Who Lead

In honour of Women’s Month, we checked in with four women who are running local businesses, all in different industries, and what inspires them to create a life on their own terms. To all the women pursuing their passions, we encourage you to keep going and learn from these ladies who lead!

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS went to boarding school in the Midlands and then started my first job at Brookdale Health Hydro in 2000. I am now living on our poultry farm in the Midlands with my husband, Keyan, and our three beautiful daughters - so I haven't ventured far! love farm life, trail running, cooking and creating anything beautiful and purposeful. Living right next to Piggly Wiggly made it the perfect location to open Freerange Interiors & Clothing. We design and locally manufacture our ladies clothing range made up of classic clothing in quality, natural fabrics. We do limited quantities and provide once-off ranges, seldom to be repeated, offering our customers an exclusive purchase. Our interiors are sourced from all over South Africa and abroad, focusing on unique, carefully selected pieces people have come to love from Freerange.

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE START OF YOUR BUSINESS?

In 2012, I opened Freerange Interiors & Clothing. It started out with an idea to provide a small range of quality ladies' clothing in neutral palates and natural fabrics that customers could build their personal style on. We have now grown to include some of our own fabric prints, bigger ranges and lots more variety including our home interiors, some of which we now commission local artisans to manufacture exclusively for us.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO GET UP EVERY DAY AND WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS?

I absolutely thrive on the creative aspect of my shop and brand - I never stop designing! I am always challenging myself with my most important aspects which are quality, exclusivity, affordability and trends to appeal to my wide range of loyal customers.

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR IN THE MIDLANDS AREA?

My biggest challenge is familiar to us all at the moment and that is manufacturing locally with the interruptions of load shedding.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY LESSONS YOU'VE LEARNT ABOUT OWNING YOUR BUSINESS?

To be consistent in what your brand stands for. Don't be influenced by what’s going on around you - stick to what you do and do it well.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

Trust your instincts and take the leap. There are no guarantees or shortcuts, but if you have an original offering, believe in yourself, and be prepared to keep re-inventing your ideas and brand to keep it exciting and fresh. It can only work!

I grew up in the township of Sobantu Village in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZuluNatal, and graduated with an MBA from the University of Natal, and now run The Living Collective (TLC) which is a fullservice, self-catering accommodation rental company offering guests the option of short or long-stay accommodation, furnished or unfurnished apartments, with the added value of an in-house car rental service. Our collection of homes and apartment options has been sensibly designed to provide guests with the perfect combination of convenience and luxury.

The idea to start the company came when my family and I relocated from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in 2017. The house we were building in Pietermaritzburg was still under construction and we had already sold the property in Durban. We faced several challenges trying to find accommodation in Pietermaritzburg that could cater to our short-term lease needs and was fully furnished. This presented the perfect opportunity to bridge the gap in the market by providing a hotel alternative with the same standards but with the space and comfort of a home at a fraction of the costs. TLC was born in 2018.

My love for property and decor and interacting with people!

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED AS A FEMALE ENTREPRENEUR IN THE MIDLANDS AREA?

It’s not easy to be a black female in this industry. There are issues of collaboration that can be difficult due to the space we operate in as well as resistance we get over the type of business we provide. However, we have managed to deal with these challenges and continue to do what we do best, which is to offer a service that is loved and appreciated by a lot of our clients.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY LESSONS YOU'VE LEARNT ABOUT OWNING YOUR BUSINESS?

The buying process was more complicated than I anticipated. also underestimated the amount of work that goes into maintaining a property. I learnt the importance of focusing on marketing your business no matter how much you may think your brand is out there.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

In the words of Robert Kiyosaki, real estate investing remains the tried and true means of building individual wealth and cash flow. You don’t need to invest where you would stay but where there is a demand for rentals. Market, market, and do more marketing. Love what you do so you are able to withstand the hard times, as there will be difficult moments in your journey.

I have lived most of my life on a farm and grew up on Benvie Farm as a child. am the fourth generation to be looking after a property that is 770 hectares with commercial timber, a small sawmill, and a wonderful 30-hectare garden planted by my great-grandfather John Geekie after he bought the farm in 1883.

I had never been involved in running a timber farm before taking over Benvie. When my father died 25 years ago, I was the only one of three sisters who could come back to the farm and continue the family heritage. Once I got here, I also decided to open a small sawmill (a facility where logs are cut into lumber) to mill and add value to the saw log timbers which have been nurtured for many years on the farm. With the help of many people and supportive staff, I have been able to achieve what started out to do in 1997.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO GET UP EVERY DAY AND WORK ON YOUR BUSINESS?

I love what I do as well as the freedom of working outdoors, enjoying the bird life around me, and seeing the rewards of hard work taking shape. I get out of bed with the first call of the fish eagle that nests in the garden and have all day to be involved in something I cherish. I am lucky that Benvie Garden attracts wonderful people who have all added quality to my life. That this garden still inspires and offers a place of peace to one’s soul is very rewarding.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY LESSONS YOU'VE LEARNT ABOUT OWNING YOUR BUSINESS?

Key lessons I have learnt being part of Benvie is that believe in working as a team with my staff and careful daily planning when running the farm through various seasons, which helps me achieve my goals.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?

My challenge has been being responsible for the preservation of the farm. Being a female has not been a problem for me, as women can achieve whatever they want to by being positive in their choice of life. We have one chance to go out and do what we are passionate about, so feel it is not worth hesitating if one gets the opportunity.

Indigo Fields Farmhouse and Spa is a unique holistic offering of a spa retreat for our guests whilst they enjoy all the luxuries of a boutique farm stay. My husband, Paul, and I have loved establishing a family business together, having enjoyed the support of three generations.

We packed up our home in Johannesburg and moved to the Midlands at the end of 2003 with a dream to earn a living from a farm. It wasn’t long before Paul’s parents and my mom joined us, so we extended our offering to include an art gallery and a small coffee shop. We opened our doors to the “Midlands Meanderers” with optimism, but our enthusiasm wasn’t enough. We needed to create a place to attract guests throughout the week. So, we began the African Day Spa. We realised we had something quite special and added to our accommodation so that we could offer the all-inclusive holistic experience: spa treatments, accommodation and meals.

The challenges we face as women are precisely those that come from the joy of being women - being partners, wives, caregivers and moms, torn between business and personal responsibilities, and finding time to do each role well and not compromise yourself in the process! I was blessed to have both grannies to help out in the business and with our children. Now, Kate, my daughter, has me to hustle around my grandkids when needed.

I absolutely love the farm, the business, and working together with family. It has impacted so positively on so many lives, not just our own. We have an incredibly loyal staff that has pulled out all the stops. It’s not always easy and we continue to learn and grow, sometimes making many mistakes along the way.

It’s not all about you! When you have a ‘staff-intensive business’, it’s all about the team. They carry the vision, the ethos and your dream into the guest experience. We struggled to uphold the “hospitality” norm - staying open seven days a week and during big holidays and school holidays. The best decision we made was to close on Sundays and Mondays, over Easter and Christmas, and for some of the school holidays. Women have something valuable to bring to the table. Our awareness and compassion towards others are needed to complement the hard-core rules of running a profit-driven business.

Don’t be scared to challenge the norm. It's only when you are prepared to break out of the box that you will create that uniqueness that becomes your degree of difference, leverage, or trademark. Engage all the help you can get, especially your family. They have your back, will work as hard as you or even harder, and will be there when you need to step back.

2 & 3 BEDROOM GARDEN VILLAS FROM R3,6m

1 & 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS FROM R1,69m

SALES ENQUIRIES: 087 537 0539 | coralcove@auria.co.za | www.auria.co.za