The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
ESTABLISHING systems is an essential aspect of any small business to track progress, show credibility, and also to gain the confidence of customers and service providers.
Ms Bongiwe Ndlovu of Qhawekazi Beading, an entrepreneur from Bulawayo, whose business started in 2017, grew from taking beading as a hobby to commercialising her business and she is now entrepreneurial trainer.
Narrating her journey in business to Sunday News, Ms Ndlovu, revealed that she started at a micro level and only managed to grow her business once she introduced clear systems to be followed.
“I started training on a small scale, when I registered my business and started having systems in place and doing things professionally. When you start a small business, chances are you are not working , so the business is the main source of income. There is a tendency to spend that money and not account for it. This then shortens the life of the business because you cannot continue, you do not have the money to do so. Having systems, is knowing that if you have US$10 profit you have to account well for all of it. It is vital for entrepreneurs to keep records of all transactions and account for every dollar,” she said.
She noted that without well-defined systems ,could see the failure to attract any investment, which was key to any institution.
“If you do not have any systems or bookkeeping, then no one would want to invest in you as a small business because you also do not know how your business is faring and where you need to improve. You need to track if you are profitable enough, if you can continue operating or close down. How does a financial institution offer you a loan when your business operates from your pocket with no documentation? We need to be properly registered so that we get access to these loans too because the institutions need to see your track record if you are profitable or you have potential,” said Ms Ndlovu.
She said once entrepreneurs are registered and follow all the laws in the land they become marketable and are open to business opportunities locally, regionally, and even internationally. Turning to her business, Ms Ndlovu revealed it all started with her admiring a bag that was being made by her aunt, who then taught her for a few minutes before giving her some beads to try on her own.
“What she taught me in those few minutes was enough. I made the purse eventually, sent her pictures and I had a few corrections to make but that is how my journey began. It started as a random thing and never a business idea but it has now grown.
“I made this one bag after I learnt the trade and I kept it. My brother-in-law saw the bag and told me I could make money, by selling the bags in South Africa towards Heritage Day and he bought my first bag for US$10, that’s how I managed to buy beads that I eventually used to make other purses and bags that I sold in South Africa,” she said.
As the business developed, Ms Ndlovu decided to also impart the skill she had learned over a few minutes to other young women and girls to empower them. To date, she has managed to train and support about 1 500 young women and adolescent girls from Lupane, Nkayi, and Bubi districts in Matabeleland North Province to do beadwork.
“There is one girl we trained in Nkayi in June last year, who now has a registered business and is doing well. These training sessions are impactful and life-changing. A lot of the girls that come for training, come with babies on their backs, but have the desire to be trained and change their lives as young mothers with no sources of income. The girls in many cases will have dropped out of school because of early pregnancies, so empowering them with a skill changes their lives,” she said.
Ms Ndlovu,noted that young women and girls from rural communities seldom have many opportunities to earn a living as they sometimes lack financial support to buy things for resale, but once empowered with a skill and supported they can manufacture their products and sell.
