Cassy van Eeden
This is exactly what Liezel Malherbe, owner and editor of 9Lives, did. She took a risk. She stood the chance of either landing up with egg on her face or creating something truly great. Luckily, for Malherbe, it was the latter.
What is 9Lives?
9Lives is an online lifestyle publication that provides useful, entertaining and educating content for thousands of viewers each day. The website covers nine categories: fashion; beauty; art and design; interior; food, including recipes, restaurant reviews and drinks; health; tech; be there, which covers and reviews all kinds of exciting events and festivals; and kick back, a section dedicated to easy reading content.
Although some of her content is contributed by guest authors, Malherbe says 95% of the content on
9Lives is all her. “I don’t dedicate my life to my website, my website is my life,” she explains. “Every free moment I have, I spend [it] creating content.”
Take a risk, because YOLO
After just six months of interning in the beauty department at the
YOU/
DRUM/
Huisgenoot brand, Malherbe was appointed junior beauty and décor editor for all three magazines. She stayed in the role for a year before she started “itching for a new challenge”.
Like most entrepreneurs, Malherbe was faced with two choices: either she could stay at Media24 where she was climbing the corporate ladder at a remarkable speed, or leave the position and pursue her dreams of owning and running an online lifestyle publication.
She went with the second option. And she’s glad she did. In just two years the publication has grown an impressive following and established itself as an authoritative, trusted voice in the media space.
The bright idea
In 2012 when Malherbe began developing her idea for the 9Lives platform, she made a prediction about the media industry that was not only accurate, but was the impetus for her business. “It was an interesting time in the media because blogging was starting to become an industry,” she says.
“But now everybody’s a blogger. Everyone’s gotten into the industry. And I knew that was going to happen, so I didn’t want to wait three or four years and then by the time I start a blog, I’m competing with thousands of other people.”
The secret to success
“Starting your own thing is quite terrifying,” says Malherbe. Although Malherbe’s success is largely a result of hard work and always striving for excellence, she also attributes her accomplishments to chance.
“There are a lot of times where you don’t know what you’re doing,” she says. But this never held Malherbe back. “What I learned is, when you doubt yourself, just do it anyway. And most of the time [you will find] that you can.” She recalls thinking: “Maybe I can’t do it. But I’m going to try anyway and see what happens.” Before long she discovered that believing that you’re capable of anything is more important than any technical skill.
Malherbe doesn’t just represent
9Lives, she lives them. The idea behind her website and the content she creates is to encourage and equip her readers to live their lives to the fullest in every possible way. Just like she is doing.
For more information, visit the 9Lives website. Alternatively, connect with the publication via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.