Hello Reader, As I was refining my idea for a new service offering last week, I found myself reflecting on how far I’ve come. An incident came to mind, me sitting in my car, on the verge of breaking down. This was after a primary school teacher told me they had no interest in digital resources for their learners. Understandable, I thought. We all know the dangers of overexposure to electronic devices, not just for children, but even for adults too. Still, the experience was tough. It’s not...
10 days ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, It’s been a rollercoaster. It’s been almost 2 months since I committed to posting consistently on Facebook, and boy, oh boy, has it not gone according to plan. In my 18 August letter, here’s what I wrote: “I’ve been hesitant with social media — partly because it feels like a treadmill that never stops. But then I reminded myself: this isn’t just 'posting for fun.' It’s work. It’s a way to help more people discover me. So I’ve set myself a challenge: 60 weekdays of consistent...
17 days ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, So I have this learner. She was at the final unit of my Beginner Level, and it was time for her task – to write a Shona story of her own. Just her own words, using a set of pictures as a guide. She smiled, looked at me, and shook her head. She couldn’t get herself to say a word. 'I don’t know,' she said. 'Unorevei?' I asked. 'I can’t,' she replied. You see, she could clearly hear and understand much of what I was saying – her comprehension was far from zero. Yet she was adamant...
24 days ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, The Flop That Got Everyone Talking I’m not always up to date on what’s happening on the social scene, but the news that Tocky Vibes’ recent album launch flopped probably reached me faster than any word he got out while promoting it. And get this: there was a solid lineup of other artists, and Tocky has a following of over 800,000 on Facebook alone. I imagine he also invests time in other channels like TikTok. So how on earth did the launch flop? Why Launches Fail (Hope Marketing...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, When perfect gets in the way of progress So, I made a decision: I would start sharing stories of other entrepreneurs. Truth is, I’ve always been fascinated by the art (or is it a science?) of entrepreneurship—long before I even knew I could be interested in Shona language and culture. At the beginning of August this year, I was excited and ready to go. Four entrepreneurs had already agreed to share their journeys with me. I thought, 'This is it—I’m finally doing it.' But days...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, A couple of weeks ago, I heard something that stuck with me. A well-known marketing expert, who has written extensively on the subject, was being interviewed. He said something simple, yet powerful: 'Strategy is not just a plan.' He explained that strategy is about understanding your environment, identifying agents of change, and figuring out how to navigate them. The moment you start listing things to do, that’s not strategy — that’s tactics. School Trains Us to Be Tactical But...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, Something triggered me last night— my three-year-old punched me because I wouldn’t give her my phone. I ended up spending hours awake worrying about my kids and this digital pandemic. This morning, while going through my usual reading, I came across just what I needed. I decided to shift what I write about today. Instead of writing about me, you, and business, I want to focus on you and me and our mental health — and now that it’s back to school, most importantly on our kids,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, I recently listened to a podcast, and for the entire episode, I found myself nodding. The host spoke about a dilemma that had haunted me for years—a dilemma that, honestly, had held me back from fully committing to growing my Shona learning business. Here’s the story: back in 2019, I was hesitant to start. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, if anyone would sign up, or even if I could manage it. Eventually, I decided to just go for it. Honestly, I figured it could never be a truly...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, I’ve been making small tweaks to my work, and I’m already seeing results. I’ve realized that the little things we sometimes take for granted in our business are often the levers that can drive meaningful change. Today, I want to share some areas I’ve been paying attention to—and the changes I’ve started making. 1. Focusing on Features Instead of Transformation I realized I was focusing on explaining the features of my program and library, rather than showing how they actually...
2 months ago • 3 min read