“Change your mindset, change your future,” says Women in Mining beneficiary
Mbombela born and bred Gladys Maseko, has benefitted from Seriti’s sponsored Women in Mining programme to such an extent that she has recently opened a second branch of her business, Lady B laundry services, in Ermelo. The main branch is in eMahlahleni where she resides with her family and where her husband is a pastor at a local church. The programme has taught her that when you believe in yourself, have a clear passion and strong motivation, you will be able to open your mind to new growth and business opportunities.
The majority of the 20 ladies on the programme are established suppliers to the Seriti Power business and they have each been running their companies for a number of years. Some of the companies have gone through difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic and these entrepreneurs are looking for renewed success in their businesses.
Gladys said she started the business because “I wanted to create job opportunities, especially for our youth in South Africa and because I was so passionate about being a businesswoman and giving back to the community. Being a young black woman with no capital to start the business and having had no business knowledge, posed a tremendous challenge, coupled with the pressure of supporting my family while my husband went through a serious illness.”
Lady B Cleaning Services with its two employees – the name comes from the Maseko’s congregation who fondly calls her Lady Bishop – has also been struck hard by the Covid pandemic. However, being a resilient woman of faith, Gladys has grown her business to include wellness coaching and the designing of inter alia, matric farewell dresses and ‘makoti’ outfits for her clients. She learned the ropes when she approached an elderly ex-factory worker some years ago, asking him to teach her to sew and design patterns. Today she constantly receives compliments on her own fashion style which she creates herself.
Also read: Women in Mining – Pinky Mahlangu participates in Seriti’s programme
Elaborating on the wellness aspect, she explains that she made a mindset change back in 2019 to reduce her dress size from 42 to an incredible size 30 this year! She now advises clients on weight loss and how to introduce healthy eating habits.
This same mindset moved her to work her way up from a cleaning/tea lady for a mining house many years ago, to that of assistant surveyor. During this time, she attended many courses and training opportunities to eventually be able to take the leap into the world of an entrepreneur, when she was confronted with retrenchment in 2015.
Gladys hopes that with this programme, which is being managed by Collective Value Creation, she will be able to expand her business and hire more people, especially less privileged women.
This remarkable businesswoman, without any formal higher education, is a living testimony of her unshakable faith in the Lord and her belief that hard work, dedication and passion will carry you through many hardships.
Seriti’s Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programmes, aim to develop local SMMEs to create a pipeline of supply chain ready businesses that can secure procurement opportunities both inside and outside Seriti and to develop existing local suppliers and SMMEs to enable them to realise the scale and drive supplier diversity in their Supply chain.
