Want to try out a webinar? Here’s what you need to know

For the uninitiated, webinars are online seminars or master classes designed to educate around a clear and concise topic.   Generally around 30-40 minutes, these live events are a fantastic way to demo a product, show off a new feature, offer tips, hacks, or best practices, and perhaps most powerfully: to introduce yourself — your actual self — to customers.   Webinars have unique barriers to entry. Continue reading

Here’s how you can turn more prospects to customers

Hand drawing Customer concept with marker on transparent wipe board.

Since history’s first advertisement (we’ll leave the product to your imagination), marketers have spent almost their entire budget chasing new prospects. However, like the proverbial dog who chases cars, the chasers-of-prospects don’t necessarily know what to do with them once caught. Well, you definitely know what to do, which is to convert them into customers. How to do that is outlined below. Here are 8 tips to help you close more sales. Continue reading

Why you need social proof and how to get it

Imagine you wake up in a foreign town in some exotic country with no idea where you are or how you got there (If you’ve been watching movies, this shouldn’t be too hard to imagine). Your stomach is rumbling and you feel hungry... but it's dirty and you seem to be stranded in the poorest region of the city. You walk outside the dingy hotel room you woke up in, and look around. Across the street are two run down-looking restaurants, except that one is full of people, and the other one doesn't have a soul inside. Which one do you go try to get a meal at? Continue reading

How social media can help your brand

social media Social media is an effective marketing tool that can really help your brand get noticed. Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Instagram and Snapchat (the list goes on and on) keep increasing in popularity. One would think that their membership numbers would have plateaued by now yet their numbers keep rising with each new milestone announcement. Social media is the new water cooler. It is where people go to voice their opinions, post reviews (and spoilers) about the new Game of Thrones episode, pass along viral info or read up on news. Continue reading

10 Amazing companies that boostrapped their way to success

  Getting funded by a VC isn’t the only definition of success in business. Neither is doing a series A, B or Z. We know it’s hard to believe especially based on the prevailing narrative by the media on VC backed companies in tech hubs around the world, but it’s true. Success as a startup comes in various formats but it usually means becoming profitable, scoring more and more customers and a rising revenue base. It’s quite refreshing, and encouraging, to know that there are quite a number of companies that refused to take external investor money, preferring to bootstrap their companies to success. Continue reading

10 tips to expand your business fast

business growth “More money is a bad idea.” Unless you’re a monk, chances are slim you’ll say that sentence out loud. No matter where your business stands, you’ll want to take it further by growing your customer base, strengthening your brand and increasing your revenue. Besides, the best way to ensure your business survives is to keep growing, keep expanding and keep pushing yourself out of your comfort zone (after securing the comfort zone of course). Here are ten ways to ensure business grows fast. Continue reading
empower employees

Why and How You Should Empower Your Employees

Many companies are not hiring to engage the minds and hearts of their workers but merely their hands and feet. I don’t need to emphasize how unhelpful this practice is. As a business manager or leader, ask yourself, do you let your people assume more responsibility when they are able? Do you know when that is, or do you keep telling yourself that they aren’t ready yet? To empower employees is to place reward and consequential decision-making authority in their hands. Continue reading

12 Productivity hacks for startup CEOs

So you’re a Startup CEO. Our condolences. It’s not easy being tasked with having to build a company from the ground up. Not only that, but you’re doing it in perhaps the harshest startup environment in the world - Africa. Your life must be pretty fun. No? Yeah, we know. Your job description means you have to be pretty hands-on with your business and the workload is massive. To deal with this, the best entrepreneurs figure out tricks that help them manage their time and maximize their efficiency. We’ve compiled some of these hacks and put them into a handy list. Continue reading

How to build the best team for your startup

Startups aren’t built by fairies. They are built by people. Smart, focused and passionate people. It’s foolhardy to focus entirely on your idea or product and neglect your team or treat it as an afterthought. In fact, the more important your idea is, the better the kind of team you have to build. Because there’s no such thing as a slam dunk idea. Continue reading