While other kids ran off to play after school, Palesa Koloane, a retired model and business owner in Potchefstroom, ran a business.

Born on 6 February 2001, Palesa went to a preschool in Kimberley. Her parents work for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which meant they travelled a lot. She started her primary school career in Port Elizabeth and moved to Potchefstroom in the middle of her second grade.

“That’s when I started hustling,” Palesa says. “I used to sell chips, sweets, and ice cream to the kids after school.”

Palesa would save the money she made and buy things she wanted, like books.

“Little old me with my coins,” she laughs.

Now, Palesa is a nail technician and owns a business called Featherwood Charms, which she started in her first year of university.

“You’re going to laugh if you hear how it began,” she says. Palesa started modelling in 2014. After three months, her instructor decided to send her to Miss Teen Africa. “It was the big leagues,” Palesa remembers.

“At these pageants, they check everything; your hair, your make-up, your nails. And I didn’t have my nails done. That’s where the obsession began.”

In 2016, Palesa decided to attempt Miss Teen Africa again, and the first thing she did was do her nails. Palesa won the competition that year. In 2019, she did her last modelling competition, where she won the title of Miss Ferdies 2019.

In 2020, Palesa started a degree in Business Management at the North-West University.

“I always had a thing for business. It’s how I knew business was where my heart was.” During her first month at university, Palesa realised the importance of saving money and budgeting. During her high school career at Ferdinand Potsma, Palesa did her friends’ hair and makeup for pocket money. “After the realisation that I needed money if I was to afford the things others could, I started doing people’s hair again. I opened a business and called it ‘Palesa’s Beauty Parlour.’ Right after that, Covid-19 hit, and I was at home all the time. I decided to start practising how to do nails on myself.”

She had tried doing acrylic nails on herself twice before but failed. She became discouraged and told herself there was a reason people attended school in beauty. A year later, with a lot of time on her hands, Palesa started practising again.

“My friends motivated me to keep going. I would watch YouTube videos and then practise. At night, I would sit for hours and do my nails just to soak them off the following morning and start again.”

Once confident in her work, Palesa started posting her nails on Facebook.

“People started asking me where I got my nails done. For students, there was nowhere affordable to get their nails done. That’s when I saw a gap in the market and started doing nails for clients.”

Her client base grew rapidly, and she decided to stop doing hair and focus on nails. “Initially, I thought I was not going to make it,” Palesa speaks about studying full-time and running a business. “But the one thing I learnt from Miss Teen Africa was the only thing standing between you and success is yourself.

“My vision is to bring affordable, quality service to clients, to have clients be comfortable and relaxed while I do their nails. I want a place where women can feel safe. I want women not to see nails as a luxury but simply as taking care of themselves.”

Palesa has partnered with a salon owner but hopes to have one of her own soon. “This is something I’m very passionate about; I pride myself in my business daily. It’s my escape, my haven. It’s everything I want it to be.”

Besides her aspirations and business-driven mind, her father is her great inspiration. “You know, I’m the typical daddy’s girl. Anything I need, my dad is there. He’s played a huge role. He supports me and encourages me. He’s the one who made me realise that I’m more than capable of running my own business.”