BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– “Living your dream is simply making a living out of your passion.”
This popular quote by Urijah Faber came to life in Nothando Mhlanga’s life, a liSwati lady who has turned her confectionery and baking skills into a blossoming business.
Popularly known as Thandoe, the beauty from Manzini, slowly started her business posting pictures of her baked goods on social media, where she would receive a lot of feedback from the public.
During COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, people started ordering in small scale and the demand for her talent has grown since.
This reporter held an interview with Mhlanga, where she narrated how her budding and blooming business came into being.
“Basically what happened was I would bake for my friends whenever they came over. So during lockdown, they would ask for baked stuff and offer to pay. It became such a routine that they also recruited their friends to start buying for their kids as well.
“I make biscuits, cinnamon buns, scones, doughnuts and bread. With these, you do not have to wait for a special occasion as you can have whenever with your tea or juice,” narrated Mhlanga.
When asked how people received her work, she said the reception has been really great and she was still getting more new customers.
“I mostly use social media to promote my business, which works because in turn, through word of mouth, and shares their friends also get to know about my products.”
When asked what challenges she was facing in her business, she said not having a car was about the main challenge she faced for now.
“Not having a car sort of limits my mobility. Another challenge is that I had no business plan so it was hard to tell if I was going in the right direction,” said Mhlanga.
When asked about her aspirations with regards to her business, she said she hoped to grow and finally have her own confectionery shop, which would grow and branch out to other places.
“As for now I am stationed in Manzini and only do deliveries to Matsapha, Ezulwini and Mbabane once a week. I am available for orders every day of the week. One can reach me on my personal page #ThandoeMhlanga on Facebook. For calls I am available on 76381843/79381843.”
