Entrepreneur and founder and CEO of RushTush., Rushda Moosajee, is a leading force in the health and fitness industries - and now is the star of the upcoming Real Housewives of Cape Town. Here’s her wisdom on how to build a wellness brand.
1. Start with passion
...followed by integrity. People often choose a route they think will lead to success, but you shouldn’t be able to breathe, sleep or live your truth without your passion. It helps you stamp your belief with integrity, which anyone part of your business and buying into the products or services you offer will respect.
2. Believe you’re great
I often see people with potential sell themselves short, saying things to themselves like, “That could never be me”. These limiting thoughts and ideas lter into basic everyday systems within your business. You might think you’re not worthy of proper accounting and legitimacy within your company. Cutting corners behind the scenes is like allowing rot to grow within your business’s foundation.
Being great and believing in yourself isn’t the same as displaying grand gestures for the outside world to see; it’s about building a profitable business through proper recruitment, management, and efficient systems.
3. Pivot and adapt
Being a womenowned business that caters solely to women means you need to understand your audience thoroughly. Making assumptions about whatwomen need, are thinking, and how they’ll react to what you offer, lacks foresight. I ensure I’m on the pulse of how women feel daily. I use social media to connect with, read about and listen to what they want. I’ve always been a leader who sets the tone, but I never forget the problems and challenges women face. That makes it easier for me to adapt to changing times, be fluid and flexible and offer new solutions to women’s health and fitness issues.
4. If you can, start debt-free
When I set up my studio-slash-gym, I didn’t owe anyone money. I didn’t need fancy equipment because the work I did on the door was enough to spark national interest. Women would reach out to me from across the country for training advice.
I used the money I made from the gym to work on my eBook training guides. I launched a digital meal plan, The Glow Cleanse, a diet for the ladies who were thriving at my gym. I also created a workout plan, Newbie Body.
Then, I used the money I generated from those guides as a deposit to build my fitness app. Part of my savings also contributed to small orders for my pharmaceutical range.
I’ve since produced 12 eBooks, a tness app, and pharmaceutical and beauty brand. I own an e-commerce business that ships globally. I never needed an investor, nor did I have to take out a loan. It was all was within my means.
5. Forcing your business into areas for which it’s not ready can be a premature move
and can make you feel despondent when things don’t work out the rst time. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work out in the future. Timing is everything, so focus on making what you have memorable by growing it organically.
6. Practice decent business etiquette
...and build a formidable network and hub. I value my service providers and try to empower and work with women and people from my community to provide them with an opportunity to create magic with me. You’re nothing without your community’s support.
This article was originally published in Glamour’s May Wellness Issue. Grab your copy here.
