Tonya Khoury of Fourways in Johannesburg is a woman with more than 20 years’ experience in media monitoring and client liaison and is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in the South African and African media monitoring industry.
Tonya Khoury, MD of ROi Africa
As the Managing Director of newly formed media monitoring company, ROi Africa (based in Lynnwood, Pretoria), she is driven by service. “I learnt very quickly in my career that sales equalled superb customer service and I loved making unhappy clients happy. During my employment at a competitor media monitoring concern just over a decade ago, my eyes opened to the opportunity of making money out of ‘cutting up newspapers’! This passion was unleashed and got stronger every day.
Tonya started her monitoring career with Newsclip until her entrepreneurial flair took the upper hand and she started Jisani Digitrack, the first black empowered media monitoring company in Africa, in a partnership as Sales and Marketing Director and shareholder. Unfortunately the partnership soured, but Tonya’s passion for innovative media monitoring persisted. Her experience across various other monitoring companies including DDI taught Tonya that entrepreneurship takes tenacity and an “I never give up” attitude, being a leader in the industry comes from fighting mediocrity and honing in on market need.
Tonya, who initially wanted to be a lawyer, learnt early that she was never going to fit into a corporate law firm. “I’m an entrepreneur and that is something deeply ingrained in me. Passion and attitude is everything – these are attributes you either have or not – and I believe that it cannot be taught, like skills and knowledge. I have experienced that all these aspects are important, but the former two are crucial and have been essential for my career and life as an entrepreneur,” she explains.
“It takes balls – big, big balls to be a business owner. It isn’t glamorous and it isn’t easy – it’s much, much harder than clocking in and out and taking your pay cheque at the end of each month. But, if you want to make a difference and believe you can, and if you are dead set on a dream you have no choice but to do it ‘alone’. If you’re lucky you’ll meet people along the way that are like minded and they will give you a ‘leg up’. In most instances where money is concerned, they won’t. But there is no bigger rush in the world than a solid sense of achievement, knowing you were right and reaping the rewards, which is already happening in ROi’s case!” she adds.
She believes that, if people have a passion for what they do, they will make a success out of it. “There is no reward greater than fulfilling your passion. Following your passion does, however, come with hard work and risks. I have fallen more times than I care to count, but I never gave up. Business is tough – really tough – but so is life sometimes and if you enjoy what you do, then that’s the bonus. Entrepreneurship is a drug like no other and must be used with caution.”
Tonya is also a strong believer that the South African media monitoring industry needs a shake-up, as well as a move away from Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) as measurement tool. “We have to be faster, sexier, more effective and more interactive. Due to this I have decided to forge international partnerships, which allows for access to international ideas at the forefront of media monitoring,” she explains.
“Media interaction has to be lightning fast. You have to be quick and, more importantly, consistent. You have to fully understand the media monitoring industry and, with my more than 20 years’ experience, I know that ROi is heading for an amazing future,” Tonya says proudly.
She is adamant that media monitoring is not a ‘nice to have’ but an essential tool for each business, especially in crisis situations. She believes it is impossible for an individual to keep track of a story running out of control, as there are simply too many outlets. This job calls for specialists, in the form of media monitors, as negative brand reputation messages require immediate attention across all spheres.
“Women are exceptionally hard working and inventive and topped with their multitasking ability, they make formidable impacts on the Media Industry. Being multitaskers, I also find that women are able to focus on more than one thing at once, which is ideal for our industry. “One of my biggest challenges is time, I’m not patient, my industry is not patient,” she remarks.
She does, however, add that her feminine intuition has helped her to identify the very best support team to build the ROi foundation and, most importantly to decide between right and wrong. “”I have always trusted my gut and I’ve learnt to act on its instruction,” Tonya adds.
“Another thing that life taught me is that the only person who can pull the carpet from underneath you is yourself. In my younger years I have struggled a little with self-doubt – I used to be extremely good at telling myself all the reasons I would not be able to achieve something – but with age and experience I have learnt to believe the opposite: listening to all the reasons why I will be able to achieve success, like with ROi”.
Tonya also says that she has also learnt that I am unemployable and can’t work for somebody else. “I have to work for myself because I absolutely need operational and sales freedom in my business plan,” she adds.
Tonya says that a good business model is based on:
- Identifying a market need – a hungry market is key to making a business successful
- Fill the gap with solid operational processes and a robust product to ensure that sales are deliverable and have longevity
- Take action, quickly.
- Always raise the bar, keep finding relevance
- Solid legal and financial paperwork and a robust business model makes for a happy set of shareholders.
- NEVER give up
“I can add to this that relationships are EVERYTHING and I could not have done anything in my career without solid, long standing relationships with people, clients and suppliers. These relationships helped me through the difficult times,” she says proudly.
“I am not only an entrepreneur – I am also a South African! I have a love like no other for three things, my mother, my continent, my industry – Africa is my home, I’m privileged to call myself a South African, I’m hugely proud of what my country has achieved. I’ve been fortunate to travel to parts of the rest of Africa and I want more, I want to take a solution that is much needed into the rest of the continent and possibly other parts of the globe, – that’s the dream!” she exclaims.
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