#WIB-Q&A With Lara Magnus Founding Member Of Orange Ink
1. Can you please tell us more about your business?
A. Orange Ink is a full-service communication, PR, and digital agency – we’re focused on helping build brands. We pride ourselves on being able to look at things from a different perspective. Our business of strategy, storytelling and brand management provides a platform for a unique brand approach. With over 17 years’ experience in the industry, we’ve become a partner of choice to businesses across several key sectors both locally and globally. And we differentiate ourselves by truly living our values of integrity and delivery.
More recently, we also opened INK&Co., a specialised B2B PR agency that is geared to offer a comprehensive scope of services tailored for niche markets. The agency offers integrated communications and channel consulting; as well as being able to offer full support on any digital exposure streams. The agency’s leadership team has worked across business, technology, industrial and vertical markets for over a decade and holds a wealth of sectorial knowledge and experience.
2. When, how and why did you start your business?
A. Orange Ink was established in 2003, by myself and Meggan Liebenberg. We had both worked together for a large global PR agency and struck up a really good working relationship – and in fact just became two parts of one brain 😊. We took a leap of faith in 2003 and decided to start up our own agency – as we felt that there was a gap in the market for an agency that could truly adapt and tailor its services to the SA landscape and its requirements.
3. What is your role in the business?
A. I am the client services director, across both Orange Ink and INK&Co. and help drive and support the team with strategy and risk mitigation. My real passion lies in crisis communications and I work closely with clients to support them on these requirements.
4. Where did you study and what did you study?
A. I studied at the University of Johannesburg, which was known as RAU in my days 😊 and I undertook a BA in Communications, specialising in English and Marketing. The subject choice of English was more a ‘passion project’ for me – as I love literature and poems.
5. How did you finance your business?
A. In the worst way possible 😊 Meggan and I cashed in our RA policies to provide our initial funding and we were also lucky enough to have our family provide us with a small loan (which we paid back as soon as possible). It was a tough journey, working very late into the night, taking on any project to ensure we could pay bills and sharing a PC – all in my spare bedroom.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
A. The only typical part of my day is reading – I read all the time. Scanning news reports, research reports, blogs etc. to ensure I understand the market movements for my clients and can consult with them correctly. Beyond that, my day is dependent on client projects on the go, team support required, lots of writing and proofing – and then making sure I also work with my business partner to actually run our own businesses – from an operational perspective.
7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?
A. To be honest, in the beginning this was not a concept I could balance at all. I worked all hours – and making sure the business was sustainable consumed me. The turning point was when Meggan and I started working with a business coach – who would meet with us once a week and act almost like a ‘chairman of our board’ – guiding us on decisions and growth. He imparted a few key lessons that started to make our ability to balance things a little easier – and boy would he push us on these monthly, until we got it right.
- Find the right resources and speak your vision to them – daily!
- Build up a savings kitty of at least 3-6 months in operating expenses
- The purpose of a business is to make money and get clients – be clear on how you do this and why
- Never chase money – chase a vision – but make sure this vision is real
- Never skimp on your legal and operational requirements – this can break a company down the line – do things properly and make sure you work with people that understand your industry sector and can advise you correctly
- Always hire people that are smarter than you. The best leaders are the ones who are not afraid to surround themselves with outstanding people and let them shine
8. What drives you and inspires you?
A. Ideas. I love coming up with new solutions to a problem or a new way of doing things. Communication touches the lives of everyone and being able to tailor an approach that actually works for a client, and their audience, can be really rewarding. I also love mentoring people – helping them reach their own potential or vision – or even clients – to achieve their own vision for their company.
9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
A. At night – just before I go to sleep. My mind is always racing, so I have started to just go with it – and if my ideas come at night, then I tend to write them down there and then – and then let them settle before I decide whether they make sense or not.
10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?
A. Most of our business leads come from word-of-mouth. In our industry, if you over promise and do not deliver, people will know. At the same token, they also know if you are an agency they can trust. However, like many businesses, we also use social media platforms, blogs, and some selected industry press to position our thoughts and work.
11. What is next for your business?
A. There are so many ‘nexts’…in our field the possibilities are endless – but the trick is to ensure we remain focused on our core vision. Given the uptake of data, new ways of communicating and new approaches to engagement out there, we ensure we remain abreast of these, while growing our talent pool and expanding our business footprint with partnerships overseas and into Africa. A more personal ‘next’ has always been to grow both agencies to create a legacy for staff to be able to drive and manage on their own. We want to continue to attract great talent and retain individuals that have the same passion for outstanding delivery and creativity, which we have always tried to uphold.
12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?
A. I believe we still face a challenge of encouraging women to become entrepreneurs – and we need more female-led businesses. Women just see the world differently and in turn, this impacts their approach – you only have to examine global entrepreneurs like Coco Chanel, Estee Lauder and Oprah Winfrey to see this in action – where their business operations are very much focused on helping women reach or realise their own potential. And more of this is needed. I am a proud advocate for women development and empowerment and have many remarkable women to thank for my own successes.
Today, women in business are tenacious, adaptable and bring a good balance to the workforce, occupying positions of leadership in many sectors – and these skills can be translated in owning and running their own business. And I would advise them not to forget this. Use the skills that make you, uniquely you, to occupy your own space.
Great business ideas can be conceived anywhere – at a kitchen table, over drinks with friends, just as much as they can be done in a business school – but we need bolder training programmes at school level to booster ideas and confidence in these ideas and become better at our own networking and mentoring programmes to support and drive these abilities in women.
To any potential female entrepreneur – I would say, hold onto your tenacity and spirit and do not lose this, as it will get you through some of the long days ahead. In fact, I have heard it said that in emerging markets, women reinvest most, if not all, of their earnings in their families and communities — which means that investing in women is an investment in our collective future.
Short Bio:
Lara Magnus is one of the founding members of Orange Ink and INK&Co. Having understood the need to establish communication companies that can demonstrate how brands engage in meaningful conversations with their public(s), she opened Orange Ink, together with Meggan Liebenberg, in June 2003 and INK&Co. in 2019. Lara holds a BA Communications degree from The University of Johannesburg and has a keen interest in Crisis Communications as a PR discipline.
Contact information:
Email: lara@orangeink.co.za or lara@inkandco.co.za
Mobile: 082 898 7476
Social media links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-magnus-685a721/
Website: www.orangeink.co.za
Website: www.inkandco.co.za
Instagram: @orange_ink_pr