At the age of twenty three, Lola Young has achieved more than most people twice her age. This young dynamo graduated with her Diploma in Public Relations (PR) second in the whole of South Africa for the (Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA) Examinations, and was a runner up in the national Africagrowth SMME Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award last year for running her own highly successful PR business in Pietermaritzburg.
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award was high praise indeed for her achievements so far. But rather than rest on her laurels, this recognition only served to spur Young on to create Lola Young Inc, an extension of her present PR business. Lola Young Inc will focus on individuals rather than companies. I asked this highly motivated young woman about her new plans.
“I have created Lola Young Inc as a more specialist PR arm of my current company to highlight individuals and their innovative concepts,” Lola explains. “Profiling an individual and pitching his or strengths to the business world is a fairly new concept in South Africa. In this country PR's usually focus on corporations rather than individuals. What Lola Young Inc offers is to create an awareness – a high profile if you will - of my clients’ own personal strengths and skills which are then made accessible to the widest possible market.”
What about her age, I ask her? Is youth against her in the highly competitive business market? Her answer is unequivocal.
“I believe my age is on my side,” she says. “A PR requires a person who has high energy levels and I still have that! I also have an understanding of people, and enjoy their passions as much as they do. This is vital as I work one on one with the client. Another aspect of Lola Young Inc which is unique is that I do all the work myself. I don’t pass people on to a junior or an assistant. I take my work very seriously, and take each client on as a personal commitment. Although I am young, I have a maturity of someone far beyond my age, and I am able to search out opportunities in all spheres. Therefore, I don’t only look out for opportunities for my own business but always for opportunities for my clients too. My passion for negotiation is another of my strengths. It’s easy to study the theory of PR at college but when you work in PR, you need the ability to work from the heart rather than from the head. I believe I have learnt social techniques to cope with the needs of my clients as well as those to whom I have to market my client. My success with my current clients and my connections with different professional business organizations is proof of my track record so far.”
Young has also started a series of PR workshops as an additional service to the small business community. The first one of the series was run in early January and was billed as “Modelling Public Relations into Small Business.”
“We had various speakers from the PR and marketing fields,” Young explains. “We also opened the floor to delegates so that they could interact with the media to find out the best ways of sending out press releases, for example. It was a great opportunity for delegates to ask questions and find out WHY press releases don’t always get published.”
Young emphasizes that the ultimate goal of these workshops is to assist small businesses in gaining the necessary exposure in relevant publications using a cost effective method. Other areas of PR will also be targeted in future workshops, but the basic beginners’ workshop along the lines of the first will continue to run at regular intervals.
I wondered whether small businesses would want to stretch an already small budget to accommodate the services of a PR. The answer is simple, says Young. “Managers of small businesses usually do everything themselves and try to become an expert at everything, which is often not good for the organisation,” she says. “Through our workshops we hope to assist delegates to become more aware of what PR is really about and how it can be used in their organization, no matter what industry they’re in, essentially highlighting the importance.”
Young really knows what she is talking about. Having started her own business at an early age, she knows many of the pitfalls already. She seemed destined to become a young starter, working in her father’s business from the age of twelve. She helped him with all sorts of “odds and ends” as she calls it. But every moment there was an opportunity for observation and learning more about running a small business.
“Essentially I was learning all the time,” Young explains. “It seemed natural for me to start my own business as soon as I graduated.”
Success is her only option. Already Lola Young Inc is fast becoming well respected for the profiling of individuals with innovative skills. Young’s aim is to promote awareness of the client’s service or skills to grow their organisation or to allow the clients to be head-hunted by larger businesses.
“There is a need for personal profiling out there,” says Young, “and our niche has so far been used only for celebrities. Now we are taking it to businesspeople.”
I asked Young what advice she would pass on to others starting out on their own. Her advice comes from her heart. “If there is one thing I’ve learnt from starting my own business, it’s that people must take risks, build relationships and trust in their passion, no matter how silly it seems to others. My business is my passion in action. Running my own business was one of the greatest ambitions of my life. I took risks and trusted in my passion. And I am living one of my dreams right now. “
It is obvious that the future is very bright for Lola Young, no matter how young she is.
Lola, we salute you!
Lola Young can be contacted at: Y Factor Public Relations Consultancy cc
Tel: (033) 396 6680 E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Website: www.yfactor.co.za
Enter Ewuraba Fashion Gallery