Domestic worker turned entrepreneur
DIEPSLOOT - From a humble domestic worker to an ambitious entrepreneur, Grace Mathye (45) started her business as an Avon ambassador from simple beginnings.
At age 26, Mathye was forced into being a domestic worker as she was a single parent who needed to support three children.
However Mathye always felt she was destined for bigger and better things, so she decided to join the Avon industry in 2010. She continued her work as a domestic.
With the help of her upline unit leader and zone manager, she has succeeded in running her own business and obtained her own premises in Diepsloot, were she sells Avon products.
“I left my fulltime job as a domestic worker to pursue my dreams of running my own business, I don’t answer to anyone, I am my own boss,” said Mathye.
She added that the industry required her to have initiative, entrepreneurial skills and innovation. She needed to target the community and sell the products direct to ensure that she could sustain her family.
Mathye said, “[Avon] has given me a chance to better my life and my family’s, I am now able to return the favour. The unemployment rate in Diepsloot is very high, I see it as my duty to encourage other women to earn their own money and be independent.”
She continues to educate and train groups of women to become unit leaders and representatives of the Avon brand. She explained that this has not only allowed her to progress in her life but by helping others it has allowed her to reach her goals.
Mathye said being an Avon representative has boosted her confidence and she is no longer shy and recommends the experience to everyone.
