By Sizakele Nduli
For a young entrepreneur from Lwamondo in Limpopo, the journey to creating her skincare brand began with a personal struggle. Dealing with dry and dull skin, Thabelo Phidza searched for products that could meet her skin’s needs, but nothing seemed to work. In search of a solution, Phidza founded Glowing Queens Cosmetics in 2020. It offers a range of products, including face serums, body scrubs, body oils, body lotions and soaps.
Designed for dry to very dry skin, these products also help with stretch marks, dark marks and uneven skin tone. “All the ingredients I used are [organic] and also, they are fragrance and colourant-free with no added preservatives,” she told Vutivi News, adding that her products did not have a scent for people with sinus conditions and allergies.
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“After sharing these products with other ladies out there, they really loved them and gave extremely and very satisfying testimonials, reviews, and feedback. They kept on thanking me for sharing these products with them. That really boosted my strength and gave me too much hope and confidence about my brand,” she said.
Phidza started her business with a small amount of capital and a clear vision. Instead of using her first profits for personal gain, she chose to reinvest every cent into her business, a decision that fuelled its growth. “I just had to use the little that I had at the time and make it work, so at that time I saw that I have got this big vision in this business, so I had to come up with nice strategies and good marketing skills so that my brand can be recognised out there,” Phidza added.
She said it was challenging breaking into the skincare industry as it was dominated by major brands. So, honesty, loyalty, and effective communication with her customers were the cornerstone of her business strategy. She currently has two employees and looks forward to hiring more people as her business grows. “I see this brand having firms, having stores around big malls and creating jobs to the unemployed,” she added.
Reflecting on her own journey and the challenges she faced in starting a business, she offered words of encouragement to aspiring entrepreneurs. “The advice that I can give to young people is that they must use the little that they have to start a business, they must not wait for the perfect time to arrive, they must not wait to have enough money to start, you can start where you are,” she concluded.
