By Rorisang Modiba
- Gaudencia Dube, 37, moved from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg eleven years ago and now works full time as a debt collector.
- She built Pink Zebra Nail Studio into a second income after her monthly expenses of about R10,000 outpaced her salary.
Gaudencia Dube works full time as a debt collections agent in Johannesburg during the week, then spends her weekends running a nail studio out of her own home.
The 37 year old, originally from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, has lived and worked in South Africa for 11 years. She started her business, Pink Zebra Nail Studio, after realising her salary alone could not cover her life.
“If I only relied on my eight to five job, I would survive but not afford all my daily living commitments on one income,” she said.
Dube estimates her monthly expenses at around R10,000. Rent takes R4,500, food R1,000, toiletries R1,000, electricity R300, WiFi R300, hair and nails R1,000, life cover R280 and water about R500.
“The cost of living has definitely gone up,” she said. “Every month I feel the pressure. I have to budget very carefully and save as well. It’s tough sometimes.”
Her nail business began as a personal interest, practising on herself and friends before clients started paying. In 2024, she enrolled at the Sandton Beauty Therapy Institute, investing about R20,000 in training and equipment, with help from her father, her partner and her own salary. She qualified in 2025 and registered the business.
Dube’s situation is not unusual. Her annual spending, close to R120,000, sits almost exactly in line with Statistics South Africa’s own figures for immigrant headed households nationally, R127,963 a year on average, including R37,981 on housing, water, electricity and other fuels, and R20,854 on food, according to Stats SA’s Report on Migration Statistics.
She has cut costs where she can, including walking to work instead of paying for transport. The extra income goes towards savings, business costs and a retirement home she is building in Zimbabwe.
Stats SA’s latest Consumer Price Index shows headline inflation at 4.3% in July 2026, with electricity tariffs up 8.1% and water tariffs up 10.2% over the past year.
Pictured above:Gaudencia Dube works full time in Johannesburg and runs a nail studio on weekends, after her monthly budget showed her salary alone was not enough.
Image source: Supplied
