“I grew up not wanting anything to work for someone else, what made me always cook and pour out thoughts and strategies to help me find a way to make a living and earn money without depending on people.”
So says Ms. Simakahle Buthelezi, recounting her business journey, as she is now the owner of We Stand Well Beauty Studio. Her company offers a variety of beauty services that focus on coloring and facials.
Ms Buthelezi (27) from Nkonjeni, Lundi, said that she started this business in 2018 when she used to do people’s makeup, which coincided with the fact that she was still focused on modeling at that time, her clients were beauties.
In 2020, she was trained for this beauty job at KZN Beauty Studio, Durban, which she did after completing her Business Management studies at Durban TVET College.
“I remember that when I was about to start this business, I borrowed R7 000 from my elder brother because I saw that there was a loophole in it. This money helped me buy different equipment that I needed to start a business at that time,” he said.
Continuing, he said that seeing that there is a lot of competition in big cities, he decided to move to Ndini because he sees an opportunity to prosper by getting more customers because there are not many businesses of this type in rural areas.
“I opened a branch in my home town in 2024, which helped me a lot to conduct my work in the right way because it is an open place where I can work freely doing massage, makeup and other beauty jobs.
“I now have two part-time employees and three full-time employees to help me carry out the work. I also feel that we are local because we do something that is unusual and very rare as it is at home, and I have also started teaching others who are interested in this work so that they can prosper,” he said.
When asked about business challenges, Ms. Buthelezi lamented that since she is a woman and young, she has had to deal with customers who do not respect her and do not want to pay on time.
Regarding the plans for the future, he said: “We wish to continue expanding in different areas such as Johannesburg and Durban, and we also wish to work with health professionals to help us with other aspects of health so that our work can be done efficiently, and then we will continue and train young people in rural areas through the work we are doing.”