Liezel van der Westhuizen

Liezel van der Westhuizen and blind fellow cyclist, Cindy became the first South African all female blind and sighted pair to tandem cycle from Manali to Khardung La India, 18,330 feet covering 550km.

Liezel speaks on key principles are resulted in the success of her mission that can be valuable to businesses.

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE TALK:

How many times have you given up on a personal goal or dream simply because it seemed unattainable?

And how many times have you worked up the courage to pursue that goal or dream only to be told by others that it is, indeed, completely crazy?

Well perhaps it’s time to attempt a different approach and consider a fresh start! In this talk, Liezel van der Westhuizen shares how her personal experiences has helped others conquer their self-saboteur in the fearless pursuit of those seemingly impossible goals.

In today’s business climate, the market has become more complex and fuelled with many uncertainties.

Every leader feels the pressure of generating results, building the most productive teams and creating a high performance working environment to secure sustainable outcomes.

Although challenges and obstacles along the way are inevitable, having contingency plans and applying relevant methodologies in dealing with these problems will ensure the business gets back on track.

Liezel van der Westhuizen together with blind fellow cyclist, Cindy Jacobsz, became the first South African all female blind and sighted pair to tandem cycle from Manali to Khardung La India, 18,330 feet covering 550km. During this gruesome mission to the Himalayas, the pair battled multiple obstacles after the other.

From strong winds, rain, sleet and sub-zero temperatures, to Cindy contracting an eye infection and the tandem’s left crank breaking which meant they had to walk a far distance before they had access to technical assistance… all whilst conquering the daunting challenge of cycling long distance on some of the highest roads in the world.

But despite this, Liezel van der Westhuizen had to be physically and mentally prepared to complete the mission and ultimately raise funds for two medical charities.

In this keynote talk, Liezel van der Westhuizen shares how she conquered some of her most challenging adventures using three core values: planning, perseverance and patience.

This keynote is not only for keen adventure-seekers, but more so about effective principles that can be applied in any organisation to significantly improve structures and successfully achieve desired goals.

“Set your goals and work at it, each and every day. Don’t stop until it’s done.

KEY INSIGHTS:

How can having a compelling personal brand help you and your business?

Why a business should invest in their staff’s personal brands

How to Stand Up and Stand Out in your Niche – How to think about and leverage your digital footprint across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels.

What are the key factors to avoid with personal branding?

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE TOPIC:

One of the most important characteristics of being in a business today is the ability to market your own brand.

Essentially, if a business is able to promote itself, it has already won half the battle of building valuable relationships with current clients and convincing potential clients that your business is worth investing in.

But most importantly, how individuals in the business market themselves is truly where the magic lies. Personal Branding is the process by which we market ourselves as individuals to others.

We all know that, as Entrepreneurs, we need to wear many hats.

In this keynote, I do the following:

Equip Entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to manage their personal brand for strategic awareness,

Share various reputational management insights on building a profile on how you want your brand to be perceived,

Advise on how to create a strong brand identity with clarity about who you are and what you are not.

SHAPING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS THROUGH PERSONAL BRANDING

KEY INSIGHTS:

Why Invest in your Personal Branding:

Helping employees build their own professional profile empowers them to work at an optimum level of productivity,
The success of a company is in its reputation and ability to brand itself as the best possible option to potential clients,
Your personal brand should be a selling point to new clients, potential employers, and even future employees.
Employees are an invaluable resource to any business and their level of productivity distinguishes a good business from a great one. To start maximizing your team’s performance level, a business must invest in their staff’s individual brands through career development and personal branding techniques.

When leaders know the individual strengths of their employees, they are able to task staff with work that plays into their strengths and skills. This not only saves time and money, but you also create a culture where people are always performing at their best.

Leaders often miss the mark when it comes to succinctly identifying who they are, what they stand for and how they help people and businesses grow. If a potential client does an online search for a company  or an individual, the information they find acts as the backbone of a personal brand.