Roselynne King is part of a booming new trend: 50-something entrepreneurs.
King, owner of Eco Therapy products, is a qualified nursing sister, who realised the need for upmarket bathing products while working as a consultant to Clinic Holdings (now Netcare). She first joined an ex-colleague’s company which manufactured bath products, but started her own niche operation soon after as she wanted to concentrate her efforts on natural ingredients.
“I come from a family of herbalists,” says King who grew up in France. “When we were sick we would use only natural herbs.”
King started out in her kitchen and moved to a caravan in her garden before building a small factory on her property in Muldersdrift, Gauteng. She bootstrapped for finances and involved her son and a friend to develop and build the needed equipment. She printed letterheads on her PC and used her overdraft when she needed cash to buy ingredients.
King echoes the sentiments of many other entrepreneurs when she confirms that good staff is the backbone of her operation. She feels that while hiring the right people is crucial, supervision and guidance is also imperative as is looking after staff so that they feel they are part of the business.
“Service is everything. If I say I’ll deliver by lunchtime, I deliver by lunchtime. No excuses! I build relationships with all my customers and they become good friends of mine. I have them call me about sick dogs and constipated babies in the middle of the night, but that is all part of the deal.”
Starting a business later in life means that you have some experience younger entrepreneurs don’t have. For King, the most important lesson she learnt before starting her business is not to trust people too quickly. “You bump your head only so many times, before you learn to be careful.”
While King admits that the road to success is a lonely one, she lists the following institutions as her allies: Sars for providing a fantastic service to SMEs and making it easy to stay within the law and Nosmesa, a labour law consultancy that assist small business owners with any staff related issues. Other important partners include a trustworthy accountant or auditor and membership to industry associations, in King’s case the CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrance Association of South Africa) for networking and guidance.
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