be a part of building what they wish to consume.” Malize adds that businesses therefore must have a “strong and genuine desire to have a positive position in the hearts and minds of their target consumers.” Similarly, Leigh Ann Acquisto, Brand Behavior Specialist and Director of Liquorish Ink , explains that today, “brand owners can still craft their stories, but consumers are now demanding to be involved.” If you do nothing else, says Acquisto, “get closer to your customer!” (You can read the full article at SME South Africa.) Regardless of whether we build our business brands online or offline, we need to make sure that we engage our clients/customers, encouraging them to be

As women entrepreneurs in Africa, how can we make sure that new clients and customers come our way? In yesterday’s post, I shared tips from experts on writing blog posts or posting videos. Today, I share advice from Ann Smarty on giving interviews. Today, I share a tip from Ann Smarty, Founder of MyBlogU , who shares a tried and tested marketing strategy: posting interviews online. To some, it may sound counter-intuitive to interview another expert as part of your marketing strategy, but, says Ann Smarty at Entrepreneur , telling your own story “is one of the easiest, yet most effective ways to create content that spreads because you are no longer alone promoting it.” Smarty shares her expert tips on using interviews as part of your content marketing in the full article . I recommend that you take a look. Also, remember that interviews are a great way of networking with and supporting other women entrepreneurs. As Pam Golding of Pam Golding Properties says at Lionesses of Af

As women entrepreneurs in Africa, how can we continue to ensure that new clients and customers come our way? In the next three posts, I thought I’d share some tips from marketing experts. It will come as no surprise that a great way to market your product or service is by proving that you’re an expert. Says Glenda McCarthy-Gaspar, president of Proforma SI, “You’ll have a better chance of convincing your audience that you are worth your weight in gold if you showcase your expertise….” I’ve found that experts often recommend using blog posts and videos to prove their expertise. If you fix cars, then you might provide instructional posts on how to maintain a vehicle. If you’re a baker, then you might share original recipes or advice on techniques. But what should we keep in mind when creating this kind of content in order to prove our expertise? “At the end of the day, you should focus on drafting content that can be called valuable, purposeful, actionable, ” Glenda McCarth

It is clear that content creation can be a powerful way to establish yourself as an expert in your clients’ or customers’ eyes. But how exactly will you know which content to create? Social media entrepreneur Lisa Larter has a great tip for working out what to write about, while also fostering powerful social media connections. “Start by making a list of 10 industry leaders and 10 respected industry publications,” writes Larter in this helpful post entitled Four Simple Steps to Create Content that Converts . “Follow what these people are doing and publishing, and what topics the publications are focusing on. Share this same content with your followers (remember to always give credit to the original source), and create new content around these topics.” I’m thankful to Lisa Larter for sharing this wonderful idea. I am sure that the type of sharing she describes can not only help us to form relationships with clients, prospects, and others in our industries, but ca

Recently, I have been reading more and more about the importance of creating your own content. “It’s useful and powerful to be a curator of other people’s good stuff,” explains Dorie Clark at Buffer , “but if you really want to establish an expert reputation, the fast ticket to do that is creating your own content.” It seems that popular ways of creating your own content can include starting your own blog, publishing original posts on a social media platform (like LinkedIn), or having those posts featured on the blogs of others. Clark, author of the popular business book Stand Out , says that by sharing your own thoughts, your customers and clients will start to recognize that you are an expert in your field. Here are three of Clark’s tips to keep in mind when creating and sharing your own content: Live out your brand through your content: “If you want to stand out and get noticed as, for instance, an innovative and connected fashion entrepreneur,” writes Clark at Entrepren

As I read more articles from social media experts, a frequent tip I keep coming across is to focus on serving others, rather than simply focusing on your own products or services. “If you focus on only promoting your products,” writes Catherine Mong’ina founder of E-Technology Africa, “your audience will respond for a brief period and after some time will begin to ignore your advertisements.” Genuinely helping your followers, however, makes them keen to be generous in return, says Mong’ina. And the 80/20 rule can help. This rule means “committing 80% percent of posts on your social channels exclusively to non-promotional information and only 20% on definite promotion of your brand/business.” To me, that seems like a great guideline to keep in mind. Likewise, Jackie Johnstone at Entrepreneur helpfully writes, "Give, give, give before you ever ask for anything in return. Create and curate great content that helps your customers, [and will] entertain and inspire your au

On reading social media advice from experts in Africa and beyond, I came across Elyse Meyer at Prism Global . She writes that entrepreneurs should focus on relationships first, when it comes to social media, rather than hiding behind their products or services. “Create and nurture mutually beneficial relationships with both your potential customers as well as thought leaders,” writes Meyer. “It's these influencers who can make a significant impact on your social media marketing success. A single retweet or like from a key influencer can put your content in front of hundreds, maybe even thousands of eyes!” Lionesses of Africa offer similar advice on their website , reminding Africa’s women entrepreneurs to converse with others: “Above all, it’s about engaging in a proactive and helpful conversation with your customers through social media, so that their experience with your brand is always a positive one." Naturally, the conversations we might have with

Today, I aim to share confidence-building ideas about money and value from some of the continent’s most successful female entrepreneurs. I hope these quotes will inspire women who are just starting out in business in Africa. Whatever your situation regarding money, remember that it is possible to be successful, even if you start with very little. You and your skills are tremendously valuable. It is vital to not overlook this. “Sometimes the lack of money helps you come up with innovative strategies and different solutions. For most small businesses, the lack of money should not be a barrier to starting, although it might be a barrier to growing. The most important thing is to start. If we had waited for the perfect financial conditions, we would probably still be at the drawing board stage.” –Rapelang Rabana, Founder and CEO of Yeigo Communications and ReKindle Learning (Quote source: AWP Network ) “Look within. I always believe you have enough to start from where you