BACKSTORY: Cheryl Reddy of Eclipse Communications

What is your one top tip for doing a deal?

Understanding the importance of being prepared is not rocket science. The saying that data drives insights and insights inform strategy could not be more true. This emphasises the importance of knowing everything there is to know about a brand before stepping into a meeting. This includes the industry in which it operates, its competitor landscape and, most importantly, the person or people I will be interacting with.

What was your first job?

Armed with a BTech degree in journalism, my first job was as a crime reporter in KwaZulu-Natal.

How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it?

The first income I received was from my role as a hostess at Spur Gateway in 2002, while I was pursuing my journalism studies. I earned R1,050 in my first week, which I quickly invested in purchasing a Dictaphone. Remarkably, I still have this more than two decades later. In terms of my salary as a journalist, this came to R3,500 in 2004.

What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?

As a journalist tasked with interviewing families who had lost loved ones to crime, I couldn’t help but grapple with the profound difficulty of the task. Being inherently empathetic and having experienced the loss of a younger brother myself, I faced the daily struggle of feeling that I was capitalising on someone else’s grief and misfortune, all in the pursuit of a mere byline.

If you could fix one thing in South Africa, what would it be?

Inefficiencies, both on a public and private sector level.

What is the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know?

I am an ambivert — which plays out in my professional and personal life. At work, I am an extrovert who is a great communicator and thrives in social interactions with my team and clients. In my personal life, I often gravitate towards solitude, pursuing my passions independently and embracing my ability to tackle projects on my own.

What is the worst investment mistake you’ve made?

My first property. I was quite young when I bought it and was naive in terms of what to look for: key aspects such as location, potential and the like. I eventually sold the property at a loss.

What is the best investment you’ve made? And how much of it was due to luck?

The development of myself, including self-development and additional studies to move my career away from journalism and into communications. None of it can be attributed to luck, but rather hard work, focus, direction, time, sacrifices and a drive like no other.

What is the best book you have read recently and why did you like it?

After reading Children of Sugarcane by Joanne Joseph, I managed to get my hands on another of her books, Drug Muled: Sixteen years in a Thai prison — The Vanessa Goosen Story.

Joseph’s storytelling is utterly captivating. Once you’re immersed in the story, you’re drawn into the narrative until the very last page. The book narrates Vanessa’s story, where she is duped into bringing back heroin-stuffed books for a friend. It follows her journey to arrest, imprisonment, love, and so on.

What is the hardest life lesson you have learnt so far?

Having lost both my siblings and my dad tragically over the years, that grief has profoundly shaped me and how I live my life. I live more, laugh more and love more because I know first-hand how short life is.

What phrase or bit of jargon irks you most?

“Everything happens for a reason.” While it may suggest a belief in destiny or even a higher power, I believe it will depend on an individual’s beliefs and perceptions. I could give several examples that would leave one stumped as to the “reasons” behind these occurrences. It may also encourage laziness, complacency and a lack of a solutions-driven mindset.

What is something you would go back and tell your younger self that would impress them?

I would tell my younger self how right our parents were, and that hard work really does pay off.

If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow?

I believe South Africa is rife with potential and resilience. However, all decisions made need to be more impactful. Doing so will result in a happier society and a stronger nation, where every community thrives.