We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sipho Gumbo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sipho below.

Sipho, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Starting a business is one of the toughest things I have done, besides parenting. There are several decisions one must make to start a business, and they are all very big decisions. They are make-or-break decisions. Because entrepreneurship is a risky business, it must be approached with a very clear mind. I started Yangu Beauty in my late forties after spending time as a stay-at-home mom and a non-profit founder. In a way, I understood what it would take to start a business, but like everything else in the world of entrepreneurship, there are no guarantees. I founded Yangu Beauty because I was dealing with very sensitive skin, I was reacting to a lot of harsh products in the market. There were very few products that were gentle for my skin that did not make me not have break outs. I had to start using oils that I had used while growing up in the village that my grandmother shared with us. It was a decision I had to create a product that is a solution to a problem I was facing and that my daughters were starting to face as well. I was determined to find a solution.
When I first started, my kids were a little older, and that allowed me to have time to focus on the new baby, Yangu Beauty. This allowed me to have more time to work on the business while the kids were in school, and it was easier for me to travel and attend events.
There were certainly pros to starting a business at this stage in my life; I could really focus on the business, and distractions were limited. At this stage in life, I was also more mature in facing the challenges that entrepreneurship brings along. The mental maturity that comes with age has allowed me to be able to push through rejection while maintaining confidence in the work that has been done. The journey in entrepreneurship is lonely and costly in personal relationships and friends. It is a journey where you lose friends along the way. It takes some mental maturity to be able to face these challenges, knowing there isn’t much support you will get.
I believe that it might have been an advantage to have started sooner. The reason being that the financial requirements that a business needs to start, and grow are very high. There is a danger in the world of business that if you start as late as I did, and the business fails, there is no time to rebuild and recover before retirement. Another challenge to starting late is that it is not easy to rejoin the workforce as an older woman. So, if the business does not work, avenues to recover are very limited. When your retirement age is looming, it adds more pressure to the need to succeed in business.
Had I started sooner, I would have had more opportunities to get funding. I think there is a certain bias against funding businesses that are founded by older women. I think had I been younger, the path may have been a little easier with more time and options should things not work out. Looking back, I do wish I had started earlier than I did.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the founder of Yangu Beauty, an award-winning vegan luxury skincare brand. Yangu Beauty was founded to help people of color and anyone with sensitive skin have a full range of skincare products that are gentle to use. There are limited options that solve skincare issues for people of color. Yangu Beauty was created to be the go-to brand for dark skin. The product line currently has seven products. Each product is designed to solve a particular skin problem. We have two award-winning cleaners: The Gel-to-Milk Cleanser is for people with dry, sensitive skin. It is a hydrating cleanser. The Cleansing Whip is designed for people who have acne-prone, oily skin. This cleanser is designed to help reduce the number of acne breakouts. Our Moisturizing Day Cream is designed to keep the skin hydrated and moisturized all day long, with no need to reapply. The Finishing Night Cream helps keep the skin hydrated over night. The Even Tone Serum is designed to help reduce dark spots and hyperpigmentation caused by acne breakouts. The Bright Eyes Cream helps with dark circles around the eye, puffiness around the eye, and dry skin around the eye. The renewal oil Gentle Make-Up Remover is a gentle make-up remover that is hydrating. It gently removes water-proof mascara with no need to pull or rub. The whole line is designed around the ethos of gentle skincare with botanicals from Southern Africa.

I became part of the beauty industry out of need. I needed products that worked for my sensitive skin. There was a very limited selection of products that catered to people of color with sensitive skin. What sets Yangu Beauty apart is that we created the brand to solve specific problems. We targeted our products to solve the challenges of sensitive skin. That meant working with a pharmacologist and a cosmetic chemist to make sure that the products we create actually solve real skin conditions people are dealing with.

I am most proud that, in my quest to find a solution for my sensitive skin, I finally came up with a skin care line that solves skin care problems for people with sensitive skin. It is also good to note that, as part of Yangu Beauty’s giving back, I am proud that we give back to orphaned students in Zimbabwe through our sister organization, Munhu Inc. www.munhu.org Making a difference in a child’s education is something that makes me proud of Yangu Beauty. We do not just have a skincare line; we make a difference with it. So when you buy Yangu Beauty products, you solve your skincare problems and help support a child in school.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Lonely Entrepreneur by Michael Dermer is one book that has impacted me in my entrepreneurial journey. The platform by the same name is one that I highly recommend to anyone embarking on this journey. The book gives straight advice that would cost you thousands of dollars if you were to seek it from so called consultants out there. It gives candid advice from someone who has started a business and lived to tell the brutal reality of the journey. On his platform, he answers and gives direction to many questions entrepreneurs face daily in operating their businesses.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source for new clients has been referrals, press release and events. During our early days we attended a lot of vending events in local churches and other local public events. As we visited the same churches people would literally drag their friends and brag about how well they loved our products and encourage them to try them. Being featured on local television station and great publications like Black Enterprise and Essense Magazine did help us get new clients. I remember when Black Enterprise featured us, we had more than 500 followers in a day in our Instagram account.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yangubeauty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yangubeauty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yangubeauty
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/yangubeauty