Kennethea Jackson Williams inspires with her debut book on entrepreneurship

As the year wraps up, Thornton author Kennethea Jackson Williams is tying a bow on her debut book, Business Breakfast Club Chronicles.

Fondly known as Kenny within the Business Breakfast Club (BBC) community, she aims to inspire entrepreneurs by sharing a key mantra: to get ahead, one must be "too voorbarag" - too bold, too loud, and too much".

She held a book launch at Goodwood Library on Wednesday, November 26. The book, in the genre of business and entrepreneurship, is available at most bookstores and online, and will also be available in five national libraries.

BBC hosts events, gatherings, and networking sessions for entrepreneurs. Members volunteer their time, expertise, and skills to assist entrepreneurs while paying club fees to network, exhibit, and grow their own businesses.

Ms Jackson, who was born and raised in Westridge, then Colorado Park, Mitchell’s Plain, refused to let her background define her, she said.

She is married with two sons, aged 11 and 14, with her eldest already showing entrepreneurial spirit through a music business and a firewood supply venture, said Ms Jackson.

As a young woman, she wrote her thoughts in several journals, which she forgot about while dealing with the heartache of her parents' deaths, within ten months of each other in 2018. 

"I was the oldest of five children and the youngest entrepreneur, as a teenager, selling bompies and jewelry at Muizenberg Flea Market," she recalls.

Without the finances for college, she gained a formal education and a business degree at PenTech (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology) with the help of the then flea market committee, she said.

After working through her grief, Ms Jackson said she hosted a gathering of 26 entrepreneurs at a coffee shop, which became the catalyst for connecting people with services and expertise.

She briefly taught at Merrydale Primary School but found her passion elsewhere, completing a degree in Information Technology (IT) and becoming an instructor for Microsoft Windows.

"I was the first coloured female to do that, and being able to prove myself, my capabilities," she said, adding that her inherent confidence, extroverted nature, and go-getter attitude served as a launch pad.

Eventually, she left the corporate world, using her savings to launch the BBC. An entrepreneur herself, Ms Jackson owns two laundromats and works as a consultant for start-up businesses.

The BBC ecosystem includes a kids club focused on entrepreneurship development for youth aged six to 16, teaching skills like confidence, presentation, and business acumen. While the kids club and the 'boss babe programme' are not registered non-profit companies, they are beneficiaries supported by the club’s members and fees.

The club also runs outreach programmes covered by BBC events and members.

Business Breakfast Club Chronicles is a business, entrepreneurship, and networking book, compiling six years of "tried and tested information," including experiences, milestones, and studies, collated over two years.

It chronicles the club's "good, bad and ugly" in business, networking, and collaborations, converting them into lessons for readers to spot red flags and take proactive steps.

Ms Jackson writes candidly about the jealousy, disappointments, and animosity she faced, including having collaborations stolen.

Her ultimate message, however, is:  "I want to tell other girls from the Cape Flats that I wrote a book. You can also do it. Even if you don’t have the finances. I want to inspire others to write and document their journey."

For more information or to get a copy of the book, contact Ms Jackson via email at businessbreakfastclub2019@gmail.com or WhatsApp 079 411 5289.