An interview with Mendy Lerato Lusaba, an Entrepreneur in the service provision sector.
What does your company do?
We recruit and place domestic workers. We also have part-time domestic workers available for part-time contracts.
What inspired you to start your company?
My personal experiences. When I had my first child, I struggled with getting the “perfect” domestic worker. In a space of 6 months, I had changed workers four times! I realized that it was very difficult to get the perfect worker when you needed them.
Upon further research, I discovered I was not alone as the majority of working women were struggling to get household helpers on time. I also realized that there were also so many women who needed jobs as domestic workers but did not know where to start. Coupled with my background in Human Resources Management, I realized I could provide a solution. I simply had to bridge the gap between the employers and the employees, hence the birth of Chris and Geo.
Chris and Geo is a registered employment agency which specializes in domestic work.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Our services are special because we serve a niche market hence we give our full attention to the sector. We also offer personalized services as we believe each case is unique. We also offer after sale service and follow up on our clients to check on the placements.
Our greatest advantage is our partnership with Domestic Workers Association Zimbabwe (DWAZ) as we go a step further to train our workers. Before any placement, we also do an induction training at the DWAZ Center as we prepare the domestic worker for placement. We are also concerned about the domestic workers we work with and ensure they become the best they can be.
Tell us a little about your team
We have 19 part-time ladies who are employed by us but are contracted to our clients. We have 1 full time placement officer, a part-time media and accounting persons and we also work with the training officer form DWAZ.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I do not come from an entrepreneurial background and I am the first entrepreneur in the family. However, I work with both my brothers and I consider my older brother as my mentor. My younger brother also supports me in the business as he also did Human Resources Management like me and always has one or two words to say to me every time.
Once in a while, when I need help on the ground, he is available. My father (RIP) was my greatest cheerleader and supported me all the way. His support was not financial but it was his genuine love for me and the belief in my work. My mother on the other hand is another story. She is the practical one in the family and believed that I needed to get educated, employed, and enjoy a full salary.
When i quit the corporate world, she made sure she would forward me every HR vacancy that she saw. She even tasked my youngest brother to make sure I applied for jobs. She told every relative whom she could, that I was looking for a job. It was only when she started seeing me on tv, read about me in the newspapers and when I started traveling abroad that she became convinced that I was doing something sensible.
Today, she is one of my biggest supporters. My husband was also like my mother and at first did not understand my work. Today he does regular bedroom board meetings with me about Chris and Geo. My two children, 8 and 10 years, love going to work with mama and my 10 year old has a sharp business mind. He can sell and is very business minded. The boy even charges to do his own household chores.
