General Safety Tips:

• Keep matches out of the reach of children.
• Do not overload electrical sockets or run electrical cords under carpets.
• Install smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in your home – don’t forget to check them at least annually.
• Take care with portable heat generating appliances such as irons, kettles and heaters.
• Develop and practice an escape plan - plan two ways out of every bedroom.
• Never use flammable liquids for starting braai fires or to remove stains from clothing.

What to do if a fire occurs:

• Display your local Fire Department telephone number near the phone then learn it.
• Crawl low in smoke.Never open a door that is hot to the touch.
• Wake everybody in the house.If your clothing catches fire - STOP, DROP, ROLL.
• Have a safe place to meet out of the house.
• Never re-enter the house for pets or personal belongings.
• Tackle the fire if it is safe to do so. 

The Securadoor Fire Blanket

The Securadoor Fire Blanket is an essential must-have safety device for every home and business. Made from 100% glass fibre, it is used to smother incipient (starting) fires, depriving it of oxygen and ultimately stopping it in its tracks. 

The Fire Blanket is folded into a quick release fire retardant mechanism, making it easy for use for beginners.  It can be installed for ease of access in accident prone areas in your home such as the kitchen and is also an essential in every business such as workshops and garages etc. as well as for your car. 

The Securadoor Fire Blanket is available in the following sizes:

• 1m x 1m
• 2m x 1.2m
• 5m x 1.5m
• 2m x 2m 

Order yours today from Makro Online and stop fires before they start!

For more information about our range of security products visit www.securadoor.co.za or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Pitch to win R80 000 in cash for your biz! Running your own business? Want to run your own business? ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the platform you need to launch yourself on to the path of success.

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition programme that – so far – has helped over 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors. As all entrepreneurs know, a perfectly polished pitch is one of the keys to growing and succeeding in business.

The ten-year edition of the programme is being hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum, Nedbank and Raizcorp, as well as local partners NYDA and iHub.  You can register as a delegate to attend the workshop or – if you feel you have what it takes – you can complete an online entry form to be selected as a contestant.During one exhilarating, fun, exciting and free day, participants undergo comprehensive and interactive entrepreneurial training on how to pitch like a pro!

The session is facilitated by Justin Cohen, best-selling author, international speaker and TV talk-show host.After the training session, contestants pitch their ideas or businesses to the whole audience. This is where things get really interesting, with both Justin and the audience providing feedback on how pitches can be improved.

The regional winners of each leg will have the opportunity to be crowned the ultimate pitch champion at the final glittering round of the competition held in Johannesburg later this year. There are many funders and investors invited to the final and, over the years, finalists (not necessarily the winners) have received millions of rands in investments and hundreds of thousands of rands in grants.

Book your place now for the Port Elizabeth workshop on 13 July. SMS “Pitch” to 43719 (SMSs charged at 50c) or visit www.pitchandpolish.com to complete an entry form, and maybe you will find that R1 million investment you desire. [ends]

Johannesburg, Gauteng – 9 July 2018 - American Founder of Pursue Your Purpose LLC and Forbes Coach, Tamiko Cuellar, will be launching a 4-city "Own Your Brilliance! Tour throughout South Africa and Namibia for aspiring and emerging women entrepreneurs from 11-20 August 2018 in honor of National Women's Month. The first-of-its-kind tour will be a series of Master Class workshops taught by Cuellar and are based on her 3rd book release, "Own Your Brilliance! - A Woman's Guide to Hiring Herself." Aspiring and emerging women are strongly encouraged to attend this event.

The tour will commence in Johannesburg on August 11th, then to Windhoek, Namibia on August 14th, to East London on August 18th, and end in Cape Town on August 20th. "South Africa and Namibia have some of the most talented and capable professional women who are seeking to be empowered to start or run their own businesses successfully. As an International Business Strategist, I am coming to help them get to their next level," says Cuellar. Attendees will leave inspired and equipped to own their brilliance and with ways they can prosper by using their gifts, talents, skills, and abilities on their own terms as entrepreneurs.

Notable sponsors including the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) have joined forces with this powerful event. East London-based firm Epitomely PRM, has also partnered with the event to market it in Eastern Cape and has brought on Cape Town based NGO Womandla as the official Corporate Social Initiative client so that a portion of the ticket proceeds can benefit the Womandla Foundation for women in Africa. Mamoyo Media House in Johannesburg is an official media partner of the event.

Details of the Master Class and registration can be found on the registration page.   A special opportunity for discounted coaching with Cuellar will be made available to a select number of women who register early. Spaces are limited.  During the Master Class, Cuellar will share her personal journey that inspired her to write the "Own Your Brilliance!" book and teach practical lessons and strategies from the book to equip women to run successful businesses.  A free copy of the e-book will be provided to every woman who registers for the event. Tamiko Cuellar is the CEO and Founder of Pursue Your Purpose LLC, a global coaching firm based in the U.S. for aspiring and emerging women entrepreneurs internationally. She is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, a regular contributor to Forbes.com and a former Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship. A proven leader in the global marketplace,

Tamiko has been invited to speak at corporations, conferences, churches, on several radio and TV programs, and more. Cuellar coaches high performing, purpose driven women globally with strategies to transition into entrepreneurship and to grow their businesses. For more information on Cuellar and her company, visit the company website.

• Every commercial sector will change more in the next three years than in the past thirty. Digital disruption is undermining the viability of the business models of established companies at an accelerating pace, leading to worldwide closure of brands, companies, and even entire industries.
• With the help of the Own the Future workshop, South African leadership teams are now identifying disruptive opportunities for their business models and brands, and crafting strategies to thrive in the expanding chaos.

Cape Town – South African companies are urgently rethinking how they do business in the digital era.  Digital marketing has produced a growing wave of startup companies who are challenging the overhead-heavy dominance of major established businesses. But, more radical than this, some of these startups are actually disrupting the established way in which whole industries do business. The best known are Uber, Airbnb and Netflix. These have fundamentally changed the very nature of global transportation, hotel accommodation and television as well as a range of related industries.

According to digital transformation expert Godfrey Parkin “Today, every industry has its radical innovators. Their impact is fundamental and unforgiving. To survive disruption and remain relevant, companies often have to rethink their business model and restructure their organisation – not once, but continuously. Company culture usually gets in the way, so getting all your team members and on the same page is absolutely vital to success.”

The CEO of Britefire has launched an initiative to help South African boards and management teams understand disruption, and learn how to actively exploit it. Named “Own the Future”, the one-day workshop demystifies digital, and clarifies scenarios for the immediate future of business. It provides methodologies for identifying disruptive opportunities in your business model, and for creating strategies to exploit them.

Built on work Britefire has done over recent years in a number of South African companies, Own the Future is a high-impact actionable experience which engages top team members across all the disciplines in a company. 

Parkin believes that many South African companies are currently at a point known as the edge of chaos, where the pace of innovation in the competitive environment accelerates upwards just as the company's ability to change plateaus. He says "To survive in this world, you have to be supremely agile. To thrive, you have to be the one creating the chaos.” 

The opportunities for success are tremendous, but without an explicit management commitment to continuous change, businesses are endangered. Own the Future provides business leadership teams with the frameworks, tools and inspiration to identify opportunities, and to manage change with confidence.

Britefire is a future-focused business strategy and digital marketing company based in Cape Town and operating worldwide.

For more information visit britefire.com or phone 021 794 7838.

Contact details
Godfrey Parkin, CEO, and workshop facilitator: 021 794 7838   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Life Retreat Studio brings you our annual ISHTA Yoga Teachers Training Course, which is suited to anyone who wishes to learn more about yoga…… and especially as for those who wish to qualify as an internationally certified yoga teacher (check our link for Q&A's https://www.liferetreat.co.za/ttc/)

♥If you are doing the course from provinces/countries outside the Western Cape, please contact us to quote you on ACCOMMODATION FOR MODULES 1 & 2
♥For all Queries Call 087 1950629Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

COURSE INFORMATIONModules 1 and 2 are open to anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of yoga. All three modules are required if you were to register for the 200hr Yoga Teacher Training Certificate. Your course facilitator is Sevak Hari Singh (Ryan G. Edmonds), with several excellent guest trainers and speakers along the way.

♥ MODULE 1
A stand-alone module for those who either want to train and certify as a Yoga Teacher, or for those who wish to immerse themselves in yoga philosophy deeply.For ISHTA YTT Certification (to become a Yoga Teacher) you need to have done this module. Or it can be done as a stand-alone module for those with a desire to learn more about yoga, and its ancient wisdom.Module 1 Will Include:Friday 1 JUNE: Introduction & welcome + Opening RitualWeekend 1 (2-3 JUNE): Yoga Philosophy – history, origins, ancient texts, the eight limbsWeekend 2 (9-10 JUNE): Meditation & the Mind; Pranayama 101Weekend 3 (16-17 JUNE) Ayurveda & Yogic LifestyleVenue: Life Retreat Studio, Lourensford EstatePrice: **Early-bird rates at the bottom of description**R6 000 (for those applying to do full certification, modules 1-3)[R8 000 for a stand-alone module]

♥ MODULE 2:A stand-alone module for those who either want to train and certify as a yoga teacher or for those who wish to immerse in yoga philosophy deeply.For ISHTA YTT Certification (to become a yoga teacher) you need to have done this module – or it can be done as a stand-alone module, for those with a desire to learn more about yoga, and its ancient wisdom.Module 2 Will Include:JULY 6: Introduction & welcome + Opening ritualWeekend 1: (7-8 JULY) Energetic Anatomy as taught within the ISHTA system (including the chakras, mantras, sound, color); Pranayama 102Weekend 2: (14-15 JULY) Anatomy, Asana & AlignmentWeekend 3: (21-22 JULY) Physiology & Asana (physical & energetic)Venue: Life Retreat Studio, Lourensford EstatePrice: **Early-bird rates at the bottom of description**R6 000 (for those applying to do full certification, modules 1-3)[R8 000 for a stand-alone module]

♥ MODULE 3: YOGA TEACHER'S TRAINING CERTIFICATION RETREATThe Retreat is only open to those wanting to certify as an Internationally Registered Yoga Teacher at the 200hr level - it is the "Crowning Jewel" of the accumulated trainingOn this seven days intensive away-retreat, you will immerse yourself in all facets of yoga, which teaches conscious living… on all levels. Our beautiful venue set in the heart of a valley is only 2 hours from Cape Town, surrounded by nature to best support your process.

You will experience a modified Ashram lifestyle (from pre-sunrise spiritual practices, to end the of the day "check-in," evening meditations, topical films, and games) so as better to understand & progress along the yogic path.This week includes theory, practice, and development of your unique teaching toolkit (in preparation for certifying practical assessments & theory exam upon returning home).

Module 3 Will Include:Teaching style, creating & holding space, hands-on adjustments, building confidence in yourself & your students, class structure & sequencing, ethics, setting yourself up as a professional Yoga Teacher.

7 - 14 SEPTEMBER (retreat)18 SEPTEMBER (optional "check-in" session)29-30 SEPTEMBER (assessments & exam)[time needed to take off from work will be five working days, and a weekend for the retreat]Venue: Away – to be confirmed upon registrationPrice: R12 000**EARLY BIRD SPECIALS**The entire YTTC is valued at R24,000 (including the away retreat).

If you book & pay by 30 April, you will receive a 10% (R2,400) discount!! To qualify, email us immediately, and we will give you your DISCOUNT CODE right awaySEATING IS LIMITED, and BOOKINGS ARE NOW OPEN:https://www.lifestyleshoponline.co.za/product-category/life-retreat-studio/yoga-teacher-training-2018/ Queries? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

When you dress to pitch, imagine you’re going for an interview to a top corporate, and have to make an excellent impact. Evening wear and dress suits are out, but refined and quiet clothes are in, and this will show how serious you are about presenting your pitch. First impressions count – before you start your pitch, the investors will have already come to some conclusions about you based on your appearance, so it has to be absolutely suitable for the event.  

Dressing to Pitch for the Ladies

• Bra-straps: ensure they fit snugly; don’t fiddle with them, don’t adjust them, don’t let them show
• Your cleavage: restrain it and put it to bed for the day
• Long dangly earrings:  choose small neat studs that won’t shake, rattle and roll as you move your head
• Mini-skirts: only acceptable if you’re a prepubescent teenager
• High, high heels: Uh-uh – change them so you don’t wobble
• Chipped nail polish; lipstick on teeth; laddered pantyhose; uncombed hair; suffocating perfume: avoid all these like the plague
• Demure make-up:  this beats gaudy colours every time  

Dressing to Pitch for the Gents

• Your fly: is it zipped to the top? Check and check again
• Butt-cracks: not to be on view, and trousers must fit perfectly and be secured with a belt
• Shirt hanging out: tuck it into your trousers – you’re not going to a picnic nor a braai
• After-shave cologne: go easy on it, as too much is overwhelming
• Deodorant: a must, and no underarm stains please
• Shoes: must be polished if they can be, and washed if they’re sneakers
• Ties: not necessary but shirt collars must lie flat
• Headphones with earpieces: leave them at home  

You’re almost there! You have enhanced your appearance so as to inspire the judges and the potential investors, and now they are eager to hear your polished pitch. Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and SAfm, as well as national partner the Youth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, your hosts of the 2016 ENGEN Pitch & Polish workshop and competition programme, look forward to seeing you dressed for polished pitching success!