One Year Business Anniversary | Thandazo's Styled Looks
A year ago, today, and I still carry the very vivid memory of that day in particular, with anxiety-filled-excitement, burning eyes from the lack of sleep I had missed the night before, eager to wake up and 'launch already'.Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be a reality to celebrate a one year business anniversary and being a woman in business, and this may sadly be due to doubt and fear - which, in the end I defeated anyway.
Mine, wasn't a typical "I quit my job to start my business story", rather a step in faith and a last resort option. Right in the middle of what most of us thought was a passing dark cloud, I (strong in Faith) was urged to start this business as a means to survive. I had been retrenched from work, due to COVID19 and had to make means to survive and keep myself sane, honestly!.
A year later we are here and have built a strong and beautiful community of "Abanqwazi" (Those that wear and support Umnqwazo by Thandazo) - Maybe we make that term official!?. I am and will forever be grateful, for all that I have learnt, mostly the woman that I have become in this journey. Although it feels like I have been slow crawling over the past 365 days to proper call myself a business person, but I am grateful for what I have accomplished.
Highlights of the past year
The actual beginning of this business is a highlight on its own, and the influx of support that I received from the get go has been and will always be amazing. I was so surprised at how much people supported the product from the very beginning. I have enjoyed frequenting fabric shops and experiencing and learning new fabrics when sourcing for the business. I became open-minded and created a wider range to offer my clients and that has worked to my favour. The addition of earrings has also been received well, and I look forward to advancing that leg of the business. I have met and worked with more women over the past year, which includes the collaborations that I have been a part of - I am so honoured.
What is coming
There is a lot in the pipeline that absolutely fuels more growth, and beautiful things are coming to the brand, both in content and in products. Learning my tribe has had a major influence on what I bring next to the brand, however because I enjoy surprising my clients, I shan't share much now. I do promise growth and much more style, blogs and style guides that will feature more local brands. If I have never said it before, let me say it now, I have a passion for local brands and have a dream to transform my style to feature mostly locally made slow fashion.
In conclusion
Please stick around, because God willing, we have a long way to go still and so much to learn about each other. I will be introducing "Thandazo's Styled Looks" , where I will be sharing my take on styling headwraps and some local fashion pieces, styled my way. I really just want to let you in on a bit of my world, using style and fashion.
This look:
- Headwrap - Kopano Konke
- Earrings - Umnqwazo
- Tshirt - @sohelpmegod_official
- Jeans - Cotton On
- Shoes - Miss Black / DC One Shoes
