Hairdresser cuts impressive legacy
Inspired by a friend, as well as her own burning desire to be hands-on in life, Thandi Bonolo Janet Motseothata has been expertly attending to people’s hair for ten years now.
The self-taught hairdresser’s journey with locks took off in 2014, when she would make house calls to clients’ homes.
By 2019, through her hard-work and skill, the 31-year-old was in a position to open a small salon, Jayee’s Hair Plug in Gaborone’s Block 5 location.
“Growing up, I always knew that I wanted a career were I was creative with my hands, and when I saw my friend plaiting a client’s hair I became interested in it as well. Soon I realised that I have a talent for doing hair, and that talent translated to passion. That’s when I decided to go into hairdressing, I was fortunate enough to have people who allowed me to perfect my skills on their hair when I was still learning,” Motseothata shares with Voice Money.
She specializes in two styles: faux locs (blending synthetic hair extensions with the client’s natural hair to create a loc look.
They can be applied either with a braid-in or crochet method), and singles (braids), with her clientele ranging from young to old, appealing to rich and poor alike.
“Even though I have built a loyal clientele that keeps my business moving, I always have a phase every month where I have little to no clients coming in, which means the business makes little to no money during that period. Another challenge I’m facing is people coming to do their hair on credit which means I use my supplies and not make enough profit in the process,” reveals Motseothata, who currently works alone and estimates she assists around three customers per day.
Her charges depend on the length and size of the hairstyle, with prices varying from P200 to P1, 000 for Afro kink locks.
To turn her revenue streams into a river of cash and take her enterprise to the next level, Motseothata dreams of passing her expertise on to others.
“I would like to share the knowledge I have of hairdressing with others. So I hope in the near future I can get an opportunity to teach others about hairdressing such that they get to generate income from that as well.”
To help make this happen, the hairdresser is eyeing up government’s Chema Chema Fund, meant to benefit the informal sector.
“I’m looking forward to taking advantage of this funding so that I can buy a container to make a proper salon and employ two or three people to assist,” said the Jayee’s Hair Plug owner.