What you don’t know is that she also typifies resilience. She has had to overcome numerous obstacles to be where she is today.
During the recent 2018 Gala Awards of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Enterprising Women Programme, Olivia shared her personal journey to success with awardees and guests. This is her story:
“I wasn’t born rich. In fact, I come from a traditional middleclass home. It wasn’t a happy home though, and at the age of 17, I turned my back on years of emotional and physical abuse.
And there I was: all alone, no money and no future prospects. Everything I owned I carried with me in a black refuse bag and I remember thinking that this is what rock-bottom must feel like.
By the grace of God and the support of friends, I managed to complete matric that year. Armed with my matric certificate and dreams of a better life, I applied at the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (PU for CHE) and was blessed with a year’s worth of funding from TEFSA (now NSFAS). The reality however was that I had no money for rent, food or books. I worked my fingers to the bone over weekends to earn extra money, but I could not keep the hectic pace going. I only lasted a year.
Back in Vanderbijlpark I realised that it wasn’t my time to be at university. It wasn’t meant to be. After I made peace with this thought, I set out qualify myself as a beautician. I worked from home and for the first time in my life, I could support myself financially.
During this time life happened, I got married and soon afterwards we started with a family. Amidst the feeling of familial bliss, my dream of making it in the world of business still had me seeking for bigger and better opportunities.
I went back to college and qualified myself as a hairdresser. By working hard, I once again managed to make a success of my home-based salon. I put in more hours than I care to remember, but it was worth it since I could provide for my family.
For once I was content…for a while.
As an entrepreneur however, I feel that I continuously have to be up-to-date with market trends and issues that could potentially impact my venture, and so I once again enrolled for university studies at the NWU. And this time, it was my time. I completed my BCom degree with distinction and because of my good academic record, I was awarded a bursary to also complete my MBA.
Don’t get me wrong. As a woman, I still need to prove myself in the boardroom more often than not. Unfortunately women in business, especially in South Africa, are still confronted by traditional stereo typing. My advice: lean in! There will be times when you have to take out an overdraft to keep the lights on, but don’t quit on yourself.
Believe in yourself and your business, because if you have doubts so will the market. Leverage the power that you have, the skills and knowledge you acquired through the EWP and most of all, never stop learning.”
During the recent 2018 Gala Awards of the NWU’s Enterprising Women Programme, Olivia shared her personal journey to success with awardees and guests.
