Ex-Teacher Makes Ends Meet In Eventing
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday March 30, 2020 18:30
Trading under Thwaza’s Vintage Garden (TVG) and Events Management, the blossoming business is in Letlhakane serving as one of the top entities to host major events in the Boteti region. In an interview with Business Monitor, the committed entrepreneur said that her business is a venue that hosts corporate events, weddings, individual parties, picnics, church events to mention but a few.
She said that TVG started in 2017 but was running under other businesses. It was officially registered as a fully-fledged sole business in 2019. She also said that for the business to run, she dipped into her savings and leaned on the support of her husband, Kebonye Tumagole.
The multi-talented entrepreneur said that she focused on her business after she took a deliberate decision to leave her teaching profession in 2015 at Orapa Community Junior Secondary School in order to pursue her dreams.
She added: “As a child growing up in a family where my mum (Elizabeth Kadibadiba) tended plants, I acquired the necessary skills and grew to love plants and flowers.
This led me to start this beautiful events garden.” Speaking about the state of business, the high-flier said that TVG has been quiet since the beginning of the year. However, she hopes business would boom once the coronavirus pandemic passes. She disclosed that even though she does not have any qualifications for running a business, she has a bookkeeping certificate she acquired after completing her O’Levels while awaiting Tirelo Sechaba.
She said that TVG is strategically located along the Letlhakane-Serowe main road, which makes it easier for people to access and view the landscape, which gives her the upper hand over her competitors. Tumagole shared that the most devastating challenge is unreliable employees who often take their job for granted.
She also complained about the soil in her locality, indicating that it has too much termites and often she loses a lot of money buying chemicals so as to spray the pests.
She added: “There is one big challenge of not having electricity at the garden because of charges for power connections, which are too high for an ordinary Motswana woman, who is still taking baby steps in the business. We spend a lot of money buying fuel to power up the generator in order to have power.”
The businesswoman said that she purchased most of her décor plants from her mother in Selebi-Phikwe and got some from local women around Boteti, as a way to plough business back into her community.
She also stated that her dream is still unfolding as she wants see herself having a well established entertainment centre that has a big pool, accommodation and conferencing facilities.
She added: “Baby steps is what I take because I move at my own pace, own lane and own race, hence I encourage the youth to practice patience and stop swallowing before they chew anything”.
Tumagole gave gratitude to God, the community of Letlhakane, especially the business community for believing in her and giving her an opportunity to turn her dream into reality.