JOHANNESBURG - The expression that patience is a virtue has proven true for a Johannesburg entrepreneur who had to wait four years before her business could become profitable.
The businesswoman Masego Kunupi, from Kagiso in Krugersdorp, is founder and chief executive of beauty training company Chique Beauty, headquartered at the busy William Nicol Drive in Fourways.
Kunupi describes herself as a woman of God - first and foremost, and as an entrepreneur who is passionate about skills and the development of young girls.
She holds a BCom economics degree from Unisa, and a beauty certificate from internationally accredited beauty firm, Face to Face Beauty and Make-up Design School.
In an interview with Business Report, Kunupi politely refuses to divulge her age, saying she does not want to blow her cover as people tend to think of her as younger than she really is.
19.03.🎈🎉.
Another year 🎂.
So much I'm grateful for.. but mostly, the laughs in between and the genuine people God has placed in my life. pic.twitter.com/Q3ZpBA5U8D
— IG: MASEGO_SA (@Masego_SA) March 19, 2018
She stresses that Chique Beauty’s core business is beauty training. “I train young women who want to become professional make-up artists on different techniques such as applying day make-up, evening make-up, bridal make-up and television make-up,” she says.
Kunupi also helps her student set up their social media accounts and school them on how to attract “big clients and corporates”.
After all, her clients include JSE-listed mobile operator Vodacom, JSE-listed financial services company Discovery, Chrysler South Africa, and pay-TV monopoly MultiChoice.
“I also work with brands such as NYX Cosmetics, Maybelline, Urban Decay, Mercedes-Benz, and Deneys Swiss Dairy. I get paid to talk about their products. The business is keeping me up. It’s sustainable,” says Kunupi.
She says the first two years of her business were hard as she struggled with cash flow. “I made no money at all. In fact, I was putting in a lot of money to get the business established. In the third year I tried to break even and in the fourth year, that’s when the business became stable.”
View this post on Instagram
I hope your Spring day was as beautiful as mine☉🤗. @lovem_acc thank you for this #SUIT👌.
A post shared by Masego "MissChique" Kunupi(@masego_sa) on Sep 1, 2018 at 12:01pm PDT
So popular are Kunupi’s classes that she is currently fully booked until the first week of November.
“I train my students for a week. I offer a five-day beginner’s course,” says Kunupi, who has worked as a make-up artist for Vuzu TV, SABC, and has trained scores of make-up artists through workshops and seminars, inside and outside of South Africa.
The businesswoman says her ultimate goal is to have a fully fledged, accredited international beauty academy with branches in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, Witbank, Botswana and Mozambique.
She also wants to create more employment opportunities for women and empower them with leadership skills.
Entrepreneur Masego Kunupi is founder and chief executive of beauty training company Chique Beauty at Fourways in Johannesburg. Image: Supplied.
Kunupi, who plays netball for fun, says she is on a mission to help women reveal their beauty everywhere and learn what it truly means to be beautiful as a female. She says she tries to spend as much time with her parents as possible as they hardly see because she is always working. Kunupi calls on those who want to venture into entrepreneurship to be consistent and patient.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Masego "MissChique" Kunupi(@masego_sa) on Aug 22, 2018 at 1:51am PDT
“Consistency is very key. Stay in your lane and don’t confuse your target market by selling shoes today and tomorrow cars.” She says the biggest lesson in her entrepreneurial journey has been patience. “People want instant gratification,” says Kunupi.
“I’m in the eighth year of my business, I only started making money in the fourth year. People want to start now and make money now. In reality, it doesn’t happen like that.”