Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, I have a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy, practicing in the field of mental health, neuro-rehabilitation and community development. I am one of the Directors of a non-profit company called Jozi 4 Autism that raises awareness about Autism in the City of Johannesburg and promotes equal access to services for families from underprivileged areas. I am also the founder and Director of a Website Consulting Business called Digital Engage.
When I was in my early 30’s and with 4 kids under the age of 10 in tow, I took a complete detour, up skilled myself in the art and practice of WordPress web design and online marketing and started my own business. I now refer to myself as a ‘multi-passionate entrepreneur’ and firmly believe that it is never too late to learn something new or follow a completely different career path.
Having children, particularly for women, changes everything. I wanted to be at home with my kids, but at the same time I craved the intellectual stimulation that repeat episodes of Barney and cleaning tops and bottoms of kids tends to suck from your life. So, with my health sciences knowledge and academic writing experience behind me I started freelancing as a health/wellness content writer.
It was also around 2011 that I had an idea to create a website that made it easier for people with disabilities in South Africa, to find equipment, services and information pertaining to the condition they or their loved ones experienced. This stemmed from my own difficulties as a therapist looking for resources for my patients. My cousin set me up with hosting, installed WordPress and told me to learn. After hours of learning code, themes, customization and the hard lessons a hacked site teaches you, I am now a proficient WordPress website creator. My first website was so very ugly, but at the time I thought was the most beautiful website I ever laid eyes on!
As I am always hungry to learn, I found myself in this digital world, learning about digital marketing, social media and content marketing. I decided to formalize all this knowledge and experience by doing a certification in Digital Marketing through UCT Get Smarter and formalized my business in October 2015 when I joined the Awethu Project Business Incubator.
My personal philosophy in life is:
“Let brave be the partner of fear. Fear helps you prepare, Brave helps you act”