SANITY IS EVERYTHING

Four women share how getting out of the corporate rat race — restored their well-being — and set them on a path to freedom!

- KEMONG MOPEDI

VUYO DLAMINI, 32, a former magazine writer is now the owner and creative director of Tintfo le Tinhle — a Joburgbased store that sells an eclectic mix of beautiful items.

My biggest motivation: “At my very core, I’m tenacious and found that this spirit wasn’t celebrated in most corporate places. During a media trip, my reaction to a racist incident – which went against everything I believed in – fast-tracked my decision to become self-employed. I first needed to heal, so it took me a year-and-a-half to establish the store. In hindsight, this was the best decision ever because, now, as a mom, I’m able to dictate my hours and that allows me to determine my quality of life. From witnessing me make bold career choices, I hope that as my daughter gets older, she’ll remember me as a woman who pursued what she loved. Whenever the going gets tough, and I find myself tempted to return to corporate, the lessons I’d like her to draw from my life always bring me back to my senses. What I appreciated about being a travel writer, in my past life, was that it opened my eyes to the beauty of various cultures and how people express themselves through art and clothes. I’d always wondered how I’d capture all these lessons in a setting — which led me to buying beautiful items during my travels and housing everything under a boutique setting. That’s essentially how my store came about.