AN INSPIRING WOMAN IN BUSINESS

It isn’t easy to run your own business while raising a family, but it can provide flexibility for working moms and give them the freedom they deserve. We had the opportunity to interview Kennethea Jackson Williams about her business journey so far, and the challenges she encountered as a mom and businesswoman, and any advice she has to offer.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am Kennethea Jackson Williams, better known as Kenny. I am a successful business owner, network coach, wife, and mother to two vibrant boys. I am also the founder of Business Breakfast Club, the best and fastestgrowing networking club in Cape Town. Breakfast Club, aka BBC, is a community of entrepreneurs who thrive on the monthly meet-and-greet events we host. Our goal is to facilitate collaboration among entrepreneurs and provides upcoming and existing small business owners, non-profits, and corporate businesses with the opportunity to network and introduce their brands organically.

I have a lecturing background of twenty-six years, am a successful business owner of Gentle Care Laundry, and am a co-host or a guest speaker on various platforms and radio stations.

Besides being a writer for Women Up Magazine, I’m also known among small and large businesses as a content creator.

In June 2022, Biz Discussions Magazine featured the Business Breakfast Club. In 2022, I received an award at the Women’s Economic Initiative Awards for excellent work and service in the economy. BBC also launched its first Junior Boss Babe project in 2022. As part of BBC’s Junior Boss Babe program, it offers workshops on leadership and confidence to young people with traumatized backgrounds.

I also ended the year 2022 by hosting the first-ever BBC MasterClass. In my quiet time away from my busy schedule, I am known to be an avid reader, spend quality time with my boys, catch up with my closest friends, and love inspirational quotes.

One of my favorite personal quotes “Remember the lesson, not the disappointment.”

Goals for 2023:

Break comfort zones, impact the lives of striving entrepreneurs and use our platform to change the mindsets of young and upcoming individuals.

What is your business, and why you chose it?

I started my career as a schoolteacher and then became a business lecturer, which allowed me to travel the whole of South Africa. I have owned many businesses, but ultimately for the last three years, I became the founder of the Business Breakfast Club. My vision for this community was born out of a dark place in my life at the time. I wanted to create a platform where I could say, as an entrepreneur, a woman, and a role model, that I am not okay. In addition, I wanted to create a space where people in similar situations could open up about not being okay, whether in a personal or professional capacity. Why did I do this?

In some networking organizations, I never fit the criteria. I was either too quirky or funny and always felt out of place. It was imperative to create a community for social outcasts, misfits, and those who don’t always qualify for everything. A safe haven was needed for aspiring and established entrepreneurs and I wanted Business Breakfast Club to be a platform and safe community for those that do not always fit in and to offer a level of support to people that want to make a difference.

What is your biggest strength when it comes to running your business?

My biggest strength personally has been endurance, going that extra mile despite an international epidemic, despite criminal encounters, and despite the slow months. I have survived all the difficulties of being an entrepreneur because of my resilience and determination. In addition, it has taken consistency to keep doing what works and eliminate what does not. These three factors, in my opinion, have been the most important characteristics of a successful entrepreneur.

As a business owner and mom, what are the challenges you face?

The challenges are constant and vary daily. There are days when your business requires one hundred percent commitment mentally, emotionally, and physically, and most days the same is expected of a mom. The challenge comes in when those two aspects of your life clashes. It can leave a mom entrepreneur feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, almost to the point where she feels like giving up or where she needs to choose between the two. But I think we are the greatest role models to our children when we teach them- just because something is hard does not mean you have to give up.

Going back to the element of being perseverant is the greatest asset that we can teach our kids. Despite the many challenges we face, giving up is not an option. In my opinion- when you decide to become a mom entrepreneur, you should consider these challenges, as this will require you to manage your time even better than having a full-time job and working for a boss.we face, giving up is not an option. In my opinion- when you decide to become a mom entrepreneur, you should consider these challenges, as this will require you to manage your time even better than having a full-time job and working for a boss.

How do you balance motherhood and business?

I think the easiest way to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship is to prepare to plan and plan to prepare.

Many of us are responsible for all the elements of business, whether it be marketing, social media, or the accounting side. And this requires quite a lot from an individual, especially a mom. You must be aware of the periods of the month when your children’s activities and demands take precedence. You have to find a balance between this and the needs of a small business. Sometimes when we are with our kids, our minds are on the business, and when we are busy with the business, our minds are on the kids. I think the trick here is that when we allocate a task, we should commit fully to that job, and when we’re with our kids, we need to switch off and give them our full attention. Therefore, if you plan and prepare carefully, you can successfully give one hundred percent to all your roles.

What message would you like the world to hear?

I love this question! What I want the world to hear is that it doesn’t matter where you’re from; you can still make it in life. I was a little girl- born and reared in Mitchells Plain, had broken school shoes, was socially awkward, and came from a poor household. I lacked a mentor or someone to encourage me when I tried to dream. We were unable to dream because of how poor we were. I want to motivate everyone by saying that you must discover something unique about yourself that you can showcase to the outside world.

I knew I did not have the looks, the resources, or the money to make it out there. But I knew I had wit and needed to strengthen my intelligence. Today with BBC, everything that we do is because of that intelligence. You need that one ingredient to make it out there in the world. My second encouragement would be that community is better than the competition. I always encourage people to not only think out of the box- they need to create their own. I firmly believe that you can accomplish practically anything if you put your mind to it. The fact that you are a mother and have so many obligations does not mean that your dreams must come to an end. You can have both, so it’s not necessary to choose between the two. Women can have it all, and nothing should prevent us from fulfilling our deepest desires.