I Started a Mobile App and Online Store Without Quitting my Job

You can connect with Mathebe on LinkedIn at Mathebe Molise.

How was my life growing up in South Africa?

I was brought up in a middle-class family, which was rare in South Africa in the 1990s, especially in a black household.

My parents are both professionals: my mom is an accountant (brought up by a nurse) and my dad is an IT specialist.

I was blessed to have a comfortable upbringing.

The importance of education and excellence was inherent in our family; it was not drilled into me, but hearing how smart my mom and dad were and how they carried themselves gave me zero excuses.

I went to a really good school, Redhill School, which is a private school, and the school’s ethos and family-oriented environment provided the perfect environment for me to thrive.

Nothing came easy to me. I wasn’t the smartest girl in the class, but I worked hard and got involved in activities that got me noticed.

So getting good marks and grades was a lot of work for me, but I made sure it happened. In short, I tried really hard with everything I did.

I was also active in other activities like cultural and sports activities despite being an overweight child, and this helped boost my school “resume.”

Coming from a very supportive family has shaped me into a very strong and confident individual.

My Journey to Becoming CA(SA)

I was somewhat good at accounting in high school, so I applied for a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

When I opted to become a CA, I didn’t really know what CAs did. During my degree, I started to really understand what CAs do.

My main reason for pursuing CA (SA) was job security.

Also, I felt that as a black female in South Africa, pursuing CA (SA) seemed like a great opportunity to succeed, largely due to the shortage of black female CAs climbing up the corporate ladder.

So you could say these were the main reasons I pursued CA.

How to Become a Chartered Accountant in South Africa

To become a CA in South Africa, SAICA has a standard path:

• You have to complete your bachelor’s degree at a recognized institution. I chose the University of the Witwatersrand.
• You then need to do your honors at a recognized institution. I also did my honors at the University of the Witwatersrand. Here, you basically give your CTA exams.
• Following graduation, you must complete three years of training with a SAICA-accredited trainee office. The length of your articleship is determined by whether you studied part-time or full-time. I studied full time, so my articleship was only 3 years. It can, however, range from 3-5 years.
• I had a bursary with EY, Johannesburg, and completed my articles with them, with a focus on financial services, and spent the majority of my time on insurance company audits.
• After clearing the above, you have to write two qualifying exams (Board 1 and Board 2). I passed both the first time.
• Once you complete this, you are a qualified chartered accountant.

How did I start my own mobile app startup?

After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2013, I joined Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg.

Growing up, I always wanted to become a fashion designer. So while working as a chartered accountant, I still had this creative itch.

In 2015, a friend of mine was getting married.

The wedding was in Cape Town; unfamiliar with the city, we struggled to find a makeup artist there.

At that point, I thought that it would be really cool if there was a tool where one could search for beauticians in specific areas.

After coming back to Johannesburg, I took the initiative to explore this a bit more and got in touch with a developer.

The development company asked that I write up:

• How I want the app to work
• What I want the end goal to be for customers
• As well as the user journey

I sent them a detailed write-up about what I want the app to do, what each screen should look like, and essentially what the user’s end goal should be.

Once they received the brief, which was quite detailed, they started building a prototype, and we had a few iterations before getting the end goal.

After many iterations with the developers, we landed on the look and feel of the app as well as an app with a very simple user experience.

And that’s how Beauty on Tap was born.

How much does it cost to build a mobile app?

At the time, there were very few developers in the South African market, so development costs were quite high. The most reasonable quote we got was from a Cape Town-based development company.

However, as of today, if you want to build an app in South Africa, the budget would be between R60k and R100k.

So if you have an idea like mine, go for it.

Key Challenges of Being a Mobile App Startup

The hardest part of the whole process was marketing the app.

Just because we had this app, which we thought was a great idea, didn’t necessarily mean it would add value to people’s lives.

We had to sit and think about how we could strategically showcase the value of the app, and until today, we still have to do so. It is an ongoing process.

We’re constantly looking at how we can make the app and online store more user-friendly and useful to our clients.

In the beginning, we had to contact each beauty business individually and formally present the app to them, as well as the benefits of being on the application.

Initially, we had a listing fee; however, we realized that you cannot justify a listing fee if you’re not creating value for users.

As we gained more downloads, the value we provided to beauticians and salons became more apparent.

We now have beauticians approaching us to list; however, we market our app on social media, where we have quite a following, and this has helped us secure more businesses.

When did my business start making profits?

Over the years, we’ve changed the look and feel, and we’re currently looking at how we can optimize the app and scale it even more.

Presently, the app helps small businesses leverage the beauty community we have built.

It’s really difficult to monetize an app in South Africa, especially in a country that has high data costs.

The app is also linked to our online store, so small businesses can also leverage that audience to market their business.

In fact, the venture only became profitable when we launched our online store, Beauty on TAPP.

However, with the store being fairly grounded, we’re looking at smart ways to monetize the app directory service.

This will involve quite a lot of work, but we’ve already started exploring ideas on how we can change the app’s interface to make it more appealing to beauty businesses.

Value addition becomes essential.

How can you make an online business or mobile app successful?

• I think identifying what value you’re adding to the market is essential.
• The next step will be convincing the market that what you’re selling has value.
• It’s also important to show people that they can trust your business. Online remains a risky platform, and showing that you run a legitimate business with great customer service is important.
• As these stakeholders will eventually feed into your business ecosystem, ensure that you have dependable third-party suppliers.

It was really important that the app give users a seamless user experience, one that wouldn’t leave users frustrated after one minute.

Running a Business While Working Full-Time

While starting my mobile app, I continued my full-time job. I did not quit my job.

It has been almost 4 long years since I ran my business while working a full-time job.

Running a business while working requires a lot of time management strategy.

I get my 1-hour workout in at 5 a.m.

On my way back from the gym, I drop off Beauty on TAPP orders at my parents’ home, as there is someone there the whole day, and they hand them over to the courier.

While at work, I work smart and do what I have to do.

I never leave work if I haven’t finished a task, because when I get home I know I have to give 100% of my time and focus on my business.

I spend evenings working on my business, processing orders, and catching up on emails.

TAPP devotes the entire weekend to Beauty.

One can definitely handle both business and a full-time job, but you need to be willing to give up a lot of time and fully dedicate yourself to your career and businesses.

Related Article

• My 10-year long journey to becoming a CA (SA)
• How to Successfully Manage a Business While Working a Full-Time Job

To Conclude…

Network and participate in various activities

• Focus on getting good grades and also showcase yourself beyond school work.
• Get involved in cultural activities and showcase your depth as an individual. This will make them notice you and will also show that you know how to balance work and life.
• Network as well, get to know people, and ask them questions about their road to becoming a CA.

Do not be disheartened by failure.

• I failed my third-year financial accounting course and had to repeat it, setting me back one year.
• I took the time to really try to understand the basics and fundamentals of financial accounting.
• This really helped me in my honors year as my understanding of accounting principles was solid, which made my fourth year a bit easier, although the fourth year is extremely difficult.
• So do not be disheartened by failure; it always teaches you something.

Be Patient

• One thing I’ve learned from all these businesses is that technology isn’t an overnight success story.
• It takes many iterations to land on a sustainable and scalable model.

Start a business while still working.

• If you’re in a position to start your business while you’re still employed, you’ll have the best of both worlds.
• A stable, dependable source of income will give you much more confidence in testing the waters with a new business that has a high likelihood of failure in the first year.