An air of sincerity and integrity follows Portia Mngomezulu wherever she goes. She speaks from a place of vast passion and love for her brand, the people it seeks to serve, and the people who make it all possible. Portia is the Founder and Managing Director of Portia M Skin Solutions. “We manufacture skincare products using the primary ingredient, Marula oil, which is found in the northern part of South Africa,” she says.
Portia has been an entrepreneur from the earliest of ages. “When I was at school, I used to plait people’s hair for money,” she explains. She remembers being good with her hands, never needing to succumbed to the possibility of being “broke and helpless”; there was always some way that she could make some money, and that’s where the entrepreneurial spirit began.
A product of representation
“I always used to see skincare products in stores like Edgars and ask myself, who is Elizabeth or who is Gloria, the names on the products. I’m a proud African and I’ve always wondered, if we are so loyal to those products, why can’t we make our own and be loyal to those? So after I fell pregnant with my first son, I happened to develop some stretch marks. My mother in law advised me, saying that in the olden days they used to use Marula fruit oil to help with skin conditions. I saw that as an opportunity, and I named the range after myself. When you name something after yourself it’s a true representation of who you are and you’ll do whatever it takes to protect it.
Bidding corporate farewell
Portia is a qualified systems engineer who studied Information Technology. She also did project management and worked in telecommunications for about 9 years. “I was comfortable but I also felt that I wasn’t really made for the corporate world. I was made to create jobs for other people,” she says. She always saw herself as a creator after years of sticking out in corporate, decided it was time to step into her own business to create the type of environment that she felt people should work in and that employees could thrive in.
“It was exciting. When I was in corporate there was always that entrepreneurial inclination. I’d earn a salary and still do people’s hair on the side. The transition was scary because I was leaving stability but I was also excited because of what else I could do with my own creativity without any limitations.”
Leverage and navigating startup challenges
Like most entrepreneurs, Portia remembers capital being one of her earliest business challenges. “Luckily we have a government that assists entrepreneurs. I managed to get through to SEDA for the testing of my products,” she says. Her vision was very clear from the beginning: she wanted to compete in retail. “I wanted my daycream next to Pond’s and my oil next to Bio Oil. And getting there was the real challenge. It’s not easy to get your product on the shelf, they need to know that you’ve got marketing capital, which I didn’t! All I had was my knowledge of technology and thank God for social media, because that’s how I started promoting my business. And that’s how I do it now.
It would be very difficult to survive as a business today without social media. Everybody is always on their phones. Businesses need to take advantage of that. Portia M Skin Solutions doesn’t have physical promoters in stores, people just show up with their phones and say, “I want this product”.
The team that backs you
As a natural team player, Portia has no trouble leading from in front and behind. “I welcome ideas from other people, especially young people”. Having started with doing most things in the business on her own, she eventually brought in an intern who is now a supervisor. “I believe so much in building relationships instead of giving up on people, because somebody also gave me a chance. Most of my employees started off as interns; I trained them and walked the journey with them, and now even if I’m not around, I’m comfortable enough to leave things in their hands because they know my heart and they’re as passionate as I am about making sure the product succeeds.”
What sets Portia M apart
“Our product is true. What you see is what you get. When I started, one of the challenges was the capital to pay for a famous face to market my product. Today I see it as a blessing, because it meant real people who use the product were the ones who ended up promoting it. They shared before and after pictures, and what more can someone want than a product that is truly represented by the everyday person who looks like them?
Key players: Portia Mngomezulu
Age: 37
Start up funding: Self-funded
Company name: Portia M Skin Solutions
Year founded: 2011
Turnover: R7 million