#WIB-Q&A With Zumurrud Rinquest Managing Partner At Curious & Creative
1. Can you please tell us more about your business?
A. We’re in the business of building brands through content creation. That can be anything above-the-line such as brand identity, strategic direction, conceptualisation, design, copywriting, digital advertising, social media marketing, creative direction, photography design, and events. We specialise in the retail, hospitality, FMCG, and financial sectors.
We’re a lean, dynamic team of exceptional female creatives. We’re strategic, insightful, agile professionals. Our strength comes from hiring the right people, who create a culture that fosters creativity and innovation. We are more than a team of diverse individuals, each with their own personality and special power, together we are a powerful and dynamic team of women who support each other and each other’s successes.
It’s all about collaboration, teamwork and forging strong, dynamic partnerships. We believe in creative magic!
2. When, how and why did you start your business?
A. I started my creative agency career at The Jupiter Drawing Room in 2005. This gave me an opportunity to work with some of the best minds in the industry. After 5 years at Jupiter JHB and a series of well-earned promotions to reach the position of Creative Group Head (various retail accounts under my belt). I relocated to The Jupiter Drawing Room in CT, where I worked on many accounts namely Woolworths, V&A, American Swiss, Medi clinic, Elizabeth Arden to name a few.
The next agency in my path was Ogilvy & Mather CT where I worked on clients such as Volkwagen, Abu Dhabi Travel & Tourism which led to international travel for work. After being at Ogilvy for a year, I decided I had enough experience and now had a burning desire to start my own agency.
I have always been driven and determined to bring every detail of my dream into reality. After all, I’m a career woman at heart, and a creative through it all. Although it took some time to get there, through sheer hard work and resourcefulness, Curious & Creative agency was born in 2013.
One day I walked into a boardroom filled with grey suits, white walls and the giant heads of all things corporate. I stood there feeling like a very small, yellow fish in a giant shark tank, but it would turn out to be the business I had been waiting for.
In the beginning, it was just me and a handful of clients and briefs. I had to be creative on many levels, especially since I had the skills but not the space. Coffee shops became my office meeting room and I never imagined that I would have that many flat whites in order to land new clients and grow my business.
3. What is your role in the business?
A. My role at the beginning was purely Creative Director which remained fixed for the first 5 years with 2 -3 staff, but then came the realisation that my focus needed to be on growing the agency. Having built Curious & Creative from the ground up, I went through the transition from Creative Director and Founder to Managing Partner.
With ever-evolving demands, my role has required many different hats, from Client service to Project Manager and Financial Director the next day. All these skills that have been acquired, could only be learnt in a smaller agency where one needs to be an octopus to survive!
4. Where did you study and what did you study?
A. Graphic Design & Advertising at Ruth Prowse School of Art & Design (2002).
I began as any bright-eyed 20 something looking for an opportunity to get into the Ad industry. I started my advertising career in a media department on the ShopRite/Checkers account. Then attended Ruth Prowse school of Art & design at night whilst building my portfolio. In 2002 I completed a 3-year diploma and straight after college joined a small design agency as a junior designer in Bree street CT.
Further development included completing the Innovator Trust Business Incubation Programme (3yrs), completing the Finance for Non-Financial Managers course as well as the Developing Women in Leadership course, both with the Graduate School of Business (GSB).
5. How did you finance your business?
A. In the beginning I bootstrapped the business, working out of my bedroom and coffee shops. Two years into it I got support through an incubation programme called the Innovator Trust which helped with mentorship for growth as well as grant funding for equipment which saved a lot of costs.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
A. I am 100% a multitasker, which small business owner is not? No day at Curious & Creative is ever the same. It begins with status meetings with the team which always involves food, thereafter its client meetings and presentations. Internal creative reviews and brainstorming sessions take place throughout the day. Getting clients’ approval or putting out fires to better manage client expectations are somehow happening in-between the production. We keep our energy levels up with the everyday office banter, good coffee, and great music while we try to meet that next deadline! Did I forget to mention admin? Maybe there is a reason I did not.
7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?
A. After a full day at the office when I get home it’s family time, with tweens at home that demand my attention I have no choice but to prioritize them. I started this year off, consciously doing activities where I switch off which can include listening to that podcast on serenity.
The words “Be Present in this moment” has been a mantra in the works. Never an easy task but I have realized the importance of listening to my body and giving my mind a break before it gets tired. The pandemic has taught me to slow down and make time for what’s important.
8. What drives you and inspires you?
A. A good underdog story always brings out the best in me. Because my early life was not all roses and everything I have achieved came not only from hard work and perseverance; but from receiving help from people who believed in me. I therefore, find inspiration in the struggle for success by the most unlikely people.
My C&C team motivate me daily by showing up and giving their best, that positive energy charges me to do more and be more.
My husband and children are my biggest inspiration. I try to be the best example by showing them that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.
9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
A. Ideas can come from anywhere if you listen carefully, for me almost always in the shower, and I am being dead serious. I have researched this to understand why, and it’s because of the release of Dopamine, which is critical to creativity, it happens when we’re relaxed, feeling great, listening to music, exercising, and yes, even taking a shower!
10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?
A. When I started the business it was mostly through word of mouth, and relying on my network of relationships to open doors and for creating opportunities. This lead to briefs which turned into building trusted relationships and growth. Then came social media and the shift to digital, we needed to adapt as eyes were on us. Being relevant and sharing digitally is the new gold standard for building a brand and reputation. Visual platforms allow for quick content to draw in potential customers who are interested in knowing more about your brand.
We are also in an industry where pitching is a norm, so being invited to pitches or pitching ideas to potential new clients is another way of securing new business.
11. What is next for your business?
A. To grow the agency one brief at a time, continue to upskill myself and the staff to ensure that we are up to date with the ever changing digital landscape. In the next few years I would love to create an incubator for creative talent, mostly women of colour in the Western Cape. We hope to couple this with a bursary programme that will focus on the upliftment. This will provide a doorway for talent who are not by the financial means to empower themselves through formal education. The dream has always been to build a network of strong women with a mutual love of creativity in business and that’s what we have achieved at C&C.
12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?
A. Be fearless. Don’t let imposter syndrome stop you. It won’t always pan out how you have planned it, so be adaptable and willing to follow the journey of growth you find yourself on. Build a support network of people that inspire you. A mentor/ business coach is a great benefit, getting advice from someone not inside your business is important. A trustworthy accountant/ advisor is a must, someone that will help you think through the opportunities and risks, especially once the business grows.
Find us at: https://curiousandcreative.co.za/@ curiousandcreative