Chatting with BALESH MAU

WHOM AM I TALKING TO?

Greetings to you and the readers "laughs".... you are talking to Kholofelo Maunatlala better known Balesh Mau

WERE DOES THE NAME BALESH COME FROM?

MhmmmBalesh is my stage name cause I do dance and sing, so basically am a musician and we mostly go with our nicknames, so when I was in Limp Vibe Studio, we had artists with their names ending with 'SH', like we had Resh, Sytesh, Nash Dee, etc.. so I had to come up with a name that ends with 'sh' as well, so I went with Balesh on all I came up with OK BALESH...LETS TALKING ABOUT YOUR BRAND. HOW DID IT START? AND WHAT MOTIVATED IT? Lol poverty motivated it 😅 "giggles" Okay, when I was in PTA, some years back, I wanted to cut my costs on clothing cause I wanted to go further my studies, so I was always wearing clothes from Truworths/Markham which a bit expensive, so I had to buy plain T-shirts and brand them with my name so I can be able to pay my study fees..

DO YOU HAVE BRAND AMBASSADOR? IF YES WHO ARE THEY?

I'm a Jomo Sono of my brand, the old man is the founder, coach, trainer lol... an that's me in my brand, I'm the face of Balesh Clothing and I don't have ambassadors yet, the brand isn't huge yet but I believe we'll have that in future..

WHAT MAKES YOUR BRAND UNIQUE?

The meaning of the name, the logo and the purpose of pushing it..

WHICH MARKETING STRATEGIES DO YOU USE AND WHY?

Guerilla& Word of mouth Marketing cause it doesn't cost me much to advertise... GUERILLA??

Yes, I always use all I have so since am talkative and never shy to present what I do to the people, I can just stop anywhere and talk about the brand..

WHO IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?

My brand is for everyone, from toddlers to elders... but its youth that support it most

WHICH COUNTRY(S) HAS YOUR BRAND REACHED SO FAR?

Alright, obviously it started here in SA and I had a friend who travels around the world so he helped the brand reach Amsterdam, France and Germany, Botswana and Zimbabwe

ARE YOU PLANNING ON OPENING YOUR OWN SHOP FOR YOUR CLOTHING BRAND?

Obviously I'd love to even though it's bit difficult, but am a go getter, I'll reach to that level one day. I'd really love to own one

WHICH CELEBRITY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE WEARING YOUR BRAND?

Currently, I see Cassper, Dj Sbu and Somizi as most famous in the country so I'd love to see them wearing my brand SO HOW U PLANNING ON MAKES THAT POSSIBLE? IF YOU DON'T MIND SHARING I can always approach them when I feel like the brand reaches the level of the clothes they wear.. THE LEVEL OF THE CLOTHES THEY WEAR* TELL ME KNOW ABOUT THAT STATEMENT IN CONTRADICTION WITH YOUR CLOTHING I'm a start up brand working on getting better materials for the clients, so I can't compare myself with Gucci, Visage, etc.. Remember they wear expensive, so I need to make my brand that well so they get attracted when I present it to them

CURIOSITY GOT THE BEST OF ME. SO HAVE YOU STARTED WORKING ON THE PLAN YET? I MEAN TO GET YOUR BRAND ON ANOTHER LEVEL

Yes, at the moment, am busy budgeting more capital to get my own industrial sewing machines and all equipments I need to produce unique designs and different materials of what other local brands sell

WHICH PRINTING METHOD DO YOU USE SO FAR?

Poly, screen and embroidery

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ALL HUSTLERS OUT THERE?

The path we approach isn't as easy as it looks, you are going to lose friendships, relationships, money and time for family gathering.. push more harder, the best is still yet to come.. By OfentseMoila