Mrs South Africa CEO talks women and business

Joani Johnson is tall, blonde, and attractive and has a long history of being in the modelling and pageant industries. That is where any cliché about beauty queens begins and ends. The Ruimsig resident has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism as well as an Honours degree in corporate communications, both of which she used to her advantage in building her business into what it is today.

In 2009, when she’d been married about three years, she entered the Mrs South Africa pageant and went on to win. She entered because she wanted to address the stigma that once a model gets married, her career is over. She wanted to prove she could continue her modelling career and felt she had more to offer than someone younger as she was more mature, a business woman and had life experience.

In 2011 she got the opportunity to buy the competition, a Pty (Ltd), and grabbed it. As it has grown under her guidance, the question of selling shares has been raised and she said, “I haven’t sold shares and don’t think I will. But with sponsors coming on board as investors, their input is valued.”

As she has continued to grow the brand of the competition, she has some advice for aspiring business women:

• Always stay focused on your own goals. Don’t let the voices of others affect you. You’re always going to get criticism. Competition makes you stronger but stay focused on what you need to do.

• Be fearless – Even if you’re scared, take risks anyway. If you don’t take risks, you don’t get to the top. “I still get scared but I jump anyway,” she said.

• You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.
• Surround yourself with the right people – they must build you up and empower you. Girls compete with each other, women empower each other.
• Do what you love. “I’m passionate about my work and I love what I do.”