‘I left home to do laundry, two years later I’m doing the Springboks’ gear’
Nqubeko Sithole said handling the national team's laundry was a dream come true and a welcome challenge as he had to step up his game.
Image: Supplied
Two years ago, Nqubeko Chase Sithole moved from his Pietermaritzburg home to Umhlanga near Durban to chase his dream of starting a laundry business.
Now he services the national rugby team, visiting international teams and local customers spreading the word.
“I think it was something God literally delivered to me because I love the laundry business. And it was a conscious decision to be in Durban because it is a big hub for tourism.”
He funded the business with money saved from a teaching job in China before returning to SA, soon after the onset of the pandemic, and from a loan. He has since hired three employees.
“I had to make it happen, whatever it took. The first year I had a few glitches, but this year it started picking up, I am starting to see a profit and grow my business now. I have learnt more about the business with the help of my staff — they have been advising me to add this and change that, now it’s a running business.”
Sithole said he has always been business-minded and wanted to create jobs.
“Because it was very hard for me to get a job when I got back into the country (from China), I decided to get myself a business that I am passionate about, so that I can see if I can create a job for myself or other people.
“I am a very domesticated person, I like cleaning, I like doing laundry,” said Sithole.
The 28-year-old left home despite his mother’s concerns.
“My mother wasn’t actually very keen on the idea. She wanted me to get a government job [or] to be a teacher because she feels that’s very safe with benefits.
“There were a lot of concerns because the family weren’t also really sure if I could run such a big business. But I was confident because I had set my mind on it, I had read up and done my research.
“I think until recently she didn't believe that I actually have a real job — because she would send me job posts every day, saying I must apply.
“There were lot of concerns, but now she has started to see the light and she is very supportive,” Sithole said.
Nqubeko Chase Sithole left home to start a laundry business despite his mother's concerns. She had urged him to get a 'safe' government or teaching job.
Image: Supplied
Doing laundry for the national team was a dream come true, said Sithole, and a welcome challenge as he had to step up his game.
“When the teams finish the game, you need to be there for collection and [return it] the next day before they go for training. These challenges give me a thrill and a challenge. I feel I am representing and serving our country in that manner. It pushes me to be more professional.
“It has given me more positivity and more courage because in the beginning everything was shaky.
“There was a point where I couldn’t afford to pay the full rent ... I was just making enough to pay myself, but I had to push, I had to wake up every day and try find ways to grow the business.
“I wanted to do soccer jerseys for teams that coming into Durban, but I was lucky enough to meet a guy from Cape Town who was very much involved in the rugby space,” he said.
Sithole said he had to prove he could deliver.
“I had to work extra hard to get these contracts going because they would want laundry from 6pm to 6am, and at that time I couldn’t afford to pay staff to do that. I would do everything myself.
“But as times went on, the team saw that I was capable of delivering the service on time,” he said.
“For me, it’s a dream come true, but there is still more that I need to achieve. My goal is to have lot of laundries that cater for big hotels and big clients. This is exciting and motivating,” Sithole said.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.