Born and bred in Rhodes Park next to Imperial Reserve in Mahikeng, Malebogo Veronica Mere popularly known as Lady Mteigh. The hustle princess is a fashion stylist, event hostess, brand promoter and clothing line founder. Mteigh has also done voiceovers, television extras and cameo appearances. The inception of my brand: I established my clothing brand at mteigh on my birthday 12 April 2012, after working with amazing brands for their styling gigs.
To mention a few, ABSA for their ‘Ready to work’ campaign. We were guiding fi¬nal year students how to dress up for the corporate environment and also giving them tips on the “do’s & dont’s” of the corporate look. Everything was taking place in Johannesburg and Witbank from 2016 till mid-2017. I also worked alongside Pearl Modiadie, Bokang Montjane (Miss SA 2010) and Sbusiso Ngwenya, the founder of @ Skinnysbu_socks.
I also worked on the Skip fashion exchange in Sandton in July 2017. I then worked on the Kaya Fm calendar shoot in Sandton in November 2017 with Stylecoachsa, styling Kaya Fm radio personalities. I recently styled the mayor of the Mahikeng Local Municipality, Tshepiso Mphehlo after he expressed interest in my brand.
Where do I draw Inspiration: What drives me are the big dreams I set for myself 10 years ago, some of which I have already achieved and some still halfway there! Staying true to my dreams and working hard towards winning or reaching my destination. The one thing about having big dreams is staying focused and disciplined no matter what Tough times occur but you dust yourself and keep pushing… My secret for staying strong throughout the years is always trying to keep myself busy with work and side hustles so I don’t get distracted towards achieving my end goal.
Challenges: My challenges in business or in the retail industry, is the lack of transportation and lack of printing machinery. I outsource printing machinery, which decreases the rate of sales because sometimes they delay to deliver to customers due to lack of equipment, those are my main challenges.
Future plans: My long-term plans would include owning retail stores nationwide and creating permanent employment opportunities for matriculants, who are doing business studies to give them the practical experience for those in this particular ¬field of study. One of my greatest long-term goals is for my retail business to invest in small businesses.
Giving back to the community: I’ve started doing community projects, giving back to the community since 2012. I buy stationery for those who cannot afford to buy them. Years later I got into the local community committee and assisted in keeping our community clean for the children to have a clean and safe environment to play around.
Owning a small business has made it difficult to contribute or continue buying stationery for the children however, next year April, I will be launching the Mteigh foundation for kids which will be receiving donations from different private companies and hopefully the state.
