Pat Mahlangu recently set aside R300 000 worth of time to help three youth-owned businesses in their media, marketing and communications strategy. The occasion? He was celebrating the Lerato Agency’s third birthday.
Set up three years ago in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lerato Agency has worked with over 30 JSE-listed brands, as well as the Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards and the Festival of Youth-Owned Brands.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the third-year anniversary of Lerato Agency, a milestone that marks our continued growth and success in the industry. As we reflect on our journey, we recognise the invaluable support we have received from our clients and partners,” Mahlangu says.
“This initiative aligns with our core values of fostering entrepreneurship and sustainable growth. We are dedicated to growing and nurturing these startups into brands by investing our resources and mentorship.” Entries closed on 31 July, and winners will be revealed soon.
In the meantime, The Media Online caught up with Mahlangu to find out more about his media journey.
- Why did you decide to branch out with your own business/venture, rather than work for other companies or corporates?
At the core of my being, I am an entrepreneur. I am a self-starter and I take calculated risks. Working for a corporate would require me to always be asking for permission to pursue ideas, which is not ideal. As an entrepreneur I am able to start where I am with whatever resource I have at my disposal.
- Give us a brief history of your media venture? What gave you the idea? How did it begin, and how has your business journey unfolded?
I started Pat on Brands while completing my Master’s degree at the University of Johannesburg as a passion project. The idea was inspired by Jeremy Maggs’ Maggs on Media. I used to religiously watch the show to a point where I thought to myself that if there is a Maggs on Media, then there can be a Pat on Brands and Pat on Brands will give Pats and Slaps on brands.
Today, the platform has evolved from being a mere blog to now hosting events and award shows and covers a wide range of content.
- What challenges did you face as a media entrepreneur and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge I faced starting out was “credibility”. As a young media entrepreneur, you are perceived to be inexperienced and lacking credibility. I overcame that by establishing my own properties which “credible” people wanted to associate with.
- How is the current load shedding nightmare affecting your business and what strategies have you employed to tackle the challenges?
Load shedding has direct and indirect implications on our business. The direct impact is on the on the cost. Our landlord charges us for backup power. The indirect impact is through our suppliers, particularly printers who require longer turnaround times and charges more.
- Has there been a moment of success that has really stood out for you and that is your favourite on your journey? To what do you attribute your success?
When we hosted the inaugural Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards. It was the most impactful project I have ever worked on and it was well received by the intended audience – the youth. It is bigger than me. It involved a multitude of stakeholders and required great coordination which is what made it successful.
- What characteristics do you think make a successful media entrepreneur?
You have to be a people’s person as you are required to be consistently engaging with people. You must always be cultivating relationships with current and prospective clients so that you can better cater for their needs.
The media industry is forever changing therefore as a media entrepreneur you got to have an inquisitive mind and adapt to the changes. New platforms emerge every now and then, therefore you got to stay abreast with them.
Have the ability to build and grow audiences because media in its nature is reliant on audiences irrespective of the platforms. Lastly, you got to be comfortable with failure and rejection because you get 100 NOs before you get 1 YES.
- Your advice to young media entrepreneurs or those looking to start new media businesses?
It has never been easier to enter the media industry, thanks to the digitisation of the platforms. You can start your media business through social media which means you have low startup costs (if any).
So that where you are, with what you have, and grow your media business. For those that have already started, they need to embrace change, embrace new platforms. They must not be scared to start from scratch on new platforms.
They must also build a solid sales force because without sales/advertisers their businesses will not grow.
- What, in your view, needs to happen to encourage more media entrepreneurs, and not just that, help them stay the course?
Brands need to allocate budgets to emerging platforms. Unfortunately, many emerging media businesses are not getting paid. They are only get invited to media events. Without income the platforms don’t grow. They can’t invest in tools and latest tools.
- How do you ‘pay it forward’?
In all my entrepreneurial endeavours, I plug in young people whether hire them to work for me or outsource none core functions to youth-owned businesses. In fact, for the Top 16 Youth-Owned Brands Awards, 80% of our suppliers are youth-owned and run businesses.
The only non-youth-owned businesses is because it is virtually impossible to find youth-owned businesses, for example a venue.
- What quote or passage do you think encapsulates you and your approach to business and success?
Never Average. Always Awesome.
