Written by: Phindile Le Bris Sithole-Spong
If there is one thing I have learnt this year, it is that nothing in life is certain. The same can be said for business. As an avid entrepreneur and business owner, I know this better than anyone. Which is why when COVID19 hit, I felt like I should know better. Because business is all about making changes and adjustments based on the climate. But with a new baby and panic stricken, I was not sure which way to turn in terms of work. Whilst I had She Evolves to still my busy mind, I needed something else. A challenge and way to move forward creatively.
I had decided to put a hold on my business at the end of my pregnancy due to a number of reasons, and was not sure I would reopen it again. But as COVID took over the world, I started to see how my little diamond in the rough was just what people needed. With more people spending time at home and trying to alleviate their stress and anxiety. Sales in homeware and cookware went up. So did the need to change their environments. Something that my business Sonka was all about. With this new fave of potential new customers and change in feeling about what the home and even meal times looked like. I started to get a clearer understanding of where Sonka fit in.
As a somewhat new designer, I always worried that there was not enough room in design for us all. Let alone a novice like myself. But as more and more indie and small businesses got more attention and began to flourish. I realized that people were looking at their homes from a different lens. One that focused on individuality more than conformity. Which is why after some serious thought on my end. And a re-education in design as well as fine tuning my vision. I reopened my business to positive reviews. And whilst I cannot say what the next year will bring. I can say with certainty that life is full of unexpected twists and turns. And that to succeed, we have to be willing to bend and change with the times.
You need only drive from the Cape Town airport to the city centre and see the lines of bent trees to see nature practicing this very idea. That if we are unable to change with the times. And sometimes bend ourselves into odd shapes we will break and never get to flourish under new environments.
