The #bossbabe series is back with the incredible Bianca Naidoo.
Bianca is a 26 year old brand strategist and entrepreneur currently making waves in the industry.
She has an incredible story that began with her studying dentistry for 3 years. Having realized dentistry was not her true passion in life, she made the decision to leave dentistry in order pursue her own passions.
This was not without struggle has she had to first conjure up the courage to let her parents know that she no longer wanted to pursue a career in dentistry. Thankfully, her parents were supportive of her dreams.
“I can’t say they weren’t initially upset – I mean, I wasted three years in Cape Town having them pay for my lifestyle and fees, all go to waste – I felt like quite a disappointment and that had quite a severe knock-on effect on my mental state. In fact, I read somewhere that 1 out of 3 people go through depression at some point in their life and for me – this is when I was at my pits.”
Many young woman can relate to Bianca’s story and she is passionate about is showing people that they can pursue their passions and be successful!
“Throughout this time there was still a little flame inside me that knew I was going to work even harder to be successful and also make my parents proud.”
Bianca then made the leap to branding and marketing; she joined her cousin who runs a successful international Marketing and Events company called Great Idea Corporation.
“I clearly remember working as his PA during my December holidays in 2014 thinking “what am I doing with my life!?” But, as fate would have it and in hindsight, everything I learned with him about running a successful business I’ve adapted to my own company. That first-hand experience made a world of a difference now – as I learned the ins and outs of running a company- from the sleepless nights managing a project, to managing clients and their expectations, and even how to price and negotiate effectively. I will forever be grateful to those who’ve supported me along my journey.”
After falling in love with marketing and media, she pursued and completed her degree at Vega School, officially making her a Brand Strategist by profession. Bianca emphasises that academia is still something that she wishes to pursue in the near future.
“One has to be constantly learning, as the field I am in is one that is ever-changing . Education is a never ending journey and in the near future I hope to complete my MBA.”
We asked Bianca about her business Ascend and got to know her more on a personal level:
Tell us about your business?
Ascend is a full-service media agency. Our core business is brand consultancy, however we are also experts in the digital realm, providing a host of digital services such: Organic and Paid Social Media Marketing, SEO Marketing and Google Adwords, PR and a host of others services.
We work with brands and individuals who are looking to expand their brand awareness, strategically capture market share, and expand their digital sales strategy with modern techniques.
Ascend began in my second year of campus as a promotional agency. During this time we’ve had the privilege of working with prestigious brands such as Vodacom, Nedbank, Skyy Vodka, Olmega Tequila, and a host of other local brands and restaurants.
Over the years I’ve built quite a strong network of like-minded businessmen and women. I’ve also cultivated a circle of friends who own businesses who know and trust my work-ethic, this then led to a lot work coming my way.
Ascend then evolved from a promotions agency. Due to the strong relationships I had built and ever-expanding scope of work that came my way, this led me to expanding not only my services but my comfort zone – developing the brand into Ascend Marketing which is a force to be reckoned with today.
The journey has been stressful to say the least, but so rewarding in the end. It takes late nights and early mornings. A lot of the entrepreneurial journey is just not giving up, as cliché as it sounds. You have to have a passion for what you do to stick out the hard times. I will forever be grateful to the friends and family that helped along the way.
We now have offices in Durban, however I am based between Durban and Cape Town. Ultimately setting up offices in New York and London would be the goal. As of recent, as in the last few weeks, we received quite a few potential international clients. I think it’s important not to put yourself in a geographical border. We live in global community and it’s vital that entrepreneurs leverage off that.
How have you been impacted by lock down both personally and professional?
It has obviously put a dampen on business. Our clients, especially those in the hospitality and food industry have really faced some unprecedented challenges over the past few months. But this time has also left much room for personal growth and development. It’s easy to take the glass half empty approach, but many of us now have more time to spend with family, learn new skills, and just expand your horizons. We can’t choose what the world throws at us, but we can choose how we respond to it.
I’ve also seen more and more people moving towards online and moving WITH the digital world – and at Ascend Marketing pride ourselves on being experts in this field. We are currently building some cool apps and online systems for clients who have adapted to the “new normal” and I think it’s amazing to see people take a negative situation and pull positives out of it. Ascend Marketing has also adapted to this new normal. Having transformed the business to a brand consultancy and digital media agency – we have now expanded our service offerings to include a host of tech services. Ascend now offers everything from app development to building eCommerce sites. We have partnered up with a team that has been in the tech space for over 10 years, and together we are currently assisting and walking our clients through adapting to the “new normal”.
Having had an attitude of gratitude this entire time has resulted in many wins on my part and I think young people should learn that it’s so important to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, as opposed to being consumed by all the things that can go wrong. Giving back to our community is also a very important aspect of my partners and my life, and during this time we have found an even greater cry for help, so we have also been keeping busy with outreach initiatives.
As someone who is quite successful in your career at an early age, what advice would you offer other young females?
It might sound cliché but it’s so important to be confident in who you are.
I always believed in myself. From an early age I knew I was destined to do something great. I come from humble beginnings, my parents worked extremely hard to provide the absolute best for my sisters and I. Seeing them work so hard, further fuels my desire to do the same. That’s a key take-away for entrepreneurs – always remember why you started, and that will be the continuous fuel to your fire.
Another important piece of advice I want young people to take from this is- LIVE YOUR PASSION. Don’t live the life society expects of you or your parents expect from you. Yes your parents have raised you and put you through school, but they won’t be doing what you’re doing 10-15 years down the line, you will. If you want any chance at success and true happiness, then find what drives you and if you can make a career out of it or study something along the lines of it , then do that. I promise you – from first-hand experience, you’ll save yourself a lot of grief and your parents a lot of money too.
I think young people need to develop and bold and brave attitude when speaking openly to their families about their career choice. Respect should be a given when doing so. I know first-hand that having these uncomfortable conversations with parents are never easy, but giving it a shot and allowing to let them see things from your perspective – FOR YOUR FUTURE – is worth a chance. And every parent wants their kid to be happy. It took a lot of guts to tell my parents I want to leave dentistry – they didn’t speak to me for weeks on end, but in hindsight, it was all worth it and has brought me to the happiest place I’ve been in my life.
I am also a natural born hustler and that’s a trait I developed at an early age from my mom who’s a kick-ass businesswoman and I respect her for being the strong provider that she is. I remember her saying ‘Never depend (financially) on anyone else’ – that’s now ingrained in my mind. A key takeaway for entrepreneurs, especially businesswomen, is that you need to be able to hold your own!
It is a recipe for success and happiness when you and your partners goals align. I love the saying “Never above you, never beneath you, always beside you” That is evident in my relationship. It has taken us years of personal growth to get to this point, but if you can come to that point in your relationship – you’ve got an untouchable team. Forget about being a cute couple and start focusing on being a strong team.
The journey has also taught me to stay grounded in who I am and never forget why I started. I think that also draws back to my upbringing – my dad always instilled humility in my sisters and I and I so vividly remember him saying that “No matter where you go, never forget who you are or where you came from.” I believe that we’ve all been given a purpose by God and we if you truly believe in yourself and your power you can achieve anything.
So now that we know more about Bianca, the powerful business woman, lets find more about her style!
Your 5 must have makeup/beauty products?
There’s so many!!!! I definitely believe having a good skincare regime minimises the need for heavy daily makeup (I’m one of those weirdos that have an 8 step skincare regime) I do have dark circles, and unfortunately no amount of eye-cream will help that due to sinus issues, so concealer is a must-have in my bag. In no specific order – sunscreen, lipstick, mascara, a hydrating moisturizer (face and body) are also must-haves.
Favourite places to shop?
Also far too many – I love shopping at Zara, Sportscene (any sports luxe store – been really into that as of recent), Forever New, Superbalist and Shop Glow theory (for the best Korean skincare)
Your favourite recipe?
If you follow me you’d know I’m a big foodie and share recipe’s on the regular. I also come from a family of brilliant cooks. However I only learned how to cook in my first year of university when I was literally thrown into the deep-end in Cape Town. (I think that was my parent’s strategy from the beginning to get me to finally learn.) I really can’t put my finger on one right now – but if I’d have to choose it would be between my granma’s lamb curry and my butter chicken.
Dream holiday destination?
My partner and I were planning a Euro trip before the covid19 pandemic hit. But Disneyland Paris is definitely on my top 3 must-see spots. I’d also really like to see the Northern Lights at some point soon and the Maldives if I had to choose a tropical destination.
You can learn more about Ascend Marketing at www.ascendmarketing.co.za
Follow Bianca on Instagram @bianca_b_naidoo
