Putting People Before Profit
Candi & Co founder Candice Thurston says creating 100 jobs in two years has been her greatest achievement so far. She shared with Thriving Magazine how she expanded her hair and beauty enterprise and teamed up with another industry leader.
How did Candi & Co came about?
I come from a mixed-race background and hair and beauty have always been a thing with black women. There had been a lack of really good skin cleansing and hair care salons for these women. I worked at Unilever within the hair and beauty space and at MTN. As a customer at Sorbet, I saw the need for something similar, for black women and particularly for hair. This is how Candi & Co came about. One spin-off that followed was creating entrepreneurial opportunities for women. The franchise model allowed women to become entrepreneurs and get into an industry that most women loved. It created employment for hairstylists in an area where they received limited training, were not treated well and did not get paid properly.
Tell us about your relationship with Sorbet
Candi & Co is in partnership with Sorbet. I approached them because they had the operational and franchising expertise. I had an understanding of the business model, marketing and the industry. We are family. Ian Fuhr (Sorbet CEO) is a fantastic mentor. I I am blessed with a partner like Sorbet.
Did you need start-up capital?
I was quite frugal from an early age. When I was 18, in my first year at university, I opened up my first savings account. When I started working at MTN and Unilever, I saved all my bonuses. When I started talking to Sorbet, we all had to put in money for equal shareholding. The savings helped a lot. As the business grew, we needed more space to generate more income. Money from the business was re-invested and we only started making money after five years.
How has the business grown?
We employ around a 100 people, spread over seven stores. There are seven female entrepreneurs we have set up. Each of them is creating jobs for about 15 to 20 people. The immediate focus for growth is in Gauteng. As soon we have 10 stores, we will look at the rest of the country, like Cape Town, Kwazulu-Natal and the rest of South Africa. I see the brand as a global one. I travel quite often and so far I have not seen a brand like Candi & Co anywhere else in the world that focuses on black beauty and hair care. The sky is the limit.
As an entrepreneur, what are the challenges?
When you put money into a business, you need to understand how much marketing is needed. You always need to invest more. As a business grows, you need to grow your team. People need to understand your vision in order to execute the business according to your specific way. Entrepreneurs can be hard on themselves and get disappointed with failure. But you have to pick yourself up, make it work and be confident. It should be about changing people’s lives, not about money. It’s people before profit. If you are changing the lives of people, in the long term this is success.
