This 26-year old’s success story proves why you should just start that business

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Not ready yet. Not qualified. Don’t have enough experience. 

These are some of the most common excuses that people give when faced with the push towards venturing into their own businesses.

Yet, as Nike would attest, nothing beats just doing it!

Meet Boitsheko Ganyane. A 26 year old strategy consultant who despite venturing in a business that is not in her field of study, is breaking new ground, landing commercial contracts that more experience contenders in the field could only dream of.

She is the epitome of the quote by serial-entrepreneur Vusi Thembekwayo:

“It takes more than knowledge. It takes action, a stubborn resilience, discipline and sacrifice”

What does “Owning the table” mean to you?

My interpretation of owning the table is slightly more metaphorical. It has a lot to do with recognizing that the table we are referring to symbolizes our lives. This is the most important table one should ever own because it builds the foundation for every other literal table you get to sit on.

Taking responsibility for your own life is something that a lot of people struggle with.  Yet it is a core principle towards planning for success and happiness in life and work. I find that a lot of us get trapped in the belief that our dreams will just magically manifest. Yet even the Bible says attests that faith without works is dead.

In essence, owning the table entails having the humility to put in the work required to build your dream career or dream life.

Tell us a bit about your career, what you studied and why you chose your field of business given what you’ve studied.

I started my career as a strategy consultant after obtaining my honours in business science management at Wits. Those who know me will tell you that strategy consulting was definitely my dream job, and I was really deliberate in making sure that I got it.

Having said that though, I must say that I always knew that I would end up in business even though I didn’t always know what industry I would pursue. People are often really surprised when they find out how different my business is to my career. In all honesty though, my passions definitely got the better of me. Right now, I am more than thrilled to get paid to design beautiful spaces and invest in property.

So you didn’t study property and interior decorating at university. How did you then manage to convince your early clients of your competence?

Before I even considered ever trading in these areas I was very aware that I knew very little about them. It became my main priority to ensure that I leveled up when it came to knowledge. Over the last few years, I have invested heavily in various training programs and courses to ensure that I felt comfortable enough in my competence.

I was also very aware of the power behind having a coach/mentor in both these fields.

I therefore sought to find people who were far more experienced than I was. For an interior designer, having a portfolio is gold. It is the currency that you use to find projects.

Not having that in the beginning meant that I needed to demonstrate my eye for design through other people’s work, hence I started an Instagram page and through that I was able to practice my analysis of key design elements and demonstrate my talent.

The other thing that really got me far was my passion and my confidence in my capabilities.

It really is true what they say that people buy people first then the product.

If you are passionate and enthusiastic about your job there is no way that energy won’t pass onto someone else and evoke some form of confidence in you.

Property and Interior decorating are predominantly male-dominated fields. How are you, as a young business woman making your strides to make your voice heard and your decisions taken seriously?

If there was one thing that I have learned from being a strategy consultant it’s that most of the time, nobody really cares whether you are male or female.

Beyond your gender what people actually care about is if you have any substance to bring to the table and if you are assertive enough to voice it.

Learning this lesson has definitely changed the way I interact in business. Being credible really contributes to how seriously people take you and your decisions.

In your view, what needs to be done for women (especially young women) to take more ownership in male-dominated spaces?

I think that young women need to start practicing using their newly developed voices assertively. This includes not being afraid to speak up in meetings, recognizing the value in your opinion and being unapologetic for having something to say.

It is also important for us to take credit for a job well done. Too many of us down play our achievements or credit others at the expense of ourselves.

Granted, I am all for giving credit where it is due. But if you know that you put a lot of effort in to something, own it!

When we don’t take responsibility for our efforts it leaves people feeling slightly unsure of our abilities.

How are you currently managing the balance between having a full-time career as a strategy consultant, and running a growing flourishing business?

To be honest, at this stage it is quite erratic. There is a lot happening most of the time but implementing certain tools has really helped me to keep focused. I have recently started time blocking. This wouldn’t be my kind of thing usually. I guess growth forces one to change, so at this point I am very open to trying new things that may work for me and help me be more efficient.

What are some of the financial lessons that you know now that you wish you had known earlier that came with being a business owner?

I think the importance of building your credit score from a decently young age is not stressed enough. It was something I had always known about but I wasn’t really aware of the effect that it would have on me moving forward.

For example in the property business, it is especially important to look favorable to any lending house. This is not to say that people should go and rack up the debts against their names. However, we need to be aware that there are instances when having a good credit record can come in handy.

What’s the biggest success your business has achieved so far?

I have recently just managed to land my first big commercial project, which involves designing an office space for a can manufacturing company.

This is a really big step for my business as it opens the doors to growing towards commercial interior and of course presents its own challenges and expectations. I am quite excited for the new level.

What are your ambitions moving on from here? Where can we expect to see Boitsheko in the next 5-10 years?

In the next 5-6 years I will be successfully running my businesses full time. By then I expect to have a fully-fledged design studio and furniture workshop employing about 20 people.

I should have developed a solid presence in both the residential and commercial markets in South Africa and other bits of SADC.

With regards to property I am planning to have gotten a solid footing into the property development market. I want to have a few properties under my brand which we can continue to grow across the country over time.

Lastly best advice with regards to money that you’ve received? And what is the best advice you can give to anyone reading this?

Wealth is found in assets. Good assets increase in value over time, but the best assets make money for you even when you’re gone.

So think about that when you’re building that generational wealth.

RSVP for our stellar women’s day event titled Owning the Table here.
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themoneyfam
Staff Writer

I'm one of The Money Fam writers. If it's relevant to you building wealth, I write about it.

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