DURBAN - Being an entrepreneur can be tough task, particularly in male-dominated industries.
Despite the challenges, the numbers of female entrepreneurs are growing and because of this, more and more opportunities are opening for young women to venture into the world of self-employment.
Here are some insights from some of the world's top female entrepreneurs:
MaryBeth Hyland
Founder of SparkVision
MaryBeth Hyland says that one her best daily habits is not having screen time for the first hour of her day. According to Hyland, every day she wakes up, checks her phone, turns on the news and answers emails within minutes of waking up.
Her new policy if no screen time, until at least an hour of being awake, has given Hyland the space to start her mornings with gratitude and allow for her thoughts go wherever they desire. This, she says has created a new sense of balance and centredness for having day that is successful and productive.
Koereyelle DuBose
WERKPraySlay
Koereyelle DuBose says that she dedicates at least an hour a day to her WERK. The E in work is the time, energy, effort, and resources that a person spends on their own dreams, separate from anyone else's needs. According to DuBose, an hour is only 4% of the day so she makes sure that she invests in herself as well as all the other work that she finishes for other people.
During this time, DuBose works on both her professional and personal goals. She said that she fills that time by either writing blogs to sending emails to listening to Michael Beckwith (an American thought minister) sermons.
Basetsana Kumalo
Partner in Tswelopele Productions
Basetsana Kumalo is a former Miss South Africa and later, a television presenter. She is now quite well in the business space and is a 50% partner in Tswelopele Productions. According Kumalo the secret to success is courage, determination, passion and stating committed and on track with your vision.
The former Miss South Africa says one should use every opportunity to accomplish goals and use every platform to link up with whatever projects one wants to join. Despite her success she is also still very humble and still works to make the world a better place. She supports charities that help and uplift communities, such as the Nelson Mandela Institute.
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Carrie Sheffield
Founder of Bold
Carrie Sheffield says she meditates and sets her intention for the day every morning. She also has a personal mission statement that she reads or repeats in her mind to keep her purpose and vision fresh. According to Sheffield, she likes to start her day feeling grounded through activities like listening to music, yoga or journaling.
She also stays grounded by reading books like, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey or Mastery by Robert Greene. After reading her books she reads the Wall Street Journal print edition. Sheffield does all of these things to be stimulated body/mind/spirit before her ordinary work day starts.
Christa Freeland
Managing Director of Powershift Group
Christa Freeland says that she sees herself carrying out a goal through in an even bigger way that she imagined. Freeland said that she gets a special kind of energy when she envisions these scenarios and it has really helped her realistically think positively and fuel whatever she needs to achieve on a daily basis to get her to her long-term goal.
Bonang Matheba
Media mogul
Bonang Matheba is a successful television personality, radio host and businesswoman. According to Matheba, in order to be successful you need to turn your passion to profit. According to the businesswoman, her agent told her that it is important to find something about yourself, something she could bottle and sell, which would make her stand out in a crowd.
As a business owner you need to find something that you love and unique and get someone to pay you to do it, just like what Matheba did.
Katie Sanders
Jopwell Content Director
Katie Sanders said that she recently discovered the TED talk channel and has been watching a talk a day around top of mind topics. The content director also uses a free daily text service that sends an inspirational mantra/related article and GIF each morning. The service is called Shine Text.
DeAnna Sims
Founder and creator of SBX
DeAnn Sims said that she found waking up 30 minutes to an hour earlier than her usual time so she can make space for herself that she likely won't be able to get back as the day goes on. From the moment that she wakes up, she turns to her bedside table and writes down three things that she is grateful for.
WATCH Bonang Matheba talking about the keys to her success