Carl Joshua Ncube is Zimbabwe’s most serious stand-up comedian. He’s so serious about his craft that he has a whole industry following in hi...
Carl Joshua Ncube is Zimbabwe’s most serious stand-up comedian. He’s so serious about his craft that he has a whole industry following in his footsteps. New comedians are propping up, inspired by him and seeking to make their mark.
This weekend Carl will hold his Artist 101 workshop. It will focus on skills that artists need to have to survive and thrive but we decided that Carl’s own life and career holds lessons that we can share with the world.
So, based on what we have witnessed of Carl over the years, here’s our addition to his Artist 101 classes…
1. Put Aside the False Humility
Too many Zimbabwean artists don’t want to admit that they are good at something. This false humility thing is all over the country. We are afflicted by it as Zimbabweans. We say, “I am an aspiring musician,” when we have been in the music business for years. If you’ve been in it that long and are still aspiring, perhaps you should just try something else. Carl does not pretend that he does not want your attention. He goes after it like a hungry predator chases after its prey… relentlessly.
2. Name Your Project
When Carl held his first big comedy show he called it ‘The Big Announcement’, not ‘Stand Up Comedy with Carl Joshua Ncube’ or ‘A Night of Comedy with Carl’. Uh-uh. He found a name that would get people to sit up and listen. He named it well and then made sure that he created some great graphics to go with it, which takes us to…
3. Make it Visually Appealing
“If you can make something look a certain way, you will attract many more people than you normally would.” Carl in his own words. Here’s a man who invests a lot of time into the visual appeal of his products. His visual material is well designed and speaks to his target audience in ways that words cannot. When he appeared in a Tux in his adverts for the Big Announcement it killed any ideas that people had that this would be a poor quality show. The presentation said, ‘I am worth the money and the time. You need to come and see me.’
4. Tell People Once, Twice, Thrice… and Don’t Stop Telling Them
Carl does not stop talking about what he is doing in his life. All his projects, upcoming tours and new shows are there on his online platforms for all to see. He uses text, videos & images. In an economy where advertising using big media is next to impossible for most artists, even many of the most successful ones, social media is your friend. Carl has a natural affinity for this sort of thing so it works for him. If you don’t, find someone with a flair for it who can do it for you, then your job is to make sure that it happens.
5. Reinvent
When Carl decided to rebrand himself as a comedian, we had known him as a nurse, a graphic designer, an animator and an event producer. He told Zimbo Jam a number of years ago that when he decided to make the change he made a vow that he would carry out the reinvention so well that people would not readily remember what he was before he became a comedian. Many don’t. Not only did he reinvent himself to harness his other gifts, he branded the reinvention so strongly, it has become the very ethos of what we know him as… a funny man. Too many artists are stuck doing the same thing year in year out and even when it’s clear that it’s not working, they don’t change their approach.
6. Find the Paycheque
Carl learnt very on in the game that passion is one thing. Putting food on the table is another. And that in order for one to sustainably pursue one’s passion one has to be making an income. Step one was to make a name for himself. Step two was to create opportunities for other brands to associate themselves with his. He is always thinking about how to get more companies to leverage off his work and visibility. For instance in his ‘Carl Can Cook’ TV show he has endorsements from Mazowe, Kefalos & Spar among others. The Rainbow Towers Food Fest he organised with wife Nelsy had a list of corporate partners from here to Hurungwe. When he has events like that he stays at the Rainbow Towers for free as part of the deal.
7. Have people on your side who buy your vision
Pushing any vision is hard going. There are times when the blows of demotivation that strike you daily have added up into one big heap that weighs you down in the morning and you find you cannot get up to face the day. That’s where having people in your camp who believe in you 100% is critical. For Carl, his first cheerleader is his wife, friend and business partner, Nelsy. If ever there was a woman who supported her man, Nelsy is that woman. From The Big Announcement, when Carl didn’t have two cents to put a campaign together to now, when he is the country’s most recognised stand up comedian, Nelsy has been unflinching and unwavering. Few partners, male or female, have that sort of ‘support base’ power. There are other people who Carl will tell you have been supportive of his career, but it doesn’t hurt to have your spouse be your number one fan.
8. Work hard
Carl runs an active stand up comedy career, a TV show, training programmes and does ad campaigns for other organisations. He never stops coming up with new ideas and implementing them. He is not sitting by the side of the road moaning that all the buses that pass by are full, he is running there beside the buses screaming, to hell with you, if you don’t have space for me, I’ll build my own bus… and he is building it.
9. Don’t take life too seriously
Life in Zimbabwe can be hard. In fact it’s tough every day for many people. The amazing thing is how so many Zimbabweans wake up every day and carry on regardless. Carl is one of those people. If I was to list all the challenges he has faced as an individual and in business, it would fill many pages. You don’t hear him moan, ‘Oh I am diabetic and so I can’t function normally,’ or ‘my family problems have prevented me from going out to reach for my dreams.’ He just gets on with his life and punctuates his days with lots of smiles and hearty laughter.
This weekend Carl will hold his Artist 101 workshop. It will focus on skills that artists need to have to survive and thrive but we decided that Carl’s own life and career holds lessons that we can share with the world.
So, based on what we have witnessed of Carl over the years, here’s our addition to his Artist 101 classes…
1. Put Aside the False Humility
Too many Zimbabwean artists don’t want to admit that they are good at something. This false humility thing is all over the country. We are afflicted by it as Zimbabweans. We say, “I am an aspiring musician,” when we have been in the music business for years. If you’ve been in it that long and are still aspiring, perhaps you should just try something else. Carl does not pretend that he does not want your attention. He goes after it like a hungry predator chases after its prey… relentlessly.
2. Name Your Project
When Carl held his first big comedy show he called it ‘The Big Announcement’, not ‘Stand Up Comedy with Carl Joshua Ncube’ or ‘A Night of Comedy with Carl’. Uh-uh. He found a name that would get people to sit up and listen. He named it well and then made sure that he created some great graphics to go with it, which takes us to…
3. Make it Visually Appealing
“If you can make something look a certain way, you will attract many more people than you normally would.” Carl in his own words. Here’s a man who invests a lot of time into the visual appeal of his products. His visual material is well designed and speaks to his target audience in ways that words cannot. When he appeared in a Tux in his adverts for the Big Announcement it killed any ideas that people had that this would be a poor quality show. The presentation said, ‘I am worth the money and the time. You need to come and see me.’
4. Tell People Once, Twice, Thrice… and Don’t Stop Telling Them
Carl does not stop talking about what he is doing in his life. All his projects, upcoming tours and new shows are there on his online platforms for all to see. He uses text, videos & images. In an economy where advertising using big media is next to impossible for most artists, even many of the most successful ones, social media is your friend. Carl has a natural affinity for this sort of thing so it works for him. If you don’t, find someone with a flair for it who can do it for you, then your job is to make sure that it happens.
5. Reinvent
When Carl decided to rebrand himself as a comedian, we had known him as a nurse, a graphic designer, an animator and an event producer. He told Zimbo Jam a number of years ago that when he decided to make the change he made a vow that he would carry out the reinvention so well that people would not readily remember what he was before he became a comedian. Many don’t. Not only did he reinvent himself to harness his other gifts, he branded the reinvention so strongly, it has become the very ethos of what we know him as… a funny man. Too many artists are stuck doing the same thing year in year out and even when it’s clear that it’s not working, they don’t change their approach.
6. Find the Paycheque
Carl learnt very on in the game that passion is one thing. Putting food on the table is another. And that in order for one to sustainably pursue one’s passion one has to be making an income. Step one was to make a name for himself. Step two was to create opportunities for other brands to associate themselves with his. He is always thinking about how to get more companies to leverage off his work and visibility. For instance in his ‘Carl Can Cook’ TV show he has endorsements from Mazowe, Kefalos & Spar among others. The Rainbow Towers Food Fest he organised with wife Nelsy had a list of corporate partners from here to Hurungwe. When he has events like that he stays at the Rainbow Towers for free as part of the deal.
7. Have people on your side who buy your vision
Pushing any vision is hard going. There are times when the blows of demotivation that strike you daily have added up into one big heap that weighs you down in the morning and you find you cannot get up to face the day. That’s where having people in your camp who believe in you 100% is critical. For Carl, his first cheerleader is his wife, friend and business partner, Nelsy. If ever there was a woman who supported her man, Nelsy is that woman. From The Big Announcement, when Carl didn’t have two cents to put a campaign together to now, when he is the country’s most recognised stand up comedian, Nelsy has been unflinching and unwavering. Few partners, male or female, have that sort of ‘support base’ power. There are other people who Carl will tell you have been supportive of his career, but it doesn’t hurt to have your spouse be your number one fan.
8. Work hard
Carl runs an active stand up comedy career, a TV show, training programmes and does ad campaigns for other organisations. He never stops coming up with new ideas and implementing them. He is not sitting by the side of the road moaning that all the buses that pass by are full, he is running there beside the buses screaming, to hell with you, if you don’t have space for me, I’ll build my own bus… and he is building it.
9. Don’t take life too seriously
Life in Zimbabwe can be hard. In fact it’s tough every day for many people. The amazing thing is how so many Zimbabweans wake up every day and carry on regardless. Carl is one of those people. If I was to list all the challenges he has faced as an individual and in business, it would fill many pages. You don’t hear him moan, ‘Oh I am diabetic and so I can’t function normally,’ or ‘my family problems have prevented me from going out to reach for my dreams.’ He just gets on with his life and punctuates his days with lots of smiles and hearty laughter.
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