AWPOWERFIFTY: Lerato Kgamanyane
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur OR take your career in the direction you did? Is having your own business OR this role you are in something you always wanted?
I’d say I have always exhibited traits of independence from a very young age, it probably has a bit to do with being the first born daughter lol, but yes. And an anchoring trait to that was how personal my passion is for what I do. It’s definitely something I’ve always wanted for myself.
Which woman has positively impacted you in your career/business? And what is the one lesson she taught you?
My grandmother. So to give some background, outside of working as a radiology nurse at George Mkhari Hospital she used to make us clothes growing up, she was the resident seamstress if you will. So the fashion gene has always been there and she would always upcycle old clothes for us and herself if we couldn’t buy new clothes. So for me the lesson there truly was to always see the timelessness in clothes, in addition unconsciously we were actually agents of fashion sustainability.
How do you define success?
Freedom. Whatever that looks like for you. But always freedom.
One insight for anyone interested in the industry you are working in?
Try your best to get a mentor. The fashion manufacturing industry in South Africa has a high level of diversification and barriers of entry are relatively low. However, if you’re going to be niche-focused it can get a bit more academic and require you to have a strategic lobe and that means you need to have in depth resources, better yet someone who has been doing it for a long time to give you an idea of the ropes and what you’re getting yourself into.
What is your one key guiding principle in your work life?
Money doesn’t make me. I make money. Every entrepreneur will tell you how many financial “L’s” you’re going to take during your career and as much as entrepreneurs get into it for financial freedom, the most successful ones aren’t emotionally attached to money. You can’t be. I see money just as a resource that works for me to create more of it, and if I lose some, because I’ve made it before, I can certainly make it again.
What do you believe is the most impactful and immediate action your industry can take to Accelerate Gender Equality Through Economic Empowerment. (this is the theme for INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY in 2024)
The one thing I take pride in where my industry is concerned is that it is a very significant employer of women. I myself only have a staff that is made up of women.
However a few things I’d like to see happen is for us to address informality. Formal jobs and fair wages are key ingredients to women’s economic empowerment. Informality leads to power imbalances that disadvantage workers, but the disproportionate harm it does to women workers is less recognised.
The three books that changed your life
The Year of Yes x Shonda Rhimes
Lean In x Sheryl Sandberg (but not for the reasons one would assume.. reading her book actually made me realize that, that isn’t the kind of working woman I want to be. I want the balance, and I want to have dinner with my kids, I want my kids to turn to me for help… not the nanny)
The Long Game x Dorie Clark
Apps you cannot live without
Canva
The Adobe Suite
Whatsapp
Self care rituals that keep you grounded
Long elaborate (double cleansing, exfoliating, conditioning, scenting, singing, making up hypothetical life scenarios) showers, movie binging and sleep.