Lionesses Weekender spoke to the inspirational Kah Walla this month to learn more about this impact driven entrepreneur and activist who is on a mission to bring African solutions to very important African challenges.

What does your company do?

STRATEGIES! is a 26-year-old consulting firm agency offering services in leadership, strategy and organizational development to multinational companies and development organizations on 5 continents. We like to define ourselves as “organizational doctors”. STRATEGIES! provides solutions to challenges faced by organizations and we walk hand-in-hand with our partners as they implement these solutions. Our headquarters are in Douala, Cameroon and we have a branch office in Washington DC, USA since 2017.

What inspired you to start your company?

Working with other colleagues in a consulting firm which was about to close down, we saw the opportunity to create STRATEGIES! in April 1995. We had the ambition to set up a consultancy firm specialized in leadership and management employing young Africans and able to compete with the best in the world. At that time, management consultants in Cameroon were mostly Westerners who were not always connected to local realities. Having made this observation, we were crazy enough to believe that a firm run by young Cameroonians could be competitive on the market. After 26 years of existence, multiple projects carried out in 43 countries with over 100 public and private organizations, we are proud to compete with the best consulting firms in the world in Leadership, Strategy and Organizational Development. In addition we have developed thematic expertise in key areas such as Peace & Security, Decentralization & Local Governance, Mining & Natural Resource Governance, Gender, Economic Development & Entrepreneurship, Agriculture, etc. We are very proud to be part of those bringing African solutions to these very important African challenges.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

As consultants working in the field of leadership and management in Africa, we have a deep understanding and mastery of the African context and its specific challenges. We also work in a global context and believe that African organizations must deliver excellence at global norms and standards. 

STRATEGIES! is an African firm that delivers excellence at a global level, and we work with our clients and partners to do the same by combining international norms and standards with the specificities of the African continent.

STRATEGIES! also uses African history and culture to train on leadership even as we work with African Macro-Trends and success stories to build leadership and management skills in both public and private sector leaders.

Tell us a little about your team

At STRATEGIES! one of our key values is “We believe in People”. Our company has an amazing team of consultants who deliver the highest quality services to our clients and partners. They are multidisciplinary, professional, and bilingual. Always striving for excellence, they are dynamic and results-oriented. Our team is 100% African and usually at least 50% of our leaders and staff are women. Over our 26 years, we have employed over 70 people, giving many young Africans and particularly young African women their first opportunity at an international job.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

My parents were both civil servants, but both of my grandmothers aside from being some of the most outstanding women I have known, were entrepreneurs. They both taught me the importance of financial independence. I learned that lesson well. I began my first company at 19 and have been an entrepreneur in one form or another since then. I was very lucky to have parents who, even though they spent a fortune on my education, did not have hang ups about big titles or fancy cars, so they did not force me into a 9 to 5 job. This gave me the freedom to take the risks and go through the very difficult first years that every entrepreneur knows.

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

STRATEGIES! is in its quantum leap period. We want to see exponential growth in the next 3-5 years. We have amassed a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience, and skills over the last 26 years. We are in a period where we want to make these assets more productive than ever. This means digitalization, expanding our market to individual consumers and conquering significant market segments online. We need to bring on new competencies that can help us with this. We have really amazing products, but to make the quantum leap, we must be able to package them and distribute to an online market. That is our next challenge!

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

Helping a client find a solution for a very complex problem. Every single time. 26 years and that never gets old.

What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Believe in yourself.

Do your homework. Know your market, understand your customers then determine what is your business model? How do you make money from your product or service? If you cannot figure this out on paper, it will not work in real life. If you can figure out a business model and how to make money on paper, there is a slight chance it will work in real life. 

Entrepreneurship is about the ability to overcome failure. We fail all the time. It is how well you learn from your failure and how quickly you recover from it that will build your success. 

Persevere. Believe in yourself. Again, and always.

To find out more about the work of STRATEGIES!, email to:

strategs@strategiesconsultingfirm.com or visit the company’s website and social media platforms:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

by Elizandra dos Santos

Do you know how to wait? That is the question that I bring to the present moment. It’s worse for the quick fixers who want instant results, quick effects, quick responses, goals achieved in the shortest time and miraculous resolutions. I wish life were like this. Many people, because they don’t know how to wait, end up frustrated immersed in anxiety, anger, depression, they become impatient. They are overwhelmed by their own emotions counting the days, hours, minutes, crazy seconds until the time comes to get out of this confinement, go back to traveling or have a supposedly normal life.

Waiting requires patience, I confess it is not easy, but it is not impossible, a virtue that many of us easily lose, as it requires us to exercise daily.

Have you stopped to reflect? We are adults with attitudes of ID, the spoiled child who wants everything today and now. With that approach, we spend most of the time feeding this desire. This desire takes us through the entire process of the emotional sequence of Sigmund Freud, where it is clear that all our suffering starts with desire. We become frustrated, fueling hatred, anger, guilt, then reaching the point of self-sabotaging, and in the end, we have the need to repair all the damage done. Waiting requires patience, I confess it is not easy, but it is not impossible, a virtue that many of us easily lose, as it requires us to exercise daily.

We suffer in anticipation only to later realize that it’s no use, everything has its time, process and rhythm. Haste is the enemy of progress and when we realize it, we spend energy unnecessarily without having results.

Waiting teaches!

Waiting helps us to mature and with it comes with wisdom.

Fast pass this COVID19! Hurry… damned eagerness, the enemy of the present.

“The hurried eats raw”, I think we’ve heard that popular saying – that rush that makes us fall and smash our face.

The word “miracle” as we know it is a word derived from the Latin “miraculum”, which means something admirable, something amazing or extraordinary. We go through life waiting for extraordinary events such as completing a master’s degree, having a successful company, having more money in the account, getting married, having children, buying the car of the year, traveling with friends, or findig the great love of our life. Countless little stories that we tell ourselves so as not to live in the present moment and be happy in the now. The truth is that to experience the extraordinary you just need to breathe.

“Once, someone who lived in search of truth went to a great teacher in order to be led to experience the higher states of consciousness. Seeing that he was more interested in gaining power over others than in spiritual improvement, the master he took him to a river and, making him submerge, held his head under the water until he nearly drowned. Only then did he let him go, asking him, “What was your greatest wish when you were under water? “Exhausted and breathing deeply, he replied, “I want air!” “Then come back,” said the master, “when your desire for self-improvement is as great as your longing for air!” Without breath there is no life! to live a long time without food, but only a few minutes without air. We all know that. Few, however, know that breathing can mean much more than letting the body take in the air it needs. Few know that breathing is an important link between the body and the spirit, and that exerts a profound influence on the psychosomatic event. “

Do you want to be happy and live in the present? Stop desiring, develop your virtues and meditate more. Try to practice something that will help you exercise more conscious breathing. I love the practice of yoga, but I hope you don’t get bogged down in my suggestions. Try to do something that speaks to your soul, maybe it’s reading the book Revolution of Virtues by writer Edu Casão; going to Zumba class; training in Judo; running; meditating by the sea; connecting with nature. Do me a special favor, be happy!

Namaste.

by Grace Stevens

Women like Julia Child,  Nigella Lawson, and Martha Stewart are proof that building an empire based on your home baking skills is not only achievable but incredibly fruitful and rewarding. However, there is a big difference between having a delicious side hustle and building a baking empire. 

When it comes to creating bountiful businesses in the baking industry there is no shortage of avenues. From merchandise to recipe development, retail stores to recipe books, and of course a myriad of ways to teach. Thanks to the pandemic, a combination between the baking industry and ecommerce means that it is easier for you to bake your way back to a healthy bank balance. Confectionery connoisseur, dame of deliciousness and intrepid entrepreneur Grace Stevens is an award-winning TV chef and cookbook author who is here to share with you what you need to know about owning and growing a baking business.

Be a brilliant baker

Much like building a gingerbread house, building a successful baking business takes a series of steps. In my experience, there is no way around excellence, so the first step is to make sure that your baking is beautiful. The same is true for all facets of the confectionary world including cake decorating, catering, educational classes, online or counter service stores, speciality service or sit-down bakeries. 

Being phenomenal does not mean needing to make elaborate cakes that take days to complete. You can start simple, with what you know you make exceptionally well until you have established a stable income stream from that product. When you draw up your basic menu, choose recipes that you can make beautifully every time.  By playing to my strengths and growing from there I was able to minimize time, overhead and ingredient waste.

Match your mentors

Not all mentors will be the correct fit for your business vision. Making sure they match the industry you are entering and having more than one will help diversify your skills. For example, if you want to start an ecommerce bakery, make sure you are being mentored by people who work within both the confectionery and ecommerce space. I have had the privilege of being mentored by a few amazing business women whose success is measured internationally. 

Having multiple mentors who are much better at you in your industry not only inspires you but will help you observe as they scale their businesses. My mentors include Eunice Borchers and Suzi Witt. They allowed me to hone my craft, answered questions that I had before they evolved into costly mistakes and modelled sound, safe and stable business strategies that I still use today.

Celebrate your customers

Customer service is everything. To stand out you need unique eye-catching products, displayed brilliantly and great service. It is a common mistake that ecommerce businesses do not pay enough attention to the customer’s digital experience of ordering, buying and paying. Just like you would not open a bakery in a building that is not up to scratch, trying to open an ecommerce store that is not properly set up is a recipe for disaster. There are two ways to properly set up your digital space. One is to hire professional web developers that know ecommerce very well. The other is to do courses until you can upskill to the point where you can build your site.

Balance the bitter and the sweet

As with any recipe, having an ecommerce bakery comes with both pros and cons. The sweeter side of the deal is that your customers can be from anywhere – which gives your product impressive reach and influence if your digital presence is up to standard. The downside is that you are running a business 24/7 which can be overwhelming. Finding the sweet spot in how you manage your time between work, family and play will help you cope with the unavoidable stress of starting a business. You may also need a better equipped and size kitchen than what you have; planning for these investments and improvements is imperative. Until you can purchase these items, remember to keep menu ideas elegant, excellent and realistic.  

Pay for specialist skills when you need to stand out from the crowd 

If you can perform a skill better than anyone else in the business you will be able to charge more for your time and increase your profit. The exclusivity of your skill also gives you a concrete competitive edge over any competitor, however there are some challenges unique to running a speciality service. I find that I often have to manage unrealistic client expectations that are an unfortunate side effect of reality baking shows. In these shows, they conveniently leave out the hours of work that goes into our craft. Handmade and custom cakes are not cheap. I find that once I have educated my clients on the intricacies of my craft we usually have a far more harmonious relationship. 

Have a recipe for your success

Planning is essential to all aspects of your business and formalising it into a business plan has the power to make you feel like you are really on your way.  Your business plan should start with an assessment of who your market will be and a deep dive into where your ideal customer shops, eats, travels and how much they spend. This will determine where you market your business and what the price of your products will be to place you in that market.

For an ecommerce business, your plan should detail the budget for digital expenses such as website development, digital marketing like Google ads and social media marketing. It should outline goals like how much you realistically expect to earn in the first year,  what percentage of your turnover you will put back into the business and your business growth goals based on your research.

Price precisely

How you price your goods is one of the leading factors that will determine how successful your business will become. Being mindful of expenses like packaging, consumables, ingredients, your time and where your skill level is, all impacts your bottom line. Marketing for the launch of your start-up and the long term must be priced into every sale. Be aware too if your market is seasonal, such as wedding cakes, you need to save a little for the slower months. Equipment needs to be maintained and replaced and included in your pricing. That way when your tools have hit the end of their life you will have the budget to replace them.

Ordering skills

Make sure you order the correct amount of perishable ingredients and avoid the expense of ingredients going off by keeping detailed records of what you use so you can see seasonal trends and order accordingly. This will be difficult in the beginning, but once you are up and running for a few months you will have a better idea of the number of ingredients you use and order accordingly. There may also be licensing and legal requirements for starting an ecommerce bakery in your home so be sure to phone your local municipality to check on the health and safety requirements. They are different in every area and a business lawyer or accountant will be able to help you with the legal requirements. While now it’s easy to sit back and explain your business journey,  the truth is it took years of hard work, many mistakes and lessons. There are three ingredients in the baking business you cannot go without. Butter, patience and persistence. 

For more well baked wisdom, follow Grace on Instagram@ grace_stevenschef,  visit her website: www.gracestevens.co.za, or meet her in person and book your one on one experience. 

About Grace Stevens

Confectionery connoisseur, dame of deliciousness and intrepid entrepreneur, Grace Stevens is an award-winning TV chef and cookbook author admired in equal measure for her skill and her sophistication. Having successfully combined her two passions, baking and teaching, into insightful, impactful and entertaining learning experiences. Grace dreams that the women she teaches are inspired, take their skills, share them with their loved ones, or convert them into profitable, sustainable businesses. She believes that empowering women is extremely important as they are the heart of many homes, families, and communities. They are often in the best position to pass along the skills they learn in her classes. 

Grace’s students come from all backgrounds and include young women who are just beginning their exploration of the sugar arts, mothers who are looking to make their children’s wedding cakes and chefs striving to master the confectionary arts and achieve both professional success and admiration for their new skills.

Grace began her professional career as a teacher and spent 10 years teaching at the prestigious SACS Junior School in Cape Town. She then moved on to chase her other passion, cake design and studied sugar art extensively under internationally acclaimed confectionary wizard Eunice Borchers. 

Grace’s creativity combined with her organised nature makes her a versatile culinarian and phenomenal teacher.  Each class is meticulously planned with every ingredient expertly chosen and elevated into a creative and inspiring confection. The classes are designed to teach all the students how to make delicate and precise works of art while mastering new skills and meeting like-minded people along the way. The class recipes are specially designed to cater to all skill levels with one easy recipe, one medium recipe and one for the master baker to ensure that everyone learns something regardless of their skill level or experience. 

This bubbly business owner has successfully expanded into the online space, offering an e-commerce store that provides all her students with the specialist tools and classes they need to become excellent decorators in their own right. Her classes, both in-person and online, showcase the very best of her decades in the creative cake decorating industry so that her students may grow to be the very best creatives they can be. 

Over and above learning new skills, she hopes that all those who attend her classes leave inspired to become better decorators, businesswomen, chefs and bakers. Her students leave her classes with more than just new qualifications. They leave having made new friends and memories.

Grace is also a very busy mom to four children and although the balancing act between being a dedicated mother to four kids, a loving wife and a successful entrepreneur may be as delicate as some of her icing creations, Grace pulls it off effortlessly.