Bringing a touch of glamour to the tourist town me and my business
With her perfectly applied make-up, glamorous weave and sparkly, polished nails, Lindy Makakatlelo is a walking advert for the services she offers.
The glowing 29-year-old is the founder and owner of Sugadols Beauty Salon and Spa, a beauty parlour that has kept the women of Maun looking good since March 2016.
Located in Nhabe Musuem, the business provides a variety of procedures, including make-up, facials, eyelashes, manicures, pedicures and waxing.
The glamour is worlds away from the bubbly beautician’s introduction to the beauty industry, when she did stick-on nails and lashes in the dusty street outside the tourist town’s Delta Spar.
It is a transformation Makakatlelo describes as ‘her journey from grass to grace’.
Speaking to Voice Money, she explained the journey was made possible thanks to funding from Gender Affairs.
“After being funded my business offered beauty services, massage and hair dressing but I have since closed the hair dressing segments as it was not profitable. I now specialise on beauty services.”
The decision has proved profitable as Makakatlelo says she now makes enough money to sustain both herself and her business.
Unlike most girls, growing up she had no interest in beauty or fashion, only developing that passion later on in life following a potentially crushing set back.
“I was not into the beauty industry at first, I developed the love when I studied Beauty Therapy at Gaborone Technical College,” she said, explaining her dream had been to pursue a career in Journalism.
Agonisingly, the young entrepreneur was a point short of qualifying for government sponsorship to study Journalism.
Refusing to let the disappointment define her, Makakatlelo ensured media’s loss was beauty’s gain.
Sugadols Beauty Salon and Spa currently employs two workers but Makakatlelo intends to recruit more staff as the enterprise grows.
Makakatlelo, who revealed she started the business to empower herself and others, encouraged women not to sit on their dreams.
“Do not be choosy when it comes to jobs, you should start somewhere to reach your dreams,” she advised.
As for the future, the ambitious youth, who confessed to being drawn more to nails as compared to other beauty services, hopes to have her own gel brand and a fully blown beauty spa soon.
According to the owner of Sugardols Beauty Salon and Spa, the establishment mainly uses social media platforms for advertising their products, including a vibrant, up-to-date Facebook page.
They recently hosted the first ever Miss Sugadols Beauty Pageant – an initiative Makakatlelo plans to hold annually – as a way of promoting their services.