The Summary…
I started Trade and Lateral Development in May 2000. We strategise, design, build, secure, and maintain WordPress websites, and strategise and build email marketing campaigns. I am also a professional voice artist, an insatiable reader, a dedicated wine taster, and a terrible dancer.
The Story…
At the start of the new millennium (2000) I was an out of work actress in South Africa who loathed computers, had never heard of online marketing, and counted running a business as my greatest fear.
Wanting a roof over my head (and my entrepreneurial father) were great motivators to overcoming that fear. Being both creative and broke, I borrowed a laptop to send colourful emails to businesses, explaining why I was special and why they should pay me. My explanations were (very) brief but my love of online communication was born.
While honing my own business’ marketing efforts, I dreamed up marketing and branding strategies that I could test, which my clients could ultimately implement. Now, instead of them braving the internet alone, I do it all for them.
Over the years, happy email clients wanted websites that looked as smart as their emails, so I delved into website design. Today, I specialise in WordPress – known for its practicality and immense flexibility. Clients love being able to update their sites themselves, and they can add complex functionality without breaking the bank.
I’ve also been a professional voice artist for more than twenty years, specialising in telephone on hold, after hours answering, IVR, radio, TV, corporate videos, and more, now from my own home studio. (And while I may be able to speak, my singing voice sounds like a cat being strangled.)
