Choosing a career path can be one of the most difficult things that most people will have to deal with at some point in their lives. However, this was not the case with Dr, Nandipha Magudumana of Optical Medical Solutions, who says her passion to become a doctor dates back to when she was just a little girl.
“ I remember when I was a child, I told my father that I wanted to be a doctor, and he responded by saying that I could be anything I wanted,” explains Dr. Magudumana.
Despite her young age, Dr. Magudumana was certain of what she wanted and was on her quest to pursue her dreams. “Since I was in primary school, I knew that wanted to go to medical school. So throughout my school journey, I was studying towards going to medical school.
When I was 15 years old, every school holidays I would go work at a local pharmacy. I did this because I was preparing myself to go to the university and enrolling in medical school. I used to work 8 to 10 hours without any pay , “ she adds jokingly.
Dr. Magudumana, now 30, is originally from Port Edward and holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree (BHSc) in Biomedical Sciences, and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), both from Wits University.
While Dr.Magudumana pursued her from a young age, venturing into entrepreneurship came out of two factors. One the reasons was that she can make more money to help her further her academics; The other reason was that she a need for African people, black women in particular to enter the medical service market.
“ I still wanted to further my academics and that required money. So I decided that I’m actually going to make my own money and that’s how I ventured into entrepreneurship,” says Magudumana.
Today Magudamana runs a skin care and aesthetic clinic based in Morningside Sandton, providing non-surgical treatments to its clients. The company was established in 2017 a year after she resigned from the Far East Rand Hospital, where she worked in the obstetrics and gynaecology departments.
A year after opening her practice Dr. Magudumana made it to the 2018 prestigious list of Mail & Guardian (M&G) 200 Young South Africans. And recently, she was added amongst the 2019 top 100 most influential young South Africans by local PR firm Avance Media.
These recognitions serve as evidence of Dr. Magusdumana's business success and her significant influence on society and the medical space. However, her achievements did not come easy. When the docterpreneur relocated her practice from Bedfordview to her new offices in Sandton, she had to stop operating for three months, as preparations to set up her practice were underway. This caused her business dearly as she was no longer making money and expenses had to be paid.
“One of the difficult tasks was making back the money I spent to help set up the practice. This was a very difficult and challenging experience, but because I said to myself I am here for the long run, I am here to stay because I believe that my services are required, and I am creating a brand and solidifying myself in an industry,” she says.
According to Dr. Magudumana, her practice is genuinely aimed towards assisting African people and empowering women. She says that education plays a huge role in this regard, in the sense that a lot of Africans don’t understand the work that her practice does and how they can benefit from it.
“We have to explain to people the kind of work we do and how it can benefit them. We are in a market where a lot of people don’t know this type of market so we are constantly trying to reach our target audience.
As Optimum, we want to create our own platform that empowers women, because we learned that a lot of women are in need of guidance and mentorship. They're are always messaging seeking for opportunities, guidance and mentorship. For this reason, one of our objectives at Optimum is that in 2019 is to start a mentorship programme for underprivileged girls, to help groom them and develop society. Most of the time these girls don’t where to go to access information, advice and experience. There are so many different industries where women can participate,” adds Dr. Magudmana.
She adds that maintaining a strong digital presence is important in her industry and for any business to get the right exposure and to reach their target market.
“You need to make sure that you at least have a solid online presence, some digital presence. That is so important. If your business doesn’t have a digital presence, it ’s going to be very difficult for people to walk in, because not everyone is walking past your business. A lot of people are active online, so they need to be able to find you and the necessary information that will help sell your business and services.”
Marketing is also very important. A lot of businesses don’t believe in marketing their businesses and that is a problem. Big brands like Coca – Cola still market their business, that goes to show how important marketing is important for the growth of any business. You need to talk about your business, you need to put it out there, otherwise people won’t know about it,” she adds.
When Dr. Magudumama started her business she didn’t have any financial backing to support her new venture, she had to rely on her savings to get started. She credits her patience and her decision to start small that helped her to sustain her business.
“When I was working for the government I made some savings to start my business. My business model was to start very small, you can be intimidated by starting this type of business, you would think to yourself that you will need to have a lot of money because it is a high-end type of business, where people think I need to have all the machines and every other thing to get started. My advice would be to start very small. Even if you offer one service that is still okay.
I was operating from a very small space that didn’t even have windows. This experiences taught me patience and a lot of valuable lessons; to start small and to believe in myself.
So start somewhere, if you believe in something and know that the service is needed and that people will access your services to start somewhere,” she concludes with a smile.
Optimum Aesthetics offers various services dedicated to skin and body care including chemical peel, hairline restoration, botox, fillers and others. Visit www.optimumsolutions.co.za to learn more.
Vital Stats
Featured entrepreneurs - Dr. N. Magudumana
Age - 3o
Company name - Optimum Medical Aestheics
Year founded - 2017
Turnover - R800,000
Start-up funding - R60,000