Lady Entrepreneur Issue 2

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Contents 05 | Publisher’s Note 43 | Reflections Tips and Trends

06 | Essentials 11 | Insight 13 | Technology

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Grow

Business Skills

10 | From the Shelf 16 | Focus on Business 18 | You: The Brand

27 | Leadership 29 | From the corner 32 | Momprenuer

Features

Unwind

20 | The Entrepreneur 23 | Social-preneur 25 | Be Inspired

34 | Stand out 38 | Fiction 41 | Health and Fitness

Publisher’s Note

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A warm welcome to our second issue of Lady Entrepreneur.

Our second issue has an array of wonderful content to packaged to inspire, educate and motivate you.

Meet the entrepreneur, Zubeda Ali who shares her experience and journey into Business and how she is shaping the future minds of tomorrow through her kindergarten Juhudi.

This issues socio-preneur Nyambura Gichohi shares her passion for the environmental conservation that led her to create the Aziza Kenya and her approach to how a non profit’s should be self sustaining. Mercy Buria- Mirindi shares her accidental journey into fashion business and how her modern African inspired designs are influencing the fashion scene. Get a glimpse of her designs in the stand out section which is our fashion spread.

In our features we have we spoke to Ms. Beth Thuo Head of Branches at Chase Bank on how to create a winning team. We also have insightful tips on how you can manage your business finances more efficiently. Read the titillating part two of the working girl extraordinaire fiction series as she shares her personal career journey.

Enjoy the second issue and what we the team has packaged for you. Be sure to write to us on info@ kenyaanlady-entrepreneur.biz and share your thoughts.

Happy reading.

The Team Publisher: Janet Kibuthu janet@kenyanlady-entrepreneur.biz

PHOTOGRAPHY: Pixel8 janetadongo@gmail.com

Consulting Editor: Wangeci Kanyeki

Contributors: Mwikali Lati, Diana Ngaira, Angela Maina, Janet Kibuthu

Associate Editor: Mwikali Matata Creative Direction & IT BrandSpark clientservice@brandspark.co.ke

For more information, to send your feedback and if you are interested in being a contributor Email: info@kenyanlady-entrepreneur.biz.

For more resources visit our website: www.kenyanlady-entrepreneur.biz All rights reserved

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Essentials

The Scent of a Woman These are our top 10 picks for 2011 designer perfume trends for the free spirited and sophisticated woman. Explore the one that best suits you.

2. Guilty by Gucci This one has an oriental floral scent that is sensual and distinct. It is for the woman who likes to express her uniqueness and her sexiness.

1. Reb’l Fleur by Rihanna. Daring, seductive and truly memorable, Reb´l Fleur is a fruity chypre that has an intensely joyous, sophisticated and delicious scent.

3. Lady Million by Paco Rabane For the Brilliant, Glamorous, Femme Fatale. Add touch of glamour with this floral scent.

4. Daisy by Marc Jacobs This is a sunny, pure and free-spirited fragrance.

A fruity scent for the carefree and flirty woman.

5. Angel by Thierry Mugler Angel, the first fragrance by an Oriental gourmet that is a delicious heart of fruit and honey, it adds a sensual note of femininity.

7 6. Diamonds by Emporio Armani.

The sensory blend will give you self -confidence, class and elegance

7. Nina by Nina Ricci.

One of our all time favorites. It has a special sweetness yet remains incredibly versatile and gorgeous.

8. Hypnotic Poison

by Dior This is a true Oriental Vanilla; It’s soft, delicious and has a hypnotising scent.

9. Beauty by Calvin Klein.

The feminine fragrance is a classic floral scent to make any woman feel sophisticated.

10. Hugo Boss Orange.

A captivating scent that is powerfully enchanting. A floral, fruity scent for the passionate, carefree and soulful woman.

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letters to the editor

I read about this online magazine in the business daily edition, Tuesday 15th February.

To say I am impressed and already hooked is an understatement. Personally, you have captured issues and provided information that encapsulates most of what I have and would want to know.

I loved the book review section in the magazine, and have now included in my list of “to read books – The Knack & Small Giants, which invigorate the mind to get out of the norm of doing things in life and the importance of the “gut instinct” as I would put it.

I have also listened to Suze Orman a couple of times, and admire her pragmatic way of tackling personal finance and the little small enablers that help one to get to financial freedom.

Janet Kibuthu, Director of Lady Entrepreneur Magazine unveils the first issue and expresses her passion to inspire young women to come out of their shells and dare to venture into entrepreneurship.

And the personal brand called “You”. I could go on and on and on. The look of the Magazine is brilliant! Is it possible to get printable version of this or on get a version which one can save? I would love this for keeps sake! I hope that there is an upcoming event, as I already missed the one on the 4th.

Congratulations Janet for creating such a wonderful platform and I look forward to an entrepreneurial year!

Warmly Janet Macharia

Hi Thanks for the project. But can you put it in PDF so that one is able to read it without any problem.

Ouma Wanzala Dear Mr. Ouma A PDF version is now available for download. We have also updated the magazine viewer with an easy to navigate control panel.

Lady Entrepreneur.

Guest speaker, Mrs. Anne Gichanga speaks to the ladies about the fundamentals of financial planning and investing to acquire financial independence.

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From the Shelf

Sharpen you leadership skills

About the Author: Dr. John C. Maxwell is an internationally respected leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold more than 19 million books. He has mentored leaders of diverse organizations, such as Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments and the United States Military Academy. Some of John C. Maxwell’s books include: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader within You, The 360 degree Leader and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader.

John C. Maxwell has spent his lifetime studying, practicing and mentoring others to nurture their leadership qualities. This has given him immense experience and development as a leader sought after by fortune 500 companies to mentor their employees. He is also the founder of EQUIP and INJOY two stewardship companies. EQUIP is a non-profit organization that has trained more than 5 million leaders in 126 countries worldwide. In this book review, we look at two of his books the 360 Degree Leader and the 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership.

positional status. This is not necessarily true. As women we are always in positions or roles that require us to take on leadership such as being a wife, leading in the home or passing values to the next generation. Leadership is the ability to influence people towards a common vision or goal.

You can be born with it but you can also learn and improve on it. The 360 degree leader explores the various leadership myths people hold as well as showing the reader how to build influence from anywhere in an organization. Some of the myths include the position myth, “I can’t lead if I’m not at the top” or the destination myth , “When I get to the top, then I will learn to lead.” The book explores various principles to help the reader learn to lead up, across, and down. The 360 degree leader stands out and excels wherever they are placed. They are able to influence all the levels of the organization including their boss, their peers, and subordinates.

The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership

This is a collection of leadership and wisdom anecdotes from the author. These laws are meant to act as a measuring stick for the reader to gauge the aspects of leadership they are good at and those they need to cultivate. However, no one can be good at all of them, which is why it is important to develop a leadership team. Each Law concludes with an evaluation that helps you to apply the respective law to your life. The greater the number of laws one learns, the better a leader one becomes. Some of the laws captured in the book include, The Law of Empowerment which states that only secure leaders give power to others. Many managers think they need to control access to information and freedom in the workplace in order to remain relevant. John C. Maxwell challenges them to empower those they lead in order to grow exponentially. Another law is the Law of Explosive growth which states that, “To add Growth, Lead followers – To multiply, Lead Leaders. There is definitely something new to learn whether you want to develop your leadership skill set in order to experience growth. The best part is 360 degree leader at the end the book teaches you how to develop The biggest misconceptions about leadership are the laws you are not yet good at. those that equate it with position. People seem to believe that you cannot lead unless you have

Insight

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“It is hard to deliver 100 percent in the compensation is only for 50 percent.�

Tips for Managing Your Small Business Finances

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ne of the most common problems for micro-entrepreneurs is learning how to manage the company finances. Biz Resource Limited, which provides financial expertise to start-ups as well as Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSME’s) provides insight on the successful strategies and common pitfalls of business owners.

1. Focus on cash and financing As an Entrepreneur, you need to focus on how to get cash to grow your business. However, there is also a need to have a focused financing strategy in order to be able to take up costs for implementing or buying supplies for your products or services.

Whereas it is important to go after conversion of

sales you need to be aware that it may take you more than three months to close one sale. However, you need to think about what will drive the sales and your cash flow month by month and get financing to cater for that. It may take your customer another forty five days to pay for your service so remember to factor in time in your planning.

12 2. Manage your cash flow Cash flow is the life blood of any business and is the hardest bridge to cross for any business.

The timing of cash coming in (sales, investments, loans) and cash going out (salaries, overheads) needs to be coordinated. Business owners can get overly excited about closing a sale and forget to think about how these sales affect their cash flow and if the timing on the terms of payment can be handled by their business. Ensure that clients pay you a down payment and give you a local purchasing order; it’s an indication of an investment of their time and commitment to the project. If the payments plan is in installments, give them incentives to pay you early by charging a penalty for late payment.

If you have a good accountant they can educate your on the time value of money. Do not be keen to take up business that will cheapen your product and expertise. It is hard to deliver 100 percent if the compensation is only for 50 percent.

5% of the tax due, whichever is higher. There is also an additional compounded interest of 2% per month levied on the tax due. By not displaying your VAT registration certificate on your premise attracts a default penalty of Kshs. 20,000 and a fine of up to Kshs. 200,000 and/or imprisonment for up to two year. Paying taxes also enables you to remain credible to your suppliers and clients and is a sign of your creditworthiness.

5. Invest in a Good Finance Manager Many business owners have an invincible mentality and think that they can keep track of their expenditure and income by themselves. It is easy to forget the importance of keeping good financial records in order to have a knowledge of whether your business is profitable or not.

There have been companies that bill over half a million a month but their expenditure sees that same amount of money out in a week. Without proper records it is not easy to find out what the root cause of financial under performance are or even the key performing products or service.

3. Diversify As a rule do not put all your eggs in one basket. Invest in a proficient accountant for your business People get a great idea and they put 100% of their but more than that; ensure that you follow their effort, time, money and resources in one venture, advice in the day to day running of the business. without having an alternative plan should the first one fail. From a finance perspective you have to By following these tips you will not only have a balance the start up activities with the expected record of your finances but you can quickly and risk from each activity and the combined risk. efficiently analyze how your business is performing.

Have a diversification strategy by having more Financial records make a business owner aware of than one product. This ensures that you remain in the key indicator numbers to watch out for. It is business should one product line fail to get market easier to relate and estimate your sales turnover to uptake. This is something you can work on as you expected profit. You can also know when you are start and gauge market acceptance and feedback operating below your expenses and strategically correct the problem. Finance records tell which or even before you start the business. products and services are your cash cows and how to sell them or invest in them for maximum return.

4. Pay your taxes The first year in business is most crucial time for Financial reports will also make you aware of your business. It is crucial to record the cash coming the value of your business should you ever need in and the cash going out as it will have a direct outside financing from investors or a bank. relation to the taxes you need to pay and their due By Biz Resource Limited date. Many businesses have been surprised by the stiff penalties that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) For more information email info@bizresource.co.ke imposes for tax evation. For instance, late filing or submission of payment returns without payment of tax is liable to a default fine of Kshs. 10,000 or

Business Tips - Technology

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Pay homage to top inventions by women entrepreneurs Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker

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s I stopped to think about how women have changed the history of the world we live in today I was pulled to a journey of discovery and wonder that led me to an array of inventions by women. The inventions by these women have led them to be leading entrepreneurs in their pursuit to solve everyday problems. Here we pay our homage to a few of them from all walks of life black, white, young but most of all driven by resolve.

1. Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker Better known as Madame C J Walker or Madame Walker she revolutionized the hair care and cosmetics industry for African American women early in the 20th century. During the 1890s, Sarah began to suffer from a scalp ailment that caused her to lose some of her hair. Embarrassed by her appearance, she experimented with a variety of home-made remedies and products made by another black woman entrepreneur, Annie Malone, for whom she became a sales agent.

Sarah founded her own business and began selling her own product called Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. Eventually, her products formed the basis of a thriving national corporation employing at one point over 3,000 people. Her Walker System, which included a broad offering of cosmetics,

Bette Nesmith Graham

licensed Walker Agents, and Walker Schools offered meaningful employment and personal growth to thousands of Black women. Madame Walker’s aggressive marketing strategy combined with relentless ambition led her to be labeled as the first known African-American woman to become a self-made millionaire in the early 1900’s

2. Bette Nesmith Graham Graham used her own kitchen blender to mix up her first batch of liquid paper or white out, a substance used to cover up mistakes made on paper. It was originally called “mistake out”, the invention of Bette Nesmith Graham, a Dallas secretary and a single mom. Bette Nesmith Graham never intended to be an inventor; she wanted to be an artist. However, shortly after World War II ended, she found herself divorced with a small child to support. She learned shorthand and typing and found employment as an executive secretary. An efficient employee who took pride in her work, Graham sought a better way to correct typing errors. She remembered that artists painted over their mistakes on canvas, so why couldn’t typists paint over their mistakes? In 1956, Bette Nesmith Graham started the Mistake Out Company (later renamed Liquid Paper) from her North Dallas home. She turned her kitchen into a laboratory, mixing up an improved product with her electric mixer. Graham’s son and his friends filled bottles

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Marion Donovan

Krisztina Holly

Mary Anderson

for her customers. Nevertheless, she made little her first Boater using a shower curtain. money despite working nights and weekends to Working her way through a series of shower fill orders. curtains, she designed and perfected, on her sewing machine, a reusable, leakproof diaper One day an opportunity came in disguise. Graham cover that did not, like the rubber baby pants made a mistake at work that she couldn’t correct, of the time, create diaper rash. The final product and her boss fired her. She now had time to devote was actually made of nylon parachute cloth, and to selling Liquid Paper, and business boomed. By featured an additional innovation: Donovan had 1967, it had grown into a million dollar business. replaced safety pins with metal and plastic snaps.

She moved into her own plant and corporate The diaper came in 1949, where they were an headquarters, automated operations, and had 19 instant success. employees. That year Bette Nesmith Graham sold one million bottles.

Donovan’s patent was granted in 1951. By that time she had improved on her idea to create the In 1976, the Liquid Paper Corporation turned out first convenient disposable diaper. Manufacturers 25 million bottles. Its net earnings were $1.5 thought her product would be too expensive to million. The company spent $1 million a year on produce. She toured the major paper companies, advertising, alone. Bette Nesmith Graham believed and was roundly laughed at for proposing such an money to be a tool, not a solution to a problem. unnecessary and impractical item. It took nearly Graham died in 1980, six months after selling her ten years for someone to capitalize on Donovan’s corporation for $47.5 million. idea: namely, Victor Mills, creator of Pampers®.

Marion Donovan went into business for herself and 3. Marion Donovan a few years later, she was able to sell her company Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1917, she grew for $1 million. She passed away in 1998. up surrounded by machinery and invention. As a young mother she became unhappy with leaky, cloth diapers that had to be washed as they 4. Krisztina Holly became wet almost immediately the baby was Krisztina turned an interest in engineering and an changed. She first invented the ‘Boater’, a plastic aptitude for marketing and entrepreneurship into covering for cloth diapers. Marion Donovan made an exceptionally diverse and rewarding career.

15 Holly grew up in southern California where her early interest in science was inspired by her father, a physicist. She was a budding entrepreneur by age 16 when she began charging friends a dollar each way to drive them to school in her parents’ station wagon. In 1992, Holly earned her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT. During her graduate studies, she co-designed and built a head-eye vision robot and developed a robotic weld-seam-tracking program for the space shuttle main engine.

In 1992, Holly, along with Michael Cassidy and John Barrus, invented and patented “The Stylus,” a system that enabled a user to scan bar codes to order items such as groceries, before the Web became popular. The Stylus would then feed the information to the seller via a touch-tone phone.

To market The Stylus, the team founded Stylus Innovation. But their most successful product was yet to come. At Stylus, Holly teamed up with Cassidy and Chris Brookins to create Visual Voice, the first Windows-based computer telephony development tool. This product allowed users to create complex telephony systems, with features such as call answering, voice-mail, and fax transmission.

The system was inexpensive enough for companies of all sizes to afford, and it revolutionized the telephony industry. Holly served as vice-president of Stylus until it was bought by Artisoft in 1996 for $13 million. In 1999, she moved to Direct Hit Technologies, a start-up Internet search engine company, as part of the small marketing team that grew the new Web site to a million hits per day within four months. Ask Jeeves acquired Direct Hit in 2000 for $500 million. Holly stayed on at the company to help transform Jeeves Solutions from a services organization into an enterprise software company. She also helped launch two other software products.

manually scraping off the windshield moisture that was causing them to see poorly while they were driving. A young woman named Mary Anderson changed all that with her invention of the windshield wiper, an idea that leapt into her mind as she traveled from Alabama to New York City.

Little is known about Mary Anderson, except for the incident that inspired her infamous creation. When Anderson got to New York, the weather was rather sloppy, and she saw drivers constantly stopping their cars and getting out to remove snow and ice from the windshields. Anderson decided this method could be improved. She began to draw up plans for a device that could be activated from inside the car to clear the windshield.

The following year, in 1904, Anderson applied for a patent for a swinging arm with a rubber blade. At the time she applied for her patent, cars were not very popular. Henry Ford’s Model A automobile had not even been manufactured yet, and he would not create his famed Model T vehicle until 1908. Anderson, meanwhile, was teased and laughed at by many people because of her idea for the windshield wipers. Many felt the movement of the windshield wipers would distract the drivers. However, that laughter did not last long. By 1913, thousands of Americans were driving their own cars, and mechanical windshield wipers were standard equipment. Now, a century later, it’s almost impossible to imagine what drivers would ever do without windshield wipers.

As the windshield wiper was invented prior to the popularity of the automobile, Anderson received only occasional royalties for the invention, but they did not amount to much. Anderson did try to sell the rights through a Canadian firm, but they rejected her application stating that they did not consider the device to have enough commercial value to warrant its sale.

The patent expired in 1920, which was about the time the automobile business began to grow.

In 1903, it rarely occurred to anyone that rain on Windshield wipers using Anderson’s basic design a moving vehicle’s windshield was a problem that became standard equipment on vehicles once the could be eliminated. It was something drivers patent expired. simply accepted and dealt with in their own ways, usually by stopping every once in a while and

5. Mary Anderson: Windshield Wipers

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Focus on business

Re-Branding the Kitenge Mercy Buria-Mirindi CEO Vitenge Galore is changing the perspective on Kitenge as her designs revolutionize the fashion scene. Lady entrepreneur spoke to her about the incredibly fashion forward label.

“.....to see the kitenge fabric expressed in an elegant, funky, sexy....”

What does your business entail?

Vitenge Galore otherwise known as VG is a fashion business that is changing the attitude towards the Kitenge fabric. We are driven by the slogan, ‘Kitengewear for everywhere’. VG works to produce elegant, unique and ‘out of the box’ designs using a mixture of African prints and textures. Our attires are suitable for all people and for all kinds of occasions.

17 What motivated you to start a fashion business?

VG was born out of a period of unemployment.

This gave me the drive to start something with one of many fabrics I had received from my mother-in-law as a gift. I was also motivated by a desire to see the Kitenge fabric expressed in an elegant, funky, sexy and unusual way than it was represented over time as a ‘’mama” wear.

How long has your business been running?

VG has been running since 2008 and there has been an increasing clientele with varying needs.

I first started with outfits for a younger group of women. Now I am doing shirts for men, clothes for wedding parties and a more recent move towards office wear. The business has also grown geographically as I meet specific needs for clients abroad.

What are your future plans for Vitenge Galore?

VG intends to keep on changing the expression of Kitenge. It is about establishing a ‘Kitenge Kulture’.

What has been the market response so far?

Overwhelmingly amazing! The word of mouth from our customers has been astounding! And the social networks have also spilled our word across the seas to other nations. You too are welcome into ‘Club Vitenge’.

What are some of the challenges you had to overcome?

Other than progressively changing the attitude that Kitenge is ‘mama-ish’, I have been blessed to have amazing support from my close family and friends.

What are the growth opportunities in the fashion Industry and for Vitenge Galore?

Like every other business, with good business What are the key lessons you have learnt about practices, the Fashion Industry offers up and business and fashion? coming designers an opportunity to be creative Your heart is where your passion is. I have learnt and innovative, not to mention the exposure to that business cannot be remote-controlled, it must cultures and their differing interpretations of the be nurtured gently and you must be present in Kitenge fabric. Vitenge Galore hopes to create an every step of the way. As for fashion, since women environment that will finally see the emergence of have formed a larger percentage of my clientele, a Kenyan Kitenge Kulture that will be embraced I have learnt that the ever-changing nature of both nationally and internationally. women’s bodies needs to be beautifully and elegantly tailored to complement every stage of What advice would you give to aspiring that change. entrepreneurs?

Be identifiable with one brand so that your How would you describe your market niche? clientele can know you for that specific brand I have received increasing interest from people (even with prospects of diversifying). And as my willing to be adventurous with Kitenge – both mum (an astute businesswoman) says, “Keep your men and women. I have also worked a lot with a head above the water, and feet on the ground”, younger age bracket that has never tried outfits that way, you will be able to successfully wade with Kitenge and the outcome has been amazing! through business waters.

Men have also been part of this Kitenge adventure with shirts that are casual, smart and unique.

What is your unique selling point?

VG is changing the expression of Kitenge. We source our own vitenges thus ensure quality. We tailor our customers’ outfits around their bodies and the occasion. We also give professional advice, including a variety of accessories.

Contact details for orders

VITENGE GALORE BOX 23713 – 00100 NAIROBI TEL: 0733555060 EMAIL: info@vitengegalore.com Facebook: VITENGE GALORE MERCY BURIA-MIRINDI WEBSITE: www.vitengegalore.com

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You: The Brand

Be your own Brand Manager

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t’s a branded world. Big companies understand that and have invested in multi-million shilling campaigns to make consumers understand that. So why can’t you? After all you need to package what it is you have to offer.

“Dig deep to find your personal traits that distinguish you as a brand and capitalize on this.”

Famous advertising copywriter and ad agency founder, David Ogilvy defines a brand as, “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised”.

Your personal brand is much more than your title or the different roles you play in any given day or through-out

19 your life. It is how you choose to package yourself and what you have to offer the world. It is your reputation in the market, and depending on how well you pitch yourself you will be awarded a project or a job.

Step 3: Promote your brand

Like any schooled brand manager, begin by asking the following questions 1. What are my strengths and weaknesses?

2. What opportunities can I leverage on?

3. What are the things I am passionate about?

4. What contributions do I want to make?

5. What do I want my Legacy to be?

6. What is my definition of success and accomplishment?

7. What specific skills am I good at?

Step 4: Tap into your power

Networking is the key to building your personal profile. Do not miss an opportunity to follow up a contact, attend specific networking events and build a network of peers and clients. Keep your contacts updated on any changes in your business Begin to think differently. You are not just Jane and career. Offer to provide your help pro-bono Nyambura, high flying corporate executive or or for free on projects that will add value to your entrepreneur; you are a brand. Here is how you client as well as your profile. build to effectively build your brand.

Pro bono projects enable you to get your name Step one: Evaluate your personal brand. out there and also build recognition for you and Your personal brand should evoke your life your capability. It is also a good way to use your purpose, meaning and accomplishments. skill set to give back to the community.

Take time to write all your answers down.

It’s all about building influence. Once you have an understanding of your brand and its significance, find opportunities that will have you make a significant contribution.

Volunteer to solve problems that will make use of your strengths and add to your personal brand visibility. Build your credibility by leveraging on opportunities that will bring out your leadership qualities. View every problem as an opportunity, and rise up to the challenge.

Step Two: Distinguish your brand

Step 5: Continuously assess and improve What is it that you have to offer that no one else your brand can? What qualities do you have that none of your competitors have? Is there an outstanding accomplishment to your name? For instance, are you a problem solver? This means that you have the ability to foresee problems before they arise and create suitable solutions.

Find a mentor that will provide useful help and tips on how you can leverage on various opportunities in your personal life and business. Ensure you develop your brand plan covering all the spheres of your life.

Have a specific time frame to assess your brand.

Maybe you are an analyst. You are one of those You can enlist the help of a friend that will provide people that believe the devil is in the details and honest feedback and positive input. Assess how you cannot sleep until a project has been planned you are performing, did you take advantage of and prepared for in detail. growth opportunities, what is your current value and how can you improve on it.

Maybe you are a strategist. You are good at putting puzzles together and developing the most ideal There is no better time to get started building your and profitable approaches. Dig deep to find your brand than now. Take charge and be the CEO of personal traits that distinguish you as a brand and brand YOU. capitalize on this.

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The Entrepreneur

Shaping the future minds of tomorrow

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ome say entrepreneurs are born while others argue they are made but if one wants something hard enough, they can make anything work.

Sometimes the desire to be an entrepreneur can be overwhelming driving force. That is what happened to Zubeda Ali. She left her good earning job in the banking industry in order to start shaping the minds of the future Kenyans through early childhood education.

Early childhood education had taken a major hit after the implementation of the Free Primary Education. The government shifted its focus on funding education for older children aged six years and above, hence it has not had the capacity to develop the pre-school sector of children aged between two to six years.

21 Ms Ali saw this gap in the crucial child development phase and decided to invest in it. Her desire to own a business led her to open a kindergarten.

Before she did that she surveyed about forty kindergartens before gaining confidence that she was ready to open one of her own. She also created a business plan based on the research to try and forecast what the projected income and expenses would be.

In September, 2008, with a loan of Kshs. 2 million, she opened up a kindergarten in Nairobi West called Juhudi Junior School with a fitting slogan “Growing hearts and minds”. By December 2009, she had to resign from her formal job – client service executive at a local bank – as the school needed her complete input and presence in order to grow it. Within three years, the school had grown from three children to over sixty-seven children with a staff of seven members. “I love working with the young ones and seeing a small child who had no clue of anything being able to read the newspaper by the time they are graduating from my kindergarten,” she says.

To ensure that quality education is actually achieved each class in Ms Ali’s school takes a maximum of 15 children and has two teachers.

Juhudi Junior School is a learning centre that aims to provide exceptional learning experiences to every child and help them reach full potential.

Ms Ali is committed to academic excellence and experiential learning to achieve their goals. The pre-school uses the Montessori teaching method that seeks to see children as they really are. It creates an environment which fosters the fulfilment of their highest potential as members of a family and society. They grow spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.

The school has a well-equipped library to compliment class lessons and ‘brain gym sessions’ are incorporated into the curriculum like child etiquette, cookery lessons, cycling, and music amongst others. Being a firm believer in quality education and all rounded activities, Ms Ali has added extra lessons such as piano and swimming.

Findings from her research also revealed that

parents first spend money on their children before they cater for their own needs.

This means that an average middle class Kenyan parent would spend a huge chunk of their earnings on their babies before considering themselves first. Ms. Ali targets middle class Kenyans who are looking for quality education near their home area so that the children do not have to be picked up early or dropped home late due to the nightmare that is Nairobi traffic.

Parents pay KShs.30,000 per term which is the average cost for other pre-schools. As the school was a start-up it was important not to overcharge so as to be able to penetrate the market. Transport is charged depending on how far the child lives from the school, with each zone having a different charge. It took Zubeda about two years for the school to break even. She realized as the number of children increased, the overhead costs also increase. She needed to invest in the infrastructure like adding

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more toilets and classrooms to ensure that the standards are maintained. “What inspires me the most is the fact that I am able to do what so many have not been able to achieve. The adrenaline of being able to finish every task and do it well keeps me going,” she says. One of the key lessons she has learnt about business is persistence. In regards to being an achiever her belief is that - ‘Your I Can is more important than your IQ.’ To recruit parents to enroll their children at Juhudi and learn about the importance of early childhood education Ms Ali organizes seminars occasionally. This has helped the community recognize the schools input and as a result more parents are willing to enroll their children in the school.

issue is one she has had to overcome as she had not put much thought on it when she started the school. However, with the support of the parents, Juhudi now has three vans taking different routes and she hopes to increase the number as the school grows.

Juhudi also maintains effective teacher-parent relationships fostering a respectful, supportive and well informed atmosphere. Parents and child workshops are held for the benefit of both parents and teachers.

The biggest milestone she has celebrated so far is being able to see her dream of owning her own business happen and of course having had two classes graduate from Juhudi and go to the primary school of their choices.

Opening and starting a kindergarten is a not easy venture, yet it can be quite rewarding when the school is a success, says Ms. Ali. The transport

Currently, her annual turnover is about Sh10 million and she spends about Sh500, 000 per term on rent and paying her staff. She advises other entrepreneurs to set their eyes on the prize-and go for it as it can be quite rewarding. At the moment, she has her eyes set on future plans of expansion to open up more branches all over Nairobi and its environs.

Social-preneur

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Creating Renewable Energy

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hen Nyambura Gichohi, the director of Aziza Kenya, was in college, she and a classmate decided to compete for the “....the most important 100 Projects for Peace grant from the aspect of Aziza’s work Davis Foundation. The project they proposed was is the environmental to construct a biogas digester in Namanga for a program that provides community of 25 women. a holistic learning Ms Gichohi was brought up in a household where environmental and wildlife conservation was experience for the important, therefore choosing such a project came students...” naturally for her. Amazingly, the duo won the $10,000 (Kshs 800,000) grant for the project.

“We chose this project because I have always been passionate about empowering individuals as well as the environment and I thought this would be cover now stands at less than two percent through a fantastic way in which to address both causes,” deforestation and population growth.

It is against this backdrop that Ms Gichohi founded she says.

Aziza Kenya Empowerment in early 2009. It is a Now the women have clean and renewable source small non-profit organisation that aims to provide of energy to cook with. As they no longer need to institutions, especially schools, with renewable collect firewood daily, they now have more time source of energy - biogas. to start entrepreneurial ventures such as bead- Biogas is produced from organic waste such as making. The success of this project, inspired her to manure, fruit & vegetable waste, meat packing do more and started to research the biogas needs waste as well as dairy product waste. The organic in Kenya. The research revealed that there dire matter is fed into the biogas digester and in the need for this kind of renewable energy. Surveying process, bacteria decomposes this matter in the schools around Nairobi, she noticed that they use absence of oxygen producing biogas. The biogas is heaps of firewood but also have plenty of manure. then combustible and is able to be used as a fuel.

“I was inspired! We could utilise the manure to To get gas, a biogas digester is constructed which create biogas, which the schools could use for can be can be a fixed dome and floating drum to cooking, and in turn reduce the amount of firewood trap the biogas produced which is then piped to kitchens. “The main reason we target institutions they were using,” she Ms Gichohi. is because they depend greatly on firewood for The need for renewable energy sources has been their energy needs, contributing to deforestation, an ongoing debate in the government circles air pollution and ultimately a lack of biodiversity,” but never seems to reach implementation stage. she says.

Wood is the main source of energy for Kenyans Aziza Kenya helps the schools capitalize on with the urbanites using charcoal and the rural manure they already have. This enables them to folks using firewood. As a result Kenya forest create a virtually free source of energy, which is

24 also clean and renewable and cost saving. The money previously used to purchase firewood can now be used for more worthwhile school activities.

Aziza Kenya thus far has constructed eight biogas digesters and is fund raising for two more.

The differences before the implementation of the digesters and after are remarkable. Some of the noticeable benefits are almost smoke-free environment which is a delight to the cooking staff. Less firewood is being used and heaps of manure around the school has also diminished.

The effluent from the digester can be used as fertiliser for the school’s crops resulting in an increased yield.

Ms Gichohi says that raising funds is probably the hardest part of the job. When she first started the organisation she wanted Kenyans to donate to Kenya. She wanted people to donate as little as five hundred shillings to these projects, allowing the collective group to support a project and develop communities in Kenya together. However, this did not work and at the moment the donors are from Hong Kong, the US and France.

Apart from getting donations, the organisation has created a revolving fund for this unique green initiative. The schools have to refund the capital used for the construction with a 10 per cent interest which is low compared to a bank loan or micro finance that charges 18 – 21 per cent. This low interest rate helps meet Aziza Kenya operational costs.

The website is also used to for raising funds.

With just a click of the mouse an individual or organisation can donate money for the project they want.

Currently, Aziza Kenya is planning to change the way in which it funds biogas projects. At the moment, they partially fund the construction of each digester together with the recipient school and a subsidy provided by its partner GTZ. “However, in the near future we want to start providing schools with loan facilities from local banks, enabling them to fund the entire construction of the digester,” She says.

She adds that using this model will allow Aziza Kenya to increase its capacity within Kenya, reaching many more schools than it has in the

past as awaiting donor funding will no longer be a limitation.

Ms Gichohi hopes to be able to create a system where many Kenyans can come together to contribute to these projects so that the effort is completely home grown. We also want to encourage local companies to invest in the projects and/or environmental activities, says Ms Gichohi.

After the digester is completed, the school appoints a farm manager to become responsible for maintaining it. Aziza Kenya contractors then conduct a training session to teach the farm manager how to keep the plant in good working condition. They also conduct refresher courses for the farm managers enabling them to improve the way in which they maintain the systems. In addition, Aziza monitors each project several times a year for the first 18 months after construction.

“If problems arise, we send our contractors back to site to evaluate and fix the problem at the expense of the school, further encouraging them to maintain the digester properly,” she says.

The approached used is two-fold to environmental protectionism. The construction of a biogas digester reduces the need for firewood which saves trees. After it is completed, Aziza oversees environmental education workshops for the community and schools. It believes the importance of creating environmentally literate citizens that will be able to protect the environment today and in the future.

To Ms. Gichohi, the most important aspect of Aziza’s work is the environmental program that provides a holistic learning experience for the students promoting a deep understanding of environmentalism and peace. Informed by the principle of investing in youth to act as positive agents of change, the program is committed to engaging and informing young Kenyans and encouraging them to become positive and productive agents of change in their communities as well as active members of the global citizenry.

“Non-profit organisations are meant to empower communities as opposed to becoming a crutch.

I believe that aid and non-profits can bring about dependence but can also be very effective depending on the way in which they provide the aid,” she says.

Be Inspired

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We have a profound role to play in society, and we have to make sure that we are constructive members of society.

CEOs have to become learning CEOs (Indra Nooyi).

Performance with Purpose

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ince 2006, Indra Nooyi – chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, has been number one in the Fortune Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women ranking. Reason? Her tireless dedication ensuring that the company she heads lives to its purpose of financial success coupled with social responsibility.

Hence, the corporate mission “performance with purpose”. It has seen Nooyi steer this multi-billion dollar company to be “healthy”. This is no small fete for the snack and soda company, however through her leadership PepsiCo has continued to post impressive profits and cut operational costs as well.

Below is an excerpt from an interview on leadership that she had with The Boston Consulting Group.

You talk about performance with purpose.

Could you describe this idea? “Performance with purpose is what I’d like PepsiCo to stand for. I’d like that to be the way we do business.

My honest belief is that corporations are little republics in their own way. Look at PepsiCo. Our market capitalization is almost $100 billion. We’re bigger than many countries. We have enormous influence in the world. But we cannot be guided purely by the earnings cycle, or we might end up adding costs to

26 society. We have a profound role to play in society, and we have to make sure that we are constructive members of society.

In a recent speech, you talked about five ways in which the role of the CEO will change. Could you elaborate on those five characteristics?

I based these observations on my wandering around the world and leading our company. First, you have to focus on the long term. The notion of focusing only on short-term earnings is a thing of the past. Too many companies have not done right by their shareholders by focusing strictly on the short term.

say, “Goodbye, we’re going to the next job.” The only way you can hold onto these employees is by hooking them emotionally to the company, through our business model and what we stand for. But you also need to be able to look at that person and say, “I value you as a person. I know that you have a life beyond PepsiCo, and I’m going to respect you for your entire life, not just treat you as Employee Number 4,567.”

In periods of crisis, leaders can be tempted to take greater control and drive change from the top. Is that what happened in this situation?

We set the agenda very, very carefully. First, we were very visible, doing as much walking around as possible. The way that the CEO projects himself or herself on the organization sets the mood for the company. So by being visible and not hiding myself in my office, I was telling people, “Hey, things are okay. We’ll come out of this okay.”

Second, we kept on trying to practice what I call realistic optimism. Be realistic, but don’t project doom and gloom. I kept saying to our employees, Third, you must be able to think globally and act “The economy’s bad, unemployment is going up, locally. This is an old notion, but we must take it but we’ll do okay. And the reason we’ll do okay to a whole new level. Half of humanity lives east is because of A, B, C, and D. And the good news of the Middle East. Western models cannot simply is that we’re a consumer staple company, so we be applied to those markets because they differ won’t be affected as much.” culturally. The civilizations are vastly different.

They speak different languages, and their religious Third, we undertook brutal prioritization. At the backgrounds are different. Our businesses in those beginning of the year, we started with five priorities markets need to tailor products, business models, and we kept hammering on those priorities every and people practices to the local market. quarter, in every town-hall meeting, in every interaction we had with the employees, and in Fourth, you must become much more open-minded. every piece of communication.

CEOs have to become learning CEOs. Not only do we have to learn the next leadership principle Fourth, once we gave the line managers their or the next management practice, but we also agendas, we let them loose and said, “Go make have to learn about technology and the younger it happen.” And the only time I got intrusive is generations. To be able to manage these young when a business needed to be turned around. In kids who are coming to PepsiCo, we have to be a downturn, it’s even harder than usual to turn able to think digitally and be able to manipulate around a business because the rules are changing, all this new technology. the marketplace is changing, and the consumer value proposition is changing. So I picked my Fifth, you must develop emotional intelligence. battles.

Today’s young people do not want to be wedded to a job like the people of my generation were. Source: www.leadership.bcg.com If you do not treat them right, people today will Second, you need to understand that publicprivate partnerships are critical for companies to be successful. The world has become much more complex, and the only way companies can function effectively is if we put ourselves in the shoes of lawmakers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and they put themselves in our shoes. We can’t have an adversarial relationship.

Leadership

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has played a central role in changing the face of tennis in Kenya by embracing talent from across all social divides. She has helped pioneer tennis amongst the less privileged classes and opened up opportunities for many children in the typically elitist sport. When slum children also began showing an interest in the game, they could not be turned away. However, as a result, Dr. Odera lost a lot of sponsors initially who thought she was watering down the quality of the program, but it has paid off.

Scientist

The sacrifice of Leadership Leadership is progressive; it is not infinite, and taking the time to pass on the lessons you have learnt to your charges is important.

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t takes resilience, hard work and compromise to fulfill your life’s ambitions and to achieve your full potential. Beyond this, it takes true selflessness to help people build these very same bridges to reach their unrealized dreams.

That is the commitment Dr. Elizabeth Odera made along in 1992, when, she began a sports academy called Sadili Oval . The sports centre provides health and fitness programs such as swimming, tennis, basketball, soccer and rugby.

Sadili Oval comes from a Kiswahili term, meaning all round health and fitness or well-being. It

Dr. Odera has not always been an educationist, she was previously a scientist at a medical research institution in Kenya. She even patented a new discovery on the part of the virus that could be used for quick diagnosis in a non-invasive method preventing pain, discomfort and the risk of infection. However she was frustrated by all the politics there and felt that her work place was becoming a source of stress. She eventually resigned to concentrate on her family.

Her own parents having been educationists, Dr. Odera decided to focus on Malezi school , a medium sized school she had founded with her husband.

The school had 440 children aged between 6 and 24 years. From scientist to educationist, once Dr. Odera became a director for Sadili Oval there was no turning back. As the sports centre has gained acceptance, and positive recognition from around the world, she has established a name for herself as she and her team raise young men and women with potential in competitive sports. Sadili Oval has become an award winning program alongside partners such as United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), Global Sports Alliance, France SFD Programme and PTR It takes a sure-footed leader to act as an emissary between a learner in their unrefined form and their achieving future self. However, even as a leader, the direction of your footing may have to be reexamined, says Dr. Odera. As a leader you must be willing to accept that you can make mistakes.

Be humble enough to apologize when wrong so that you create trust amongst those you lead. A leader must also be open, loyal and persistent.

28 Time On a typical day, Dr. Odera is up by 3.00 a.m. She always starts her day with a two hour planning routine that has become very much a part of her and gets to work before 6.00 am. To plan for her hectic days? Dr. Odera begins by listing all the things that she had intended to do the day before, but did not get done. The tasks are then prioritized according to what is urgent versus what can be successfully delegated.

Time is perfectly inelastic says, Dr. Odera. Time lost can never be regained, and time wasted can never be redeemed. For any person in a leadership position, having the foresight to chart the path ahead is essential. “I am content if I manage to complete 80 percent of what I aimed to do in a day - life is not about being too driven, I accept that there is always time to complete the rest, I cannot be perfect,” she reflects.

Family The work-family balance is an equation much like a Rubik’s cube, and can take a lifetime to get around. There is no sure-fire method that can be packaged and distributed to the growing populace of working women. This delicate equilibrium can only be increasingly refined with time and wisdom.

The long hours, travel and personal commitment of a calling such as hers can knock any semblance of harmony off balance, but Dr. Odera actively seeks to keep this balance like many women in her position. “Firstly, I try not to discuss my work at home, and my children ensure that they keep me away from that by insisting that I talk about other issues. Home is my only sanctuary, and I value every minute that I spend listening to my husband or kids, or reading a book. If you catch me watching a movie, it’s most probably because I want to fall asleep...fast! Movies are not my thing.”

family becomes even more valuable. This delicate balance, of achieving a resultant success on both fronts, remains a constant struggle. As a woman, it has taken years to get accepted as a pioneer and leader especially in male dominated fields. Dr. Odera says, “A woman has to work to prove herself more than a man needs, once she has done so it is amazing how quickly she will get respect”.

Dr Odera always knew she wanted to work with young people, and having her own children only enhanced that desire. Her own biological children grew up at Sadili and with unreserved acceptance of others they have acted as role models. “I prefer to work with young people because they dare to dream, and are willing to go the extra mile to help achieve the goals of the team”.

Mentoring Leadership is progressive; it is not infinite, and taking the time to mentor and pass on the lessons you have learnt to your charges is important. “You cannot mentor someone if they do not trust nor accept you as a close friend,” she explains. Dr. Odera ensures that her staff is constantly trained, and regularly challenged. When recruiting, she makes her final decisions on the staff she takes on based on her intuition. “though the candidate still has to have the basic qualification I seek, I trust my instincts more than the hundreds of certificates and resumes that I see each year”, says the educationist. Removed from her public profile, Dr. Odera is an excellent singer, photographer and artist, and she has been able to illustrate in her published books. But the pursuit and development of hobbies requires an investment of time, time which she does not have at present. But as Washington Irving famously quoted, great minds have purposes; others have wishes. Dr. Odera does not regret the time she is dedicating to Sadili Oval.

Dr. Odera continues to give her time, leadership, and insight, to a cause she believes in, and if we had more mentors like her, a whole generation would possibly be spurred to greater heights. She instills belief where self-doubt once thrived, and hope in an individual’s arsenal is more potent than any physical tool a leader can provide.

Women in leadership roles have to learn this multi-hatted dance, because family remains a valuable cornerstone in their lives, and wellnurtured families continue to be the foundation of any successful society. As women advance and become more independent, their role in By Piana Ngaira

From the corner office

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Creating a Winning Team

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reating a winning team is a challenge leaders must contend with. It starts with selecting a team that can add to the brand value , then the major task is to coach the team to grow into professionals. Mrs. Beth Thuo, Acting Head of Branches at Chase Bank, Mrs Beth Thuo shares the insights on helping your team grow with your organization to unquestionable leadership.

Coming from an IT background, Mrs. Thuo has crafted her career around embracing constant progress in herself and those around her. She was courageous enough to move from a major bank’s IT department into the mainstream banking where she gained experience in corporate credit, hire purchase and branch management.

Later she then joined Chase Bank where she resolved to actively seek career grown that was based on meritocracy and not just entitlement. Her former experience enabled her to build a capacity in various competencies as she became a more effective leader. She is soon to be the Head of Private Banking.

“I see myself as an effective manager, and financial partner that manages relationships for optimal and better value,” she explains.

“A warm work environment enable people to understand their roles and the assignment of duties can be anticipated and completed well.”

Selection process

Leadership skills are honed early on, in seemingly minor roles such as leading clubs in school so it helps to check someone’s history and see the previous leadership positions held.

When choosing a team, it all starts with the selection process, says Mrs Thuo. You must select the right person for the position. The most memorable job interviews she has conducted was when a customer relations senior officer perfectly fitted the profile in skills, competencies and attitude. When employing it is important to match both personality and skill. Mrs. Thuo, believes in hiring for attitude and training for skills.

To inspire confidence in her team, Mrs. Thuo appreciates that she has to believe and live the brand that she represents. She leads by example and embraces the customer-centric value of the bank. Such values influence team dynamics. “There is no customer need too trivial for me to take on personally if need be”, she says. A 360 degree feedback model has helped build an enabling work environment around her – even in her position, professionalism has to be tempered with friendliness.

30 Mrs. Thuo believes in creating an environment where people can voice out concerns without fear. True leaders guide their team’s performance by promoting self-motivation and avoiding micro management.

Conducive environment

team efforts, a skill Mrs. Thuo agrees is very important. “Motivation and mentorship can only be achieved through effective communication.

Success is then achieved through a total sum effort of entire team.”

The assignment of specific tasks is determined both by rank, and by individual skills. There are generic tasks assigned according to rank, but some special tasks are assigned because of individual skill, ability or competency. A good manager knows their team members well to enable the correct task to be assigned to the best fitted individual. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your team members enable leaders to entrust tasks with the confidence that they will be executed well.

Creating an effective team cannot be complete without establishing an encouraging environment that makes the team comfortable and facilitates both personal and organization objectives.

Leaders set the mood and tone of an organization, and help create a sense of ownership amongst their charges. The mood is set based on business ethics, professionalism, friendliness and accountability.

A warm work environment enables people to understand their roles and the assignment of duties can be anticipated and completed well.

Collective effort On a team level, Mrs. Thuo appreciates that the Sometimes, managers can encounter a weak link success of her team and bank requires collective in their team. This is where a member ‘s task effort. On a personal level, she measures her regularly comes short of expectations. Personal success by her ability to maintain harmony and problems or personality issues are just a few balance in her spiritual, financial health, career, examples of things that may create a weak link. family life and her social life. As a leader you Mrs Thuo recommends that a leader needs to seek must self-manage do not neglect family and to understand the root cause of the situation. A friends. When my career was taking off I found good leader will embody empathy. Understanding myself neglecting my family and friends yet they why a team member is not delivering in a certain are a very important support system but I had area, and compromising if need be is very to rethink my approach to life. I now rely on important. A mother, for example may not be able wisdom from God in my decision making and to come in early due to her baby’s feeding cycles. lean heavily on my husband, Mr George Thuo as Instead of constant berating her, it is better to set a great sounding board. up a system where she may come in thirty minutes late and make up for the lost time. This will make My strategy is about doing a few things, but doing her more productive. In more complicated cases, them amazingly well - it is about appreciating the leader needs to coach and mentor the team who I am, where I need to go and the things I member. need to do to get there,” says Mrs Thuo. She believes that women team leaders have a lot Emotional intelligence going for them. Femininity, in her eyes, is a Coaching emotional intelligence to team members strength because it embraces empathy, patience is much more challenging. The leader has to and commitment; valuable characteristic of nurture the member under their wing, spend more effective leadership. For Mrs. Thuo, the only time with them and bring them up to speed. glass ceiling that exists is the one in our minds Mentorship is at the heart of leadership. A great and psyche. She intends to play a leading role leader works through motivation and mentorship. in seeing the bank grow even further, spurred on Mrs Thuo has had to prune her own impatience to by the successful team she has helped nurture. ensure that the people around her grow.

Communicating positively also helps harmonize By Diana Ngaira

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Momprenuer As a result, many children – in this instance the girl child - now perceive their mothers as role models in the business world. They are seeing their mothers and would like to do the same thing or share the business world their mothers have built.

Running a mother – daughter enterprise

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xperts point out that over the past decade, there has been a shift in the cultural environment of the workplace, and women have gradually received more acceptance as business leaders.

When it comes to family-owned businesses, fathers and sons have long been considered the classic entrepreneurial team. But the explosive growth of women-owned businesses has paved the way for a new breed of entrepreneurial pairing: motherdaughter businesses.

Although no concrete statistics have been compiled for the number of mother-daughter businesses nationwide, familybusiness experts say their ranks are definitely growing.

Everywhere you look, it seems, people are talking about the bond between mothers and their sons.

But the link between women and their daughters is so deep, unique and sometimes full of friction that few ever get past the surface. Yet despite minor disagreements and conflicts, a growing number of mothers and daughters have found that they share not only a blood tie but also a keen sense of doing business or running a company together.

“Twenty years ago, women were told that in order to get ahead in business they had to be more like men,” says Atlanta-based management consultant Elizabeth Gordon, author of “The Chic Entrepreneur.” Now, girls and young women realize that they can succeed by being themselves, she says. “These two points of view, on the way a woman should look, dress, act and behave in a business setting, could be the source of generation gap tension.”

Here’s another distinction: Business-owner dads tend to test their sons by tossing them into choppy waters and seeing how they swim. Not so with women. “Men tend to bond through rivalry and competition,” Gordon says. “But mothers and daughters bond over helping each other grow.”

Genuine love, trust and respect are what set apart these mother-daughter business duos who are courageous enough to branch out into nontraditional partnerships in hopes of building longlasting legacies together. In some cases, motherdaughter units work in tandem with other relatives in family-owned businesses. The mother is usually the boss and knows the business in and out and the daughter brings in fresh and innovative insights to the operations. This helps the business grow or take it to the next level. In addition to the inherent mother-child bond, there can be due to success to shared business philosophies; having the same expectations, goals and focus.

In most cases, the mother-daughter partnerships

33 represent second or third careers for the women involved. Some mothers who have daughters as business partners say that it is like working with any other trusted colleague in a tight knit business atmosphere. Although, the daughters agree on business atmosphere, but point to one distinct difference: No matter who’s name is on the door post, they say, “Mom” is still boss.

For the mothers, praising their daughters work is two-fold; they see it from as appreciation from their bosses and their mother being proud of them.

Disagreements, common in any business setting, sometimes do occur, temperaments collide and sparks, women readily admit, occasionally fly. But honest communication and a stern focus on the bottom line helps to make those sticky, personalprofessional conflicts more bearable. They are non-family businesses have forums for dealing with problems, such as management and strategic planning meetings.

For family businesses, they need to agree on a shared vision and on methods for resolving conflict. It is recommended that several times a year a meeting should be called “just like a board of directors” and put any issues on the table for family members who are in the business and those who are not.

The roles of mother and daughter in the business are “quite defined,” and that took place right at the beginning in a business plan. If it is a business that is on-going, the mother has to be willing to give some of her responsibilities to her daughter and the daughter has to find a way to fit in.

It’s one reason why there’s so little friction. The other is that they can be “pretty brutal” with each other and neither takes offence. They’re also more tolerant because they know what’s going on in each other’s lives. There is no another business partner who be willing to help out on so many different levels as a mum – she can take the dayoff to babysit if the daughter is out of town on business. Besides any natural tension between parents and grown children about issues of power, trust, and risk-taking, there are specific challenges

for mothers and daughters who work together.

While family businesses tend to have more than their share of conflicts, one of their biggest advantages is an inherent sense of trust. In a family business setting, one can think in terms of how they are going to use their talents and express their values in the long run. This means that it goes beyond the call of growing profits in the short term.

Since the business is all that the two have to make a living, it adds a level of comfort to the business that can be beneficial. The image of a family business has a draw to customers as well as loyalty.

Be flexible Allow the business to evolve based on the new owner’s different personality and skills.

Maintain professionalism at all times.

When you do disagree, be respectful and considerate of the other’s viewpoint.

Keep it personal. Don’t shy away from calling your mom ‘Mom’ from 9-5. It can be a selling point.

Time it right. Mother and daughter must be ready to move beyond the teenage power struggles and see each other as women. The business relationship will work better once the daughter has gained some business experience elsewhere.

Walk away. Take a break if you feel too emotional.

Separate business and social life. It is only natural to talk about business during social times. But make sure you have independent lives, as well.

Don’t take too many shortcuts. Family members tend to be much less formal with one another.

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Stand out

t s i w t y r a r o p m e Cont n o i h s a f n a c i r f A on

Photography: Pixel 8 Make up and Hair: Fashion Diva

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36 Explore African prints and textures as interpreted by Vitenge Galore

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Fiction

Working Girl Extraordinaire “It was also rather annoying to have stale, lawyer-breath in my face.”

powwow concerning my interviewing? Or that the same powwow would be responsible for my walk of shame covering the distance from my very classy executive assistant’s desk to my jobless bed?

(Oh, jobless bed is a term I use for depression caused by sudden onset of no funds – either spent too much or didn’t earn enough).

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o I think I just finished the most humiliating conversation of my life with my father on my need for funds. Wait. On second thoughts, I don’t think anything could beat the interview from last time.

And that wasn’t the worst thing that happened.

At the last time we talked, dear reader, I was in the interview from hell. When I think about it, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but who would have thought that a guy I blew off at a bar would be the head of my interview panel for a job I didn’t really need but felt I needed to interview for nonetheless? And who would have thought that this guy, who in my opinion just doesn’t handle rejection very well, also knew my current (now former) boss and that they would later have a

Well. Apparently, this boss, for whom I slaved for over five years told me, in a very somber but charged meeting, that he couldn’t trust me to do my job if I was interviewing all over town. Mind you, the five years I calculated did exclude the hours I spent on all those one-hundred-something interviews! It still burns me up to think about it. I mean, hey, some people smoke, and I interview!

How can you possibly attack my neurosis? At least I am not going to die of lung cancer (or I really hope not); I will die of hunger instead.

Don’t think that I am not trying. I am. Seeing as I was in a panic, I went and interviewed for a hosting job at one of those snazzy bars. I think my interviewing skills, polished over months of hard work, were top-notch because I got the job.

Except, I didn’t quite like it and let’s face it, drunks are only fun when you are drunk. I won’t tell you that I was fired the first night on the job. Instead, I will let you conclude the story of that fateful evening which saw me slap a guy who tried to get fresh and grab my behind. Okay. So fine, I lost

39 the job. But I got to keep some really nice tips from the night and I could pay some bills. I also lit candles at the Catholic Church in downtown Nairobi – the one near KICC – and prayed with exceeding fervor that I would never again meet the gentleman I slapped, and especially not on an interview panel.

Luckily, my story resonated with a couple of girlfriends over a night of drinking at my house. One of them was gracious enough to arrange a quick job for me. My pal, let’s call her Gal, introduced me to one of her bosses who was looking for a temporary assistant while his regular recovered from a nasty car accident. I liked the gentleman and this place was a law firm so I thought I wouldn’t be slapping anyone for grabbing my butt. I wasn’t sure about the drink-and-run scenario because Kenyans like to drink a lot.

Anyway, I started the day after the brief, pleasant interview, and the day was relatively easy. I answered phones, typed a few letters, forwarded meeting notes, set a few calendar reminders, ordered supplies for my desk, went through a few files – I wasn’t snooping or anything – I just needed to know what was going on. I was actually beginning to relax, letting the organization diva in me take over, and setting to rights what I felt was wrong. That state of bliss lasted about five minutes before the Exorcist on Steroids landed at my desk and proceeded to chew me out.

Now, I don’t know if you can picture this quite clearly because if you just read that sentence, there should be a tornado of paper flying in your mind and distant muffles of hoarse voice shouting you down. Apparently, there was a three o’clock meeting I had booked for Mr. Boss-turned-Exorcist that shouldn’t have been booked.

From my estimation, it was a simple matter – easily rectified: I would just call the individual and cancel. I think I didn’t quite get it because the Exorcist was still at my desk, in my face. For the life of me, I wished he would stop yelling because I couldn’t make out what it was that he was saying. It was also rather annoying to have stale, lawyer-breath in my face.

The clincher though, was the humiliation of having to wait until the deluge of spitting was done,

before I could wipe lawyer-breath-laced sloth off my face.

Sure enough, after my learned friend was done with the yelling, I reached for Kleenex and wiped my face. I was surprised at my calm behavior because well, I had just slapped a gentleman not too long ago for copping a feel. I was not too sure how to handle the spitting.

I have to admit that some sort of training in your job (such as you would receive in College or Training Institute) is useful. One of the role plays we had in “Office Etiquette for Executive Assistants” had a similar bully boss scenario and I suddenly remembered with clarity the debrief conclusion. The prudent action of a professional would be to wait out the storm (I did that – no interruptions to the yelling), ensure that you are not in immediate danger (my learned friend was a skilled yeller but I think I could take him down if he attacked me) and then calmly request for instructions on how to resolve the issue (seeing as clearly I had not attained the standards of performance that the Exorcist made up in his head and didn’t bother to communicate to me, I was going to have to ask questions).

But I just couldn’t imagine myself having a conversation with this guy after that tirade. Besides, this was a temp job. If the yelling was an indicator of normal behavior, then Mr. Lawyer’s regular punching bag would be back in no time. There was nothing else to do. I just could not come back to this place. It turns out that this internal sidebar conversation– which was rather rational, if I do say so – lasted about ten seconds. Shortly after, without proper responses, the Exorcist walked back into his office banging the door in his wake.

I was still in shock; yelling scares the mess out of me. When someone is in my face, features distorted, hoarse voice clouding my senses, fear is pretty much a standard response. But I needed to make tracks so I called the three o’clock and cancelled. I sent a text to the girlfriend who set me up and told her she owed me drinks. I then packed my stuff back into the little bag that I had carried to work (a first day ritual for marking desk

40 territory) and left without another word. I knew that this was probably not the smartest thing to do but fear makes you do crazy things. And… I am not that well-adjusted as to have followed the proper exit procedures.

I did get drinks from my pal ‘Gal’ during which session she confessed to having heard about the crazy lawyer’s reputation as a hotheaded bully and possible bipolar mood swings. I let her pay the bill seeing as I had walked out on another money-making prospect... I also got the promise of another job hookup.

After the crazy lawyer, I managed to land a brief assignment that was relatively lucrative. This time I was a personal assistant to some hotshot woman powerhouse who was on assignment in Kenya for about two weeks and who in her words, “Just didn’t have time to navigate society in this brief time to get the things I have to have… like cheese.” This was also a job passed on by a girlfriend who had heard about my experience from hell. I was even paid in USD! It was fun and tough seeing to every whim of some woman – but like I said, I was born an organizer. Only downer was that the job was only two weeks. Still, I had enough money for a while… I figured the universe had FINALLY decided to cut me a break.

Okay. So not entirely a clean break because I was still in a confidence crisis and I just could not get into Serial Interviewer mode. I was in the dumps and I just didn’t feel like facing interview rejection. I was now spending my days mostly sitting at home watching bad Nigerian movies on HiNolly. Great. I just realized that I was firmly on the way to becoming a Nollywood expert. I would most surely be found dead – from hunger related causes – with remote in hand. Maybe I am exaggerating because well, I did call my father and sent out an SOS citing lack of food. Those are the only circumstances under which he would deposit money in my account. Also, I was thinking about calling in a favor (read SOS) for another job – I figure that my girlfriend who set me up with the Exorcist still owes me. I also figured that with my luck I would need an extensive list of people who

owed me to funnel SOSs of various kinds until I was back to rights.

However, I have to tell you that an SOS lifestyle is very undesirable.

First, SOS simply curtails your freedom – it is very difficult to go shopping (retail therapy) or drinking on bursary funds. I may be a bit eccentric but even my conscience just can’t allow me to misuse borrowed funds like that.

Second, SOS creates more debt – in favors or straight up cash terms. Just thinking about the depletion of my favor bank account is depressing.

You see favors are some of your biggest assets in life. They cost you nothing and they achieve the greatest results. When someone asks me for a favor, I am instantly in a position to help them and it feels crazy good. I wouldn’t repeat this out loud but I usually do my best work when I am in favor mode. You wouldn’t believe how many people who were desperate to have meetings with my boss got in after months when they mentioned the word favor. And because I am relatively in tune with human behavior, I know of the immense power of favors. However, granting favors creates debts in favors. It’s the whole you-will-have-to-scratch-myback-later thing. Just thinking about what I am about to ask of the people in my list makes me shudder in terms of how much I will owe them. Oh well… SOS… Third, SOS can create undesirable friendships. You see, when you get a hook up from someone, you know you have to act right even when the people who are helping you are jerks. Also, many times because they know that they are helping you, they tend to turn up the jerk-meter. But I think I am being slightly unfair; after all, I have survived based on some great hook-ups (except for the crazy lawyer). But this is the life of a Serial Job Hopper – you most end up on SOS. And this is not to say that I am living on SOS’s alone because that would imply that I have called in a lot of favors.

However, without a permanent solution to this job madness, I might as well have been vying for the Mayoral seat in SOSville.

By Angela Maina

Health & Fitness

Anytime Work Out

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ost of us like to think that the busy lives we lead make it difficult for us to find time for a regular exercise regime. We prioritize our work schedule whilst our fitness programme takes a back seat.

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If you don’t have time to block off an hour to go to the gym, than try taking two or three fifteen minute walks at different times in your day.

this by parking the car further away from your destination, run errands literally on your feet, take the stairs and do your own housework. All these trips will help you become more physically active which is your goal in the first place.

Since developing a plan can be procrastinated, As we consume more processed foods our need here are some ideas on how to sneak in some for daily exercise increases. Your health is your exercises into your schedule. wealth and if you are to enjoy a long healthy life it is time to get up and develop a plan that gives 1. Lunch time workout. you the best chance to succeed. First of all set Carry a packed lunch with you to work. It is not realistic goals. It is better to aim for three times healthier but it is cheaper. Rather than sit for per week and do it than to target for daily exercise your entire lunch hour, take a walk and when and fail entirely. you begin to tire stop off to rest as you take your snack.

If you do not have time to block off an hour for the gym then try taking two or three fifteen minute 2. ‘Work out’ instead of ‘veggie out’. walks at different times in your day. You can do Using an exercise bike or treadmill while

42 watching a favorite program is a great way to tone up rather than stretching out on the couch with a packet of biscuits and coffee and ‘vegetating’ your life away.

3. Reduce your coffee breaks.

To find extra time for exercise reduce the number of coffee and loo breaks you take during the day. They eat into your time much more than you think and get longer and longer with time.

Roll these breaks into one long break where you can take some form of exercise such as climbing stairs or a quick 30 minute swim. The endorphins which your body produces as a result of even a little bit of exercise will do more to stimulate you than your cup of coffee.

4. Blend exercise with socialization Walking alone can get boring and monotonous.

Find a friend to exercise with as you catch up.

Rather than sit around in your local bar find a game you both can play such as badminton, squash or bowling and motivate one another as you chat and play.

5. Try a little housework.

Okay, I can hear a lot of you throwing up your hands in horror but many forms of housework such as cleaning the kitchen, washing down the bathroom, mowing the lawn, and digging over the vegetable patch are all great forms of exercise and they do no harm either to your house.

can be performed a few times a day for maximum exercise benefits.

2. Climb stairs.

Climbing stairs builds strength and gets your heart pumping. Listen to music or an audio book while going up and down the stairs.

Before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to your climbing sessions!

3. Dance to the music.

Dancing is not only fun, but it’s also a terrific form of exercise. Professional dancers are more fit than many professional athletes!

4. Bounce on a mini-trampoline.

Pull out your trampoline and spend just five minutes jumping away. You may enjoy this exercise so much that you will increase the amount of time you have available for your exercise routine.

5. Quick Calisthenics.

These are exercises that help you build your muscular tone. Finding just five minutes in your hectic day to practice one or more these calisthenics exercise routines can make a big difference in your health.

6. Lift weights.

Start with lighter weights, and as you spend time on a daily routine, gradually increase the amount of weight you can handle.

It really does not matter what you do, as long as you fit some exercise into your daily routine. And remember, if you have not done any exercise for a while, take it slow at first and build yourself up gradually.

7. Walk faster.

Picking up your walking speed will also increase your fitness level. Walking of any kind is always a good thing, but walking faster enhances the exercise benefits you receive from it.

(Courtesy of buzzle.com)

8. Practice balance.

Practicing balance requires only a few minutes a day and best of all, can be practiced anywhere with no special equipment.

8 Simple Exercise Routines to Fit into Your Busy Life 1. Jump rope.

Start slowly and gradually increase both your speed and intensity. This heart-healthy exercise

(Courtesy of personaldevelopementandselfimprovement.com)

Reflections

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rising up to 15 percent. The economy is getting tougher for businesses. When are we ever going to get a break? No matter how much hope and faith you have that things will get better, hope and faith will not pay the rent next month. So what are you supposed to do?

Most people will do nothing but keep hoping for the best. I have fallen for that many times. I just threw my hands up and said I have done all there he most difficult thing in life is maintaining is to be done, now I can only wait until things look your focus on a goal while things all around up. I mean it’s just easier to do nothing and file you are not going as planned. Let’s face it; the memory in my brain file for review at a later no one can go through life problem free but date. there is an individual difference to how we react to the challenges life throws at us. To be honest You need to learn to not take the path of least life can really throw punches at us sometimes. The resistance when faced with a life challenge. You unexpected happens; you lose a loved one when have to learn to stop spending so much time nothing could have prepared you for that. You lose focusing on the problem but rather focus on the your business when all was going well; or you alternatives you have that can create a solution to lose your job due to economic hardships that force the problem. Believe me that is easier said than your employer to let you go. done. Worrying about a problem and how it is affecting every other aspect of life is just a lot So what do you do when it is all too much easier to do especially when you feel complete to bear? defeat. Like, the challenge you are facing is too Ever heard the saying tough times don’t last but insurmountable to overcome. tough people do? Or whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger? Nothing annoys me as much But here is my dare to you. Dare to become a as hearing that when I am down. It is almost as if problem-solver and a solution giver. Dare to create someone has failed to take the time to understand solutions. me and what I am going through. Like they will There is a magnetic creative mojo that infects us not even try to understand the magnitude of the when we become problem solvers. It is almost issues I have. as if there is no force on earth that can confine how far the mind can expand. So next time you I mean unemployment rates are high. The price face a challenge, give in to the feeling. Sit down, of fuel keeps going up and affecting the price of brainstorm, research and create solutions. You just commodities. Inflation has been predicted to keep may surprise yourself by what you can do and the options that are available. Even though you create something you cannot action now or by yourself, your mind will begin to grasp the opportunities that are there to make your solution come to life.

Put more effort into the solutions that you have available, talk to other people, go on the internet.

Whatever you do, don’t accept defeat, and don’t do nothing!

I Dare you to become a Problem Solver

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It’s like that other saying goes, Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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