Sheila Baloyi

What does your company do?

At ThutoKhumo Group Pty Ltd, we’re all about sales leadership! We’re an end-to-end sales agency that focuses on sales consulting, coaching, training, contact center, and BPO services. What makes us stand out is our passion for helping businesses humanize their sales and marketing processes. We empower business owners, sales leaders, sales professionals, and female entrepreneurs to build high-performing teams and grow their businesses with a meaningful impact and influence. Our Mission: Is to help businesses Serve. Sell. Thrive Our Vision: To be Af􏱚ica􏱵􏰨's leading thought-leader and partner in sales and human effectiveness for businesses of all sizes. Our Accreditation: ThutoKhumo Group Pty Ltd, along with our subsidiary ThutoKhumo Sales and BPO Services, is a 100% black-owned , female-led company. We are registered with COMENSA and affiliate with the ICF coaching professional bodies. Our trainers are ETDP Seta Accredited.

What is your biggest success?

One of my proudest achievements has been growing our business during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It wasn’t easy, especially with the impact on my family and mental well-being, but I kept pushing forward. We pivoted by establishing a contact center model, which helped create jobs for unemployed matriculants, N6 graduates, and university graduates who needed that first experience in the workplace. In our training and coaching sector, we have collaborated with amazing startups and award-winning clients, as well as larger companies navigating significant mergers and acquisitions, including a company celebrating an incredible 130 years in financial services! Building a call center from scratch during my corporate career was a fantastic experience, and replicating that success in my own business has been an even greater achievement. Creating job opportunities for 100 young people in just two years has been truly fulfilling. We have also secured direct contracts with large corporates and formed invaluable partnerships that have enhanced our offerings and sharpened our business acumen. Additionally, being featured on platforms like Lionesses of Africa, as well as local podcasts and radio shows, has significantly boosted our confidence and contributed to our growth.

What has been your biggest hurdle?

Starting the business using personal savings definitely presented some ups and downs. Before the pandemic, we were thrilled to secure a three-year contract, but it was paused and then withdrawn during COVID-19, which felt overwhelming at times. Fast-forward two years post-COVID, and while I excitedly launched a subscription box, it didn’t take off as I hoped because of high overhead costs. I also tried offering online courses, but they didn’t quite hit the mark with the right audience. As we refined our services, we faced a learning curve with marketing and e-commerce, just like many others. Collecting payments was another challenge; we often dealt with late payments and sometimes couldn’t recover funds despite having signed contracts with small businesses. We even faced some tough experiences with collaborations that turned sour. Hiring interns required a lot of patience, especially when we were focused on growing revenue and making an impact. We did experience high staff churn rates which impacted income fluctuations. Not qualifying for funding opportunities made it very tough. Running a full-time business can be quite the rollercoaster ride, and dealing with health and burnout challenges was certainly not easy. But through it all, it's been an invaluable journey of growth.