Change Conversations with Mpume

On today’s episode, I have a conversation about salary negotiation with Mohammed, who is based in the United Kingdom. He owns MK Career Solutions, a business that provides consulting services on CV Writing, salary negotiation and works as a career coach. As a Career Coach and CV Writer, he helps clients enhance their professional value proposition by enabling them to secure the jobs they want with the salary they deserve. Mohammed focuses on providing a personal and bespoke service, acting as a personal adviser, and providing all the support his clients need to get the results they want. Career coaching is very close to Mohammed’s heart because he finds fulfillment in helping people negotiate their salary according to the value they bring to the organisations they work in. He advises that you keep the salary conversation close to your chest for as long as you are still going through the recruitment process. The best time to bring up the salary conversation according to Mohammed is when you have been offered the job. This gives you leverage, as you stand a better chance to negotiate. Mohammed says that you need to understand, the best way to gain leverage in negotiating for your salary is value, and money has to mean something to you spiritually, socially, and emotionally. Connect with Mohammed: LinkedIn @Mahommed kasujee Connect with me: IG & Facebook: @Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode, I have a chat with Ann Visser and we are talking, Effective communication for leaders. Ann has been equipping individuals and organisations to communicate in a way that is aligned with their values. She trains, coaches, speaks, and teaches in areas of communication, mindset, and personal growth. She teaches couples about conflict resolution, students on value-based principles as well as addicts in recovery to help them change from the inside out in order to support their sobriety. Her journey into effective communication came about after going through her own personal challenge. A heartfelt and honest confrontation led her to seeking help in order to find ways to better communicate as couples and eventually led to helping other couples. Ann defines communication as sending a message, whether it’s by word or not. Effective communication is pivotal communication that brings about some kind of shift, where one is aware of the message they are sending. Ann says communication is not about communicating to respond, but to hear and understand what the message is about. Her advice, “See problems you are facing as the problem not the person.” Connect with Ann Visser: Facebook: @4better4ever www.4better4ever.com-challenge Connect with me: IG & Facebook: @Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In our episode today, I have Tracy from Indiana, United States who will unpack what Toxic relationships look like. Katie is former trauma and recovery specialist, she is a love and relationship coach, author, and speaker and empowers women who feel broken, and desperate to feel loved, inspired, and confident. She also helps women to break through self-limiting beliefs; to go from barely surviving to thriving, to designing the businesses they dream of. Tracy co-authored one of the best-selling books called Entangled No More: Women who broke free from Toxic relationships. Tracy defines a toxic relationship as something that encompasses all the negative factors that make a relationship unpleasant. She says a toxic relationship is not necessarily just physical abuse as most people would like to think, but it can include, financial, psychological, or emotional abuse. To identify if you are in a toxic relationship, you find that you tippytoe around conversations and are cautious not to trigger your partner’s anger. As a victim, you always defend your abusive partner or make excuses about his behaviour. Tune in for more on this insightful change conversation with Tracy. Connect with Tracy: Website: www.fiercelyempowered.com IG: @Break Free from Toxic Love YouTube: Fiercely Empowered Connect with Me: IG & FB @Conversations with Mpume YouTube: Conversations with Mpume Website: changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode, I have an informative and very insightful conversation with Kelly Featheringham about leadership. Kelly is an executive leadership coach and is based just outside Washington DC in the United States. Kelly works with teams and individuals to help them with their team dynamics. Leadership, according to Kelly is that leaders are people that support others and recognize that failure is common but help each other to resolve problems as a collective. She does not really think that leadership is an innate quality, it’s something that one learns, and some people are more inclined to it than others. In this conversation, we also discuss remote teams and the different dynamics that come with managing remote teams. Her journey as a leader began when she worked for the government where she led different teams located in different parts of the world. According to Kelly, great leaders are great because they want to be great, she advises that if you want to be great as a leader keep learning, and keep trying. As a leader, you should be mindful of how you communicate your assumptions, boundaries, and communications because they show up every day. Lastly, she advises that you must value the power of a team, don’t stand alone, and be a productive and supportive member of a team. Connect with Kelly IG & Facebook @Kelly Featheringham LinkedIn: Kelly Featheringham Connect with Me IG & Facebook: Conversations with Mpume Website: changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode on Change Conversations, I have an informative and insightful chat about Procrastination and how she deals with it as someone who is also living with ADHD condition. Vanessa considers herself a Nomad or a travel bunny as she prefers to call it. She has been and has lived in Asia, and Europe to mention just a couple of places. At the time of this conversation, she was in Mauritius. In our conversations today, we chat about how procrastination shows up and how to deal with it especially if you are living with ADHD condition. Vanessa says that this condition is more visible, especially in people who are artistic. Procrastination differs from person to person depending on different factors at play. She also defined and explained what ADHD is - there are different types of ADHD – inactive, hyper, and a mixed bag. People with this kind of disorder are huge procrastinators. Some of the symptoms of ADHD include but are not limited to; hyperactivity and impulsivity and these symptoms might look different at older ages. As far as dealing with procrastination goes, Vanessa advises that you first need to figure out why you procrastinate and once you have identified the cause of your procrastination, it helps with how you deal with it. One of the ways you can deal with procrastination is to just do it, don’t be afraid, you will perfect things as you go along but just start. Connect with Vanessa Gowora: IG @Vanessagowora Website: https://vanessagowora.com/ Connect with Me: IG & Facebook @Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode, we have a conversation about Mental Detachment from your workplace. I had a chat with Laura Pycraft. Laura is a professional coach, DEI specialist, and talent management, expert. For many people, work stress extends well beyond the confines of the office or the job site. The process of detachment from work-related thoughts and engaging in activities that support the body's return to pre-stress levels is what most refer to as mental detachment. A healthy sense of detachment enables one to have room for objectivity, which improves productivity overall, and it supports people in discovering their own needs through self-reflection. We also touch on the benefits of psychological detachment; psychological separation from work during non-working hours is advantageous for a number of areas of employee well-being and job performance. Sometimes employees can get caught up in fighting for things in the workplace, and detaching helps you realize what your personal goals are and work to achieve that and not get caught up in the rut race where people could be fighting for things that do not personally benefit you. Mental detachment gives you a decision space where you can figure out those things that bring you peace or fulfillment. Connect with Laura: IG: @ careers_with_laura LinkedIn @Luara-pycraft Connect with Me: IG & Facebook @ Conversations with Mpume Website: www.https://changeconversations.co.za

In our episode today, I chat with a friend of mine, Kevin. Kevin and I are both Enneagram Practitioners and we are here to share our knowledge and hope everyone finds value in our conversations. Our conversation today seeks to delve deep into explaining and understanding what an enneagram is. We speak about the different Enneagram types and how a person can adjust according to their type. In essence, the Enneagram outlines nine personality types giving you a better knowledge of who you are and highlighting areas where you shine and the areas you may need to improve. Each of the nine personality types is influenced by specific underlying belief about how the world operates. One can extend their viewpoint and approach situations more efficiently by understanding their Enneagram type and how it affects your views. Understanding one's own behaviour and why it happens is one of the advantages of the Enneagram. Each Enneagram type has a set of underlying principles that serve as a constant source of inspiration for them and serve as a roadmap for their decisions. Understanding your enneagram type will help how you become a holistic human being who understands how to live with others, in other words, learning the skill of knowing yourself enhances your life. Tune in for more on this conversation. Connect with me IG & Facebook: Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice in no way form or shape. This is just a conversation where we are sharing our financial experiences, should you need to make any sound financial decision, please consult a qualified financial advisor. In our episode today, I have a conversation with Thabisile Mbelu. Thabisile is a financial enthusiast and has been a financial educator since 2007. She says she kind of stumbled into it but found her passion. Thabisile is about making sure she gets the correct financial information to people to ensure that they make better financial decisions to impact the next generation. The financial education she imparts helps individuals know how to handle and grow their money in order to leave legacies for future generations. They teach people about how to make your income work for you. Our conversation today is centred around understanding employee benefits and how to inform people to make better financial planning. Thabisile breaks down for us what employee benefits such as, uniform allowance, medical aid benefits, group life benefits entail and how one can create these as investments. Connect with Thabisile IG: @hotmenz Connect with me IG & Facebook: @Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In this episode today, I have a chat with Nosipho Ncube, who happens to be my daughter and runs her own businesses. Nosipho owns Soul Designs and Accessories, a business that specializes in handmade products. Her products include travel bag sets, backpacks, wallets, crossbody bags, and handbags. Nosipho studied Investment Management and went on to do her honours in Financial Management. She admits she had no interest in sewing, although she grew up with her grandmother who used to sew. She feels she stumbled on the sewing business by accident. After Varsity she got an internship at Nestle, while there she felt that she didn’t have direction in the job. This drove her to take stock of her life and see what was working. She left Nestle and turned her focus to making ponchos, while applying for new job opportunities. When she didn’t get any joy in terms of a job, she fully focused her energy into her business. Her sewing skills are self-taught, she says YouTube and Google, are great platforms to learn from. Her challenge is the admin of running the business, managing her cash flow, making content for social media, and going through seasons where sales are low. On the positive side, she says what excites her and motivates her to wake up every morning, is the learning process of product making and seeing something come alive as a complete product. Tune in to hear more of this exciting change conversation. Connect with Nosipho IG: @Souldesigns and Accessories Connect with Me IG & Facebook: @Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In our episode today, I have a chat with Nomhle Selesho as we continue with our youth month conversation series. She runs her own photography company, she is a video editor and photographer. She made the decision to follow an entrepreneurial path because she has always been exposed to the business world. Her parents are both entrepreneurs, so she never really considered work in the traditional sense of showing up at a job and working from 9 to 5. For her, work is running your own business. She acknowledges that photography was not on her radar, the idea was to pursue photography as a side gig, while she studied law. She shares that the challenge is that photography is a male-dominated industry, and because she is a female and a young one at that, she thinks she must establish her credibility. She now holds her head high while working and has learned to stop trying to prove herself. Her vision is to own a media house that will incorporate, film, design, advertising, and all things media related. She encourages young people to chase their passion and see how it can sustain them financially. She firmly believes in having your own business and discourages young people from having a mindset of getting educated and having a 9-5 job as their end goal. Her current target market includes events such as- birthday parties, baby showers, corporate events, and individual profiles. Connect with Nomhle N.Media_ Instagram nomhleselesho @gmail.com Connect with me IG & Facebook: Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In this final installment of our youth month series, I speak to Mpho a young bubbly lady full of life, who hails from Limpopo. Growing up she thought she would be a medical doctor, so everything she did was inspired by that desire until the dream was shattered by her not doing so well in her first year of BSC. Upon failing she managed to pass life sciences and was allowed to register for the 2nd-year zoology module where she did exceptionally well one of her professors took notice and gave her an opportunity to work with postgrad students in the lab. Zoology then grew. Mpho specializes in bird physiology. She says Zoology is quite broad, within each class of animals, there are different elements, for example, ecology, physiology, and biochemistry you just need to know what resonates with you. At the moment works as a curator of birds overseeing the collection of birds in a museum, that are preserved by National Biodiversity. For more on this interesting topic, tune in. Connect with me: IG & Youtube: Conversations with Mpume Website: www.conversationswithmpume.co.za

In today’s episode, I had a chat with Lali in commemoration of Youth Month in June. I enjoyed having these conversations with the younger generation because there was so much to learn from them. Noxolo, aka Lali Nkunzi is a young lady from Soweto who is taking a gap year. She took a gap year after being rejected by the universities she applied to, only to be accepted by University of Pretoria for 2023. She then decided to find something she could do in the meantime, to avoid idling at home. She thinks her being away from home will aid in her personal growth, as she believes that there is no development when you are in your comfort zone. Being away from home teaches you certain disciplines about life such as independence, self-reliance, and ways to survive. Lali runs a Crochet Business, where she makes beanies, scarves, crop tops, and hopes to introduce jerseys in future. She started her business in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. She used money she made from braiding people’s hair to start her crocheting business. She taught herself how to crochet by watching videos on YouTube. Quite an unusual trade for a young person in 2022… But Lali says, she felt not enough young people are making hand made stuff, it’s a foreign concept as most young people think it’s boring and it’s something that one would associate with old people. Her advice, she says take risks, and trust your instincts. She says you must be explorative, there are so many options out there. Tune in for more on this insightful and inspiring conversation with a young mind. Connect with me IG & Facebook: Conversations with Mpume Website: www. changeconversations.co.za

Disclaimer: Any information being shared here is not intended nor does it constitute, financial, tax, legal investments, or other advice. Before making any decision or taking any action regarding your finances, you should seek advice from a qualified financial advisor. In this week’s episode, I speak to Dr. Miranda Moloto, who is adept at property investments. She is a mom, a doctor, a property investment mentor as well as a podcaster on Propdocmom, and co-founder of Property Magicians. In our conversation, we speak about how you can start a Property Portfolio, as a young person. Dr. Miranda demystifies the myth that says for one to afford to buy property, they need to save up a lot of money. Not necessarily, she says. There are a lot of ways that one can look to start investing in property. Ways that don’t involve transfer fees, legal fees, and all other expenses that come with property investing. Some of these ways one can consider include wholesaling property whereby an unregistered estate agent finds a property on sale and finds a buyer at a commission, or you can become a real estate agent through one of the big estate companies where you pay annual fees and get trained and taught all about property, negotiation skills, bank applications etc. Dr. Miranda shares that the training you get from these estate companies far exceeds the education on property that a traditional school would normally teach. Miranda says that you can start even if you don’t have money, as a young person fresh out of university, you can start investing in property rather than spend your money on temporary gratification, you can look at easy Equities with some of the banks, and other places will even pay dividends every three months. You can research and join Property Stokvels where you pay minimum amounts like R300, and R1000. Tune in for more on how to invest in property as youth with as little money as possible. Connect with Dr. Miranda LinkedIn: Dr Miranda Moloto Facebook: Propdocmom Instagram: drmiranda_propdocmom Connect with Me: IG & Facebook: Conversations with Mpume YouTube: Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

Today on Change Conversations, I speak with Phumzile Langa-Gumbi, a psychology, as well as a speech and drama alumnus. Phumzile was a talent scout at the Playhouse where she worked with many artists. Later, she ventured into human resources, where she was in charge of executive placement, training, talent management, and policy formulation dealing with employees. She has dabbled in everything from cooking to copywriting, and the list goes on and on. In our episode today, we speak about mental health, Phumzile talks about how she believes in the adage “a healthy people, means a healthy nation.” Phumzile says we are a traumatic and traumatized people who shy away from addressing the root causes of this monster called mental health. As a nation, we have a culture of entitlement and waiting for someone to come and help us…rather than being empowered. She defines mental health is finding balance in the way of our life across the wheel of life. What is important for her is to have people unlearn certain things that are not working, secondly, as far as mental health is concerned, let’s start talking about mental health and be as real as possible. Connect with Phumzile: Facebook: Phumzile.Langa.5 IG:@PhumiGumbi E:gumbiphumi@gmail.com Connect with me: IG & Facebook: @Change Conversations with Mpumi YouTube: Change Conversations with Mpumi www.changeconversations.co.za

In our episode today, I have a conversation with Brian Mthembi, who is an organisational performance strategist, a Founder and MD of BMC, a consulting firm that focuses on leadership, customer service and strategy. Brian works to solve why other companies thrive while others fail given the same factors, eg talent pool, legislation and same customers. He believes that the answer lies in leadership. He believes leaders breed good employees, and he's about customers and leadership coming together for the benefit of all the parties involved. His career journey spans across different industries - financial, hospitality and travel and he has held positions that gave him a broader perspective into what leadership entails. He studied Industrial Business Psychology from UNISA as he's always been passionate about business and people. Brian says the definition of leadership is broad and relative, but for him, he defines leadership as the courage to influence change towards a desired vision. According to Brian, a leader should have the ability to help people see the future from a different perspective. Connect with Brian: IG & FB: @brian mthembi Twitter: @brian mthembi Email: info@brianmthembi.co.za Website: www.brianmthembi.co.za Connect with me: IG & FB: @Conversations with Mpume Website: changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode, I have a chat with Dr. Thembi Xulu, a Medical doctor , and a public health professional by training. She holds a diploma in obstetrics and another one in HIV/AIDS medicine, this was driven by the love that HIV shouldn't be transferred to unborn babies by their mothers. She studied a Master’s in public health and management. She joined the board of directors at the age 30, and she went to the Institute of Directors to equip herself. She is a special kind of Dr who is skilled in governance in the non-profit sector. She is currently the CEO of the South African National AIDS Council, as well as the Chairperson of the South Africa Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism. Our conversation today is around leadership and for Dr. Thandi leadership is a blessing that was given to her and allows her to build, grow and create other leaders. This means she has to create an environment that enables others to emerge as leaders by being able to express ideas that are explored to the best interest of the organisation. For her, leadership means being clear on roles and goals and ensuring that her team is confident to express their ideas in a safe space where they know they are protected and covered by her. Dr. T also shares that furthermore, leadership for her also means that as much as she may be clear of where her and the team are headed, she can't be too rigid in how she approaches things, thus she will make changes along the way as best as she could to the benefit of all involved. Connect with Dr Thembi Xulu: LinkedIn: @Dr. Thembi Xulu Connect with me: FB & IG: @Change Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za Podbean & Anchor FM: Change Conversations with Mpume

In this episode today, I have a conversation with Nompumelelo Mshengu who is a talent acquisition “passionist” as she calls herself. She is passionate about helping people with matching them to the right job. In this conversation, Mpume gives us insights on how best we can leverage LinkedIn as job candidates. As we may be aware, companies are moving away from the traditional methods of recruitment and LinkedIn is a professional social network platform used by both talent acquisition specialists like Mpume and job candidates. Mpume states that LinkedIn is the biggest platform to find talent as it allows for networking, training, interviewing tips and how best to prepare and present your profile. Recent surveys show that there is 4 hires every minute which means that talent specialists use LinkedIn as one of their primary sources of talent. As a recruiter she says that she looks for someone who presents themselves well. Mpume advises that your profile needs to stand out by using key words that describe who you are. She shares how important it is to sell yourself, thus, your bio should be able to highlight your career experience, educational background and any other achievements. Mpume advises that people should research companies and join groups or companies of like -minded people. Don't be scared to connect with people. Connect with Mpume: LinkedIn: @Nompumelelo Mshengu Connect with me: IG & Facebook @conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode, I speak to Jake Davey who is successful online entrepreneur. He has worked with lots of entrepreneurs around the world teaching them how to grow and monetise their businesses on Instagram. Jake is based in the UK in Manchester, where he was a teacher for 8 years before he transitioned into his online business. He left his teaching job and went to Australia without a plan, but hoped he would get a job to survive. Luckily for him he was able to secure something before he ran out of his funds. After 12 months in Australia, he decided to go back home and thinking he would go back to his teaching job. His trip to Fiji was the turning point for him. On his day at the beach in Fiji, he met a gentleman who played a big part in Jake’s career transitioning journey. Jake stresses the importance of having a coach or mentor and that one needs to be intentional about their career – education is a lifelong thing; Jake advises that one should always invest in themselves. Connect with Jake Davey: Instagram: @jakeadamdavey Connect with Me: IG&FB. @Change Conversations with Mpume YouTube: Change Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

Disclaimer: Any information shared here is not intended nor does it constitute, tax, legal or any other financial advice. Before making any decision or taking any action regarding any finances, please consult a qualified financial advisor. In today’s episode I have a chat with Phumelele Ndumo. Phumelele is a financial advisor, an author of two books, one of which is called From Debt to Riches and a radio contributor, and she is also regularly invited by organisations to share her financial management insights. In our discussion today, we talk about job retrenchment where Phumelele shares some insights on how best to prepare for it. In this conversation, Phumelele defines retrenchment, voluntary and involuntary retrenchment, and the financial implications that come with it. Phumelele shares that the news of retrenchment affects people differently, depending on where one is in their career. She shares that it definitely changes your life, and it can be a rude awakening, but she advises that while you still can, take precautions and make the necessary arrangements according to your needs post your retrenchment. Contact Phumelele: info@thuthuka-sa.co.za Office Line: 011 568 2635 Cell: 068 195 4028 FB: Thuthuka SA Contact Me: IG&FB. @Change Conversations with Mpume YouTube: Change Conversations with Mpume Website: www.changeconversations.co.za

In today’s episode, I have a chat with Zama Mkosi, a Business and Media Lawyer who also owns her own businesses. Her passion lies in protecting and growing businesses and media brands. Over her 20 years as a legal practitioner, she has held positions that include COO, CEO, and Financier among other roles. She owns businesses within and outside the media and entertainment industry. She has varied experience which she acquired over the 20 years having had stages in her life where she left the comfort of a corporate job to pursue her own passions. In our conversation today, I have an enlightening chat where we discuss a range of legal requirements for businesses, whether it’s an existing business, new business, or start-up. She advises that as business owners, whether you are a hairstylist, or freelancer, you need to have some basic understanding of your business -you need to have a working knowledge of your business and the legal issues that affect your business. Have terms and conditions of how you run your business, that include; when you expect people to pay you, when do you deliver, what happens to people when they default on the terms and conditions? Zama stresses the importance of writing things down, no matter how small it is and keep record of your agreements, clearly stating responsibilities of parties involved, these parties can also include suppliers, customers and staff. Contact Zama IG: @Zama Mkosi LinkedIn: Zama Mkosi Contact Mpume: IG & Facebook: @Change Conversations with Mpume Podbean &Anchor FM: Change Conversations with Mpume www.changeconversations.co.za