Beautiful & Brilliant

The UmhlangaSeptember 1, 2022

Taking the world by storm is all in a day’s work for these ladies. We got to know some entrepreneurs and their journeys to where they are today.

 

The Dream Team

Ellen and Niki van Velden have been a mother-daughter duo in everything they do since day one. They are both yoga teachers and entrepreneurs. Although Niki is a photographer, Ellen has taken a liking to home renovations and interiors. “We’re more than just business partners, we are such good friends, and our relationship naturally evolved into our first business, Play Move Breathe, in 2015,” Ellen explains. Since then, they opened Manifest Yoga Studio, their greatest achievement. Niki is now based in Cape Town in a sunny little Green Point apartment, and Ellen is still based in Umhlanga, looking for her next adventure.

 

Their favourite activity is meeting up for a cup of tea. “We now do this over zoom in separate coffee shops, but it’s what we have done as a duo since the beginning of time!” she exclaims. Needing to start something, after they had both finished teacher training, they saw a gap in the market for good quality yoga mats in South Africa. “We took a leap of faith and started a relationship with Liforme, an extremely well-known brand in the yoga world,” Ellen shares, “Before we knew it, we had become the primary importers of Liforme in South Africa and have been for seven years.”

“It takes everything you have in you to run a business,” Ellen expresses. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses; by working together, they have balanced out their duties. You also have to set up boundaries to prevent your work life from taking over the personal side of your life. “We stopped answering emails and calls on weekends if we could help it,” she explains.

As a female-owned business, they have noticed differences in how people engage with them, “We have had many occasions where we weren’t taken as seriously as men would have been,” Ellen informs. They learned to demand the respect they deserved when they had become more established and set the tone for their business relationships. “On the flip side, being a female-owned business also came with never-ending support from other women,” she recalls fondly. No one makes it ‘on their own’. A community behind them has weaved a web of support for them.

As some words of support, Ellen encourages, “Stay true to who you are. Your authenticity is your superpower!” Ellen and Niki believe that their consistency, attention to detail and ending their day knowing they gave their best service possible have allowed their business to flourish.

In conclusion, Ellen shares some words of inspiration, “Success in business really doesn’t happen overnight. Days become years, and often only in retrospect you’ll see how far you’ve come.”

 

Sweet Success

Trushka Soni is a Media and Communications graduate from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a local, born and raised in Durban. You’ll find her in her kitchen baking or cooking up something new, or spending her time reading, dancing or hanging out with her best friend, Chino, the cutest Pomeranian. She is the owner of Cheeky Churros.

Having always been a foodie, it only made sense for Trushka to venture into the culinary industry! She stuck herself in her kitchen for about three weeks, experimenting and creating, and emerged with Cheeky Churros. “Two months later, I did my first East Coast Radio House and Garden Show,” Trushka recalls, “I sold my churros at food markets and exhibitions around Durban.”

 

 

 

Seeing an increase in demand for churros in South Africa, Trushka wanted to create a simple DIY churro pack for people to make in the comfort of their own homes. Towards the end of 2020, she pursued the Cheeky Churro Frozen range full-time. “It was a gigantic and scary leap into the unknown, but I’m grateful for the support from my family during that time!” she exclaims.

Indeed, venturing into the world of business is a daunting task. You are challenged with every decision and entirely out of your comfort zone. “I certainly had many challenges and wanted to give up, but you can’t have a business and not expect challenges,” Trushka explains. “You have to learn to be adaptable and ready for change.” Through the support and guidance from friends, family and mentors, Trushka learned to create her own opportunities as opposed to waiting for them, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family for being there for me, especially my dad who has been a pillar of strength in my business, Faheem Gharafory- thank you for your countless hours of mentorship in business this past year- you have been amazing! And Sandesh Rampersad- The person who first encouraged me to step out in 2017!”, she explains.

“If it is something you have in your heart, I would say go for it,” she encourages. “You have to be adaptable and know that even your best plans and efforts will sometimes fail, but that’s okay because sometimes rejection is a redirection to something better or a valuable learning experience.”

Every interaction can be seen as an entrepreneur’s learning experience: “You have to be really gritty!” Trushka exclaims, “At times, females are not taken as seriously as men in the business industry, but you have to remain steadfast and believe in what you’re doing!”

As some final words of advice, Trushka says, “You have to be resilient and know where your strength lies, be gracious to yourself and learn to celebrate the small victories.” Trushka is always looking forward to creating that next opportunity but can’t tell all just yet, so stay tuned.

 

Words: Cristina Govender

Photo credit

Ellen and Niki van Velden: Courtney Warren Photography