Women Unlocked: Career girl and entrepreneur Andiswa Xaba

KwaZulu-Natal businesswoman Andiswa Xaba is building her own success through hard work and perseverance. 

Her passion for storytelling saw her pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Media and English Literature at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Her love affair for words began when she read Enid Blyton's 'Magic Faraway Tree' when she was just nine. 

She dreamed of becoming a journalist but after graduating found herself working in the advertising and digital marketing industry, which she ended up loving. 

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Andiswa's entrepreneur journey began at the age of 24. 

"I started my first business, SOCIAL, which is a digital marketing micro agency in 2017. Because of my job at the time, I had the opportunity to work with a lot of businesses, big and small. I realised that while a lot of big companies were clued into the power of digital and were making big investments into this space, small companies were getting left behind due to lack of knowledge and lack of budget. So I started SOCIAL as a tool to bridge that gap and help small, local businesses grow," she tells us. 

Her second business, iZULU, is an online marketplace, which Andiswa describes as a first of its kind in South Africa. 

"We offer local makers the opportunity to sell their products on our platforms and [help] consumers to connect with local products and makers they might have not known about. I am super proud to have built a platform that has an offering that is 100% proudly South African and that shouts out the brilliant craftsmanship that exists in our countries." 

Andiswa says she has always been passionate about serving and empowering her local community. 

"Both of my businesses are expressions of that."

Two businesses and a career in advertising is lot to have on her plate. How does she juggle it all?

"I don’t," she laughs. "I’m still learning. I’ve tried my best to set boundaries for myself that contribute to me being more productive, but I definitely don’t always get it right. What does work is to make sure that I’m prioritising rest as a key part of my work schedule."

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An average day in her life begins with a slow, non-rushed morning. 

"I’ll start work between 8:30 and 9am and try to work until 4pm, taking an hour-long lunch break at midday. Once I’ve finished my workday for my job, I try to do some exercise which refreshes me and gets me ready for an evening of working on my businesses. I try to get in a few hours of work in the evenings and then will allow myself some down time before bed which I use to catch up on series or reading. Cooking also helps me wind down so I try to do that as often as I can. 

Andiswa also uses parts of her Sundays to get some work done and plan her week ahead. 

"As my businesses have grown, I’ve also been able to get some help here and there by subcontracting or making use of virtual assistants and freelancers.  This has been life-changing for me and has really helped take the load off when I’m really overwhelmed," Andiswa reveals. 

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One of the challenges the former Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School pupil faces as a young entrepreneur is getting people to take her seriously. 

"Being young, black, and a woman, I’ve had to fight hard to firstly, get a foot in the door, and secondly, for people to take me seriously, despite being fully qualified and having a strong portfolio to back up my qualification. That is still a challenge I deal with today. But I’ve learned to keep my head down, do the work and let the work speak for itself."

Andiswa says her life as an entrepreneur is anything but glamourous. It takes a lot of work and some strategic downtime. 

Her hard work has paid off and was overwhelmed by the response she received when she launched iZULU. 

"I had spent months obsessing over this project and trying to build it to work as well as possible. I was so nervous about having people see what felt like my whole life’s work and the reception and support I got was incredible. It was at our launch that I also realised that what we had built was not only something special, but something that was actually needed in South Africa. Seeing how people engage and connect with our business and the heart of our business remains a constant highlight." 

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SOCIAL is also doing well. 

"With SOCIAL, it was landing our first major retainer with a reputable brand. I couldn’t believe that someone would actually trust me with such a huge task, and looking back, that is definitely one of the moments in my career that challenged me and forced to rise to the occasion and grow into the person that role needed me to be. I must also admit that every piece of work we do feels like a win. Nothing quite beats the feeling of landing a campaign, making a client happy and driving impact for their business."

A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs are afraid to start, fearing they don't know enough. But Andiswa says starting is the first step towards success. 

"Start with what you know and build from there, you don’t have to have all the answers from the beginning. There’s nothing wrong with falling, just learn to fall forward. It’s okay to ask for help." 

COVID-19 threw Andiswa a curveball most businesses were not expecting. But she did what she needed to keep her business thriving. 

"When lockdown began, there was a hard ban on e-commerce trading and courier services, which meant my marketplace, iZULU, could not operate. It was also disheartening to see that even after the restrictions had been lifted, sales did not pick up immediately, so there was a good two to three-month period where no money was coming into the business.

"One of the things I implemented on our marketplace, was free shipping on all orders. Research shows that shipping costs are one of the things that contribute to people dropping off at checkout. I was blessed to be in a position where I could pivot in this way in order to gain momentum in sales once again. And it worked!" 

She knows there are still many challenges ahead, but she is ready for whatever life throws her way.

"My number one priority remains building a business that is agile enough to survive the storms and continue delivering for the sake of the makers that partner with us and the consumers who buy from us."

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She might have originally planned to become a journalist, but entrepreneurship has always run in her blood. 

"My maternal grandparents were business owners and so were both of my parents, at varying degrees. I knew from a young age that I too wanted to be an entrepreneur, and having examples before me spurred me on. From watching my parents and grandparents, I knew that being an entrepreneur would take a sharp mind, a lot of hard work, sacrifice and determination. The nitty gritty’s I’ve learnt along away, although I have been lucky to be able to seek invaluable counsel and support from my parents when I’ve needed to."

Andiswa says women who want to start their own business should not let self-doubt hold them back. 

"It’s easy to get into your head and convince yourself that you need to be in a certain place or have a certain qualification or a certain level of funding to be ready. But despite what the world (and social media) might tell you, your ideas are valid now, your work is valid now and your unique contribution is needed in the world now. So just start."

Visit www.izulu.shop to find out more about Andiswa's online marketplace. You can also email [email protected] to learn more about SOCIAL.