We chat to Ayavuyo Sibisi, a 21 year old from Durban KZN, who is the owner and founder of Tropical Paradise Smoothie Bar. Ayavuyo grew up in a business focused family where almost every member of the family had their own business but the most dominated industry by her family was the taxi industry, an industry she believes had led most of her family members to either death or jail. Before we jumped into her Smoothie business we wanted to hear which is her favorite Mzansi brand and why, “I do not really have a specific one but I love every black business, the fact that we are breaking general curses and building each other is what I love and enjoy to see”.
When did you commence with Tropical Paradise Smoothie Bar and what inspired you to even start? “I started the business in 2019, while I was doing my first year in UKZN. Also, I must say this was not my first business as I previously had a loan shark business in high school. However, the smoothie bar is that one business I told myself that I want to grow. The inspiration was of course the business background from home but most importantly it was about reflecting the brightest parts of my childhood and bringing them to life, as I grew up in Venda – Limpopo, a place which is a tropical paradise and my mom used to blend fruit for me and my brother to try out smoothies. So, I used my NSFAS funds to get my business off the ground because the drive to start my own business was to high”.
Challenges you faced when you were starting? “Main challenge was the less knowledge I had about the necessary equipment to run a smoothie bar. The fact that I had to use my NSFAS funds to fund my business was also a challenge as I had to sacrifice some of my essentials. And after I started the business and products had high demand, at times I would run out of stock from early in the morning. The blenders I had were also for home use, so they could not always manage with the amount of production that was needed to meet the demand – so they would burst or have breakdowns every now and then. Basically, the finances was the most challenging thing because if you start a business with less capital you are mostly going to bump into challenges almost every day”.
What makes your smoothies easy to take and unique? “Since this was all inspired by my mom I think I could confidently say I was taught by the best. Firstly, there are basic home made smoothies and there are smoothies made by us at Tropical Paradise – and not to make it sound like I am marketing my business but we make healthy and quality smoothies, not watery and not tasteless but a good enough balance to deliver what people are paying for”.
Highlights of your business since inception? “My highlights are including my personal growth, which is influenced by the growth of my business. To be honest, I have seen myself growing as an individual ever since my business started running in 2019. The relationship I have with my business has really made me a wiser, better and smarter person. I really have never imagined being one with my business but it really is such a high for me as I continue the journey”.
Lastly, when not working on the business, what do you do to unwind? “I am always with my son, always teaching him what I do and yes he is so young but I enjoy having him around whether I work seriously or unwinding”.