Passion into Profit: Second Chances

 A lot of interest was shown on my piece called “Passion into Profit” inspiring me best to introduce you to a few other people who are in business, that have turned their passion into profit. Meet Nolwandle Mthembu, an inspirational woman who came into my life and just stuck. God must’ve purposed it that way, because she has become part of my close sister circle. We founded a book club called Imbokodo Book Club together that helps us share our love for reading with other women while establishing a sisterhood with them. She also runs an NGO called Ikamva le Zintombi. But today, I am sharing about her journey into business. She runs a company called Flowers & Bliss by Lwa, which is a one stop gift shop that offers personalised gifts with the aim of connecting loved ones. It also operates as an events company that focuses on decor for parties, weddings, baby showers, etc. and their mandate is all about adding beauty on a special day.

1. Please share about the event that changed your entire life.

The enemy that changed my life entirely must definitely be what I encountered in 2016. Being involved in a tragic car accident that affected me a lot, both physically and emotionally, but mainly it left me with the inability to sit for a full 8 hours as required by employers and that resulted in my salary being cut in half. That made it very hard for me to handle as a single mother who had to fully fend for her daughter and take care of other big responsibilities such as rent, transport, school fees, etc. My salary never saw me through 10 days of receiving it and so, there and then, I knew that something had to be done.

2. Is that the reason you decided to start the business?

Business became the only solution to my problem as physically, I was unfit to perform all the duties I had to perform and emotionally, I was just not in the right space. More than anything though, I needed financial freedom as well. I needed to be in a position where I could afford my life and starting a business was the only thing that made sense.

3. What top 3 three challenges have you faced during your time as an entrepreneur?

A) Deciding on the type of business to get into, dealing with the fear it came with and accumulating the capital.

B) Putting a price tag to what I had to offer, I somehow undermined myself and ended up operating at a loss.

C) Not separating business and personal finances. I used to be drained and felt like I wasn’t making profit only to realise that there was no distinction between my personal and business finances.

4. How have you turned your passion into profit?

I allowed myself to learn more about my passion by opening up to corrections and constructive criticism where it was needed. I also did a personal SWOT analysis which helped me a lot, as I became more passionate about my purpose and started applying it in order for it to become profitable. I started becoming aware of gaps that needed to be filled and I applied my passion in those gaps and in return, it all became profitable.

5. What advice would you give someone who is struggling with the notion of starting a business?

My advice would be JUST START... There’s never a right time and there will never come a time when you will say that you have enough money to start.

Remember that it’s not always about WHAT you do, but HOW you do it and that makes you stand out and last but not least, proper service delivery will get you very far as you will remain relevant in the market place.

Looking within for what you are passionate about is important but there are other steps that you will need to take in order to turn it into a profit. It is not an easy journey but it is definitely worth it.

Cheers. 🌸