We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thami Ndlovu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Thami, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
Self-care is very important for achieving efficacy, especially as an entrepreneur. In most cases, the business, at least at the early stage, is synonymous with the individual. If you don’t take care of yourself you likely will not be able to show up for clients as the best version of yourself. .
And I’m not talking about just physical health but mentally too. For my part, I find that working out helps, but I’ve also had therapy sessions and hired a performance coach in the past. Between my personal trainer, therapist and performance coach (who I call the dream team by the way) I find that I can stay at the top of my game and deliver top level results for clients consistently.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have had my hands in a lot of pots lately, from coaching execs to mentoring young entrepreneurs, workshops and non-profit work. I even hosted a radio show where I provided entrepreneurs with advice on how to not only survive but grow their businesses. But the core of what I do on a day-to-day basis is run my market research business called Datadvise. Datadvise focuses on helping technology companies to create better products. We partner with product teams and their leadership, typically the Chief Technology Officer, to help guide the product’s vision and development based on market insights. Our research is also helpful for Marketing teams as well, so we do a fair bit of research for those departments.
The most exciting thing for Datadvise right now is transitioning from a services-based business to becoming a technology provider ourselves. To that end, we have partnered with Google to help us develop a suite of world class products that will leverage generative AI, Machine Learning and Data Analytics to offer organizations much more robust insights. Google has been a great partner and is helping us bring to market some game-changing innovations. It’s an exciting time that promises to scale our business tremendously.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
For entrepreneurs to be successful, I believe three things are needed. The list is obviously not exhaustive, but these are top of mind. The first thing is the ability to live in the present reality while simultaneously maintaining the grandiose vision of future success. This is because entrepreneurship isn’t pretty. You’ll be punched in the face several times and go through hardships. But that’s part of the journey to success. Keeping an eye on the big picture helps.
The second quality is consistency. Doing something over and over again in ways that advance your goals and move the needle forward gets you over the finish line. You can’t be hot and cold. Instead, you have to be consistent and keep at it regardless of the difficulties.
Thirdly, I think all entrepreneurs should be heavily networked. The problems you’ll likely face as an entrepreneur will be unique to your situation, but nothing is new under the sun. There are people who have gone through similar problems. Having a network of knowledgeable entrepreneurs or business experts means that you can lean on the collective wisdom of people who have walked that path. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can save time and thousands of dollars by condensing the decades worth of experience in your network into mere days of lessons for you. For my part, I have assembled an advisory board of seasoned entrepreneurs who have worked all over the world for the biggest brands. They are constantly in my ear with advice I use daily.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
Last year was a testing year for me personally and on the business front. Fortunately, growth happens on the fringes of discomfort. The biggest lesson emerging out of that for me was that relationships are the key to a successful business. Relationships with employees, vendors, stakeholders, investors and to some degree competitors have taken Datadvise further than any business strategy. The fundamentals are important, but as the saying goes, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” If you create a culture of trust and build on those relationships, the sky is the limit. 2023 gave me that gift and I continue to embrace the lessons this year is presenting.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.datadvise.io/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thamiglobal?igsh=cm11bTBmYzVzNTE1&utm_source=qr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thamsanqandlovu1991?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/thamiglobal/status/1773336915200057806?s=46
Image Credits
Alex D Rogers
