Lebogang Proctor, a beauty therapist, works at the Belo Beauty Mobile Spa in Gaborone, Botswana, on June 15, 2021. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lebogang Proctor is determined to see her new-born business survive in Botswana. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)
GABORONE, June 21 (Xinhua) -- In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lebogang Proctor, a beauty therapist, is determined to see her new-born business survive in Botswana.
Proctor runs the Belo Beauty Mobile Spa, which brings spa services directly to clients from the comfort of their home. Her business journey started back in 2016, when she wanted to travel around the world.
"I applied for a job on a cruise ship after hearing from a friend who had done it before." She went to study beauty the same year at Face and Face Potchefstroom, South Africa, with a focus on massage, pedicures, and facials as a way to prepare for her journey.
In 2018, she was hired as a beauty therapist by a worldwide provider in wellness and beauty, and worked for a renowned cruise line, which gave her the chance to see the world.
She had travelled to countries including the United States, Spain, Greece, and Canada on cruise ships, she told Xinhua during an interview.
She worked on cruise ships for about two years until the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, and she returned home after countries imposed travel restrictions. "I was based on the ship on a nine-month contract and so that's where my love for massage came from." She came back home to help establish a spa in Botswana's second largest city, Francistown.
Proctor said she started planning to open her own beauty spa after she realized that the pandemic is ongoing and she would not be able to travel back on the cruise ship anytime soon. She said that she used her international experience to set up her business in Gaborone.
The Belo Beauty Mobile Spa provides services including hot stone massage, deep tissue massage, and pedicures.
Proctor has about 30 clients currently in Gaborone and Francistown and her top-notch customer service separates her from the rest.
What she usually do is consulting with her clients and offering a spa experience that is tailored to their needs, according to the 34-year-old beauty therapist.
Proctor said her vision is to open two 4-star beauty spas in five years, which will offer everything from massage, facials, body and slim treatment, pedicure, manicure and steam room all in one complex.
"We need to educate Batswana about exercise because massage can help with more than just muscle aches and pains. It can also help with lethargy and insomnia," she said. Enditem
