For many business startups, the list of things that need to be done and put in place to ensure a good foundation can be daunting. But entrepreneur Tarina Du Plessis, founder of SkyRidge Business Solutions, is on a mission to make it simpler. She is there to walk each step of the journey with her clients, making it less stressful and very much solution oriented.
LoA chatted to Tarina this month to find out more about this enterprising solopreneur.
What does your company do?
SkyRidge Business Solutions specializes in Financial, Marketing and Business Consulting Services. I offer my clients a wide range of specialist services, from the moment they have a business idea right through to the moment when that business opens its doors, over any and every hurdle to the point where they no longer need me. We do company registrations, name changes, loan applications, management reports, office admin, bookkeeping, bankruptcy consulting, anything regarding the business startup environment. That also includes logo designs, banners, advertising campaigns, public relations, anything small businesses might need help with.
"I offer my clients a wide range of specialist services, from the moment they have a business idea right through to the moment when that business opens its doors, over any and every hurdle to the point where they no longer need me."
What inspired you to start your company?
I love working with people, and seeing those people succeed in life. I had all this information and knowledge, and no one to share it with. So today, if I can help people, then that’s what I am going to do. The name of my company, SkyRidge Business Solutions, actually means "Sky" as in, the sky’s the limit, aim for it from a "Ridge" which is the highest peak. Therefore, SkyRidge means aim high, shoot high, go big! At SkyRidge Business Solutions we help your aims and ambitions in business reach the sky.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
I believe that any business dream can come true - and I can help with that. If you come to me with a business challenge or a problem I haven't dealt with before, I will do anything and everything I can to help you - even if I can't personally help you, I will find someone who can!. You can come to me with an idea, a thought, a suggestion, and I will make it my priority to give you the best, most affordable, professional assistance I can. We can learn together, we can grow together. Your success will be my number one priority.
"SkyRidge means aim high, shoot high, go big! At SkyRidge Business Solutions we help your aims and ambitions in business reach the sky."
Tell us a little about your team
At this stage, I don't have a team yet. I am the Owner and Senior/Sole Consultant of SkyRidge Business Solutions.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
Growing up, I didn't have the best of anything, but I had everything I needed. Both my mother and my father had worked in the finance industry. I respect and treasure my humble beginnings.Those beginnings are what made me into who I am today. When I decided to start this company, I was 19 years old and had just finished my advanced diploma in Financial, Marketing and Business Management at a college in Swakopmund, Namibia. I wanted to study Hotel Management and Tourism in Cape Town, but we simply couldn't afford it. So through a bursary I was able to study the next best thing. And as it turns out, I was really good at it! And I loved it!! But, I had a load of sad issues I had to deal with at that stage. One of the best mentors anyone could have, my Dad, died a few months earlier, heart break, failed engagement, unemployment, home invasions, moving around from town to town, bills, everything was mounting up. And then I decided, I can rise above my circumstances. And I did. My "business" had no name, I was doing it after hours out of a small one bedroom apartment in Windhoek. Then, 3 years and 7 successful, satisfied clients and 3 towns later, I moved to Otjiwarongo. I started helping my boyfriend with his business. I worked from home and had my own time. Then one day my beautiful older sister called and asked me if I was going to continue with "my thing"?. She has always been one of the few people who believed in me, encouraged me and supported me through everything. So I decided to go big. I registered SkyRidge Business Solutions. I decided to help other people in Namibia make their dreams of owning a successful business come true.
"You can come to me with an idea, a thought, a suggestion, and I will make it my priority to give you the best, most affordable, professional assistance I can."
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
I want to work hard, grow and expand my company up to the stage where I don't have to introduce myself...
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Seeing my clients succeed in life. There are very few things in life that can be quite as satisfying as driving past a large store, seeing smiling customers leaving it and knowing I helped create that business. Knowing that together we were able to conquer any challenge, get over every hurdle, and make dreams come true. I love seeing people happy. It makes me happy.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
If you do what you love, you will never have to work another day in your life because when you do what you love, it's not working, it's thriving! Follow your dreams, because if you don't, you will end up working for someone who did. Belief in yourself. Paint that portrait, bake that cake, cut that hair, knit that blanket, why? Because you can! You just have to belief in yourself!
Contact or follow SkyRidge Business Solutions
FACEBOOK | EMAIL skyridgenamibia@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it….
No-one ever said the entrepreneurial life is an easy one, it can be full of challenges, highs and lows. But for those who embark on the journey of building a business, it can be the fulfillment of so many possibilities and dreams. For Tarina Du Plessis, it was the start of a new life, one that enabled her to realize her potential, leverage her core skills, and open up so many opportunities to help others on their business building journeys. Today she is making a real difference, and finding her own true path along the way. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa