by Sibongile V. Mthimunye
What a journey it has been since I fully worked in my business in 2021 September. Before then I registered the business in May 2020, but continued working as a Corporate Executive. However, circumstances changed and allowed me to be a full-time employee of BWGL Group in September 2021. What started as me paying homage to my mother who was a cleaner and me being curious about the hygiene and cleaning space, has now become a fully-fledged business and has created several job opportunities for women and the youth from underserved communities.
Important lessons learned from my journey as the owner of a hygiene and cleaning business are:
1. No job is insignificant in the bigger scheme of things – I have made it my mission to educate individuals about the importance of this industry. I have been asked questions such as, “Out of all the industries you have experience in - why cleaning?” and my response has always been, “I am passionate about cleaner environments and all the experience that I have from working in industries such as Development Sector, Technology, and Financial Services comes in handy now in my business. I can use skills gained such as Stakeholder Management, Business Planning, Customer Value Propositions, etc. to ensure that BWGL Group runs efficiently.”
2. a) Focus and diversify – this might sound contradictory at first, but for me, it has been very important to focus and master the following in my business – efficient processes, empowerment of employees with relevant skills, and supporting them to deliver an excellent service to clients. We also decided to focus on a specific market segment small to medium clients, this allowed us to have a closer relationship with our clients and grow with them.
b) As the business grows, it has become important for us to diversify and add eco-friendly cleaning products. This became a need after doing some research and realizing that as a business we need to do better and save the environment by using less water when we clean. This also supports UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.
3. Empower others as we progress – as a business, we also started empowerment sessions for women and the youth. These sessions have been an eye-opener for us about the importance of giving back and transferring skills to others.
4. Review, review, review - For me, it has always been important to review my work monthly, quarterly, and annually – as a businesswoman, we can be so busy with our day-to-day lives that we sometimes forget to make time to look back and pat ourselves in the back. I struggled with this when I started my business, but now I have penciled this in my diary, to spend 30 minutes weekly/monthly looking back at what went well in my business and any improvements that I still need to make.
I am at peace with my decision to be a businesswoman and I thank God for the strength and the opportunities presented to me throughout this journey. The business will grow from strength to strength. YES, what a journey!!!!
Sibongile V. Mthimunye is an entrepreneur and a business owner of the BWGL Group Pty Ltd an eco-friendly Hygiene and Cleaning Services in South Africa that empowers and provides employment opportunities to women and the youth from underserved communities. The business is Headquartered in Heidelberg in Gauteng Province, with a presence in 4 other provinces. The company has 13 clients and employs 15 employees, as well as two youth product agents. Since its inception in 2020, the business has managed to secure and retain 98% of its clients, achieved through pro-active client engagement and management. To learn more, visit www.bwglgroup.co.za