LEARNING CURVE | Making his mark on the magazine scene

‘Konvenient’ founder taps into convenience of WhatsApp to promote entrepreneurs

Xola Speelman says the media publications space is an exciting place to be
MAKING CONNECTIONS: Xola Speelman says the media publications space is an exciting place to be
Image: WERNER HILLS

Entrepreneur Xola Speelman was born in Makhanda and raised in Gqeberha.

He  is the creative mind behind the magazine, Konvenient.

Speelman grew up in Kwazakhele before his family permanently moved to Kwanoxolo in Bethelsdorp.

“I have always been a person who enjoys creativity, and bringing in unique and new ways of solving issues,” he said.

“In 2018, a year before the magazine was born, I designed a booklet which was a guide to basic spiritual foundation, using social media language in it, as the target was specifically young people.”

What is the name of your business?

The Konvenient Magazine, formerly known as WhatsApp Magazine and legally registered as WhatsApp Magazine, is a Gqeberha-based publication established in July 2019.

More than 35 editions have been published once a month since its inception.  

How did you manage your business during the pandemic?

The pandemic started just eight months after we were operating, which was just the time we were starting to plan to be visible at events around the city to grow the attention towards the business.

Unfortunately, everyone had to be indoors, but little did we know that was the best time to reach the SA audience as people had all the time in the world to sit down and choose whatever interesting content was available on the social platforms.

WhatsApp became the most-used platform, from high school kids to tertiary students, the working class and entrepreneurs nationwide.

As an SMME-focused publication we gained more traction at that moment, as entrepreneurs wanted more exposure in affordable and convenient ways to reach the audience.

So, without being able to physically go out there for brand visibility, our subscription numbers went up organically during the pandemic. 

Every time, after someone gave us a chance to profile them or a subscriber received a copy, we got a lot of great feedback.

Some subscribers even opted to donate to us because of excitement and their love for this platform celebrating entrepreneurs.

Some people were hesitant to subscribe as they feared sharing their personal contact numbers with a small business, so we had to keep reassuring them that their numbers were 100% safe with us and that we fully understood the importance of people’s personal data.

What makes your business unique?

As a growing magazine distributed to more than 17,000 WhatsApp subscribers, what we are selling is more than just advertising and marketing, but also convenience, which is a simpler way of reaching an audience, and allows for more intimacy with clients.

Traditionally, media publications’ distribution has been mainly emails, online downloads and physical copies, while our publication is primarily distributed via a well-known messaging app used by the masses daily.

The process was either getting a copy from the store, downloading from sites or delivery to your doorstep; we took it further by making sure the audience was receiving a copy from their bed or without going fully online without any hassle.

We believe this is what makes our magazine unique and a step ahead of other publications that are on the same level and in the same industry as us.

What have some of your highlights been in running your business?

We have been able to feature Ami Faku, Cecil Afrika and the likes of Lekau Lehoana from Drip on our cover pages thus far.

How many people do you employ?

I have three freelancers who assist with the website, collecting and editing of stories, but the short goal is to open our platform for media graduates who are unemployed, and offer internships where they can apply what they learnt at university or college so they can gain experience.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt from your business journey so far?

The biggest lesson for me was that one should be open to going broke in the process of funding the business. Also, people skills are one of the best tools in an industry where you deal with people every day.

As a business owner you should not always prioritise money, but protect your brand from associations that can damage your work, regardless of how much revenue that collaboration could bring.

What have been the greatest challenges and advantages of running your business in a city like Gqeberha?

Running a business in Gqeberha has its advantages, for example the city is big enough for you to establish yourself, but small enough if you are slowly scaling up in terms of client base and your product is big enough for just a city.

Other than that, entrepreneurs here have the potential to be bigger and compete with others from bigger cities.

What in your view are the three key traits of a successful entrepreneur?

A successful entrepreneur should work on themself more than they work on their business.

You should be able to build relationships that matter and try to network as much as you can with fellow entrepreneurs near you.

Most important is that entrepreneurs should understand that SA is black and white. As a brand and business you should not let race stand in front of your journey. 

What are the key traits of a successful employer?

You should take good care of the people who work for you — and spend time looking for new business to sustain them rather than just being hands in terms of the day-to-day operations of the business.

What do you wish people knew about your industry?

I wish people knew that there are lots of opportunities in the media publications space and also that it is important to collaborate for growth.

HeraldLIVE

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