About
Writer, entrepreneur, marketer and explorer...
Follower of Jesus Christ and lover of people, food and travel...
Proudly SABC (South African born Chinese), now living in Australia.
That's me, Nicola King.
Also wife of awesome husband Alan who is my trusty travel partner and co-explorer.
Born and raised in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, we packed up house and home to move to Brisbane, Australia in 2019.
Arriving with the grand total of two suitcases in a new land, I felt at home the moment I set foot in Brissie... the Kings had arrived in Queensland :)
In 2020, a new door opened and the Kings were on the move again, this time to Adelaide in the other SA (South Australia, not South Africa).
More to follow about me as a writer, entrepreneur, marketer, explorer; my love of Jesus Christ, people, food and travel, as well as my Chinese heritage.
As writer...
For as long as I can remember, I have loved to write. In primary school I was called "The Typewriter" (which sounds kind of like a potential mafia name) because of my neat handwriting, something I have unfortunately lost since the advent of the computer. My Mom encouraged me to read as much as possible, often forcing me to read books above my level of understanding to push me to grow my vocabulary. I remember being so fed up that I had to look up a word in almost every sentence I read! I am now forever grateful to my Mom for fostering a love for the written word.
My first public recognition as a writer was in 1988 as a runner-up in an Original Writing Competition organised by the South African Council for English Education and The Star Newspaper. My work was called "A mother's love". The year after I won 1st prize for a poem I wrote about "How I see peace in the world".
As entrepreneur...
Growing up I would often buy things at bargain prices to sell at a profit. To this day, I still get a thrill from selling an item and making a profit on it, especially when the profit margin is high. I am always on the lookout for new opportunities and ways to do things better.
I worked in corporate for about 10 years, but did not find a company where I felt I could truly grow and be valued for what I had to offer. I always wanted to be self-employed, but the first time I took the plunge was more than likely premature. I didn't have enough experience at the time and more importantly I did not have a wide enough network. I learnt from my first attempt and gave it another go some years later, and as they say, the rest is history.
When the neti pot was popularised by Oprah and The Doctors, I searched high and low to find one. Eventually I decided to develop my own locally made brand and so NoseFree was born. From registering a CC, to finding suppliers, designing the product, producing it, packaging the product, marketing, sales and fulfilment - I did it all myself! It was a true labour of love and because it was such a niche product, I decided to close the business after a number of years.
In 2014 I decided to launch a pocket sized directory featuring businesses in the Sandton area. I developed the publication, sold advertising, printed the directory and sorted out distribution. I published two editions of the Sights & Sounds of Sandton, and also developed a mobile app to support the printed directory.
As marketer...
I studied Marketing at Wits University and even returned years later as a lecturer in the same room I had been lectured in. I enjoyed the experience, but missed the real world too much.
I started my career in public relations and over time moved towards digital strategy, working for several advertising agencies. Once I had my fill of agency life, I took on a role as Marketing Manager to set up the marketing department for a company. And then it was time to fly the coop to start my own business. In 2008, my journey of self-employment began.
As explorer...
I love to explore and find new things to do and see - whether it's a new restaurant, craft market, heritage site or natural beauty. I tend towards nature rather than history, so a game drive or elephant interaction trumps an art gallery or museum for me. I'm a bit of a tree hugger and quite literally have taken photos of me hugging trees in many different parts of the world.
I am probably happiest walking through a mountainous forest, interspersed with rivers and streams, admiring a waterfall or two.
Conservationist or game ranger could well have been another potential career direction for me.
As follower of Jesus Christ...
I didn't grow up in a Christian home, but from a young age I knew I wanted to follow Jesus. I asked my parents to take me to Sunday school and they used to drop me off every Sunday. When I reached my teens, my Mom asked my uncle to take me to his church, which was largely a Chinese group. I found my spiritual home and until we moved to Brisbane, Grace Family Church was where I served. Our congregation diversified over the years, but there were still strong ties to the local Chinese community in South Africa. I served as an elder in the church and we hosted a home group at our home once a week.
My Christian faith is the foundation of who I am and I am extremely thankful to the Lord for His blessing and guidance in my life.
As lover of people...
Friendship is something I value deeply and I place huge importance on building and nurturing relationships. I love to meet new people wherever I go and I welcome the opportunity to learn about a person's life and experiences. I feel richer every time I add someone new to my network.
As lover of food...
It might be the Chinese blood in me, but I have a deep-seated and passionate love for food. There are times I cannot even begin to explain the deep level of enjoyment and appreciation I experience when savouring an amazing dish.
My waistline is not particularly impressed with this aspect of me, but maybe a boisterous dance of joy (flashback to Larry and Balki from Perfect Strangers) after each meal will help to burn a couple of calories.
A Chinese meal is a communal one, where several dishes are placed in the middle of the table, and are shared with one another. To me it feels like every meal shared is a celebration of friendship and God's provision.
As lover of travel...
While in school, all the travelling I did was with my church friends. There was many a long road trip to Port Elizabeth or Cape Town, stopping along the way to tuck into the padkos we had packed or to grab a burger at Wimpy.
My first trip overseas was on a cultural exchange tour to Taiwan, the year after I matriculated. It was a huge group of students from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. I was exposed to so many new cultures and experiences on that tour. I am proud to say that the South African delegation won both the talent and singing competitions that year, with our energetic gum boot dance and our vibrant rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
After the tour to Taiwan, many other trips followed, one amazing adventure after the other.
Getting lost in Malaysia is probably one of my favourite stories to tell. Trying to save money as one does when on a limited student budget, my friend and I decided to take a local bus to the airport in Kuala Lumpur. When we bought the tickets we asked for the bus to the airport, but the cashier heard us incorrectly and sold us tickets to Ipoh, a city 200 km from Kuala Lumpur. Needless to say we missed our flight, and what followed was a whole new adventure of its own.
Other trips included a whirlwind 2-week coach tour covering 5 European countries, an all-inclusive holiday at Club Med Cherating Beach in Malaysia and a road/rail/boat trip exploring both islands of New Zealand.
As South African Chinese...
My Grandfather came over to South Africa with his Grandfather and my whole immediate family was born in this country. So as much as we look Chinese, we are well and truly South African.
Growing up I spoke a dialect of Chinese called Cantonese. I was fluent from a young age because I spoke to my grandparents who lived with us at the time. I was sent to English schools, so over the years lost my fluency in the language. I am in fact far more fluent in Afrikaans than I am in Chinese. Ja, ek's nie joking nie. I find it fun to catch people out when they assume I don't understand what they are saying. Of course when you switch to another language other than English, it's usually because you don't want someone to understand what you are saying - I've seen a number of faces turning red :)
So that's me in a nutshell...
Follow me as I travel the world, explore new things and find ways to save along the way.
