Last week, we completed a three-day training with more than 30 women from the Nina crochet project, three days filled with learning, practising, discussing, calculating and laughter!
Building on the first day of the training by Alex Connolly and her team, where the women explored product development I had the pleasure of continuing their journey on behalf of Okavango Leadership Academy.
We explored the Marketing Mix, with extra attention to something that many small entrepreneurs struggle with: pricing. How do you calculate a price that covers your materials, your time and your costs while also making sure you actually earn something?
But we went much further than pricing.
The women learned to look at their products through the eyes of the customer. We talked about presentation and customer service, practised dealing with different types of customers through roleplay, and discussed how the way you welcome and treat people can be just as important as the product you sell. And of course about how to turn waste into beautiful products.
And then it was time to put everything together! The women designed and presented their own stall, thinking about products, pricing, presentation, customer experience and how to attract people to stop and have a look.
All of this is preparing them for a very exciting next step: their own stall along Airport Road, where they will soon be able to promote and sell their products.
But perhaps the women themselves can say best what they took away from these three days:
“I don’t have to be afraid anymore to price my products properly. I make beautiful things, they are worth it and now I know how to build up my price.”
“I am on another level now. Before, I made products for myself. Now I make them for someone else. I think about the consumer.”
“The roleplay was so much fun. It taught me about customer service and different types of customers. I need to be patient and make people feel welcome.”
“I learned that I need to be much neater and keep everything clean and organised.”
And we especially loved seeing how the learning was already travelling beyond the training room:
“I am going to teach my children what I learned so they don’t make the same mistakes I did and then they can remind me when I forget!”
“Yesterday I already gave marketing tips to my son, who is a farmer!”
That might be our favourite part.
Because empowerment doesn’t stop with one woman, one product or one training. Knowledge gets shared. Confidence grows. And little by little, skills turn into opportunities.
Now we can’t wait to see these women bring it all together at their new stall and welcome their first customers!
