Changing lives through living a life of purpose, Kolofelo Bhutelezi

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Growing up in Gakgapane which is a small village, opportunities were always limited and that made me even more determined to turn things around not only for me but also for people around my community.

I have always had a passion for designing and creating stuff. Growing up as a shy child, I expressed myself in redesigning the clothes my

mother would buy me and creating stuff out of anything. Of course, that would get me into trouble every now and again, but it has paid off today, After completing my high school studies, I went on to study management accounting at UNISA. After I got a job as a Junior Financial Administrator and later as a Bookkeeper, but I could feel that something was missing,

With my love for planning events and having always successfully planned work events, I decided to take my passion seriously in 2013.

“I always helped my friends and family out when it came to planning events, aside from those I would plan for work. It gave me so much satisfaction, I was fulfilled in each moment of planning,

I initially started the company, Olwethu Bridal, and Events planning in 2013 as something that I was working on a part-time basis, but that was only until I got retrenched from being a bookkeeper in 2015.

The company started as a family business with my brother (Clement) and father handling the technical parts, such as moving of equipment and transportation thereof. After being retrenched I decided to turn my side hustle into a full-time job and as a way to curb unemployment, I later decided to involve other people in the company.

“I have been offering internships to learners who have completed their events management, Vinolia Ntebatse Malapane being one of the learners who did her internship with us, as well as several others. I have also employed four permanent employees and by doing that I have at least created a stable income to at least four families and I am hoping to continue doing so in years to come with more people. I have also shared my experience and contacts with most of the newcomers in the events the industry as I believe for us to build a better future, we need to share our knowledge and experiences with others,

On how I manage to be a mother of three, wife and run an events company on a full-time basis, it can really be hard sometimes as in events the industry you will have lots of sleepless nights and mostly always on the road attending to clients, etc. You need to have discipline and being able to ask for help where necessary and I also get most of the support from my husband.

“It is hard most of the time and there is no perfect formula for it. It’s just a matter of being flexible, passionate about what you are doing so that you would be able to hold on even when things are not going your way, learn to be patient, be present and don’t take everything too serious because there are a lot of crazy hair days. You need to balance your private and business life as it is important for me to be a good supplier in events and at the same time a good mom. That required me to know my limitations so to avoid burn out