I often get people wanting to know how I started my business and what was the key to our success after 13 years in business. And when I saw this post earlier this week, it made me realize that this is it.
Having a dream is a great thing. My business started as a dream. A dream to have a one stop shop for everything spa. Even though this dream was a great idea, I had to make it happen or else it would just have stayed a dream in my head.
I did not have much money at the time, which is most young entrepreneur’s problem. My suggestion is to make a list of what you do have, including your passion for the industry and who you know. I had 12 years’ experience in the industry as spa manager, sales rep and sales manager for various companies, so I knew what to do, just needed to work out how to do it all within my budget. And the biggest thing was, that I needed to take the first step. Talking about it will do you no good, if you do not follow it up with the “doing”.
I love to reflect on the growth of our business over the years. I started in my lounge in a one bedroom flat in Cape Town and now I have a beautiful showroom and office space in Paarl. I also have my own spa brand (www.cashmereandco.co.za) and a health & beauty salon in Paarl, called Savor. We now have 5 permanent staff, with great growth potential in the future as we move from strength to strength.
I find with technology and social media, we are wrapped up all day in dreaming…dreaming about beauty products from all over the world which we never will get to try, beautiful spas we might not get to experience, beautiful house interiors that we want, recipes we never make, DIY ideas we never follow through on and holidays everyone else gets to enjoy. So we get trapped in a “dream world” that often never materializes, because all it stays, is a dream.
To all the entrepreneurs out there who has a dream……put your phone down, get up, take a chance, be creative, commit and make it happen. If you don’t position yourself for success your dream will never become a reality. Make it a reality today.
Lots of love
Jacoline