For Duduzile Phampha, entrepreneurship came after a career in the corporate world, motherhood, and a period when she had to put her own ambitions on hold.
Phampha is the founder and managing director of Work of Love Creations, a Cape Town-based events and creative solutions business offering event planning and coordination, catering, décor styling, custom cakes and baking, personalised gifts, printing and branding, clothing, gift hampers, surprise deliveries and professional training.
Her decision to leave a corporate position came after her first child, who was born with multiple challenges. Phampha resigned from her job to become his primary caregiver, a decision she describes as one of the most difficult she has made.
“Resilience is not always about pushing forward and never stopping; sometimes resilience is having the courage to pause, adjust your plans, and do what the season requires of you,” she says.
The experience also changed how she approaches leadership and working with people.
“Today, as a business owner, I understand that people are more than their job titles or what they produce. Everyone carries a story and faces challenges that we may not see.”
Business with purpose and impact
Her son is now a teenager, and Phampha eventually returned to the corporate world while continuing to build Work of Love Creations alongside her full-time job.
She credits purpose with keeping her moving during the years of balancing employment and entrepreneurship. A quote by the late Dr Myles Munroe particularly resonated with her: “Your work is not your job. Your job is what they pay you to do; your work is what you were born to do.”
She shares that her corporate career provided discipline, structure, project management, and an understanding of organisational environments. Entrepreneurship, meanwhile, required courage, adaptability, innovation and risk-taking.
The decision to become a full-time entrepreneur was influenced by a conversation with her mentor, Dr Karen Cerff. When Cerff asked how she felt leaving her 9-to-5, Phampha answered, “Drained.”
When asked how she felt when working on her business, her response was different: “Energised.”
“That conversation revealed something important to me. It made me look honestly at where my energy, passion and purpose came alive.”
A pause is not the end
Phampha also uses the business as a platform for empowerment initiatives, including annual Women in Business and Corporate and Men in Business and Corporate events, as well as a gala dinner.
She says these initiatives are designed to create spaces where people can be encouraged, equipped and connected.
“I believe business should not only be about profit, it should also create impact, empower others and leave people better than you found them,” she says.
Phampha holds an Honours degree in Business Management and is currently pursuing an MBA. She is also a mentor, speaker and host of the Speak Life Podcast, which explores life, business, relationships, parenting and faith.
For women who have had to put their ambitions on hold because of family responsibilities, Phampha says a pause does not mean a dream has ended.
“Your gifts are still there. Your purpose is still there. A pause is not the same as an ending.”
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