At a young age, I have always loved the media industry. In fact, I was the leader of my media club and also the school magazine at the age of 12. My career in this industry started in 2001 when I began working as the marketing and brand manager for Café Vacca Matta in Cape Town. Soon after that, I joined Fashion TV South Africa, where I was appointed as their national brand manager. Opening up 11 branches in 2 years, working alongside Michal Adam, the CEO of FTV International in taking this brand to new heights in Africa. In 2011, I listed some things I was passionate about in the industry and narrowed it down to only four, which ultimately led me to start my own company called 4Elements Media
What were the biggest initial hurdles to building your business and how did you overcome them?
Personally, my biggest hurdle was finding my niche and staying true to what I love doing instead of trying to uphold to the ideas of this industry. I also needed to remain self-aware in an industry filled with ego.
Did you ever deal with contention from your family and friends concerning your entrepreneurial pursuits?
How did you handle it? What would you do differently in hindsight?
No. My family has always been supportive. I grew up in a household of strong women and my mother always taught us that the sky is the limit. Myself and my two younger sisters are all entrepreneurs.
What would you say was the single most influential factor in your business success?B
Believing in the brands that I work with. I keep my networking channel open and I work incredibly hard.
What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started as an entrepreneur?
It is okay not to know everything and be able to do everything. That is why you employ people to help fill the gaps.
What advice would you give to an upcoming young and old entrepreneur locally and internationally?
I think everyone assume re: how cool it is to be an entrepreneur and think it's the easiest job on the planet to run your own company. Let me be honest here, it's a daily challenge to save your company’s life - and your own skin - every day of the week. You put almost the exact same blood & tears into your own business as you do in raising a child.
