Reflecting on 2023

Reflecting on 2023

Looking back on this year, we can’t help but be eternally grateful. We have made a positive impact with our services.

With loads of exciting announcements as well as making changes to our services since the start of this journey.

Our biggest accomplishment to date was the facilitation and organising of an International Media Conference for one of our clients which was hosted in August 2023 in Casablanca, Morocco!

We are very fortunate to have had this incredible opportunity. This is the first time that our client has hosted their annual conference in the chosen country of Morocco. It was attended by Marketing, Advertising and Media personnel and companies from all over Africa and the world! Including the USA, India, and the UK. Sharing knowledge with these professionals who come from different countries and cultures was an unforgettable experience. We have certainly made some great contacts too!

We look forward to getting started on the next one for 2024!

I want to recognise Triple C’s official Colab Colleagues that joined this year. Thank you for your seamless and stress free collaboration. Joining forces with you has been a game changer for us and I only hope that we can level up together in the years to come!

I want to give a special shout out to Monica Malan who has been with us since the beginning of our journey. Triple C as the ‘baby brand’ that it is, has grown in beauty and appearance with your magical skills! Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, you are a true powerhouse! We appreciate everything you do.

We also want to thank our clients for choosing us. Even the ones who were only on board for our short term contracts. You still played a positive role in assisting Triple C to achieve the goals we have made this year! Thank you for all the love and support you’ve given us. We wouldn’t be where we are without you!

“We are excited about the future and we will continue to evolve and improve our services. Looking forward to delivering above and beyond expectations going forward”

A personal thank you to all the friends and family that have stood behind and next to Triple C this year. Your continuous cheerleading and endless support is invaluable, Thank you!

Keep Smiling,

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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Creative Virtual Assistance & What that means

Creative Virtual Assistance & What that means

Without getting too technical about this topic, here are two scenarios we want to paint, in order to give you a little peep into how Virtual Assistance can help you. One, is how things used to work, and the other is how things can work now! Virtual Assistance isn’t anything too wild or new, it has existed for some time, and its origins stem from the strong and powerful Secretaries, Office Clerks, and Administrators that make the world go round! 

Scenario one:

It’s 1950 something and you are a high powered business person you have 3 different office personnel that make everything happen in the background. Without them your business is just a name that exists.

One is your personal assistant and handles all your daily tasks, this includes home life matters. They make notes and remind you about appointments and schedule them, sort your shopping lists, and make sure you have the birthday gift ready for that party you have on the weekend.

The other is at your office’s front desk, day in and day out, they are the face of the business and handle all customers, shareholders, any telephone calls, and they furiously write up anything you want on their state of the art typewriter.

The third is your backbone. They file, document, stamp, organise all your paperwork and make sure that all your business documents, supplier contracts, invoices,  you name it, are all up to scratch and the minute you need any of them they have it ready.

This was just how the business world worked and was completely doable and standard practice. Life really was full of admin but the Admin Assistants had it handled.

Scenario two:

It’s now 2020 something, your business survived COVID and you are back on your feet thriving in the world on fire. Technology has come leaps and bounds and we require less of humans to do many of the tasks we previously needed them for.

However, your business has had to adapt to a way of working and become more creative about bringing in revenue and making a profit. The exchange rate is unreal and inflation is through the roof, many people are working from their home office to save on costs.

This proves difficult to handle on your own and not everyone has a strong admin skill set. You find out about Virtual Assistants and you are instantly intrigued. You find out that you can merely delegate all the tasks you don’t have time for.

It’s not a completely foreign world either, why? because, you can choose to communicate via email or even whats app. Depending on the required tasks your Virtual Assistant (Who yes, is an actual human) will require access to certain areas of your digital folders or calendars in order to get the job done. It’s rather simple actually, it’s a matter of clear communication and the job is done.

At Triple C, we have specialised Virtual Assistant ‘packages’ that we can tailor to what you require. We can offer basic hourly rates, where you only pay for the hours worked, or you can put a cap on the hours and pay a set retainer, with any work done over and above that retainer charged at the standard hourly rate.

There is also the option to pre-set the specific days and times you require work to be done on a weekly or monthly basis. It’s all versatile and fluid.

“This is why we add the term “creative” to our service because there is no problem that creativity cannot solve!”

Get in touch with us for more information and book your consultation.

Keep Smiling,

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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10 Facts you didn’t know about me (Chief Cat Herder)

10 Facts you didn't know about me
(Chief Cat Herder)

For those of you that don’t already know, my name is Cherrise, I am the Owner & Chief Cat Herder here at Triple C Creative Colab.

I thought that I’d share some fun facts that I bet you didn’t know about me. Not all my blogs will be serious and business related, part of Triple C’s values are finding the fun and being a human about things!

Let’s get down to it…

1st fact:
I’ve broken my baby toe on my right foot about 12 times. I now have a “hunchback” looking baby toe and every now and again it dislocates. It’s also the only bone in my body that’s been broken.

2nd Fact:
I have a phobia called Trypophobia, also known as “the fear of many holes” – Although mine is not THAT severe and is more texture related, I find it difficult to look at certain images with texture and I physically seize up and get sweaty palms.

3rd Fact:
This some of you may know already, My top 3 favourite animals are:
Cats, Horses & Snakes.

4th Fact:
I have a small problem with eating Flings (For those who don’t know, they are baked delicious golden fluffy chips that are usually given to children) I can eat a whole bag myself, and will literally eat them till I die. If you haven’t had them, just do it!

5th Fact:
I’m not quite an adrenaline junky, but I have jumped out of planes, off bridges and mountains and will do it whenever I get the opportunity. However in my ‘old age’ I have noticed less desire in this department. 

6th Fact:
I must have been a rally or race car driver in a past life. I love cars and driving, and have also completed two advanced driving courses… I think I’m due for an update on that soon.

7th Fact: 
I grew up in Swaziland until the age of 7, and one of my favourite memories was living in Hawane Park, which was a huge mountainous farm with its own waterfall. The neighbouring horse riding stables gave me a Shetland pony (because no one else would ride her). Her name was Cheeky Mango, a feisty little thing!  We built her a paddock next to our home on the farm and I would ride her everyday after school!

8th Fact:
I’ve had quite exotic pets, including tarantulas, but I once had a sugar glider, his name was Hugo. As much as I pride myself on having a connection with all animals, Hugo hated my guts. I had built him a huge avery and would sit for hours trying to bribe him with yoghurt and honey and he wouldn’t come near me. I eventually told the breeder who took him back and found him a female and lived happily ever after without me.

9th Fact:
I’ve had 3 near death experiences, two involving the ocean, which isn’t very difficult to imagine. The other one involved a glass door and my hand going through it. I will spare you the gory details but, I looked like spider-man spraying red web 😉

10th Fact:
I dream in colour, black and white, in the 3rd person as well as watch myself from above and from the perspective of the other person i’m interacting with in the dream.  I’ve always wanted to write short stories about my dreams and try to have them illustrated into books. Future me is working on that. 

Now that you know some random things about me, you can go read up more about what we do at Triple C in the previous blogs!

I hope this kept you somewhat entertained!
More cool content to come! 

Keep Smiling,

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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Who and what are Triple C’s Colab Colleagues?

Who and what are Triple C’s Colab Colleagues?

Who and what are Triple C’s Colab Colleagues? How does it work and how do you become one?

I’m sure some of you may have seen the post about our very first Colab Colleague – Monica Malan from MMD Studio in St Francis Bay. She is the magic behind our beautiful branding and website. We embarked on this Journey in November 2022 and MMD brought to life the vision I had for Triple C.

We have a great relationship and work extremely well together, so much so, that this sparked a thought process of putting our brains together and creating a team effort through our own businesses.

— MMD Studio Showcase

“Since such a big part of Triple C is Collaboration, quite literally, what one of the three C’s stand for! It made sense to make the move and connect our creativity.”

Thus the Colleague Colab was born!! Side note, If you are a millennial you may have read that in the Power Puff Girls narrator’s voice. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here is a link to what we were exposed to in the 90’s.

Anyway, It was decided to be made into an interchangeable term. Because why not, when part of the business is all about creativity and fluidity. You can be a Colab Colleague or we can have a Colleague Colab!

So.. how does it work?

We have a simple referral system in place, an agreement to send clients to each other based on our strengths, then we collaborate when we have a client that needs both of us to join forces.

The concept is not too structured because everyone is different and Triple C has a very tailored approach to their clients needs, we keep things simple in the sense that MMD Studio and Triple C have defined the roles they each fulfil, then we work within those parameters, anything above or beyond will need to be addressed with our clients and outsourced elsewhere.

How do you become a Colab Colleague? It’s rather simple, if you feel like your business can collaborate with Triple C, head on over to our contact us page and submit your proposal and we will get in touch. 

Keep Smiling,

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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What Does Triple C have to offer?

What Does Triple C have to offer?

Hello again, and Happy New Year!

We are excited to get this year going! If you haven’t already had a read through our first blog post, giving you a quick rundown on how we got going, you can click here before you keep scrolling.

Firstly, you’d probably like to know what Creative Consulting is? We are sure google will give you some definitions, however, our version is slightly more personalised. The same service that you would maybe receive from a strategic, marketing, sales, brand or business consultants, Triple C combines into a creative format, giving you a tailored approach to your business needs. 

“It’s bespoke consulting with a level of creativity that you can outsource as a company and integrate into any department”

Being non-conventional in the sense that you can get services from Creative Consulting that you might get from a permanent employee, only it’s more convenient (One of our C words) because we consult to businesses and perform the services or tasks in a personalised and flexible contract or retainer that suits your budget and timeframe.

So without further adieu, Here are our two main services listed below and you can check out our full set of services here. 

CREATIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Not your average project management, we can take things to new heights if you give us the reigns.
We don’t like to limit ourselves to any industry or team and are open to most projects. We will adapt, design, organise, develop and execute. 

CREATIVE VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE

We are hybrid and cloud based, and can work from anywhere there is an internet connection. We offer structure and organisation for your personal or company calendars, as well as customised workflow management, scheduling, bookings and various administrative tasks.

We can’t wait to start with new challenges this year, let’s get creative!

Keep Smiling,

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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Triple C = Chocolate Chip Cookie

Triple C = Chocolate Chip Cookie

For those of you who didn’t know, there is a day dedicated to Cookies.

Yes, today is National Cookie Day.

If you google why this day is even celebrated it dates back to the 1980’s when The Cookie Monster proclaimed his own National Cookie Day in the the book The Sesame Street Dictionary, Written by Linda Hayward.

For those who are interested there is a version I found on Takealot and more information on  Muppet Wiki because, let’s be honest, if you are a 90’s baby this is going to bring back fond childhood memories.

“We won’t ask you to guess our favourite cookie flavour because it’s rather obvious!”

We thought we would celebrate National Cookie Day in our own way so we found you some local deliciously decadent, chocolate chip cookies! 

If you haven’t already heard, Mama Bongi’s cookies went viral and have been voted some of the most delicious in SA. Part of the movement behind her baking is a vision to change the world by creating employment. Her cookies are available all over the country, she even has vegan options! 

To celebrate National Cookie Day with us place your order here or find a stockist near you!

Check out her media page to see the likes of food24, Taste and other media write ups, videos and reviews about how Mama Bongi is taking over the world one cookie at a time! 

©Mama Bongi

Happy National Cookie day!

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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Triple C – How we got here

Triple C - How we got here

Triple C. Creative Consulting and Collaboration. Yes, that’s what it stands for.

You will also notice a bunch of what I like to call “C- words” that float around while adding some context to the type of creative consulting. When you get to know me you’ll soon find out how much of a sucker I am for puns and alliteration.

Anyway, the name is meaningful in its own right, as is the short and sweet journey I took to get here. I would like to tell you an exaggerated version of how I took the gruelling roads of darkness and clawed myself into the light. But fortunately, this is not that story.

The real story begins with me being “fun-employed” after being retrenched, thanks to our dear friend COVID. It was a sad day, because I truly enjoyed my job and the company I worked for. In fact, when I landed that position, within weeks I felt right at home and could comfortably say “I love what I do”. I also grew A LOT! 

So, naturally, one would have a mild moment of panic emerge when one is jobless. The CV was updated, friends, family, work colleagues and ex-colleagues all came to my rescue. I have a boastful level of support I must say! I ended up getting interviews within the week! A personal thanks to Harriet Wex from Wexford sciences, another woman in business preparing to take over the world. She has her own recruitment business and runs a next generation workspace up the North coast in KZN with a coffee shop attached to it! I mean, do I need to say more? 

I went the interview route with some great advertising agencies based here in Durban, thinking that I wanted to continue Traffic management.

However, this was not the case. The universe had other plans.  I have always wanted to do my own thing, which came in the form of daydreaming about side hustles in Lady Boss suits and heels strutting up 5th Avenue in New York City. #girlbossgoals 

"As a huge supporter of women in business,
I will be sharing all the lady boss vibes along the way."

I ended up taking the plunge and called up another one of my beautiful Lady friends,  Monica Malan, who has her own Design studio and is based in St Francis! She has been a huge part of this journey. Without her intentional creative magic Triple C would not be the dazzling elegant girl at the ball. A huge thank you to her for running with my enthusiasm and fast paced thinking and just getting it done! #girlpower

As we couldn’t just have a pretty brand and needed to be a registered company, would it surprise you to know that ANOTHER woman who runs her own accounting company, took over this responsibility? I thought not. She is now my go to for all my accounting requirements. Thank you Mari !

So we have arrived! We are officially live! I am utterly grateful to have the massive amount of support that brought Triple C to life. More exciting news about our first creative consulting client to follow. Will keep you updated, informed, educated and entertained.

Keep Smiling,

Cherrise

Chief Cat Herder (CEO)

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