Bronwynne Wiehl, a South African social media consultant advising leaders on their content strategies — Lionesses of Africa

Why should anyone use your service or product?

Most of my clients mirror my journey. I left corporate and didn’t quite know who I was. I had to start from scratch so I know how scary it can be to build a brand on social media. But with the basket of skills that I took with me after two decades in corporate, I was able to do it successfully. This is what I teach entrepreneurs to do today. Trust me, I’ve walked in your shoes. It’s possible once you start owning your story and telling it fearlessly.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

I grew up in the trenches of corporate life, first at Anglo American, then at Standard Bank. But I outgrew corporate and wanted more out of life. I was frustrated with the politics and bureaucracy. I took a huge leap of faith and started my own social media business, having run the Standard Bank Group social media team for a couple of years before I left. I knew that my knowledge would benefit so many people. What I didn’t realize then, and what I would learn in the three years after I left the bank, was that my greatest value was in fact helping professionals build their personal brands on social media, something I taught myself to do. When you work for a corporate, you hide behind their brand. But no one teaches you how to sell yourself and build your reputation when you need to do it for yourself or your small business. And for most people, it can be frightening and crippling. But I teach people to overcome that fear and to shine!

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

I want to offer online training and regular webinars so that my coaching reaches a wider network of people who need to get their voices heard and their content seen on social media.