Subscribe to our Newsletter


click to dowload our latest edition

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Featured Item

‘Mompreneurs’ defy the odds

Published

on

GILLIAN KLAWANSKY

Nadine Hocter left high school in the middle of Grade 11. “It’s still my biggest regret,” says the now 36-year-old business owner and single mother of two. “I left because I needed to support myself. I was raised by a single mother who battled to hold down a job. In school, I was waitressing, but I wasn’t making enough money.” After dropping out, Hocter got an administration job. “I wasn’t going to be in an office forever, so I studied beauty therapy because it was a trade.”

While studying beauty, Hocter fell pregnant. She had her daughter Robyn shortly before her 19th birthday, and passed her final beauty exams when Robyn was just two weeks old. In 2006, after working in a salon for four years, Hocter decided to go it alone. “Being there for my daughter was my motivation,” she says.

“I borrowed a massage bed from a friend, got out the Yellow Pages, and called people offering mobile massages and kids’ pamper parties,” she recalls. “I’d also heard about corporate massages at offices, so I tried that. For a long time, we lived from hand to mouth, but I grew the business through tenacity and consistency.” While it’s had ups and downs, today Hocter’s corporate and mobile massage business, Sheer Bliss, is thriving.

“We’ve recently introduced virtual reality massages. Clients get headsets, and are transported to a beach, for example, with full audio and visual effects,” says Hocter speaking of the company’s latest innovation. Sheer Bliss counts Discovery, Old Mutual, and MultiChoice among its many clients, and has branches in Joburg and Cape Town. The company’s impressive year-on-year growth led to it being named 2018 Business of the Year by ORT Jet, an enterprise development organisation empowering small Jewish business owners.

Now divorced, Hocter has another daughter, eight-year-old Bella. Robyn, now 17, is on a scholarship at a private school. Hocter juggles work and motherhood through planning, support, and discipline.

“I always say I have three children,” she jokes, “Sheer Bliss, Robyn, and Bella. Sheer Bliss is the iffiest teenager! As an entrepreneur, it’s hard to step away from your business, but it’s something I’ve had to do. In starting the business, I promised myself that I’d give my staff and myself enough flexibility to be there for our kids – it was my driving force. I can’t be there for every sports game and function, but I try. Although I work a lot, when I’m present, I’m very present. Because I’m an entrepreneur, my children also have a strong work ethic. You can see it in Robyn’s achievements, and how she pushes herself – she’s had this example of consistent, hard work. I also now have a live-in boyfriend who’s very supportive. The wheel turns eventually.”

Hocter now supports the Chevrah Kadisha which financed her own schooling. “It’s great to be able to give back to the community that supported me, and to know that I can make a difference to someone else.”

Divorced with an eight-year-old son, artist and art teacher Mandi Brest has also built a thriving business – Mandi Brest Art Studio. “Before I had my son, Adam, I was an art director at Ogilvy South Africa,” says Brest. Yet, when her son was born two months early with a heart condition, she was forced to quit. “I couldn’t continue in advertising and look after my baby,” she recalls. “To make money, I started teaching art to the children of family friends in our servant’s quarters. I remember asking how I was going to survive with just two kids a week. Yet those two kids became 10, then 20, and eventually I had to build a bigger studio.”

When she left her husband, Brest moved in with her parents. “After a year, I bought a small, two-bedroom house with a beautiful art studio,” she says. “Adam and I have lived here for more than four years.” Brest currently teaches 150 students, from six-year-olds to grandmothers, and has a growing waiting list.

Giving back is her driving force and every two years, she hosts an exhibition of her students’ art to raise money for charity. In their most recent exhibition, Brest and her students raised R100 000 for Woodrock Animal Rescue. “I’m grateful for all I’ve accomplished, but I’ve worked my butt off,” she says. “I’ve paid off my house and my car, but I don’t have much furniture or anything fancy.”

“When it comes to looking after my son, I’m very blessed that my ex-husband is involved, and I also depend on my family a lot in terms of lifts and homework,” says Brest. “It’s not easy. You don’t sit still. You sacrifice a lot. When you’re in an unhappy marriage, you stay because you don’t think you can do it on your own, but then you’re so unhappy, you force yourself to leave. Ultimately, material sacrifices don’t matter because you’re looking after your son, and if he’s happy, you’re happy.”

“I was determined to not let my son see an unhappy mother. I struggled in the beginning, but it was worth it. I have a burning passion to do well, to look after myself and my son, and to empower him.”

Master stylist Shelene Shaer had already been running hair salon Tanaz Hair for more than a decade when she had her twin sons, now 13. “My commitment to myself and my business partner has always been a driving force,” she says

Becoming a mother made Shaer that much more determined to succeed. “Having children definitely upped the game. It’s a financial commitment that no one can prepare you for. It’s also important to me to be a role model and instil the right values in my children.”

Running a busy salon and being a single mother means having to rely on others. “I outsource to my incredible support system – my family and the people that create a village of function,” she says. “I live next door to my salon, which makes me accessible to my children. I have a lady studying to be a teacher to assist with homework. My sister lives with me, and between her and my mother, there’s always an ear and a helping hand. I’ve also established a solid work system.”

Her advice for single moms? “Create a network around you, and make your children accountable for their day to day responsibilities. Be kind to yourself – it’s not easy, and requires a lot of grit. The love does outweigh the hardship, though.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *