Margie Muga is a content creator, an Advocate of the High Court as well a partaker in the Music Education business.
Whitney Akinyi is the CEO of The Boss Domain Kenya, which deals with helping individuals and businesses maximize on their potential with a background in brand and digital marketing strategy.
How did you transform from an Advocate of the High Court to the music business and content creation?
Margie: Despite being passionate about music, I leaned towards law after high school after doing well in the KCSE results, plus I had a circle of law professionals. I ended up doing music as my side hustle as I concurrently pursued law. My high school, Loreto Girls, Limuru, played a major role in helping me learn music basics before I finished high school.
I, however, struggled with court work as I found it less thrilling, which led me to resign from my job. I, however, went ahead to join the Kenya School of Law to wind up my law degree. The pressure that comes with having to pass the exams at KSL led me to content creation as a way of managing my study stress. My earlier passion for content creation helped me get a niche that helped me stand out in terms of my content.
How did you crack the digital world and be able to make money out of it?
Margie: After I identified my niche, I wrote down the relevant companies that I wanted to work with, and then I would mention products then tag the companies for free in my content. This really gave me a high conversion rate as the said companies reached out in the first year for paid collaborations.
What is the current position of both the music business and content creation?
Margie: Currently, we have started a music business company (Learn Piano Kenya) that has already signed five clients who are school campuses where we basically run their music classes with our instruments and our teachers. I now play the legal roles of the business as well as human resource roles.
In content creation, for the first three years, I only did hair content and worked with several companies. However, after becoming a mum, I expanded my content to cover motherhood and lifestyle and now hair content has taken a back seat. I also work with small/young brands to help them grow by exposing them to my following base.
Additionally, I am working on getting my practising certificate for the sole purpose of intellectual property law to enable me to be an advocate for creatives, as I realized a lot of content creators are often taken advantage of.
How did you enter the business world?
Whitney: Since I wasn’t a good performer in High School, I was already thinking of what else I could do apart from education. I was already reselling products among the students to make some extra money which contributed to my business-minded nature. I, however, managed to join the university and pursued a Business Administration degree. Through campus, I tried many ventures like forming an entrepreneurs’ club, cryptocurrency, event food vendor, fashion industry and forex trading.
I, however, wanted to do business that was impactful and more valuable than just a buyer-seller contact. I came up with a Planner whose target audience was high schoolers to help them plan and schedule their to-do lists. I, however, had to change my strategy together with the target audience to get business value. This included changing the target audience from high school kids to people with purchasing power, incorporating digital marketing as well as increasing the price.
How did you join the Digital Marketing Space?
The results I got from incorporating digital marketing gave me a special interest in marketing, and I have been able to sell the planner internationally.
When did you realize that employment was not for you?
Whitney: After clearing my degree, my parents were of the idea of me getting a corporate job. I, however, wasn’t fulfilled with what I was doing as I resigned from several jobs within short time frames.
I, therefore, decided to do what I love and move out of my parent’s home, which has opened up my mind to different perspectives.
What are some of the mistakes young people make when thinking about their careers?
Whitney: Young people have the need to want things to happen so fast; forgetting things like promotions, money and growth take time
Margie: Sometimes young people get into the wrong career paths from outside pressure. The education system can help from as early as primary school to help students in choosing careers that work best for different individuals.
What are some of the challenges you have faced in the business world?
Margie: Initially, we had the challenge of getting clients since music wasn’t viewed as a very viable career to pursue in society. However, with the CBC curriculum currently, there is better business growth as schools are even using the availability of music classes as a marketing tool. Though, we still face the challenge of inequality as music is not accorded the same time allocation compared to other subjects, say Mathematics.
Additionally, in content creation, there are common instances where clients/brand managers take advantage of creatives.
Whitney: Having to accept that my dreams are far from normal has been my greatest challenge as I struggled for a long time to be what others wanted me to be
The government can incorporate skills in our education system, like financial management and personal development, that contribute to personal growth.
There should also be a proper plan for entrepreneurs and non-formal income earners to access financial aid like loans from financial institutions.
