A ‘mompreneur’ who goes big in all her endeavours
Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp is a host on Jacaranda FM, the founder of Parent + Baby Brunch, actor and entrepreneur
What do you do at work each day?
Instead of thinking about the work I do in an average day, I think of my work in an average month.
I enjoy auditioning for TV and film roles and always promise my diary and my team that I will do one movie a year, as I enjoy it. Being on Jacaranda FM gives me the opportunity to engage with listeners and to spread good news and use my talent for good. I have a responsibility to keep SA positive and to engage in conversations that uplift people.
As an entrepreneur, my day-to-day consists of creating ideas. I own a small agency that allows me to execute those ideas.
I also produce podcasts, and learn from guests every day who I get to interview before I even do the podcast interview.
What’s the secret to keeping so many balls in the air and not dropping any?
The secret to keeping balls in the air is to have a support network that understands the vision and the DNA of not just the business but why we exist. We drop balls, of course, but it is always important to get up again.
Tell me about your Bag of Joy initiative.
Bag of Joy is a gift solution for all occasions. The first Bag of Joy that we are developing is a bag for the festive season, with which we can hopefully bring joy to people’s homes after a very long year.
How did you first break into TV and radio? TV and radio and breaking into the industry isn’t something I think about often — as a 17-year-old it was more important for me to be on stage, so I could sing and dance.
My first break was in theatre before 2000 when I got to be a principal member of a professional production of Grease . I was a firstyear student at the University of Stellenbosch. Even though landing the role created a lot of shock and anger from my university because first-year students were not supposed to act professionally, it set the tone for the rest of my career to be joyous and to know what I want.
Breaking into TV and radio was just another way to be creative. Because in the 2000s, when I started in TV and radio, it was not about social media, it was about using your talent. I still feel the same way — if I can’t use TV, radio and theatre, my acting work, the work I do as an entrepreneur, as a mompreneur, and the work in my podcast, and use it for good, then what is the reason?
What advice would you give young people eager to pursue a career in broadcasting?
Don’t lose your excitement — always remember why you wanted to do this in the first place.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
The only careers I knew were my mom’s, who was a data capturer in insurance, and my dad’s, who was an accountant. So obviously I wanted to be a data capturer and an accountant.
But also, because my family was so musical, I wanted to be a musician.
Who gave you the best career advice, and what is it?
I get the best pieces of career advice all the time, and one of them was from my mentor, who said: “Don't go small, because you can’t do it over once you go small. If you go big, you can always downsize.”
So perhaps there is truth in the saying, go big or go home. I am not ready to go home yet, I am going big.