Qutie Hair Founder, Yanga Qithi Interview
Yanga Qithi is a 26 year old entrepreneur who is on a path to build an Africa beauty and fashion business with quality customer service at it’s core. The young businesswoman already owns a state of the art hair salon where clients can also do nails, massages, make up, lashes etc. See what she had to say about her entrepreneurial journey below.
What’s inspired Qutie Hair ?
Growing up It has always been my dream to own a beauty,nail and hair salon.I would go to salons and there would be quite a number of things that I was not happy with and also that other people weren’t happy with and I wanted to open something that was different from the rest and that would satisfy every clients needs.
What services do you offer?
We offer quite a number of services,we do all things Hair, Nails, Lashes and Make Up and Massages.
What separates you from other players in the beauty and retail market ?
I think what separates me is my customer service,This is of utmost importance to me,it’s important for me to give the best service to my clients and to make them feel special and appreciated.This really goes a long way and people appreciate this so much. I have found that many businesses often neglect this,I would say that I have found the art in perfecting this. I also provide very high quality hair at affordable prices, I am in an industry where there are a lot of people selling fake hair and I often meet and have clients who have had a lot of bad experiences with fake hair and the moment they start buying from me they stay as loyal clients because of the quality of my hair.
Where do you see the business in 5 years?
I would like to open up my own hair factory and be a major supplier to businesses in South Africa.I would also like to open different Qutie Hair branches in South Africa,specifically in Western Cape,KZN and Eastern Cape.
What challenges have you faced as a young black woman in business ?
Quite a number of things really but one is having people not take you seriously. Having to do business with man and having them expecting certain things of you in order to do business with you. The other challenge is not being respected or taken serious because I am young woman. I also struggled getting rental places around Pretoria where racism is rife in the real estate business, I think this has affected me the most and has also set me back.
What can be done to create an enabling environment for other young people to venture into entrepreneurship ?
I think we need more support in-terms of providing coaching and support to young entrepreneurs and also more accessible funding,I think there’s a lot of young people who would like to venture into entrepreneurship and who probably also have a lot of great ideas but don’t know where to start and mostly don’t have the capital to start.
What are you doing to empower women looking into sustaining themselves ?
For now I have been trying to employ more young woman to help get them in a place where they are independent. I am also looking into coaching and mentoring the youth and giving back what I can to help them grow into independent woman. Help them know that it’s okay to have your own path and that you can be your own person and don’t have to do what others are doing.
There’s a lot of young woman seeking for opportunities but don’t know where to look and to get them and I think that it’s vital to create and give opportunities to people.
How can people book your services?
So we have have a few social media platforms:
Website-www.qutiehair.co.za
Instagram and Twitter-@qutie_hair
Facebook-Qutie Hair
People can also call to directly book on 012 653 1855 or reach us on WhatsApp-076 871 3425
And people looking for opportunities to make an income ?
One of the things that I am currently doing and pursuing is recruiting SA youth who are passionate about health and fitness and want to make extra income. For those interested in this opportunity, they should feel free to contact me on the numbers above.
