Unleashing the lioness in her

Through her financial management firm, Success Tuned, Dikonelo Mile wants to leave a trail of businesses and clients that become sustainable. She wants to ensure that businesses grow because they understand that business is at the centre of many livelihoods.

Born and bred in Qwa Qwa, in the Free State, businesswoman and board member Dikonelo Mile is passionate about finance and to a great extent fashion. She believes business and finance are her area of ministry and that is how she ended up in banking and accountancy.

“In addition to my duties, I love to eat, speak at events, travel, and undoubtedly make people laugh. I don’t consider myself to be humorous, but it turns out that if you’re around me, you could just have a nice chuckle,” says the founder of accounting firm Success Tuned.

Founded in 2017 Success Tuned is an innovative, millennial led Accounting Firm specializing in world class accounting, tax services and advisory.

“Our aim is to assist our clients to identify what makes them the go to businesses in their respective industry whilst we handle their numbers. Comprised of an energetic team of experts who are conscious of the latest technology and business trends, this is what makes us the winning combination.”

Inspirational parents

Growing up with a taxi business owner dad and a skilled saleswoman mom as her parents, Dikonelo developed the necessary skills to run a business. As a little girl she envisioned herself doing the same thing, but on a larger scale and making a significant impact in the business world.

“My dad used to struggle submitting his tax returns and I remember, thinking to myself, I don’t want my dad and other people to go through this. This is exactly what I do now as a tax practitioner. Assisting business owners to take the right decisions in terms of planning for their taxes and business finances.”

Overcoming obstacles

Her biggest obstacle was scaling up, which she saw as the point at which the systems and the team she has assembled were put to the test.

“Building a world-class team composed of the right people who share your vision takes time and the discipline it takes to run a business is also a true test of character,” she says.

Dikonelo adds that: “I am a firm believer that every entrepreneur should include in their business plans, how they will take care of themselves because we tend to neglect ourselves a lot whilst taking care of the business.”

Impact through her company

Through Success Tuned, Dikonelo wants to leave a trail of businesses and clients that become sustainable. She wants to ensure that businesses grow because they understand that business is at the centre of many livelihoods.

“We always tell our clients, if you don’t see the fees that you pay to your accountants as an investment rather than an expense, then something needs to change, and we are always up for that challenge.”

She cites the awards her company has won as the highlight of her business. But client satisfaction ranks at the top of her highlights.

“There is nothing as fulfilling as a client calling you and saying thank you, you have saved my business or thank you we made that deal.”

Being a young woman in leadership

“Leadership for me, means that we are custodians of the spaces we hold and we need to do better with those opportunities we are entrusted with. It means that I need to leave people better than I found them and that I am human before I am woman and that is how I need to go out into the world; as authentic as possible.

Dikonelo believes that leadership is also embracing the fact that sometimes she is the only woman in the room and her feminine energy is her superpower, instead of trying to join the boys club.

“Gone are the times where we as women try to be like men in order to have a voice. You can be nurturing in your leadership style and still do exceptionally well. If it means wearing stilettos to a site where boots are the status quo, then so be it.”

SOUND ADVICE

Just start and then make it count. If you are given ideas, it is for a reason. There will never be a perfect time to start. Start here, start now, start with what you have and then refine it along the way.”