Women of Reverence welcomes guest blogger Sindi Mazibeli
Sindi Mazibeli is a mother of two, a two-year old toddler and an eleven-month old baby, a wife and a business owner.
I hold a Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology and HR from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. I have 11 years of extensive experience in Recruitment, Business Development and Executive Search.
I enjoy baking, cooking and spending time with family and friends. In the past two years I have taken up bread baking, especially sough dough breads! What a journey it has been and I thank God for a patient husband who has supported me in my bread-baking journey.
I have always desired to be a mum and a wife; it has always been a deep desire God put in my heart and I always knew that once married, I didn’t want to be in full-time work. I knew the pressure of the corporate environment and it was something I wasn’t keen on.
In February 2015, the company I was working for wasn’t doing well and my dear husband, who was already in business, asked me to join him; he literally said, “Come do what you have been doing, at home.”
I was very nervous at first – I didn’t believe I could do it but I prayed and I believe God was leading me.
My husband and I are in full-time business: we run a Recruitment and IT Consulting business, Fledge Business Solutions. The business was registered in 2011 but I joined full-time in April 2015, which marks five years this April 2020.
It has been a wonderful journey, a difficult and joyful process, over the five years I have been living my dream: to be a mother and to do what I love, which is to help people.
It gives me such satisfaction to place a candidate in the right place of employment and to find the right skill and individual for my client.
A few of the challenges faced along the way:
Our first income only started coming in six months after we started together in 2015. My husband was already consulting and he was able to fend for us and provide. There have been times where I didn’t meet my targets, where we didn’t have placement and times I wanted to give up, but God has always been faithful. For many years, our IT Consulting business only had one consultant, my husband, but we kept going, believing and trusting that God would open the door – and He did! In 2019, we had 22 staff consulting through Fledge and we know that’s Gods provision.
In the midst of starting a business, my husband and I had only been married for 4 months, so that was also very stretching. We had to learn how to separate work and our personal lives – we couldn’t bring work home. Building a good working relationship has been a journey.
Working in business also stretched me individually: I battled a lot with comparison; I didn’t believe I was good enough and questioned whether our business was good enough. I have conquered these unbeliefs and I’m thankful to my Heavenly Father.
Being a Christian business owner, you have to live for Christ. We are led by the Spirit, so there is business we have had to turn down as it didn’t feel right. Sometimes we got ourselves in tight spots with contracts that we didn’t feel were right, after we signed.
Without a doubt, I know God has kept us, and me, under His wings and the Word has been my foundation. It’s my heart’s desire to serve Christ wholeheartedly and a few scripture and prayers that I pray are:
Phil 4 vs 6
‘Do not be anxious about anything but pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done… “’
Psalm 118 vs 25 (b)
‘’Please Lord, give us success… “
Romans 12 vs 2
‘’Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world…’’
For anyone who is going into business, I would advise:
1. Have someone to work with: it’s easier, sharing ideas and the pain, keeping you focused, helping with delivery and more fun than working alone.
2. As a child of God, put Christ first and seek His Kingdom in your work.
3. Have a vision – mark it out clearly and pray.
4. Pray for your clients , customers and other businesses.
5. The journey is long but know that God will never give you anything that you can’t bear.
Blessings
Sindi