Gugu Nonjinge and Nomahlubi Hewu were brought together by the love of their curls and a decade’s worth of trust to start Asana Beauty
Nonjinge: Our business has been making enough money to cover expenses since the first month. We thought that for the first six months we would still need to cover business expenses from our own pockets. The second is the growing client base at Asana — we don’t have a problem with clients and [their numbers] increase every month.
Hewu: We can employ people and help put bread and butter on their table. We also won an award in November for best SMME, so that was big. Nonjinge: For us Asana is more than just a hair salon, it means more than that to young Black girls and women. It’s a space where they feel they belong and where we embrace the natural form of a young girl and the natural form of a young woman.Hewu: Early mornings and late nights.
Nonjinge: It lies in knowing how to manage your time and what to prioritise. And having a business partner does help in that regard, so when Hlubi drops the ball I can pick it and vice versa. Hewu: We still try to maintain our friendship even though we are in business together. For instance, if we have a meeting, we will go to a restaurant and chat about Asana and our personal lives.
Nonjinge: does the marketing and PR, she is in charge of daily operations and staff-related issues. And I handle more of the finance, compliance, systems, and IT.Hewu: We want Black women and kids to embrace themselves and be happy with how their hair looks and with the texture. But we also are trying to open up a dialogue around running businesses as Black women and what that entails.
One of the things we have planned is a chat series. We’re having our first chat in March with a speaker talking about the value of supporting Black businesses, and we’ll have a Black, female-owned hair brand that will be demonstrating its products. We are planning to have about four of these a year.
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