At aXia Consulting we strongly believe in helping small to medium enterprises. Each month we will interview a business owner to find out more about his/her entrepreneurial journey, the business as well as to get some advice from a fellow business owner. This month we are shining the spotlight on Nadia Gabriel from Brand Narrative.
Tell us a little about your business and your background
It has really been a very interesting journey to get to where I am today, running my own social media company – Brand Narrative. Brand Narrative is essentially a social media company. My focus is on creating high quality blog posts and articles as well as on helping SME’s build their LinkedIn profiles. Instagram, Facebook and TikTok are great but it isn’t suitable for every industry. My focus is on businesses that have a more professional outlook to social media.
As for my background…
I graduated with a B.Comm Honours degree in Human Resources. Then I landed a job working in Finance straight out of University. It was supposed to be a short term position as I looked for something in my field. I ended up working there for 7 years. The environment was phenomenal and I loved going to work.
Then I fell pregnant. I had every intention to go back to work after my maternity leave but when the time came to go back I just couldn’t do it. So we cut our household budget down to the bare minimum and that’s how I became a stay at home mum in 2013. It was the best decision of my life. I would go on to have another beautiful little girl in 2016 and counted my blessings that I was able to be at home with my kids for those early years.
But parenthood didn’t come easy to me…
and in 2015 I took to blogging as a way to work through all the big feelings of guilt, inadequacy and frustration. Writing has always been an escape for me as I find it much easier to express myself on paper versus verbally. What started out as a hobby turned into a part time job for me in 2017. I found an amazing community of mum bloggers and grew an engaged and dedicated following on social media. My introverted self loved interacting with people from the comfort of my home! I worked with so many incredible local and international brands and fell in love with creating content. (Insta handle: @thecheekyoptimist) I even had a children’s story published in that time.
A very good friend and I decided to take our blogging and content creation knowledge and turn that into a way to help small businesses elevate their social platforms. Sadly the timing of our business coincided with lockdown. I’m sure that many people can relate to having their worlds turned upside down at that time. I pulled our kids out of school and decided to homeschool them for the next three years which left me with very little capacity to run a business. I still did some client work part time (with aXia Consulting as one of my favourite clients) but in a much more reduced capacity.
In early 2023 we moved from Jhb to CT and our girls started at a brick and mortar school. That meant that for the first time in 10 years I didn’t have anyone to take care off at home. The decision to enrol them at school was quite spontaneous and it all happened so quickly. I really didn’t have a plan for what I would do with my time.
I intended to look for a part time job but I still wanted the flexibility to be available for my kids. My husband encouraged me to bet on myself so in June of this year, I started Brand Narrative.
What/Who inspired you to start your own business, and how has that initial inspiration evolved over time?
My husband is definitely the driving force behind me starting my business. He is an entrepreneur right down to his bones with his own international startup and he pushes me to believe in myself when doubt sets in. He always says that you will only have true financial freedom when you are the one in charge of where your money comes from. That encouragement has given me the confidence to work harder on building my own brand.
What is a challenge you’re currently facing and what do you think will help you overcome this challenge?
I’ll be honest, my biggest challenge at the moment is sales. It’s just something that I am not naturally inclined towards. I’m very much a “work my butt off behind the scenes” type of person so reaching out to clients is completely out of my comfort zone.
I think the only thing that will help me overcome this is practice. I am sure I will get rejected loads of times but each client outreach is an opportunity to improve. If you have any advice for me I would love to hear it!
Can you share a significant milestone or accomplishment that you are proud of achieving in your business?
I officially launched Brand Narrative on 1 June 2023 and aXia Consulting signed on as my very first client that same month. We had worked together previously and have a great working relationship so I was incredibly grateful to be working with them again. They challenged me to create a Newsletter (which was not part of my initial offering) and I did it! The aXia Consulting Newsletter is one of my proudest business achievements. It is so full of useful and current financial information and it looks great too, if I say so myself 😉
How do you stay motivated and inspired during challenging times in your industry or market?
I remind myself that eating popcorn and watching reality tv won’t pay the bills! (Though I do have some of those days to recharge. Life is about more than just the hustle)
My main motivation though is that I want to be a good role model for my girls. I want them to see me as a multi faceted person with varied interests. They have only ever known me as a stay at home mum and a blogger that got them free toys. I want my kids to also see me build a business and hopefully succeed at that. I want to show them that they can be anything that they want to be and that you go through different seasons in life where your interests and needs change and that’s perfectly ok.
What is your approach to building a strong brand presence, and how do you differentiate yourself from competitors in your industry?
I believe that my quality of work and word of mouth will build my brand presence for me. It’s a slow road but hard work will speak for itself.
There are so many social media agencies out there that it can be quite confusing to find the right one. Many promise the moon in terms of engagement and follower growth. I won’t promise you those stats because I know that while it is possible to grow social media platforms quickly, you won’t have an engaged audience. There is more value in having a smaller audience that looks forward to your posts and genuinely cares about your business and the information you put out.
My focus is on small businesses who want to generate more traffic to their websites by creating high quality blog content. Businesses who want to build their professional reputation on LinkedIn. I guess you could say that Brand Narrative focuses on the more formal side of social media.
How do you prioritise and manage your time effectively as a small business owner wearing multiple hats?
This is a constant juggle but I get most of my work done while the kids are at school or in the evenings. I also make sure that I plan my time well and get all my work commitments done ahead of time so that there is no last minute rush.
What words of advice would you have for someone wanting to start their own business?
Do it. Bet on yourself. Take that leap and give it your best shot.
If you are really worried about whether this is a financial mistake then set a timeline for yourself. Give yourself 6 months to do the best that you can do and then re-evaluate at the end of those 6 months to see if your business is feasible or not.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your business?
My goal for 2023 would be to have 5 clients by the end of the year. Which seems a bit more daunting in October than it did in June but I’m going to give it my best shot!
My goal for 2024 is to grow the business enough to be able to hire someone to work with me. I think businesses have a responsibility to create jobs in our country and being able to create a job will be a major milestone for me.
If you are keen to get in touch, you can contact me at nadia@brandnarrative.co.za. I’d love to hear from you!
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