Mpho may have grown up with a privilege of having a father who is a serial entrepreneur and a mother who had a job as a school principal at a local school in Mahwelereng Township in Mokopane, Limpopo – where she was born and bred. She has always seen herself beyond her parent’s accomplishments and propels. “I’ve always had big dreams of attaining financial freedom so that I could spend my time doing what I love without financial limitations or the pressure to “earn a living.” Power and fame were never a motivator, her aspirations have always been about making a difference while living life freely.
Mpho is now an IT professional with almost 20 years of experience in the industry.
She is a seasoned catalyst, who is willing to take calculated risks in pioneering the vision, mission and objectives of any initiative she tackles. She has been characterized by colleagues, professional acquaintances, subordinates and mentors alike as an astute leader who is always ready to invest hard work and passion into goals at hand, while furthering the development of others.
She is also an Advocate of IT value delivery through Strategic Partnering, Relationship Management and Digital Transformation. To help advance this cause, Mpho has been instrumental in initiating and establishing the first ever Chapter of the Business Relationship Management Institute International, for which she is currently serving as the first President, Director and Chairperson.
She has held various roles during her career, spanning multidimensional responsibilities including Strategy Development, Product Management, Business Intelligence, Project Management, Business Analysis, Programming, Business Process Management, Innovation, Architecture and several other Management responsibilities, specialising in pioneering and championing the establishment and operationalisation of Strategic Relationship Management capabilities.
Mpho is affiliated to the Directors Association which is an organisation that researches and educates directors on all things board related including corporate governance, risk management, internal control and corporate strategy to name a few.
What is your side hustle and how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve always been a creative, and one of the ways in which I express this is through my love of fashion. My entrepreneurial history includes ownership of a boutique specialising in imported women clothing and accessories. I am also quite fascinated by the world of finances, particularly investments and the magic of compound interests. I love to make my money work hard for me. So, the thought of watching my investments grow excites me. I invest in anything from property to shares and cryptocurrencies. I believe that I am also a good teacher and adviser. Who knows maybe one of these days I can turn that into a side hustle too. My husband and I have been coaching our two talented daughters (aged 14 and 12) who have recently launched their books titled ‘Cool 2 b u’ and ‘Slay 4 real.’ There is so much potential and I am excited for what the future holds. Watch this space.
What about funding – what is easy or difficult and how did you navigate it?
To be honest funding has never been something that I’ve looked into because I have always self-funded my projects, businesses and opportunities. I’ve even gone to an extent of funding my own educational courses, which were related to work. I’ve never let anything get in my way so if funding proves to be an obstacle, I raise my own funds from my salary and other side hustles to invest in my dreams and goals. I’ve never been shy to spend money on anything that I believe is an investment. Only recently have I started considering using funding from third parties simply because I need to embark on bigger projects which require large amounts of capital.
How do you balance the two aspects of responsibility (work & business)?
The beauty of my side hustles is that they don’t require a lot of activity to be successful. I make use of other people’s time and expertise to thrive. As an investor I am more of a passive-income earner. I love smart ways of making money. I am also fortunate to have a supportive family who take interest in what I do. This really goes a long way in making sure that I get all the help and support that I need to achieve the often-elusive work/life/business balance.
Did You Experience Failures as you built your business and how did you deal with them?
I experience failure all the time. For me it’s a matter of winning some and losing some. I simply learn as I go, and I don’t let failure get the best of me. My clothing boutique failed after 3 years in operation while my investment portfolio is riddled with gains and losses. That’s the story of my side hustle life and I’ve learned to embrace it. The so-called failures are learning opportunities for continuous improvement.
Final Thoughts and message of encouragement to anyone out there about the importance of a plan B?
Mpho may have grown up with a privilege of having a father who is a serial entrepreneur and a mother who had a job as a school principal at a local school in Mahwelereng Township in Mokopane, Limpopo – where she was born and bred. She has always seen herself beyond her parent’s accomplishments and propels. “I’ve always had big dreams of attaining financial freedom so that I could spend my time doing what I love without financial limitations or the pressure to “earn a living.” Power and fame were never a motivator, her aspirations have always been about making a difference while living life freely.
Mpho is now an IT professional with almost 20 years of experience in the industry.
She is a seasoned catalyst, who is willing to take calculated risks in pioneering the vision, mission and objectives of any initiative she tackles. She has been characterized by colleagues, professional acquaintances, subordinates and mentors alike as an astute leader who is always ready to invest hard work and passion into goals at hand, while furthering the development of others.
She is also an Advocate of IT value delivery through Strategic Partnering, Relationship Management and Digital Transformation. To help advance this cause, Mpho has been instrumental in initiating and establishing the first ever Chapter of the Business Relationship Management Institute International, for which she is currently serving as the first President, Director and Chairperson.
She has held various roles during her career, spanning multidimensional responsibilities including Strategy Development, Product Management, Business Intelligence, Project Management, Business Analysis, Programming, Business Process Management, Innovation, Architecture and several other Management responsibilities, specialising in pioneering and championing the establishment and operationalisation of Strategic Relationship Management capabilities.
Mpho is affiliated to the Directors Association which is an organisation that researches and educates directors on all things board related including corporate governance, risk management, internal control and corporate strategy to name a few.
What is your side hustle and how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve always been a creative, and one of the ways in which I express this is through my love of fashion. My entrepreneurial history includes ownership of a boutique specialising in imported women clothing and accessories. I am also quite fascinated by the world of finances, particularly investments and the magic of compound interests. I love to make my money work hard for me. So, the thought of watching my investments grow excites me. I invest in anything from property to shares and cryptocurrencies. I believe that I am also a good teacher and adviser. Who knows maybe one of these days I can turn that into a side hustle too. My husband and I have been coaching our two talented daughters (aged 14 and 12) who have recently launched their books titled ‘Cool 2 b u’ and ‘Slay 4 real.’ There is so much potential and I am excited for what the future holds. Watch this space.
What about funding – what is easy or difficult and how did you navigate it?
To be honest funding has never been something that I’ve looked into because I have always self-funded my projects, businesses and opportunities. I’ve even gone to an extent of funding my own educational courses, which were related to work. I’ve never let anything get in my way so if funding proves to be an obstacle, I raise my own funds from my salary and other side hustles to invest in my dreams and goals. I’ve never been shy to spend money on anything that I believe is an investment. Only recently have I started considering using funding from third parties simply because I need to embark on bigger projects which require large amounts of capital.
How do you balance the two aspects of responsibility (work & business)?
The beauty of my side hustles is that they don’t require a lot of activity to be successful. I make use of other people’s time and expertise to thrive. As an investor I am more of a passive-income earner. I love smart ways of making money. I am also fortunate to have a supportive family who take interest in what I do. This really goes a long way in making sure that I get all the help and support that I need to achieve the often-elusive work/life/business balance.
Did You Experience Failures as you built your business and how did you deal with them?
I experience failure all the time. For me it’s a matter of winning some and losing some. I simply learn as I go, and I don’t let failure get the best of me. My clothing boutique failed after 3 years in operation while my investment portfolio is riddled with gains and losses. That’s the story of my side hustle life and I’ve learned to embrace it. The so-called failures are learning opportunities for continuous improvement.
Final Thoughts and message of encouragement to anyone out there about the importance of a plan B?
I live by this verse and quote:
