By Buziwe Nocuze
- Zimasa Sidlayi from Khayelitsha started a laundry business after losing her security job, using WhatsApp to find clients across Cape Town.
- She now earns enough to pay rent, buy food and save for the months when business is slow.
When Zimasa Sidlayi lost her job as a security guard earlier this year, she refused to give up. The 35-year-old mother from Khayelitsha township in Cape Town decided to start a washing business to support her family.
“I couldn’t sit back and feel sorry for myself. I had to think fast about what to do to survive,” she said.
Sidlayi began by charging according to basket size — R60 for a small basket, R80 for a big one, R50 for a blanket and R30 for a duvet.
To find customers, she turned to WhatsApp. “I chose to use WhatsApp to get clients and it worked well for me. It is still working,” she said.
For customers who live nearby, they bring their washing to her home and she uses her own products. Those who live far pay for her transport and provide their own soap and Stay-Soft.
“If they bring their clothes at 8am, by 4pm their clothes are ready for collection,” she said.
Sidlayi also offers spring cleaning – R200 for a one-room house with a bathroom and R250 for a two-room home. “Some months I get three customers a week, some months I get five,” she said.
With her earnings, she pays R400 rent, R200 for electricity, R1,200 for groceries and R120 for funeral cover. When business is good, she allows herself to go out with friends.”
Her dream is to grow her washing business into a proper laundry that can hire others. “I want to create opportunities for people in my community,” she said.
Pictured above: Khayelitsha.
Image source: Cape Town Tourism
