Candice Nkosi: Consistency builds a brand
[bctt tweet=”I saw a chance to create jobs for women that I identified in my community @CandiceNkosi” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Born and raised in Mpumalanga, Candice Nkosi is a small-town girl with hopes and aspirations of reawakening the spirit of women empowerment. She works towards building from strength to strength with women from all spheres of life and in various fields. Candice is the founder of Pink Package Bag – a sanitary towel and toiletry drive for high school girls. She’s also the proud owner of Joyful Hearts Cleaning Services. Candice tells all in an interview with SLA contributor Jeanette Nkwana. Why ‘Joyful Hearts’? The name ‘Joyful Hearts’ was inspired by the idea of fulfilling and satisfying a client’s needs. It captures that we work hard to the best of our abilities and leave them happy and content to call again. How did you first get introduced to the industry? I saw a gap in the market, a chance to create jobs for women that I identified in my community and went through with it. Cleaning is an everyday part of our lives and more often than not, some households require extra hands to get the job done due to long hours of work and not finding the balance to manage household duties and work. What duties does managing Joyful Hearts include and what skills do those duties require? Joyful Hearts was established in 2016. We are still finding a knack of it, learning about all the ropes in the industry. A day in life includes approaching companies and individuals for work, pitching and thriving on a daily. I am still finding the balance between managing the company and being a student. [bctt tweet=”‘Businesses must strive to master their craft’” username=”CandiceNkosi”] In business, you need to work hard and master your craft. Find all the aspects you excel in and spend every day trying to get better and better. Be consistent in your work because that will influence your company brand and business all in all. Be a people’s person, go out there and network. Most importantly, surround yourself with individuals or brand that align with what you are offering, to continue to vibrate higher. What was the biggest challenge you faced when you first started and how did you deal with it? The biggest challenge was getting cash injection and having to assure clients that I can do the job. It is always hard for a start-up because you don’t have experience and it is never easy for companies to trust new businesses making their way up. But through hard work and selling your idea, you can achieve it all. My parents assisted me with capital, working hard and selling what I offer gets me clients. I try by all means to earn their trust. What, in your opinion, do people not know about the industry you operate in that is critical to the survival of a (similar) startup? [bctt tweet=”Every business requires consistency.” username=”CandiceNkosi”] The quality of your work needs to speak for itself just like any other business. You need to be professional and reliable at all times. Workers need to be on time, areas where you work have to be spotless and the consistency has to be forever. Consistency builds a brand. Has being a blogger been helpful to Joyful Hearts? If so how? Being a blogger has been really useful because through it, the brand Candice Nkosi gets exposure. That doesn’t only lead to people being interested in my blog posts but what I also work on besides that. It leads to a bigger clientele for my businesses. What can we expect from Candice Nkosi and Joyful Hearts this year? You can expect a lot that will unravel this year from Candice Nkosi. I am currently working on a sisterhood club called “Woman To Woman Brunch” where we celebrate each other and get inspired by individual journeys. I am also branching out into events. Hopefully, through the grace and hard work Joyful Hearts will expand and reach greater heights. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.