The art of believing in yourself
There were no grand business plans pinned to a bedroom wall. No investors. No formal training. Just a 23-year-old woman who loved makeup so much that she could not imagine doing anything else.
Five years later, that decision has grown into Lueur Belle, a beauty business . “I just wanted to keep myself busy after Form 5,” Vanessa Molefi said.
Originally from Mookane, Molefi says beauty entered her life long before she understood it could become a career.
She remembers being seven years old when her parents bought her a children’s makeup kit. Most children would have lost interest after a few weeks. She did not. She practised. Again and again.
As the years passed, cousins, siblings and friends became willing volunteers. Their faces became her canvas, each makeover another lesson she taught herself.
Then someone asked to pay. “It changed everything,” she says. “That is when I realised this was not just something I enjoyed. It was something I could build a future around.”
Starting a business at 18 sounded exciting. Living it was something else entirely.
There were days when she was exhausted but still had clients expecting the same energy and professionalism. “You learn quickly that your feelings cannot run your business,” she says. “People are paying for consistency.”
Ask Molefi what has kept Lueur Belle alive while many small businesses quietly disappear. She talks about discipline.
She believes one of the biggest mistakes young entrepreneurs make is confusing revenue with profit. “The money your business makes is not your money,” she says. “It belongs to the business first.”
That patience has paid off. A bride recommends her to another bride. One satisfied client becomes three. Someone leaves her chair feeling beautiful, and another booking follows. “It reminds me that people never forget how you make them feel.”
Being young was not always an advantage. Some potential clients doubted whether someone barely out of school could deliver professional work.
She never argued with them. Eventually, her portfolio became louder than the assumptions.
Molefi hopes Botswana’s beauty industry becomes easier for the next generation to enter. She believes many talented young artists do not lack skill, they lack mentors, financial support and opportunities to learn from those who came before them. “Talent is everywhere,” she says. “Opportunity is not.”