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Two formidable women design their way to architectural successWhen these two phenomenal, charismatic and purposeful women united to form Tmtj Consulting, a company that has now been in existence for six years, Moira Tlhagale and Thembi Jacobs had never anticipated the opening of another branch, Tmtj Gauteng, in only their second year of business. Theirs is a unique combination that South Africa has never seen before – two black women determined to make their mark in the built industry of South Africa.
When Thembi talks about Tmtj, you can feel the enthusiasm and passion that she has for business and life. When asked when and why she and her partner decided to start their own business, she says: “All our lives... I think some people are destined to be businesspeople”.
Both women are professionals: Moira is a qualified quantity surveyor who has worked on a number of projects, including the V&A Waterfront development and the Roggebaai development with Transnet; and Thembi is a qualified architect who has been privileged to pioneer in quite a few of the projects she has worked on such as being the first black woman architect to lead out a project at the V&A Waterfront. She serves on a number of Boards and is now currently the chairperson of the South African Black Technical and Allied Careers Organisation (SABTACO), a national organisation for black professionals in the built industry.
They have known each other for years and it made good business sense for Thembi to enter into a partnership with someone sharing the same values, virtues, passion and work ethic.
Having worked in different environments, the two ladies have exceptional experience and have been able to acquire skills and knowledge from their previous jobs, which they
use today. Tmtj offers project management, development facilitation, property development and architectural services to their clients. As a company, it adheres to a strict excellence policy and always aims to offer clients high quality service. It has an ‘excellence goalpost’ to which it works, and the company is always looking to improve on this benchmark. The company has worked on a number of fantastic projects with distinguished clients and has ensured it has kept good customer relations, which is imperative because ‘word of mouth’ spreads swiftly in any industry.
For some, owning a business is a risky venture they would rather not undertake. Not only is there much pressure to starting your own business, but as an entrepreneur you also have to consider your surroundings, whether it is easy to decipher or not. Some people take the easy way out and choose to start a business elsewhere in South Africa rather than Cape Town, but for Thembi and her partner, this is a responsibility to break the mould of Cape Town being a “very cold, hard and harsh business environment”, particularly for “black businesspeople, and worse if you are a woman”.
Furthermore, she would not be any place else other than Cape Town – both of them have studied and worked here the longest. “It makes this city one that we are most familiar with and would have it no other way,” says Thembi. She believes that if you can have a business in Cape Town, and a successful one at that, you can set up business anywhere else in South Africa. “Some of us want to stay here,” she says with a smile, “to ensure that a ‘IT IS POSSIBLE’ legacy and trail is left for others with the
same ambition.” Due to the economic recession, business in the Cape Town office has been slower than usual. Thembi says that this is some of the risks that come with having your own business, only this is yet another way of rethinking and assessing company strategies and introducing a new approach so as to be able to tether the status and ensure that one is well positioned to take hold of the new opportunities that will avail themselves on the upturn. These two women are aiming to pioneer and make a positive impact on the lives of people by contributing to the encouragement of young black people. They have been able to realise many achievements, and they wish to offer the same opportunities to young people. “[We] want to go out of our way to give young people who have potential, a platform to realise this potential,” says Thembi.
Of her role in SABTACO, Thembi says that the organisation is very powerful, yet at times underutilised. The members are made up of advisers and pioneers who are involved in remarkable projects. She believes that there are many opportunities of influence and a potential solution offer to the table for some of the infrastructure dilemmas with which South Africa is faced.
SABTACO has recently set up an education trust, “that I helped facilitate its birth”, says Thembi. The aim of the trust is to serve the disadvantaged communities of South Africa and offer scholarships to children from rural areas who are interested in entering the built industry.
Tmtj’s future looks bright indeed. “Our goal is for tmtj to be a global entity and a force to be reckoned with – sounds like a cliché, but true,” says Thembi. Most importantly, they want to recognise in it their fullest potential, for it to be the best service provider in South Africa and to continue living up to their motto of excellence.
Tmtj is also looking to expand into Africa, specifically Angola and Botswana.
With 2010 at our doorstep, the excitement looms as we wait in anticipation for one of the biggest sporting events ever to hit South Africa’s shores – the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. tmtj Consulting Gauteng has been chosen to head the technical team for 2010 local organising committee, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to showcase their talent and expertise. For the two women, it has been an amazing experience. Thembi says that they would not trade it for the world. Establishing and setting up one’s own business is quite difficult, but anyone would love seeing his or her business grow into a success.
A word of advice from Thembi for young people looking to venture into the built industry: “Dare to dream”. Young black people, particularly young black women, need to value themselves and should not settle for mundane and popular careers. Work hard and surely enough you will reap the benefits, she says.
Tamara Toti
