TURNING PASSION INTO A BUSINESS
“I do fashion almost every day of my life and I value it more than any of my professions.”
Sithole Vhulenda, aged 25, was born and raised in Vuwani, Limpopo. Vhulenda is a qualified BSC in Mathematics and statistics from the University of Venda. He studies further for the teaching profession in Mathematics and IT.
His passion for fashion emerged in 2018 when he was a university scholar. Vhulenda found designing and dressing unique incredible and consequently made him buy a small sewing machine. His unique clothing was tailored with the sewing machine. He also used to customize clothes.
Vhulenda later on developed his skills through the internet to be able to do his designs from scratch. That’s when he discovered his creativeness and his love of fashion and designing. He said, “Then, people around the campus started admiring what I do for myself. I had no choice but to buy a better machine and do business in my room on campus.”
You might say he was at the right place at the right time. The university environment was the motivation for him to start the business. It played a significant role in his fashion designing Journey. He noticed how fashion and dressing to kill are like a culture to University students. Vhulenda saw a gap and an opportunity and decided to give it a shot.
After completing his studies, Sithole could have followed in the paths of most young people. He could’ve written a CV and steered the ladder of job-hunting. However, he did the complete opposite. With his creativity and his love for fashion designing, he knew that he will never go wrong with the fashion business. He registered a business and created his job and now he is his own boss.
Vhulenda is a proud owner of Pushi pro, a fashion design manufacturing business. He was still busy with his studies at the University of Venda when he started it. Vhulenda went further and spread his wings and established a sewing academy where he transfers his talent and skills to others who are interested in sewing. “My greatest achievement is that I have people that attended my sewing lessons who can now be able to bring food to the table because of the skill I shared,” he said with confidence.
Just like any other business, Vhulenda also encountered several challenges and he managed to overcome some. Balancing his academic work and working on his fashion design was a bit challenging when he launched. His biggest challenge now is expanding his business bigger and building a strong team of people with the same passion and vision as his.
“I have a very good dream about my business. I want to expand my business into different sectors which is fashion school, fashion industry where I’ll be able to manufacture in bulk and sell to different parts of the continent,” said the fashion designer.
“Unlike many designers, I don’t stress about marketing because my product’s market itself,” Vhelenda explains. He outlined the difference between him and others in the business which makes him unique. The fashion designer said that “I no longer do fashion for money but for the love I have for fashion, and the fact that I want to change the perception people have for careers like fashion designing.”
He clarified that he wants people not to underestimate careers of this kind. Vhulenda wishes people can notice his achievements in the fashion industry and realize how profitable a fashion career is.
Being a fashion designer is a very demanding job and one has to be on their toes 24/7. However, Sithole has his ways of balancing the work pressure.
“When it’s that time of the year when I receive a lot of orders I always sacrifice to work and only sleep an average of 4 hours daily in that way I get more orders done”, he said. Vhulenda spends much time on fashion designing.
“The only time I rest is when I’m studying or maybe when I’m at the complex for grocery shopping. I don’t party. I spend much time doing business if not designing. Not surprisingly, I rather am learning new things about business on the internet.” Said Vhulenda.
He disclosed that he even barely goes home to see his family. However, his family is very supportive and they do understand since they can see the results of his hard work.
“My greatest accomplishment is that I manage to fulfill half of my achievements goals before getting my first degree, which is evidence that I didn’t need a university qualification to achieve what I’ve achieved.” Said Vhulenda. He plans to see his business expanding into different sectors soon.
Ripfumelo is an ambitious and self-motivated individual who thrives on challenges and constantly sets objectives for herself. She's always looking for an opportunity to do better and achieve greatness.
