Beauty secrets of business at Desert Rose

SANDRA Pakote’s old job as a nurse in the operating room was stressful and time-consuming – but managing the eight branches of her company Desert Rose, which sells cosmetics and perfumes as well as human and synthetic hair to individuals and bulk buyers, is surprisingly much easier.

That’s not to say everything ran smoothly at first, however: ‘For the first six months, I didn’t take home a salary,’ she says, ‘and thereafter, my pay was about N$500 a month for two to three years.’Luckily for her, Sandra’s husband took care of the household expenses during that tough period. Then five years after setting up in Windhoek in 2001 – and still not breaking even – the couple sat down to re-evaluate the performance of the business. ‘We decided to spread our wings and open more shops. The idea was to that earning N$500 each from many shops would be better than earning N$500 from one. And reaching more customers was the key to success,’ she says.And the strategy worked because Desert Rose has now expanded to stores in Oshakati, Oshikango, Rundu, Tsumeb, Otjiwarongo, Walvis Bay and another one in Windhoek – earning Sandra a total of N$240 000 on average in revenue a month, with 45 per cent of that amount being profit.Although the first store was funded by the N$80 000 capital from her pension, the others were opened by using retained profits. But did Sandra ever consider getting a loan? ‘From the banks?!’ she shakes her head, ‘uh, uh – you definitely need collateral!’Besides obtaining finance, one of the greatest challenges that she experiences is the high level of competition, which according to Sandra is ‘not really balanced. The big South African chains wait for us to take risks, to try new products and when they see that we are being successful, they start offering the same.’She therefore believes that Government should implement restrictions to protect infant industries ‘so that we can stand on our feet after colonialism. It’s a colonial mentality for Namibians to import goods from South Africa,’ she continues – which is why (alongside lower pricing options) she decided to switch from South African middlemen suppliers to direct manufacturers located in places such as the USA, Philippines, Zambia and China. Sandra would also like to see Government reduce the rules, regulations and paperwork associated with setting up a business, as well as greater assistance in getting credit and obtaining low rents in commercial areas. ‘Rent is not only high, but it also increases rapidly. For example, rent for one store increased from N$15 000 to N$22 000… and small business have to consider this when setting up. But high-rent locations mean more customers, and it is worth it if you have the products they need and can sell a lot,’ says Sandra. She manages to increase her sales through frequent marketing on the radio and in newspapers. And although placing a small advert costs between N$300 to N$500 whereas a big one is about N$3 000, Sandra prefers to fork out for the latter or ‘it will be a waste of money because no one will see it. If you are going to advertise, you must do it properly,’ she advises. She also recommends aspiring entrepreneurs to take risks, do lots of research ‘and pray!’ ‘It might also be more difficult for women whose work burden doubles because they have to look after the household in addition to taking care of the business. And sometimes it’s hard to be there for your kids when you have to travel to the different branches around the country,’ she says – especially considering her hopes to expand to the South as well.So would she like her three boys to take over her beauty business in the future? ‘They are not interested, not at all! If I ask them to help me, they say ‘Ay mummy, that’s boring, boooring!’’ she laughs.*Sandra Pakote can be contacted on 061 251 116 (main branch). Thanks to SMEs Compete for their assistance.

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