Getting to Know The Mango Twins

What’s more powerful than a woman who is a boss and brings her “A” game to everything she does? Two!

Zimbabwean-born identical twins Juliana and Juliet are two of a kind and have a drive like no other. They are ambitious businesswomen, entrepreneurs and event organizers who like to call themselves “twinfluencers.”

They are also the co-founders of Mango Bites Consulting and The Mango Twins and Zimbabwe Achievers Australia (ZAA) Young Achiever of the Year (2019).

We reached out to them to get to know more about them as women.

What was your upbringing like?

We were born in Zimbabwe, but we actually grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, where we spent most of our late childhood and youth. Growing up, our parents have always given us the platform to speak up and express ourselves. They let us be individuals, creators, whatever we wanted to be, so we’re grateful.

Our family is very diverse. We have our immediate family here in Perth, and some family still in New Zealand, and then we have family all over Australia, UK and Canada.

What are you most passionate about and what drives you?

We are creative and passionate about what we do. In our design firm, from the conceptual phrase to design, we’re really passionate about growing brands and businesses. When thinking about design, whether it’s a logo, website or flyer, our goal is to be a high-quality brand that also invests in your business.

In our events, our passion is bringing people from different backgrounds together to enjoy music, dance and create a whole energy.

We are also passionate about wellness, mental health, women’s health, empowerment and helping people. We have ventured into wellness consulting as social workers and we will be launching a health and wellness brand that complements our existing ones, so stay tuned! We are always driven by the goal of being innovative and shifting the narrative for Africans.

How is it working with each other as twins? What are your personalities like and what do each of you bring to the table?

Being twins in the same industry makes us badass partners who are double hungry to do great work! When one of us reaches a new goal, we both celebrate. We have such a busy workload with our business, work, events and balancing [normal] life; really, it’s a team effort to achieve the perfect balance. Our personalities are quite similar, and we are very much into the same things, but once you get to know us, you do pick the subtle differences.

We both bring a wealth of knowledge and experience with a double degree in digital design and media, post-graduate in media production, as well as a Master of Social Work under our belts. When we were actually studying, we intentionally went into different units or subjects so we could share what we learnt with each other and found we gained double than our fellow students.

Tell us more on your projects, including Mango Bites Consulting.

Our Mango Bites Consulting brand is our small business. It’s a digital media and design firm that we started in 2015 when we were 22. We offer services for logos, websites, graphic/digital design, marketing, social media, branding, content creation, including photo editing, promo videos and event campaigns.

We love working with small businesses and helping them grow. We also love to collaborate with other creatives. 2021 is going to be a game changer for us, though. We will be launching some great projects and initiatives and can’t wait to share.

How did you get started?

We started with nothing, just the idea that we were going to start this thing. We were very young at the time. But we were ambitious, came from a humble household, and had the mindset of dreaming big and believed anything is possible. We went with our intuition and our dream to be entrepreneurs.

We built a brand larger than the services we were going to be offering. We started sharing our journey with people early on in our ventures. The business and entrepreneurship world did not have girls like us, and we worked hard, stayed focused, to get where we are today. Being twins gave us an advantage to always be there when opportunity came knocking.

How are you able to navigate your relationship as sisters and business partners?

Being twins and business partners is such an experience. We aren’t like your normal twins; we’ve literally been together every day since we were younger. Sometimes we actually don’t know how to separate being sisters and being businesswomen, so a lot of the time we’re like, “Okay let’s talk about normal sister stuff.” Like let’s have sister time, let’s not have a meeting or business discussion.

We’re both so creative, very focused and equally invested in our business, so that’s always a battle. On the plus side, there are many advantages as well. We can pick up each other’s energy and body language easily and that comes in handy during meetings or closing deals.

What are you hoping to achieve as entrepreneurs in the future?

Through our entrepreneurship, we want to inspire others to dream big and follow their passion. We are showing that young women of colour can exist in creative industries that are male- or white-dominated and still be successful.

We’re pretty much creating our own path, and I think that is very important for people to [see] us succeeding in our own lane. We want to show that you can use your passion and creativity to make a career. That’s why it’s so important for us to share our story. We want to reach more young people, and especially women, and inspire them.

We recently got an exclusive interview feature on a brand-new show by CMG International Media Group in partnership with World Remit celebrating incredible Zimbabweans excelling in their fields in and out of the motherland. As black entrepreneurs and women in business, we value moments like this because it’s a space to connect and inspire!

What were some of the challenges you faced when starting business?

The biggest challenge was finances. When you start your own business, there [are] a lot of expenses that you will go through before you even start making any profit. We worked hard, and soon we were able to launch. Registering our business and deciding the structure we wanted was also a bit of a challenge as we had never opened an Australian business number or business account.

Another big challenge we have encountered is being women in the events and entertainment industry. It’s a very male-dominated space and we have encountered many obstacles in getting to where we are and where we want to be. That is why one of our greatest passions is empowering other young women. We always try and endorse young women at the forefront of everything we do.

What is some advice you have for women who want to pursue their passion?

Our advice to other women wanting to pursue their passion is be fearless and don’t let fear interfere. If you have an idea or a dream, if you have goals, put your mind to it; no doubt, you can accomplish anything. And if we can do it, so can you. Don’t ever be afraid of the word no. Don’t be afraid of the feeling of being uncomfortable because all those things only motivate you and push you to the next level.

Keep a very positive circle around you to fight that negative energy that can almost make you feel you can’t reach your potential. Support other women and get knowledge, skills and tips from those who know more than you. We didn’t grow up with a lot. We had to create our own resources and found mentors and role models who we learnt from, so we are really grateful. Lastly, be your number one fan and celebrate every success, no matter how small.

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