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'Why quitting my job was the best thing that happened to me'
![Bogosi Motshegwa, founder of Thinkerneur and co-owner of African Strategy Kollective. © from AmaCreativesAfrica.](https://biz-file.com/c/1811/468378-700x364.jpg?2)
Founder of Thinkerneur, Motshegwa left his permanent post to pursue his career as an entrepreneur in advertising. He explains: “I am affectionately referred to as a freelancer, but I don’t like the term, because in terms of what I am doing, ‘freelancer’ seems to dilute what it is that I actually do.
Freelancers are meant to come in, execute on a job, and then leave, but what I do is much more intimate and involved. I like to have a deeper and more engaged partnership with agencies or clients.”
Motshegwa says he is a brand consultant who help brands and clients realise their truest potential. He is passionate about strategy, ensuring that brands produce the best possible thinking for their brands, and also helps brands clarify their services and offerings to ensure the consistent competitive energy required in this era of sameness and technological advancements.
The ultimate attention
He explains that the purpose of his company is multi-fold. “I strive to help clients find opportunities for growth. I help clients maintain consistency in what I call 'brand harvesting'.
Brand advertising is the process through which a brand continuously interrogates itself, the marketplace and its customer or target market to find untapped opportunities. Building a brand is a full-time job, and no one brand is perfect, and that by defaults provides opportunities to improve and to do things better and differently.”
He doesn’t think that brands or clients have enough opportunity to think about their brands. “They get bogged down by the need to deliver on immediate goals, which are mostly short-term, and therefore don’t have the luxury to think bigger and for the future.”
I don’t believe that advertising agencies offer brands the desired need, which is what I call, the ‘ultimate attention’. Building a brand is like raising a baby, one cannot afford to blink or lose focus. It is serious business. Ad agencies offer required services, but what I do is like tutoring. Children go to school to get an education, but those who supplement their school learning with tutoring tend to perform better.Motshegwa also co-own a freelance strategy agency called African Strategy Kollective (ASK), together with Lebogang Mukansi who has experience in Kenya and Nigeria. “The purpose of ASK is to bring craft into strategy. We want to ensure that strategy inside ad agencies is finessed and given the credence it deserves.
If an ad agency acquires our services, no creative brainstorming will commence until we have presented our strategy. This process that we employ, of creative not doing anything until we have done the thinking, really works – we have proof,” he explains.
Here Motshegwa elaborates more on entrepreneurship, his view of how the industry can improve and shares some tips on how to become a successful entrepreneur.
What are some of the challenges you've faced in getting your business off the ground?
My business didn’t require a lot of capital or resources, just two things mainly: a laptop and Wi-Fi. So luckily, my girlfriend had a laptop, and therefore all I needed was a consistent internet connection. But since I’ve started, below are some of the challenges I’ve faced:What are the best and worst things about being an entrepreneur?
I think to say an experience is worst or best all depends on perspective. There are given occurrences that come with being an entrepreneur, these are things that are inevitable and will happen along the way.
Depending on your mindset, one could either interpret it as the worst or expected OR best or okay. What I mean is, you will get a 'no', a disappointment, like people will decline meetings last minute, and you will go a long time without hearing a yes. Those are expected, but if your mindset is not fit or ready, you may interpret these as the worst thing.
I wouldn’t say the negative things that happen are the worst, but one can use them as fuel to do better and to be hungrier. The worst things can help you become a better and more efficient entrepreneur.
The best thing that has happened to me was quitting my job and starting my own business. It is the most freeing and deliberate feeling ever. It is exhilarating. The best thing is being in control of one’s time and being able to play around with my diary to make sure that I have time for work, my girlfriend and my son.
Being able to plan for time with family is the best thing, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The best thing is also being able to decide on the type of work or projects that I get involved in. I also get to work with people who I choose to work with. I'm able to explore passion projects that are close to me.
What traits does an entrepreneur need in order to succeed?
List a few pain points you think the industry can improve on.
What is the importance of entrepreneurship, especially in a country such as South Africa?
Entrepreneurship is important in that it can help unlock a country's economy. It can speed up GDP growth. Entrepreneurship, beyond the economy, I think allows people to live their best lives. Yes, if there are more entrepreneurs, the government becomes less burdened as fewer people will rely on it for financial assistance.
Apart from job creation, I think entrepreneurs are more likely to solve problems related to our social ills such as poverty, environmental concerns and progress for the human race through technology.
Entrepreneurs are by nature problem solvers, so given the necessary tools and resources, entrepreneurs can help alleviate some of the pressure and make life a lot lighter.
Follow Motshegwa’s thought leadership on his MyBiz profile and watch for updates on his social media channels for more: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
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