Remieleku Johnson: a single mom, a student and the owner of a hair salon- switching back and forth between these different roles with ease.
Remieleku Johnson: a single mom, a student and the owner of a hair salon- switching back and forth between these different roles with ease.
When the relationship that prompted the move from her home country of Sierra Leone to South Africa six years ago didn’t work out, Johnson decided to stay, driven by an intense need to learn.
“In my culture, we just believe that education is everything; it’s the backbone of everything. Even if one is poor, they don’t care, they educate their kids,” says the mother of two.
Johnson was born in 1974 to entrepreneurial parents. “My mom sold almost anything,” she recalls; one of the many memories of her mom who passed away during the civil war that ravaged Sierra Leone for 11 years.
“All my things were burnt and I repeated a year at university. It brought things to a standstill. I also lost my elder brother during this time,” says Johnson.
Climbing the ladder
Her mom’s entrepreneurial spirit seems to have rubbed off on Johnson, who currently owns two hair salons. Her first customer had to be convinced, but word spread quickly and Johnson has earned a good reputation as a hair stylist.
“I started getting famous; people coming to my house,” recalls Johnson with a satisfied smile.
Johnson decided to go into the hair business after growing increasingly frustrated with practising as a journalist due to language barriers. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Media studies, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations, and is now studying for an MBA and has opened her second salon.
Everyday challenges
“It’s not easy, it’s hectic,” Johnson says, referring to running a business while being a mom and a student.
“Employees are my biggest challenge- I have a high staff turnover,” she says adding that cultural differences are the largest contributor. Johnson currently has six staff members of her payroll.
She has made an effort to learn isiXhosa though and this she displays to her customers by speaking to them in the language.
She believes that enrolling for an MBA is good for her as a business woman.
“It has shaped me, it has made me mature. I don’t make an issue of certain things anymore,” says Johnson.
When one of her employees uses the wrong curlers on a customer, she calmly informs her that the right ones are at the other salon. And with that, she jumps into her red Ford Laser Tonic to solve one of the many challenges of her day.
