Young entrepreneur ready to make his business rise
Ryan Marnewick (22) would recommend to all young people to go into business for themselves as soon as they can. He learned this valuable lesson through experience.
MBOMBELA – “Going into business is a great way to empower yourself. It also serves as a means to gain independence and is a way to learn invaluable lessons while practising business. The younger you start, the more likely you are to become a great success one day,” he told Lowvelder.
Marnewick was one of the more than 200 young people who attended the Youth Day conference organised by the South African Council of Business Women and its business partners in mid-June.
He was hoping to learn more about growing a business and gain practical advice from leading Lowveld business people and entrepreneurs.
“I believe that we should all consume knowledge with great enthusiasm in order to grow as individuals and (contribute to our) respective organisations,” Marnewick said.
It is this same enthusiasm which prompted Marnewick to start a small baking business in 2016, while on a break from his electrical engineering studies.
Colourful Tangy Twist was originally the brainchild of Marnewick’s mother and sister, Brenda and Elenor Mitchell. It was his idea to turn it into a company.
While the baking is left to to the mother- and-daughter team, the marketing, finances and “basically everything else” fall under the 22-year-old’s umbrella of responsibility. The family business specialises in cakes and cupcakes.
“We sell a variety of cakes for all sorts of occasions, such as birthday parties, weddings and tea parties. Customers can opt to have cakes made according to their specifications. We sell to the public upon order, thus ensuring our customers always get the freshest of goodies,” Marnewick explained.
He added that business growth is a little slow because Colourful Tangy Twist is a young company.
“It doesn’t deter us. We have a few strategies in mind to ensure rapid growth, intense marketing being one of them,” he said.
“We (also) intend to do events a little differently, offering numerous types of events specially catered to each customer’s needs. Some planned events would include camps, birthday parties and other outdoor activities for children. We would also do wedding parties, concerts and festivals. The team will include a few DJs, myself being one.”
Marnewick believes business allows one to fully pursue one’s passions.
“In the process, (we) can help others to develop their passions through our combined efforts. Business serves as a means of giving back, not only to those immediately around, but to our communities as well,” he said while offering a slice of mother Brenda’s famous carrot cake.
Now isn’t that giving back to the community indeed?
