Adi Zuk is an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member in Cape Town, South Africa, and co-founder of Oya Venture, which aims to broaden the imprint of women entrepreneurs in Africa by facilitating the growth of women-owned businesses that empower others. Adi is one of the EO member leaders who spoke to an audience of global women entrepreneurs at the 2018 MyEO Women of EO Summit in Napa, California. The following is Adi’s speech, edited and published with permission. My name is Adi Zuk, and I want to tell you about my bold purpose. I thought that my purpose was to be financially successful, but I realize now that I have become successful in a world that I’ve had to change to be successful in. Let me start by taking you through two stories; stories that resonate with me; stories that have changed the way that I see the world, and that will hopefully change the way you see it too. Anna ChapmanNow for my first story, a story about a beautiful, bold, smart woman named Anna Chapman. After studying economics, she became a well-known, successful model and TV presenter. In 2002, she fell in love and moved to the United Kingdom to marry Alex Chapman, the son of a famous businessman. After a while, it was clear the marriage wouldn’t work, and the couple divorced. After the divorce, Anna decided to move to New York to reinvent herself. She became a Manhattan socialite and ended up starting her property business Property Finder. Her business grew into a successful business with as many as 50 employees. Let me pause here; I’ll come back to this story later. Now I’ll tell you a little bit more about me: I grew up in a leafy suburb in Johannesburg, South Africa, a child of the 1980s. I was brought up in a world where my large, extended Jewish family expected me to be a traditional girl, who dressed up as a princess and listened to the rules. I was not too happy about this. I wanted something different; I was a rebel who fought against rules and systems that I didn’t believe in. As a teenager, I dressed in Nirvana t-shirts and listened to angry Linkin Park songs. In my 20s, I continued to evolve. I studied business and ended up working for a large corporation. Three years later, I became frustrated with authority, and I left to start my first digital marketing business. That first business swiftly failed when I realized that I didn’t like taking orders from clients, and I went on to start my business, Jag Method. Jag Method has just celebrated 10 years as a financial services marketing business that employs over 40 people. Mata HariLet me tell you a second story, a story about a woman named Mata Hari. Even at the very beginning of her life, it was clear that Mata was extraordinary. From the early days of her childhood in Holland in the 1880s, she stood out: flamboyant, striking, bold, bright and gifted in languages. Mata Hari used her sexuality to get what she wanted early on. In fact, she was expelled from school for having an affair with her teacher. Mata Hari loved being in love, and at age 18 she married Captain Rudolf MacLeod. Their marriage was very rocky; the couple fought constantly. After a few very difficult years, the couple eventually divorced. Mata Hari went travelling to the Far East to find herself and to spend time away from all the pressures of home. She returned to Paris and launched her career as an exotic dancer, becoming the most desirable woman in Paris. She was seen in the company of many powerful and successful business, military and political figures. So, why am I sharing these stories? What do these women have in common with me? More importantly, what do they have in common with you? Mata Hari’s real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle―and she was a spy. Anna Chapman was born Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko―and she, too, was a spy. Mata Hari’s bigger purpose was not to be an exotic dancer but to get sensitive information back to her home country to help change the system and win the war. Anna Chapman’s bigger purpose was not to build a property business but to use her position as a Manhattan socialite to send secret, sensitive information back to Russia to help them change the system. I, too, have realized that I am a spy: My bold purpose is to understand how the existing system of success works―and to change that system for women. To create a new, better system for women. Recently, I handed over my company to a new CEO, and I have taken a step back. I realized that my initial purpose, my initial goal of being successful financially is not enough for me. Being part of the group of relatively few women who achieve success in a man’s world isn’t enough for me. I want to change the world to benefit more women. That’s what I am trying to do.
Oya VentureI have started a new business, Oya Venture, which aims to change the narrative for women through advocacy and investing in more women-owned businesses, and businesses that empower women. Oya is the name of the most powerful African goddess; she brings about storms and transformation. She is my inspiration. As I stand here today in front of all of you magnificent, bold women, I cannot think of a better group of women to rally my bold purpose to. I don’t have answers, but I do have questions. Are we all spies? Should we be trying to change the system? I wonder: If we take a step back and look at our success, are we happy knowing that we are the exceptions? That we had to fight and change to be here? Let’s change the system―create a new world, a better world with our definition of success. Let’s change things from the inside. We know the system; we know how to be successful; we know how the system works. Let’s change the world for women everywhere. My bold purpose is to be a spy and help change the world for women everywhere. Won’t you join me?
The post A Bold Purpose: Enabling Other Women to Succeed appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization http://bit.ly/2GUvtSW
0 Comments
Written for EO by Lucy Grant, freelance content manager and writer. As an entrepreneur, your success is often dependent on the individuals you employ to bring your vision to life. Unfortunately, not all job applicants are as honest as we would like them to be. In fact, as many as 85% of employers declared that they have caught applicants lying on their resumes or job applications according to a 2017 employment screening benchmark report by HireRight. So, how do you protect yourself when interviewing for key roles? Look out for these common lies as you start building your team. Top Lie #1: Exaggerated past experience If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. It’s believed that as many as 34% of all resumes contain inconsistencies pertaining to previous work experience. Job applicants tend to stretch past employment to reduce gaps in their resumes. Freelancers tend to fabricate contracts to make themselves appear more suitable for a position. Take the time to check previous employers listed and spend a few minutes to call references. A few minutes spent on the phone today will save you time and money in the long-run. Top Lie #2: Concealing a criminal record Individuals who are trying to hide criminal records may alter their dates of birth or names ever so slightly. Doing a thorough and professional background check can help you identify any criminal issues. Once again, it’s important to spend the time reviewing your top candidates. What to look for in the interview If an applicant’s credentials look good on paper, the interview process presents you with a second chance to confirm that the individual is being honest. During the meeting, take note of how the applicant acts. Is he or she struggling to make eye contact? Does she appear nervous, or fidgety? Is he avoiding answering questions directly? Individuals who are genuine high performers will be eager to share specific details about their experience. If you suspect that someone is less than truthful, try rephrasing a question to see if the answer remains consistent. Trust your instinct As an entrepreneur, you want what is best not only for yourself but the community as well. If your venture is focused on on helping children, the elderly or animals, it’s critical that you hire people who are qualified and caring. Today, there are many organizations that use their success to help communities. The fashion industry, for example, has found numerous ways to help children. If you are hoping to delve into social entrepreneurism, be sure that new employees won’t damage your reputation or your cause. While effective research and background checks will help to eliminate most of the less-than-honest job applicants you come across, it’s important to always trust your instinct.
The post How to Spot a Fraud During Hiring appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization http://bit.ly/2TvvK0h Written for EO by entrepreneur and philanthropist David Disiere. It happens in an instant. The clock strikes midnight on 31 December, and every store seems awash with self-help books, diet plans, and exercise equipment. Despite this flurry of activity, about 80 percent of people abandon their new year’s resolutions by the second week of February. Plenty of accomplished CEOs and business leaders have joined the fray of people who create new year’s resolutions. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, has been making his goals public since 2009. While he generally has focused on personal resolutions like learning languages or networking, this year he vowed to resolve problems with people abusing Facebook. And he’s not the only executive to use new year’s as a catalyst to improve his business. John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft, decided to work as a driver to get a better idea of how his company is doing; meanwhile, Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert has focused on carving out time for self-care. As 2018 comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on ways you can improve your business in the new year. You might spend time refining clunky processes, adding new products or service lines, or updating your team’s dated practices. Resolutions are about reflection—but following through on them will make them truly valuble. Set It and Commit to It For many entrepreneurs, January means a new budget and the opportunity to evaluate last year’s achievements while setting forth new goals. This is often easier said than done. Begin by observing how the market is doing—and how your business is performing—before you even create your goals. Once you have set big-picture goals, craft strategies that will help you achieve those goals. When your strategies are simple, success doesn’t have to be hard. As you plan for the year ahead, use the following tactics to stick to your ambitious, yet achievable, goals: 1. Create SMART goals.Your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. In other words, a goal like “make a profit” will not do you a lot of good. Go with something more like “make X amount of money by X date.” Do not make your goals too lofty. If you only made $1 million in revenue this past year, your goal should not be to bring in $200 million. Your SMART goal should be something you can achieve. It also needs to be pertinent to your business. Not worried about revenue? Then, it should not be your main resolution. It is good to have goals, but they should all have a purpose. 2. Break your goal down into smaller chunks. If you only focus on the final result, you are sure to feel overwhelmed (and probably get nothing done). Create smaller tasks from your overarching goal, and give yourself 30 to 90 days to complete each task. Imagine you want to introduce a new procedure to your entire team. Instead of doing it all at once, start by breaking it into smaller items. Your first task might be talking with other business leaders who use that procedure. Gather all of your notes within 30 days. Once you have finished that step, find a few team members who might be able to pilot that procedure within the next 30 days. In as little as 60 days, you can have a small experiment going to see whether your goal will benefit the company. A few small tasks later, and your massive goal is done. Before you know it, you have helped your entire company do something brand-new. 3. Take advantage of your available resources. To encourage yourself to change, you need the proper resources. Big changes might seem simple on the surface, but that is not always the case. By underselling the challenge ahead of you, you are giving yourself false hope. Be realistic about the barriers you will need to overcome, and then pile on the right resources to clear them. This not only involves reaching out to people in your network who might have achieved the same goal you seek, but it also means establishing ways to track and reward yourself. Look into apps that will give you support, talk to friends and family so they can hold you accountable, and keep your employees in the loop. 4. Write down your goals. In 2015, researchers at Dominican University of California studied the effects of setting goals and working to achieve those goals. They found that people who wrote down their goals and shared them with friends were far more likely to follow through. The physical act of writing them on a sheet of paper can help ensure your success in the coming year, so take a few minutes today to jot them down on paper. The new year is an excellent opportunity to reflect on your company’s successes and failures. That said, you should not beat yourself up over misses. Hiccups in your goals are nothing to fear. The true lesson of a new year’s resolution is assessing your missteps and turning them into opportunities to do better next time. David Disiere is the founder and CEO of QEO Insurance Group, an agency that provides commercial transportation insurance to clients throughout the U.S. He is a successful entrepreneur who has launched business endeavors in the real estate, oil and gas, agriculture, and automotive sectors. David is passionate about philanthropy, and he works to help underprivileged children through the David & Teresa Disiere Foundation. The post 4 Reminders for Achieving Your Entrepreneurial New Year’s Resolutions appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization http://bit.ly/2BYjttN |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2020
Categories |