A mother and Bedfordview businesswoman, Ms Addlyne Hencil, has proved that perseverance can get you through tough times.
“Using my last pay cheque and my provident fund, I started my business. Funding agencies don’t care to look at your business profile no matter how good it is. After having every door slammed in my face, a private investor came to my rescue and here we are today,” said Ms Hencil.
Having a passion for the washroom industry and starting a business, Ms Hencil believed she could make her business work.
Having worked for Kimberly-Clark and Nampak tissues for years, she built-up enough courage by 2013 to leave a paying job and start her own business.
“I started my business working in my lounge at home for almost a year,” said Ms Hencil.
Using her knowledge gained when she worked in the hygiene business and her passion, was the drive behind her determination to achieve success.
Coming from a previously disadvantaged background, Ms Hencil has always looked for ways to further her entrepreneurial skills.
During her years of service she identified a gap in the market for the service of companies that require personalised hygiene services.
There was no face to the service as the account managers changed frequently.
She enjoys customer interaction and decided to use the opportunity to venture into business with the focus of dedicated, personalised relationship management to a loyal customer base.
Ms Hencil admitted that it was not an easy task and being a woman in business is difficult.
“I struggled for a mentor in the establishment of my business. Entrepreneurship is a challenge. A woman has to work extremely hard to gain the confidence of new clients. Stereotypical behaviour led to the cancellation of many first meetings, but I persevered and established a committed customer base that were confident in my ability to deliver,” said Ms Hencil.
She said women face many challenges,.
“Before you are a businesswoman, you are a mother, daughter and all of these roles are full time jobs on their own. You still have to attend to all of them before your business,” she said.
Being alone in this situation has been a journey of self-discovery for her.
“I have learnt that I am resilient enough to pick myself up even when life pushes me down. I can stand in the face of adversity and triumph because I believe in myself. I can take risks and survive the consequences. I can achieve any goal that I set myself,” said Ms Hencil.
She has made several sacrifices to achieve her goals and make sure her business survives the challenges.
“My mother is extremely proud that I have achieved in having my own business. In my culture business is the domain of men. My children are in awe of me. They never expected me to succeed. Adult children often view their parents as antiquated. My children view me as an inspiration,” said Ms Hencil.
