Join the next Hirsch’s online webinar tomorrow

Every Friday since the start of the nationwide lockdown in March, top business women, Margaret Hirsch and Marlene Powell (who is among the top 100 business coaches in the world with ActionCOACH) have hosted webinars for struggling entrepreneurs and SMMEs around the country, joined by top speakers and thought leaders in their industries.

Coming up this week, the forum will be discussing the age-old topic ‘marketing vs sales’ and guest speakers include the highly successful entrepreneur, businesswoman, speaker and writer, Ntsiki Mkhize, and Nadia Hearn, the founder of the marketing company Get Published.

The Zoom session will be held on Friday, 10 July and will start at 11am.

If you would like to attend the session, contact shane@hirschs.co.za for the link.

Last week’s meeting was all about challenges that businesses may be facing on the financial front, and how to overcome them. Guest speakers included Paul Brown, the Managing Director of the Hirsch Group, who used to be a lecturer in Economics before joining the company 15 years ago. He was joined by multi-talented business woman Nicole Capper, past holder of the Mrs South Africa title, and runner-up in the DStv reality series Survivor.

Paul said that being able to adapt and evolve in times like these was crucial.

“Businesses need to be agile and flexible to succeed right now. They also need to have a ruthless discipline when it comes to cost. Get rid of unwanted cost. Negotiate for better rates. Take every opportunity to get that cash in the till. It’s also important to look for a network that you can lean on right now. We all need to support and help each other and the right networks help tremendously.”

Nicole, a Pharmacy graduate, explained that she has used her skills to redefine her career in the health industry. “Being Mrs South Africa and surviving Survivor opened many doors and have been life-changing for me. It’s important right now to build a strong team “you are only as strong as your team” and building solid business teams. Healthy relationships make a lot of sense,” she said.

Marlene, who specialises in coaching businesses that have been in operation for several years, has seen how they have survived through lockdown by understanding the importance of keeping an eye on cash flow at this time. She will be holding monthly online business networking events for established businesses to Zoom into, so join the group on Facebook at BizCAFE-B2B Networking Group For Business Owners.

Margaret, who always ends the session with some inspirational advice, said that entrepreneurs need to visualise what they’re aspiring to. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Ask yourself how you can make things happen. Get your priorities right and most importantly, surround yourself with people who want the best for you,” she concluded.