From being totally lost, depressed & suicidal, to owning one of South Africa’s fastest growing online agencies! The Struggle Was Real
Rewind 11 years ago, you would never had said I would be where I am today! I finished school with no idea that I wanted to study or do with my life! All I knew , was that I wanted to travel. I didn’t have the funds to go overseas, and my parents insisted that if I wanted any support I had to study!
I randomly chose a degree and dropped out after failing first year, moved to Cape Town on my own and became completely independent. My goal was to make money to get overseas and see the world, but with little skill set and lack of qualification, getting a job wasn’t easy! I was working 3 part time jobs trying to pay the bill, simultaneously to just wanting to have fun , like any 18 year old girl in the world!
I had no direction, or real purpose, my life was a void, and the only way to fill that void was to escape it through partying and drugs! Which for 4 years took me down a rabbit hole and into sever depression. Going from psychologists- to psychiatrist- to psychiatric wards- trying various medications , losing friends and family and desperately just wanting a way out. I had lost all emotional support from family members and ended up living on the streets, in my car which I couldn’t even afford petrol for. This was rock bottom , as bottom gets! It comes with some interesting stories of its own, but that is for another article!
This article is for anyone, of any age, going through anything they may feel stuck with, encouraging some faith and guidelines to understanding! We create our own destiny , and anything is possible!
I created a purpose
Living on the streets was no place for me! Coming from a private school and wealthy family, this was beyond unfamiliar and scary! I have always been a hustler and smart enough to create opportunities for myself, especially when it comes to tooth & nail.
I made a decision that changed the course of direction for the rest of my life! I decided, I was not going to rely on anyone for support, I was going to go off all medication and find the source of my problems, and when things couldn’t get any worse, I figured I may aswell give it my best and it surely can only get better.
I borrowed R4000 to put a deposit down for a room to rent, I stopped drinking and I introduced Yoga into my life. This became my purpose! Knowing that I could build friendships in a healthy community, and have a safe place to go to for practice. I got an aupair job and this was the first step to getting me back to myself!
As my mind became more clear, so did my vision, and as I changed myself, I noticed how the environment around be changed too! I was so inlove with how yoga was helping me, I decided I wanted to become a yoga teacher. I made an arrangement with the yoga studio to pay the course off , with interest, if they would allow me to join the next teacher training, simultaneously, I moved up in my career and found a full time job in the film industry, as a location specialist and as my income and my health began to rise, I understood that I was able to harness my talents.
Creating meaningful purpose, was the stepping stone.
Harnessing talents
I began to identify my talents. I realised I had great negotiation skills, as I was constantly negotiating deals with landlords/ coaches to upskill my life! I had an eye for creativity and curating experiences. I loved project work, things that were fluid and changed according to the project specs, opposed to routine environments. I also realised I was passionate about such a variety of things, I couldn’t put my finger on just one that I loved!
So it came to me, I needed to go into PR. It seemed fun, challenging, demanding & lucrative. I could see myself building my way up in a big agency, working on creative projects, curating experiences and being a part of the media! So, did some free PR courses online, and realised it was not rocket science! However, I needed experience! I searched multiple PR agencies and send the my CV, not having any idea what I was getting into, I landed my first PR job!
It was just a project, but , the agreement was, that if I nailed the project, they would be open to looking at a permanent position! I took this challenge by the horns! I got in touch with friends in the same industry, I emailed senior PR strategists and gained as much advice on the go, as I could! Anything I was unsure of, I figured out. Believe me, google holds the answers to everything! 😊
I was offered the permanent position and within 3 months I moved from account manager , to senior account manager ! Within in 1 year, I had solidified my footprint in the industry, where I was being head hunted from the biggest agencies around the country! I took the position to hold the Cocoa Cola & Heineken Portfolio , and had reached my peak! Going form earning R4000 rand being an au pair, to R25 000 as account manager for the world leading brand!
Adapt or Die!
The PR industry became brutal, working high up with directors of such a brand came with a lot of pressure an expectations! R25k didn’t make sense to me! I didn’t want to be conformed to a boss, working on 1 brand , and being treated like shit. I had climbed my way so quickly, had all the resources, and became reputable, so I decided to go out on my own!
My goal was to make R60k/ month and manage 4 brands as a freelancer. I landed my first client in a week, I lost them in a week too! Wow! I became good at what I did, but I had no idea that being an entrepreneur came with a whole new list of challenges! Running a business is no joke!
So , I went back to the drawing board! I realised there was a stump to the business model of PR agency. They get paid per hour, there are only so many hours in a month, then I would need more staff to scale etc.. This just didn’t make sense. I also lost the joy of using peoples money to create campaigns in a very stail industry! I was seeing media house dropping like flies, magazines weren’t selling, people stopped watching TV as much and started streaming, no one looks up at billboards anymore, all the while , everyone is staring down at their phones!
My big realisation was that there was a big shift happening with marketing trends, if I wanted to do something big, I had to get onto peoples screens to become visible again!
Where my journey really began!
I started doing research online! I realised there was one reason why anyone spends money on marketing, is because they need to make more sales! The only way to make more sales is to get more leads! The only way to get leads, is to drive traffic to your brand!
- There were billions of people logging into their social media platforms daily.
- The way campaigns are run , can be tracked & measured! I could justify spend!
- Owning data is like owning gold, or even more valuable!
- It was result driven, not time managed!
And so… ‘10X Growth Hackers’ was born.
I pioneered influencer marketing, started connecting brands to influencers, and then started diving deeply into google and Facebook ads! Google is searched for key words, where Facebook is disruptive! I went straight in for disruptive, I didn’t see the point in waiting for people to find the brand, I wanted to learn how to get right Infront of them!
My online journey has ben 3 years now. I have invested almost R1 Million into learning what I know today! I have personally run 150 campaigns to date, where I now have a team of 4 people that does all the tech integration for 10X Growth Hackers. Our goal was to generate over 1 Million rand in sales for client by last year December, we literally 10X’d this and generated over 10 Million rand in sales for our clients!
My skill is lead gen , sending quality traffic through a funnel to turn them into paying customers! I was one of the first females in South Africa building funnels, and have been placed in the top 1% funnel builders in the world.
Our company and team is growing rapidly! We aim to turn over R 15 Million / month within the next year!
My purpose for wanting to make a shit load of money , is to firstly live the life I dream, with no limitations. Secondly, to change and help other businesses as I go along!
Some value
- Raise your frequency from within. It will begin to reflect outwards.
- Give power to failures, they will become your best lessons.
- Educate yourself daily! With no excuse. Google has endless courses & resources available.
- Set your goals, and then times that by 10 …
- Invest in your business ideas. Do NOT pocket your profits. Put more in than you take out, and you will build a money making machine.
- Invest in a mentor
- Adapt with times and trends.
- Maintain a strong online presence!
- Tie your passion to a purpose
I would love to direct any woman into finding their purpose and harnessing their powers!
I will offer a free audit & strategy to anyone that would like to elevate their business: link below.
& anyone that would like to learn how to dominate Facebook ads, build funnels and put their business on auto pilot, contact me, I have a program that I have developed to hep!
Website: www.10xgrowthhackers.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/10xgrowthhackers
Instagram: @10xgrowthhackers
Kind regards,
Kerri-Lee
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