One of the clothing brands that are growing well in Mzansi.

On image: Stafsetu backet hats.

Bonginkosi Thandukubona, born and currently resides in Soweto, Meadowlands Zone 10 Johannesburg is the man behind the coolest and well growing clothing brand called STAFSETU. Growing up as a kid Bonginkosi and his sister were staying and raised by his grandparents who had now passed on. As a kid he used to play soccer so well that he became part of the well-known junior soccer clubs like Orlando Pirates and Wits. Around 2010 he then stopped playing soccer to focus and finish his matric. Between 2011 and 2016 he was in and out of soccer, because he had to also look for a stable income as a young man. Part of his hustle back then includes the car wash he started in Meadowlands, also buying and selling shoes.

During his early hustle days he was introduced to clothing customization, and that's when he started buying plain t-shirts to print and sell. He also started selling bucket hats but soon realized there was quite a number of people selling the same product so he had to made his unique so he can deliver a different product to his customers. Then in 2019 April, just after he dropped his 9 - 5 at Vodacom he started STAFSETU.

Please share the meaning of the word STAFSETU, and why you chose to use that name for your brand? "The name STAFSETU was found way before I could run the business on my own, one of my friends started it with me and we were both proud to have something of our own, hence the word STAFSETU which means our own thing. Over the years that friend grew apart from the brand and found love in something else but since I already had love and passion for the brand and just designing something different I then carried on with STAFSETU on my own until now".

What kind of challenges you faced when trying to get STAFSETU off the ground and what was your attitude or reaction towards those challenges? "There's lots of challenges that I have came across thus far, even before starting I did not know where to begin, where to get plain t shirts, where to print, deciding on the price to sell, who will I be selling my stuff to, and looking at other brands at that time I happened to have fear of failure because the clothing branding wasn't popular that time so it wasn't easy to know if mine will make it on the streets. And after I started it was still tough but at least I knew soccer players that I had played with before, so they became my target market and I was fairly known in the neighborhood so it grew a bit easier to have clients. And also, as an individual I'm very much of a believer, I always believe if I plan to start doing something I will definitely go for it, and since I knew my goal and there were few brands targeting players specifically I managed to make my way to that space. And I knew players are well known, so them buying and wearing my brand would give my brand exposure".

Maybe also share why is it important for an individual to have their own thing – whether your own style or your own way of doing things? "Having your own thing, that's different from what is already there is KEY. And that helps your brand to be easily identified and give clients a reason why they should buy your stuff than someone else's".

Lastly, any highlights of your business thus far? "My highlights are seeing my brand on TV, celebrities wearing my brand, being tagged by the well-knowns wearing the brand and the TV exposure on Soweto TV I had, it's a feeling that can't be bought at all. And for me that means so much".

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