Babalwa Mcaciso is so many things. She is a full-time content creator, an influencer with a quarter of a million Instagram followers, the founder of BNM Loungewear, a mother of two little boys – and she’s only 27 years old!
As the very first guest on episode 1 of the Future Females Show hosted by Media Personality & Transformational Coach, Susana Kennedy, and Co-Founder & CEO of Future Females, Lauren Dallas, Babalwa shared her amazing journey of going from full-time employee to full-time creator.
ALSO SEE: 5 Lessons From 5 Years by the Future Females Founders
It all begins with YOU…
I’ve always known that I wanted to be in the media industry. As a child growing up I told my parents that one day I’m going to be on TV. Some way, somehow, I wanted to be in front of the camera to inspire other people, and I believe I was born to do just that.
The power of the tongue and manifesting everything you have in your life, is so important. It all begins with you speaking to yourself in a specific way. A lot of people around you may think, “Shame, she is so cute, she is dreaming” but the reality is, it all comes down to the law of attraction. You attract things you believe you deserve to have and when you start believing that way, your daily walk will be based on you believing that you are going to acquire certain things. If you believe that you’re going to be a CEO, if you believe that you’re going to be a multi-millionaire woman, if you believe that you’re going to be the first woman in your family to have multiple businesses, you will… It all begins with YOU.
What led you to content creation and how did you take steps to be able to quit your job and do this full-time?
I went on to study Advertising after school, did integrated marketing communications, and worked in advertising for about five to six years. I started doing content creation at the beginning of lockdown. I always knew that I wanted to get into this space but I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I got sick and tired of working in advertising and I kept on complaining to my husband every day. One day, after coming home from work, we shot about five videos for YouTube (we didn’t know what we were doing back then!). To cut a long story short, my social media influencer career picked up to the point where I needed to quit my job because I got so busy that at work I had to make up excuses during lunch breaks to go to shoots. I felt bad for having had to lie, but I believed so much in the YouTube space.
I wanted to share authentic content that could uplift instead of bring down people on social media. So my husband and I decided that we were going to share stories of what we’ve been through, of our life challenges – we wanted to remain authentic. Little did I know that I would be gaining so many followers from that.
ALSO SEE: Meet the First 5 Creators of the New Future Females Learning Platform
You are very honest in what you do. Do you think that is the main thing that sets you apart from other influencers?
I definitely think that is what sets me apart and also the fact that I am damn hard-working! I am super authentic at everything that I do and because I’ve chosen social media as a platform to work with, I need to ensure that I continue to improve the standard and quality of my work.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a leap of faith?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. In everything that you do in life, for you to be able to succeed, you need to fall, and make mistakes. One thing that I’ve learned is that falling in a specific way helps you to know how to not fall in that way again. In order for you to succeed, you need to not be afraid of learning. Then secondly, just start. A lot of us don’t start because we have this picture-perfect vision of how our business should be operating, and of how we should be like. It doesn’t work like that. Because I just started, I know now what not to do.
What is that way of falling that makes it easier or worthwhile because you have learned something new?
I have fallen so many times. I started my loungewear business last year because I had this vision in my mind that it was going to be beautiful, but I didn’t have enough resources to do it. So, I fell, and now I’m trying to get back up. I’m busy trying to rebuild that business because I’m passionate about it and I still want to pursue it. Learning how to not do something in a specific way helps you to know how to do it in another way.
ALSO SEE: Why the Future of Selling Is Digital
What does success look like for you?
I always say that success is not about making money and having materialistic things. It’s about waking up every morning and doing something that you absolutely love. It’s about following your dreams, having a purpose, and living your God-given dream that you were created for. If I die today, the message on my obituary needs to say, “She lived a life of her potential fully.” I need to go to rest knowing that all the skills that God has given me, even the little things I know I’m not that good in, I have poured out of my cup and emptied it. Success to me is pouring out everything that you were created to do and emptying your cup.
If there is one thing that you would want to be celebrated for, what would it be?
I think it would be my love for people, and my love for sharing what I do. I want to be remembered for pouring life into other people and encouraging them to live to the best of their capabilities in whatever challenge they face and whatever it is that they do in life.
We’re so excited to have this amazing powerhouse among the very first coaches to be teaching on the Future Females platform. If you’d like to be the first to know when you can get access to her course, make sure you’re on the waitlist!