The life journeys of Lihann Basson and Janke Eloff initially started very traditionally. Janke studied Actuarial Science for two and a half years while Lihann studied education and taught for a few years.
Janke was the first to take the leap to pursuit content creation full-time as the bug had already bitten her when she was delving into content creation and managing social media for a local singer. Lihann eventually caught on and left his teaching job to work with Janke full-time, creating content and managing social media.
“Together, we founded Your Neon SA. Now, Lihann focuses on the business while I handle private clients. We still help each other where we can and work as a team as much as possible,” says Janke.
Let’s start at the very beginning. Lihann and Janke’s story began in Bloemfontein, where fate brought them together through a mutual friend’s introduction.
Lihann showed a great sense of boldness when he made his move with a spontaneous kiss. This defined their relationship, and according to Janke, he described it as “when you know, you know” and she didn’t mind one bit. “The rest is history!”
Janke believes that people can learn a lot from Lihann. “For anyone, my advice is to shoot your shot,” says Janke. “Just decide to go for it, kiss the girl, and you might just end up marrying her a few years later.” Lihann and Janke are now engaged and eagerly awaiting their wedding.
The pair says joint content creation happened by accident. “Lihann always supported me and helped me take videos for brands for my personal account. Brands soon wanted to work with us as a couple. Creating content together is also a lot of fun and it comes effortlessly to us. We love it and don’t just see it as a job,” says Janke.
To them, the most rewarding aspect of their journey lies not just in the professional achievements but in the ability to pursue their passions wholeheartedly.
“Having a job where she can’t wait to jump out of bed in the mornings is something that she never thought she’d achieve. It’s incredibly rewarding when someone comes up to us in public and tells us that our content either made them laugh or helped them in some way,” Janke shares.
Lihann’s most rewarding part is creating something for brands that brings their visions to life. After all, he is the one who comes up with most of the video ideas and enjoys bringing concepts to life creatively.
“We both didn’t like our previous career paths, and being able to do something together that we love is amazing,” said Lihann.
Even though being a content creator and working in social media can be rewarding, it does come with its challenges. “One of the biggest struggles is people – people’s opinions, hate messages, criticism, customers that complain and attack us personally, because they feel that they have easy access to our lives through Instagram,” they express.
They feel that people often forget to treat them with respect from a business point of view because they share so much of their personal lives and post amusing content.
“It’s difficult to be taken seriously in this industry. People often address us personally or feel that they can message us personally if they have business queries.
We deal with this as a team. We know that people’s opinions about our relationship are just that … opinions. We’ve learned to grow thicker skins and not let people’s judgment get to us,” says Janke.
Their advice to couples considering embarking on a similar journey? “You have to set strict boundaries when it comes to your relationship and business,” Janke emphasises. “Most of all, we think you should enjoy working together and always support each other in whatever situation you are in, in your professional and personal life.”
As they look ahead to the future, Lihann and Janke are embracing new ventures, their wedding also being one of them.
“Lihann is currently busy expanding his business in the wedding industry,” Janke reveals. “And I’m working on implementing one-on-one coaching sessions and masterclasses for people who want to level up their social media game.”
When it comes to their wedding, Lihann says he can’t wait to stand in front of the chapel and see how beautiful Janke will look walking down the aisle, taking his breath away.
“Knowing that I will spend the rest of my life with her and that she will always love and cherish me as much as I will love and cherish her. I absolutely can’t wait to call her my wife.”
Janke says the part she’s most excited about is the debriefing after the wedding when her and Lihann are alone and can look back on the day.
“He is my best friend, and I’m more excited about our life together afterwards than the actual wedding. I’m so excited to be able to say that I just married my best friend and the kindest, most gentle man I’ve ever met.”
Being the creative duo that they are, their wedding will most definitely feature some personal touches with as Janke says “our own spin on the décor – there will obviously be a lot of neon’s.”
Another thing they would like to do is take each other’s portraits on the day. “I really feel like no one takes better images of me than Lihann. He knows my angles and captures me better than anyone else,” she says.
For more updates on what the two are up to, make sure you keep up with them on social media.
TEXT: Justine Fortuin. Photography by Gypseenia Lion
