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ZimbOriginal

I'm a blogger and educator who loves to talk about Zimbabwe's culture & languages, and the creator economy. Subscribe here to discover more about my journey as a professional creator, and building ZimbOriginal into a business.

Featured Post

What you need to unlearn from school

Hello Reader, So I have this learner. She was at the final unit of my Beginner Level, and it was time for her task – to write a Shona story of her own. Just her own words, using a set of pictures as a guide. She smiled, looked at me, and shook her head. She couldn’t get herself to say a word. 'I don’t know,' she said. 'Unorevei?' I asked. 'I can’t,' she replied. You see, she could clearly hear and understand much of what I was saying – her comprehension was far from zero. Yet she was adamant...

Hello Reader, The Flop That Got Everyone Talking I’m not always up to date on what’s happening on the social scene, but the news that Tocky Vibes’ recent album launch flopped probably reached me faster than any word he got out while promoting it. And get this: there was a solid lineup of other artists, and Tocky has a following of over 800,000 on Facebook alone. I imagine he also invests time in other channels like TikTok. So how on earth did the launch flop? Why Launches Fail (Hope Marketing...

Hello Reader, When perfect gets in the way of progress So, I made a decision: I would start sharing stories of other entrepreneurs. Truth is, I’ve always been fascinated by the art (or is it a science?) of entrepreneurship—long before I even knew I could be interested in Shona language and culture. At the beginning of August this year, I was excited and ready to go. Four entrepreneurs had already agreed to share their journeys with me. I thought, 'This is it—I’m finally doing it.' But days...

Hello Reader, A couple of weeks ago, I heard something that stuck with me. A well-known marketing expert, who has written extensively on the subject, was being interviewed. He said something simple, yet powerful: 'Strategy is not just a plan.' He explained that strategy is about understanding your environment, identifying agents of change, and figuring out how to navigate them. The moment you start listing things to do, that’s not strategy — that’s tactics. School Trains Us to Be Tactical But...

Hello Reader, Something triggered me last night— my three-year-old punched me because I wouldn’t give her my phone. I ended up spending hours awake worrying about my kids and this digital pandemic. This morning, while going through my usual reading, I came across just what I needed. I decided to shift what I write about today. Instead of writing about me, you, and business, I want to focus on you and me and our mental health — and now that it’s back to school, most importantly on our kids,...

Hello Reader, I recently listened to a podcast, and for the entire episode, I found myself nodding. The host spoke about a dilemma that had haunted me for years—a dilemma that, honestly, had held me back from fully committing to growing my Shona learning business. Here’s the story: back in 2019, I was hesitant to start. I wasn’t sure if I was ready, if anyone would sign up, or even if I could manage it. Eventually, I decided to just go for it. Honestly, I figured it could never be a truly...

Hello Reader, I’ve been making small tweaks to my work, and I’m already seeing results. I’ve realized that the little things we sometimes take for granted in our business are often the levers that can drive meaningful change. Today, I want to share some areas I’ve been paying attention to—and the changes I’ve started making. 1. Focusing on Features Instead of Transformation I realized I was focusing on explaining the features of my program and library, rather than showing how they actually...

Hello Reader, Last week I didn’t send a letter. I thought I would, but the lazy holiday vibes got the best of me. I’m not really the outdoorsy type, so I spent the days at home — indulging in some much-needed rest, watching a bit of this and that with my kids, and giving myself permission to slow down. But the truth is, rest also gives room for reflection. And since most of my learners are on their school holidays, I get a holiday of sorts too. With no 1-on-1 classes to run, I’ve been free to...

Hello Reader, Today I want to share a milestone — and some reflections that might encourage you on your own journey. On Friday, 1 August 2025, I hit 2,000 email subscribers. 🎉 And trust me, this is a big deal for me. I started building my list in July 2024 — so that’s one year in.It’s more subscribers than I have followers on Facebook. And while I’m still learning, improving, and adjusting as I go — I’ve definitely picked up some key lessons along the way. 1. It started with helping, not...

Hello Reader, I remember when I first started hearing about this thing called AI.Every other article seemed to be warning that it was going to take over all our jobs. I didn’t even want to hear it. I just wanted to avoid it completely. (As if my avoiding it would somehow slow it down — 🙄) In fact, I swore I’d never use it. But deep down, I’ll tell you why I was really scared — I was thinking about my children. How would I guide them in choosing a career if everything was being taken over by...