Jessi, the founder of Lately and Gonn, is an accomplished motivational speaker, micro influencer with 100K followers on TikTok and an expert in digital marketing with a wealth of experience spanning a decade. In addition to building her thriving e-commerce personal care brand, Gonn, she has also worked with several global brands, helping them with strategic planning, development, and successful social media marketing. As we close Women’s Month, Jessi reflects on what the month has meant to her.
GLAMOUR: What does Women's Month mean to you?
JESSI VAN RENSBURG: Women's Month provides a dedicated time to celebrate and honour women's contributions and achievements while acknowledging the challenges they continue to face. This month is an opportunity for everyone to take note and recognize inspirational and powerful women who are leading the future. Who runs the world? Girls.
GLAMOUR: Why is it important to celebrate the women of South Africa?
JVR: Celebrating the women of South Africa is essential because they are the backbone of our nation's progress. Their contributions to every aspect of society, from politics and education to business and culture, have been transformative. By honouring powerful South African women during Women's Month, we amplify their voices.
GLAMOUR: What inspires you to be successful?
JVR: I'm a natural-born entrepreneur and leader with a love for the chase of success. What inspires me to be successful is to lead by example, uplifting those around me to help them reach their full potential.
GLAMOUR: What do you think is the most significant barrier to female success?
JVR: The most significant barrier to female success is often a lack of support from the people around them, but more importantly, it's the absence of self-confidence. Many talented women have the potential to be incredibly successful, but unfortunately, they don't always believe in themselves.
GLAMOUR: Your biggest motivation?
JVR: The idea is that I can break the cycle of previous generations, forging a more successful and fulfilled future for generations to come.
GLAMOUR: What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
JVR: Don’t be afraid to take risks and make moves in the direction of your dreams - Jump straight into the deep end, and you’ll be surprised at what you are capable of. Even the mistakes you’ll make are going to help you grow and move forward.
GLAMOUR: Which women are on your radar and why?
JVR: Amanda du-Pont - I feel like she just gets it, her business style and success are inspirational, and I feel like she is an incredible example to young women in South Africa.
Gretta Rose van Riel - She’s a multi-founder of many successful e-commerce businesses and achieved Forbes-level success before the age of 30. She’s the epitome of a boss babe.
GLAMOUR: What’s your message to women in business?
JVR: Whatever your dream/goal is, action it! Even the smallest step forward is bringing you that much closer to your dream. Progress is progress - so action is everything!
GLAMOUR: How did you celebrate Women’s Month?
JVR: I celebrate women every day (not just this month), but I am planning a lunch with the women on my team to celebrate all that we have accomplished together and to celebrate them. I’ll also be intentionally supporting women-founded businesses and routing for their success.
GLAMOUR: Your favourite beauty moment?
JVR My favourite beauty moment is the movement for clean natural ingredients in beauty/personal care products, which we’ve seen increase over the last 5 years. This is something I’m super passionate about and look forward to seeing more and more brands adopt it.
