BY Aurelia Mbokazi-Kashe
Siphokazi Mmari, founder and General Manager of Herspace Wellness Spas has found her niche and a slower pace in the tourism and wellness space. Formerly a busy marketing executive in the pharmaceutical industry, she has since traded her heels for zen music and invested in people’s wellness as well as a pursuit to happiness.
I founded Herspace Wellness Spas to provide a wellness experience and a place for clients to escape, take a moment to themselves, and breathe.
The spas have been operating since 2016. The Chief Dawid Stuurman Airport spa, in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), caters to international and local tourists, business travelers and locals. The second spa is inside the Virgin Active Centre in Bryanston, Johannesburg, and services gym clients and residents of Johannesburg north.
We operate within the tourism industry, particularly the airport spa. While there is an upward trend towards recovery, the pandemic severely affected our businesses and our revenue is not back pre-Covid levels.
The wellness industry is also cyclical and the winter months, between May and July, yield the lowest revenue. It is cold and people layer up, so services such as massages and pedicures decline and we rely mostly on nail services and facials.
During low seasons we run specials and make up revenues from volumes. We focus on local clients and regulars and create package deals. We also use the time for inhouse training and upskill our staff on new products in preparation for busy months.
We are incredibly proud of our spas and our clientele has fully embraced us. According to Google, our Bryanston Spa is rated the top massage spa in Bryanston. Our airport spa is also doing great. It is a 5 star-rated wellness spa with great reviews from travelers and local clients.
Our Corporate Wellness business also took off and we now do yoga, pilates and meditation events as well as run mobile spa services. Our customers have also changed from predominantly international tourists to a local clientele.
I also run Herspace Wellness College, where we train in Beauty Therapy, Nail Technology and Business Management studies, among many qualifications. It allows me social fulfillment. We equip young women with skills and employment opportunities.
We are a women’s health and wellness organisation and we live for women’s right to equality, freedom of choice and expression.
In my previous career as a marketing consultant I spent years managing pharmaceutical brands at Pfizer Laboratories and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
In 2015 I left my 10-year pharmaceutical marketing career and went to study fulltime while figuring out my next. I set up a pilot salon as part of my research project.
Entrepreneurship came easy, as I’ve always loved selling. I loved the idea of starting something from scratch, launching and building brands. I even had side hustles whilst in fulltime employment. I ran a luxury handbag store in Morning Glen Mall, Morningside, in 2009.
Being an entrepreneur I have the freedom to drop off and collect my kids at school, be present for extra curricular activities and travel with them during school holidays.
The pandemic was the most difficult time. I lost my dad who succumbed to Covid. Our airport spa was closed for 12 month and we could not trade due to air travel restrictions. We lost all our staff as UIF Ters only paid us out for two months. I did not know if there would be anything to salvage after the 12 months.
My husband, who is also in the air travel industry, was home for 6 months without an income.
As a family, we go on holiday twice a year. When booking a holiday for my family, I look for hotels with a spa, a gym, a pool and an outdoor restaurant, or any of those wellness and leisure activities close by. Our most recent trip was to Cape Town during the June school holidays.
My daughter and I went on a boat ride at the V & A Waterfront and later enjoyed a 3-course meal at the Harbour.
Nelson Mandela’s quote ‘It always seems impossible until it is done’, are words that I live by.
