Lovine Mboya is a digital enthusiast and writer. She recently took her passion for building brands and businesses online to a new level and started a digital PR company called Alovo Communications. With this, she hopes to provide creative, sustainable solutions for brands seeking a solid digital presence.
Lovine occasionally blogs, documenting bits and pieces of her life and thoughts. She is passionate about telling important and powerful stories and is endeared to people who show up as their truest selves.
How have you been?
I have been well thanks! Normal turbulences of life but all is well. I am surviving through my very first, and hopefully the only pandemic.
You have worked in digital marketing for years, how has the experience been?
It has honestly been quite a learning experience. The digital space is constantly evolving, and so every day comes with something new to learn, be it from core skills, or client service, or how to better coordinate the team. The thing with digital PR is it significantly depends on other functions of the business/brand performing above par, because it relies heavily on what the brand story is, and the brand story is influenced every day, by every member of the team.
What was going through your mind weeks before the launch of the company?
Haha. I was just going about my daily life, honestly. Alovo was a possibility I had had in mind for a long time, but never actually thought I would get to start it this soon, until the actual day I started it. It is like I woke up and said, ‘this is it! I am doing this’. I hadn’t mulled over it for weeks really. It wasn’t a sudden decision as I had always known I was going to do this. I just didn’t know when.
Tell us more about Alovo and why the name Alovo Communications?
I love this question. You know why? because people keep telling me how nice the name of the business is but don’t ask me what inspired it. Alovo is my name. It is a corrupt version of Lovine, mostly used by my family from my mom’s side. I had thought about different names for the company, and I wanted something simple, memorable, and that means something to me. Alovo is simple, memorable, and honours my mother’s people.
What are the company’s mission and goals?
Simply put, our mission is to deliver wholesome digital solutions that accurately represent and inspire brand growth. Digital PR has become a necessity for literally every brand, and it is a cluttered space. Our goal is to be the people that get your brand visible over and above the clutter and noise.
You offer a wide range of digital solutions to your clients, tell us about them
We offer creative content solutions, from content marketing to regular website blog content, marketing copy to PR copy. We are passionate about the digital space, and so creating a digital presence, building that from the ground up, getting you your ‘people’, and inspiring them to stay. We offer supportive services as well, like website development, graphic design as well as digital skills training.
How important is it for a business and even some individuals to have a digital strategy?
At Alovo, we strongly believe content is king, engagement is queen, and a strong strategy is the glue that holds them together. This is a common statement in the digital space, and it is a true statement. A strategy is your HOW to get what and where you want. I believe any activities on social media that are not guided by a strategy is akin to loitering in the digital space. You need purpose and direction. A strategy gives you that.
You have been employed before and you now run your own company, how different or similar are those two?
They are not similar at all, well, maybe a little. Self-employment needs much more grit than you would imagine. There is safety in a day job, and I liked that. I wouldn’t mind a guarantee of income even now. And to imagine I can’t take fake sick-offs and still get paid, surely. Alovo gave me purpose. I love that about it. It is my baby. It asks so much more from me, but I can handle it.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever got about entrepreneurship?
Just do it. You will never be ready if that is what you are waiting for.
Go in, and figure it out along the way.
It is better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all when you knew very well you could have.
Entrepreneurship lessons you have learnt so far?
1. This is your journey to make. Do not go in while still looking at others to do ABCD for you. If they do, well and good. If they don’t, it is what it is.
2. Choose the people you bring onboard very wisely. Your team, especially when you are starting out, they can push the business to success or dig it into a hole.
3. You will need all the help you can get. Ask. Let them say no, but don’t let pride stop you from seeking support and achieving your goals.
Being a young entrepreneur in this country is not easy. What challenges have you faced so far and what solutions have you come up with?
Money! These first few months have not been easy financially, just getting basic operations up and running. I had preferred to co-found Alovo, but that plan tanked so I decided to just go solo. Finances have been tricks, to be honest. My solution was to come up with a budget, which I did even before starting Alovo, so nothing really caught me off guard.
What can we expect from you and Alovo in the next few years?
I am also waiting to see Alovo surprise me! Haha. I want my client base to cover beyond Kenya, to be honest. I would love it if we even go international because of the amazing work we have done.
What would you tell anyone who has business ideas but is afraid of starting?
Just do it. Go in, and figure it out along the way.
Find Lovine on social media:
Facebook: lovinemboya
Twitter: @lovinemboya
Instagram: @lovinemboya
