Kgahlego Rasebotsa is a 33-year-old creative who is passionate about finding solutions to problems that society faces on a day-to-day basis. She is the owner of Interior Bubble, an interior design company located in Limpopo, where she deals mostly with homeowners and a few commercial clients.
She based the name of her company on her personality traits. “I’m quite an introvert and I am very shy. The name Interior Bubble was a representation of someone who could go far and beyond to create something that was meaningful without having any boundaries.” Apart from interior design, the company also provides decorating services, concentrating on creating comfortable and tranquil spaces that meet the needs and wants of its clients. “We also have our in-house manufacturing department where we design and make our own furniture range. Our other services include making scatter cushions, curtains, installing wallpaper and flooring,” adds Kgahlego.
Kgahlego’s journey
Hailing from Westenburg, a township in Polokwane, in the Limpopo province, Kgahlego grew up with two older sisters and a younger brother. Kgahlego says that she has always enjoyed expressing herself through her artwork. “I have always been the child who liked playing with paint, oil pastels and crayons. Anything that had to do with arts and culture blew my mind.” She adds that she had only discovered her passion for the industry later in life after realising how a calm and clean space influences a person’s well-being. “I didn’t know that I would be in the interior decorating industry. All I knew was that I wanted to be in the creative industry, but I was still trying to figure out which department that would be in.”
Becoming an entrepreneur
Kgahlego did not pursue studies related to interior design. Instead, she went to Midrand Graduate Institute to study a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting, which she later dropped in favour of Business Administration. “I was passionate about starting my own business,” she shares. Little did she know that that business would soon blossom.
After completing her studies in 2013, Kgahlego had a lingering fear of ending up a failure. “Right after varsity, I struggled to find a job and feared becoming depressed from being unemployed,” she says. Then, in 2016, the businesswoman taught herself how to make scatter cushions, sourcing the necessary materials from fabric stores and selling the items to the public. She decided on scatter cushions for two reasons: firstly, she loved decorating them, and secondly, she realised that many people preferred to design their own scatter cushions that matched their home decor instead of buying them in-store. “There was a gap in the market, and it only made sense to tap into that market,” says Kgahlego.
In the beginning, Kgahlego operated her business from her home in Polokwane, and, after just two months, moved into a physical store. “I would just sell scatter cushions. My clients would then ask me to help them with their homes, and this is where I decided to turn my business into an interior design company.”
Expansion and achievements
As her business grew, so did Kgahlego’s team. Interior Bubble penetrated the market and moved into other spaces in and around her home province. Upon talking about her future plans, the business owner says: “I want to expand into other provinces. But for now, we just want to expand more into the north because we do not have a lot of stores that sell interior decor products, or even a company that offers such services.” She adds that Interior Bubble is also in the process of creating their very own line of candles and diffusers. “It will be sold at some of the home retail stores,” adds the Limpopo-based entrepreneur.
Regarding personal achievements, in 2019, Kgahlego made it onto the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list, something many would consider a huge achievement. The list was divided into four categories: business, technology, creatives and sport. Kgahlego joined other African entrepreneurs and innovators in the business category. The Interior Bubble founder was contacted two to three months before the list was published and the celebrations followed. When asked how she felt about being added to the list, Kgahlego stated: “It felt amazing. It was validation of my work. It showed that I was capable of achieving great things in life; a constant reminder that I am good at what I do.”
Kgahlego shows that you should never let the fear of failure stop you from doing what you love. She has this advice to offer women who want to start their own business: “Just start. It is never an easy process. It requires a lot from you and less from the outside world. Believe in yourself and understand that faith can never coexist together with fear.”
Also see: Choosing the right career path: A comprehensive guide for matrics
