By Marice Mercuur, Founder of Marice Rooibos Skincare

 

Not every business begins with a plan.

 

Some begin at home in moments that demand a solution.  For me, it started with my daughter.  At six months old, she began struggling with severe eczema.  What should have been a gentle routine quickly became a cycle of discomfort and uncertainty.  As a parent, you look for answers everywhere but more than anything, you look for something that will simply work.  When conventional approaches didn’t bring the relief I had hoped for, I turned to something simpler.  Something local.

 

A simple shift

The change began quietly by infusing rooibos tea into bath water. 

There was no expectation of a breakthrough, only a willingness to try. But over time, I noticed a difference.  A calming effect.  A gradual sense of relief.  That small shift became a starting point.  I began experimenting; small blends, simple formulations. Not for business, but for care. At that stage, it was about solving a problem, not building something bigger.  But often, that is exactly where meaningful businesses begin.

 

The role of real conversations

What shaped the journey just as much as the product itself were the conversations around it.  These weren’t formal networking moments.  They were everyday exchanges with other parents, with people who understood the challenge and were searching for the same kind of solution.  Through those conversations, something became clear: when people connect through real experience, the value of what you are doing becomes clearer, and stronger.

Networking, in its most effective form, doesn’t start with intention.  It starts with relevance.

 

Trust comes first

Before anything grows, trust has to exist. The people I was speaking to weren’t customers.  They were part of a shared reality. They understood what was at stake: comfort, consistency, care. That created a different kind of engagement. When something worked, it wasn’t questioned, it was shared. For many women entrepreneurs, this is where a real advantage lies. Solutions that come from lived experience carry a level of credibility that can’t be manufactured.  And that credibility builds momentum.

 

Why smaller networks matter

There’s a common assumption that growth requires scale; more people, more visibility, more reach.  But in the early stages, what matters more is alignment.

The most valuable connections were not the largest networks, but the ones that understood the purpose behind what I was doing.  People who valued care over convenience, consistency over quick results. These kinds of networks don’t just support growth, they sustain it.  Because when people believe in what you are building, they carry it forward naturally.

 

Building with intention

As the journey evolved, the focus shifted from solving one problem to building something that could last. That meant making deliberate choices: to prioritise quality, to remain connected to local processes, to ensure that the original intent – care – remained at the centre. Growth is important.  But how you grow matters just as much. And the right networks help you stay grounded in that.

 

A different view of opportunity

Looking back, the opportunity didn’t begin with an idea. It began with a need. What turned that need into something bigger was not just the solution itself, but the connections built around it, the people who understood it, supported it, and shared it. For women entrepreneurs, this is worth remembering. You don’t always need to start with scale.  You need to start with something that matters and find the people who see that value too.

 

Starting small

What began as a personal moment became something more, not through strategy alone, but through connection and trust.  Because sometimes, the strongest businesses don’t start with ambition. They start with care and grow through the communities that recognise it.

 

Closing thought

Start where you are.
Pay attention to what matters.
And build your network around people who understand why it matters. Because that’s where small beginnings turn into something far bigger than expected.

 

Marice Mercuur is the Founder of Marice Rooibos Skincare