by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
During the festive season people talk about how exhausted they feel; that they have been working hard the entire year and need a break. Most people are referring to the period of a year, 12 months of constant working and no rest. These people are mostly in corporate, makes sense! Then there is us; and those other brave souls that do corporate and business! We have been working 24/7 every day of the year, with random rests brought upon us by the flu! Then on a more personal level, there was me last year who was exhausted from 5 years’ worth of work. Constant, continuous, painful work. With doses of stress sessions in between as to whether we would make it. To say I was exhausted is an understatement; I felt depleted.
Here are 5 reasons I felt exhausted.
1. I do everything
I must first declare I don’t want to do everything myself. But I have struggled to build a team in the last 5 years of business; it is so hard. To build a team that will stay with you through thick and thin…no, this is not a marriage…no-one is in love with me! The labour market in South Africa is desperate for work, but not necessarily passionate. They need to eat. They need to make an income. If you are paying, they are working, if you are not, they are not also. So, I end up as the marketer, client consultant, fabric agent, invoice lady, staff, pattern-maker, etc., a perfect formula for depletion. I probably started being exhausted at the 3 year stage in business, but kept pushing; at my own cost. Today, I know I will never allow myself to do this again.
2. My work is people
My job is serving people, on a very detailed personal level. Listen, my mom always says “mmereko wa batho wa baba” (working closely to people is challenging). This sentence doesn’t even begin to encompass what dealing with people, whilst at the same time dealing with their bodies, actually is like. You need to be aware, sensitive, confident, and extra, extra patient. A lot of people don’t know how we do what we do, they also don’t know what they want, how they want it and if they can pay for it. Some really don’t want to show their knees because “nje!” When you have to take in detailed information relating to approximately 5 to 10 people per week, it is strenuous on your brain …and soul. Some people are really bliss to be around, then there’s one or two who will feel like everything is wrong with the world. Navigating this volume of people regularly needs training on people’s skills and EQ. No, I didn’t get any of it. I just winged it…for that long.
3. Loose operations
Again, Roka Roko just started. There was no strategy in the beginning; I just woke up and decided to make clothes I could sell. This behaviour carried on and on and on until it actually became the operating model, as horrible as it was. We got used to doing the right things in the wrong way. We were at work at 9 am, I was buying fabric when needed, seeing clients when they wanted, measuring and arranging collections at random days, while rushing deadlines. By the way, we were a team of 2! What madness! This process worked because I am a creative, I love not having routine. But guess what, routine creates time and efficiency. I always call this my weakness with discipline, an absolute loss. Running around like that the entire week, trying to deliver to everyone with a 2-man team got me exhausted, exhausted, exhausted!
4. Stress
When you do everything, every day, you are stressed! If the entire operation is dependent on you, trust me YOU ARE STRESSED. The amount of pressure you have to deliver the correct merchandise, while paying staff and yourself, paying rent and all your bills….is an invitation for a heart attack. I was constantly highly strung, even when sitting on the couch at home! Nothing tasted great, nothing felt good, and nothing was fun. I was alive and churning energy from an empty pot. As to how I didn’t get sick or collapse or just give up is a mystery to me. Five years of maintaining madness in the name of my business is total punishment to myself. I eventually became unbearable to be around; I was simply just exhausted.
5. No goals
Honestly… we had no goals. We were just happy to have clients. Like, hey look, we have another client, take it! We didn’t even consider if we could do it or not, we just proceeded. No specific strategy, and if we had one, who was going to manage us following it!?! Entrepreneurs are struggling out there. Some of the years I had goals, other years I just forgot them and followed my gut feel. This is because at the end of the day, I was too tired to check if I was on par with my own plans. If I got home, I would just fall asleep on the couch. This of course created an inconsistency with our sales, as they were dependent on clients. Every month the revenue was different. And we all know banks like consistency to trust you for any kind of financial backing or support. It was tough!
Are you doing any of these in your business? I hope you stop and reflect and make the appropriate changes. Don’t kill yourself chasing success. Well, I don’t even know if having many clients is a success…especially with a small team. The era of starting businesses is over, now we have to run efficient, healthy and fruitful businesses. We cannot simply just be business owners; we need to start building teams and operating models that make sense and allow us health. Don’t wait till you are as exhausted as I was. Start today!
Brigette Mashile is the founder and creative force behind Roka Roko, a custom fashion design business based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company passionately delivers quality tailored and trendy fashion to make their customers happy, and specializes in styling women by creating unusual combinations with fabric, culture and style. Brigette has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Witwatersrand and a Fashion Diploma from Studio5 School of Fashion. She’s a former fashion buyer for a major retailer in South Africa, and an international direct selling company. She’s been passionate about fashion since the age of 10 and gained invaluable experience in the fashion world running informal fashion creation businesses until the day her own Roka Roko brand was born. Find out more by visiting the Roka Roko website www.rokaroko.co.za
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