Serial entrepreneur Frances Manwaring became the co-owner and managing director of the boutique creative agency Moxie in 2010.
Now the sole owner, she sits down with Verve to share more.
Through Moxie, you have advocated for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. What exactly is this, and why is it important to you?
Moxie was a foundation member of the Sustainable Business Network in 2003. In 2015, world leaders agreed to 17 global goals to end poverty and protect the planet by 2030. We’re already at the halfway mark, and only 15% of the goals are on track. In 2019, Moxie created a mini-campaign to support the uptake of the goals and get more people, including the government, behind them. Then came Covid…
Alongside a range of creative services, Moxie offers an online learning platform to help people create engaging brands. How did “learn with Moxie’ come about, and what’s it about?
I wanted to create a learning space for people who want to know more about branding but do it in their own time. So, I’m making a suite of resources, the flagship being my book Brands with Moxie – Eight Steps to a Winning Brand. I’m now recording video resources covering the main topics.
You’ve worked with several New Zealand charities. Tell us more about this?
We’ve worked with most leading charities and are currently the creative partner for Riding for the Disabled, Rare Disorders, Transparency International and Age Concern in NZ. During 2020 and 2021, we supported Age Concern with their re-brand. This is a cause that’s very dear to my heart as I’m an older adult, and it breaks my heart to hear the stories of the treatment some seniors suffer.
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a published author?
Before my current books, I’ve had several works published. The highlights were writing a tongue-in-cheek column for In Business magazine Wellington. I also created and wrote the copy for an exhibition on the food industry in this country for the Eastern Institute of Technology. EIT published the proceedings I wrote from the accompanying conference Food Futures, The Face of Tomorrow.
I decided to independently publish my current two books which meant a lot of promotional work for me. But I’ve also got a superb editor who gets what I’m trying to say, a fantastic publicist and a local print partner who knows everything there is to know about getting a book ‘out there’. Of course, I’d love to find a publisher for my next book!
We love the title of your upcoming book, Never Succumb to Beige. What does this title focus on?
It’s about being true to who you are and what you bring to the world. When you commit to the non-beige approach to life, you will always walk the road less travelled, leading to unknown and exotic destinations, even if they’re only in your mind.
What’s next for you?
I’m re-purposing Moxie to reflect the changing nature of how people work and what they need from a creative team so we can remain relevant and dynamic. And I’ve already started on the follow-up to Beige. I love entertaining people, and I’m working on how to do more of that, including finding speaking slots. That all should keep me busy and motivated for the foreseeable future.
