Five optimistic yet life-weathered grandmothers stood before me in a small, thatch-roof hut in rural South Africa singing a song of faith. Their wonderfully soulful voices echoed pleasantly off the brown and green stained mud walls.

Without electricity and all the noise that goes with it, I could really hear their rich harmony. They held their hands over their hearts for emphasis; their skirts swayed gently from their hips.

One grandmother extended her hand to me as she sang. It seemed that this was her sign of acceptance and an invitation to come back again. She wanted to learn more ways to prosper as a self-sufficient entrepreneur.

Several months ago, I wondered what I could possibly share with high school teachers, high school students and women micro-loan recipients in one of the poorest areas of South Africa. Their meager resources, lack of exposure to modern commerce, and collective history of suppressing individual economic advancement made my contribution quite uncertain and unsettling. I also didn’t want to be perceived as just one more, much maligned, know-it-all American.

AIDS of course continues to take its toll in South Africa. Each of these grandmothers received a reverse inheritance of sorts. They are now the primary caretakers of some of their children’s children. Today, they need a way to buy food and required school uniforms, pay school taxes, and pay rent. They also need money for transportation to medical clinics for at-risk family members who display serious HIV symptoms.

The questions were familiar too: ”How do I sell more? How do I make sure I get paid? How can I fund inventory? What can I do about competitors who copy my work?” And yes, these women wanted ideas on how to balance growing business demands with child care responsibilities.

When I met Iris, she was barefoot and had her 9 month old grandson bundled to her back. In her 60’s, Iris builds and repairs mud and plaster huts. We walked together across corn fields so she could show me examples of the quality of her work. Her huts were clearly distinguishable from others in the community. They looked better and more interesting too with large X designs scraped into the exterior walls. It was her own form of a service trademark – something I encourage all entrepreneurs to develop. She smiled with satisfaction as I praised her talent and keen entrepreneurial intuition.

I loved how Iris knew her numbers too. She had borrowed the equivalent of $80 for a wheelbarrow, shovels, plastering materials and startup working capital. Today, her loan is fully repaid and she continues to earn 70 percent on each hut built.

For Iris, there was no shortage of jobs, just a shortage of ideas on how to manage child care. Sometimes it takes an outsider who is not influenced by Zulu tradition to gently suggest the obvious – hire help. We worked out the extra profit she could make each month if she could find someone to travel with her grandson to her job sites.

I had the most fun teaching sales tactics to two grandmothers who sewed pinafore dresses, children’s clothes and school uniforms with hand crank sewing machines. We practiced approaching new customers and up-selling existing customers. At first the women were shy, but they gained confidence with each attempt. Their daughters watched them practice too. They saw their mothers succeed, particularly when they did not back down when I pretended to bargain for deep price discounts.

At the end of the day, Elsie said “My business allows me to have food in the cupboard when the children come home from school….it makes me feel good.” Ah, such happiness! Yes, entrepreneurship can lift a woman’s self-esteem and position in meaningful ways.

I find that women business owners all over the world have much in common with Elsie, Iris, Rose, Busisi and Sibongile. They want to earn their own money and provide a better home for their family. They want to educate their children. They want to be creative, productive and independent. And they want to share their entrepreneurial victories with their closest women friends.

While I have traveled around the world teaching entrepreneurship and have made many friends, these brave grandmothers are special. I have a framed picture of them on my desk. They are my inspiration for helping many more women build the business of their dreams. And to my entrepreneurial friends and readers I want to say, if Iris can build huts and a new source of income at her age, just imagine the business you can build if you try!