After 30 years of working in PR and building her own company, Hogg decided in lockdown that it was time to share her life, lessons and how she does it. This culminated in Making Hotdogs - a quirky retelling of how life can be what you make of it.
Beyond this, Hogg specifically wanted to illustrate why PR is so important in the media and creative industry.
Nineteen of her 30 years in PR have been dedicated to being an entrepreneur, starting and nurturing GinjaNinja and being a single mom to two girls. After learning that life was about more than what others think of you, she has reached a point where she has meaningful relationships and a staggering journey of success behind her.
“I am hugely passionate about PR,” Hogg said. “The whole reason I wrote the book was for people to better understand PR and for young people to understand that it is a career option. It’s strategic, vital, intelligent and needed.”
Hogg mentioned that she likes to call GinjaNinja 'storytelling mavericks'. “That’s what we do, we tell stories.”
While lecturing at Stellenbosch University earlier this month, Hogg asked one student who he was. He told her his name, where he’s from, what he’s studying - but the question remained for her - do we really know who he is? And this is an element of what PR is about for Hogg - making meaningful connections with people and understanding who they are behind what they are doing.
“[I was] the kid that was voted to probably never amount to much,” said Hogg.
However, after starting her career serving hotdogs at an engineering firm, she has worked hard for her dreams over the last three decades. It wasn’t easy, though. “You’ve got to work hard if you want to get somewhere,” she said. “There are no shortcuts.”
GinjaNinja is a monument to Hogg’s belief that hard work, and most importantly, believing in yourself, can push you past where others think you should be and get you where you want to be.
“I like to say that life is a dance between letting it happen and making it happen,” she said.
As far as the book goes, it is an idiosyncratic retelling of the challenges Hogg has faced throughout her career and personal life. Moreover, it’s a great guide to what you need to do if you’d like to make something meaningful out of a career in PR.
Truly, it is a testament to why PR is so important, still today.
You can find Making Hotdogs: A Quirky Guide to Building a Career in PR and Making Life F'N Awesome here for purchase, or at bookstores like Bargain Books, Worsdworth, Adam’s, Readers Warehouse, and Exclusive Books.
