After leaving school in Pietermaritzburg, I studied physical metallurgy while working for an aluminium producer in my home town. An opportunity for a far more senior role saw me move to what is now Gauteng followed a few years later. I took on various other roles, both in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, as I advanced my career until I decided on a complete change and bought a bankrupt restaurant in Pietermaritzburg.
I built the restaurant over three years, then received an unsolicited offer to purchase it. The offer was hard to refuse, and I found myself with nothing to do at 36. A friend asked me to come and train the front-of-house staff at his restaurant. I spent the next few years working in the hospitality industry, eventually becoming the operations manager of a boutique hotel on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
A chance meeting with a graphic designer led to a collaboration on a couple of web design projects, and in 2000, we formalised the operation and formed Planet Margate, which started as a web and graphic design business focusing mainly on the hospitality industry. We soon outgrew the slow-speed internet connections available on the south coast at the time, and, with 80% of our clients in Gauteng, we relocated the business. Building on a hobby that started in school, I added photography and, later, video services to my offerings.
After my business partner passed away, I kept Planet Margate going as a sole proprietor/freelance business. I still offer web design and development services, as well as livestreaming, video production and photography.