After two decades in big agencies, leading creative work for brands like Coca-Cola, Nando’s, and USAID, and collecting a trail of Loeries, Pendorings, One Show and D&AD awards along the way, Suhana Gordhan did something unexpected. Trading the machinery of big agencies for something more intimate and intentional, she launched a creative consultancy, LoveSong. In this conversation, she shares the honest reality of starting from scratch and learning your worth. If you’ve ever thought about going independent, this one’s for you.

Today, Suhana is the Chief Creative Officer and founder of LoveSong, a creative consultancy rooted in care and the kind of love that makes ideas sing. Known for her sharp copy, fearless honesty, and deep commitment to mentorship, from co-founding Open Chair to serving as the former Chairperson of The Loeries, Suhana’s journey reflects a creative redefining what leadership can look like outside the walls of an agency.

Q: For those who don’t know, what is LoveSong?

Suhana: LoveSong, is a creative consultancy dedicated to ideas that sing. LoveSong’s mission is to give big love to small brands and more love to big brands. LoveSong was created because I believe that everything is made better with love. I chose the name LoveSong because there is nothing more enduring than a love song.

You can be in aisle 5 buying a watermelon, when a song comes on and stops your heart on a random Tuesday. A love song is the way we say all the things unsaid; the way we make people feel seen. A love song is the most direct piece of communication. It travels to the very centre of your soul. It is for you. And 8 billion people.

Q: What was the moment when you thought, “You know what, I don’t want to start an agency, I want to start a consultancy”?

Q: What gap did you see in the South African industry that made you believe a consultancy model could do something different?

Q: Once you had the idea, how did you actually get it off the ground? What were the very first steps?

Suhana: I didn’t have any solid plan. Like a true creative, I felt my way through this. I also procrastinated, doubted, cried a lot, and suffered from equal parts fear, inertia and joy. The plan started to develop when I started working with Paul “Nobby” Davies – a senior creative coach from the UK. As creatives, we spend our lives building other people’s brands, but when it comes to our own, we find it really daunting. He helped me to get to LoveSong, to name it, to shape it, and to help it live in the world.

Q: Starting out is never smooth sailing, what was the hardest hurdle in your first year, and how did you push through it?

Q: Do you feel more pressure running your own consultancy than you did working inside an agency, or is it a different kind of pressure?

Suhana: It’s a different kind of pressure. You are it. You’re a solo pilot, host, air control officer, luggage handler. It’s quieter. You have to go out and meet people more often to avoid becoming one with your echoes.  You have to spread yourself like a nice, high quality butter and you have to know how far the spread can go because now you answer to You and no one else. So if you burn out, it’s on you. You have to celebrate the little wins and recover quickly from the let downs. But mostly, you have to treat it all as an adventure more than a venture.

Q: It’s still early days but has there been a project or moment when you thought, “Okay, this is working, I’m onto something here”?

Suhana: It came from working with people like Carl Willougby, CCO of TBWA, Melusi Mhlungu, Founder and CCO of We are Bizarre and Wendy Bergsteedt, Head of Marketing at Old Mutual Investment Group. They invited me in and let me play to my strengths. What I realised is that when there is absolute clarity on what value you’re being asked to bring, coupled with been given the space to bring that value, that’s when this thing called ‘consulting’ really works.

Q: Without the big agency structure behind you, how do you deal with the financial pressures of starting out?

Suhana: You learn to hold off buying your lipstick from Nars. 😂 You have very nice family that takes you on holiday. You learn to build a runway and to stop panicking. But most importantly, you learn the difference between earning a salary and earning your worth.

Q: If someone came to you today saying they want to start their own creative consultancy, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give them?

Q: Has your vision for LoveSong shifted since you began, and where do you see it evolving next?

Q: What’s the biggest learning you took from your time on agency side?

Q: When you bring new collaborators on board, what do you look for in people?

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you face in balancing client expectations with your own philosophy as a consultancy?

Q: What’s one thing you wish more clients understood about working with a creative consultancy versus a traditional agency?

Suhana: We don’t have endless resources so the onboarding process can be really irksome and you should try to have empathy when dealing with independents. Also, if you don’t pay on time, you cause undue stress.

Q: Everyone’s talking about AI. From where you’re sitting, is it helping, hindering, or reshaping consultancy life.

Q: And finally, what’s happening in the South African creative landscape right now that genuinely excites you?