1. Can you please tell us more about your business?
Planned Gifts is a luxury gift store based in Woodstock, Cape Town. We specialise in flowers, balloons, and gift boxes. We allow our customers to curate their bespoke gifts or they can order something standard on our website. We offer same-day delivery in and around Cape Town as well as store collections.
2. When, how and why did you start your business?
Planned Gifts started operating in May 2020, during the heart of Covid-19. Many of us were stuck at home during the hard lockdown. Previously I had a décor and picnics business that was not permitted to operate during that period, so I had to pivot that business into a business that was permitted to operate and one somewhat related. You will also remember this was a sad period, many people were heartbroken after losing loved ones.
This also allowed me to bring joy and happiness to my recipients and connect them with loved ones they hadn’t seen in weeks if not months. The reception of the business was great, almost shocking. This motivated me to continue beyond the COVID-19 period, from working in my bathroom and lounge at that time to now having a store and we will soon be expanding our premises. The journey over the past 4 years has been tough but most definitely rewarding beyond measure.
3. What is your role in the business?
Well, when you run a small business you are essentially EVERYTHING to your business! You are the receptionist, the driver, the HR personnel, the accountant, the lawyer, the content creator, and the marketing expert! But simply put I am the Founder and CEO of Planned Gifts. Over the years we have been lucky enough to be able to grow as a business and grow our team as well, I still get involved with almost everything that needs to be done.
But we now have a store supervisor, a store assistant as well as a driver. These are Events Management students and graduates from CPUT, young people with great ambition and determination to make something of themselves despite the high youth unemployment rate in South Africa. I have taken them in to mentor as part of their In-service training as well as assist them with building work experience and business knowledge.
4. Where did you study and what did you study?
I studied BSc Property Studies at UCT, I am a Property Valuer by profession with years of experience in the banking industry, where I would say I learned a lot about business and money. Unrelated I know, but I have always been entrepreneurial, I started selling from age 6 in Grade 1 to make pocket money for myself.
My grandmother who was also an entrepreneur and farm owner believed that we all have to work for what we have. So I would sell her mangoes and nuts to tourists passing by the farm on weekends and school holidays. Throughout my high school and varsity career I was always hustling something, somewhere lol!
5. How did you finance your business?
There’s a term in business that I love so much, bootstrapping. I have been bootstrapping my business for the past 4 years. Essentially I put in a small sum of money to start, then as the business made sales I saved the profits to re-invest into the business. A few months later I contributed a bit more of my own money to buy stock and equipment.
About 2 years in, in 2022 I contributed a bit more of my funds together with the business savings to open up our store. Instead of buying myself a new car in 2022, I bought a VW Caddy to do deliveries and collections. Business requires a lot of financial sacrifice. You have to get into a growth mindset and understand that you won’t live your life like everybody else.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
Every day is different, literally. Most mornings I use to exercise, do admin, and catch up on business stats/reports and social media planning. Late morning to mid-day I spend buying flowers and preparing orders for the day. Mid-day to afternoon is mainly deliveries and collections at suppliers. Evenings I spend doing more admin and preparing for the next day.
7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?
I always say I’m lucky to not have children as yet. Fortunately, my home life is just my husband, he also spends a lot of time working so we sort of have a similar routine. He’s very understanding of my responsibilities, I probably would have given up a long time ago if it wasn’t for him pushing and motivating me. Before going into this journey I read an article that highlighted how lonely the journey of entrepreneurship is and how much your life will change.
So I had somewhat mentally conditioned myself for that, you need a lot of mental conditioning to build a business. Both my family and friends have now become accustomed to me not being available for social gatherings, I try to make it for the important stuff like weddings. However for me, this is my building era, there will come a time when I will slow down and I will have time to have kids and spend more time with family and friends.
8. What drives you and inspires you?
Firstly, the idea I have of the future life that I want to live which is self-sustaining and financially free. But most importantly I want to see South Africa become the giant it was supposed to be. The impact I bring to my country as a small business owner is invaluable. It’s said that small businesses employ the most people in South Africa.
If every small business employed one or two more people, we could be able to alleviate unemployment in our country. I’m inspired by the young people who come into my business every year, they are the foundation of my drive for success, as we all need to do what we can to contribute to the growth of our youth.
9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
In the middle of the night lol! When everyone else is sleeping and I’m up thinking about stuff, I get some great and crazy ideas. My iPhone notes are full of midnight ideas I come up with, some have materialised, and others seem to be nothing but a dream. I also feed off conversing with like-minded people, some conversations leave you thinking deeper about things, allowing you to think out of your little box.
10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?
Instagram has always been my fighter. I spend most of my time and marketing budget on Instagram. It’s one of those luxury-driven social media apps, so naturally, a lot of our customers come from Instagram. I also market on Google Ads, with a very small budget but it returns good value, especially for customers who love to see reviews and what other people have to say about your business. We are proud to have a 4.9-star rating. I also attend events and entrepreneurs networking events where I talk about my business.
11. What is next for your business?
We plan to expand to bigger premises in the next 3 or 4 months leading up to the festive season. We have outgrown the space we currently operate in as we have a bigger team and service more customers. We also plan to start offering workshops for customers who want to know more about flowers and flower care and for individuals who are thinking of starting similar businesses to Planned Gifts.
The more small businesses we have as a country, the more people can be employed. We also plan to launch a new product soon in the next 6 – 12 months, however, we’re still doing some research.
12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?
I have a lot of advice, but to keep it short I would say start NOW. Start with what you have, see what you can do with it, that way you learn your business, see what works and what doesn’t work, and you can avoid expensive mistakes. Don’t wait for an investor or large capital from someone. You’re most likely not going to get it anyway without a proven concept.
So, dedicate yourself to putting in work every day as much as you can, if you still have your 9-5 dedicate your evenings and weekends to getting things going. Despite what you see online, nothing worth having comes easy, nothing comes overnight and everything requires sacrifice.
To learn more about Hlubi Hewu, a Woolworths Youth Maker, click here.
