Turning me down? No worries, I’m going to take your rejection and turn it into my own money making business.
That may have been the thought process for a South African businesswoman who wouldn’t accept ‘no’ when it came to getting her dream job.
Sibongile Sambo always imaged what it would be like assisting holidaymakers at 32,000-feet, but when she finally applied for a flight attendant role with a local carrier she was told she was too short – or in actual airline terms “didn’t meet the minimum height requirement”.
Speaking to CNN, Sambo she decided that if mainstream airlines didn’t want her, she’d find a way to bring her dream to life – and that was launching her own business.
She sold her car and tapped into her mother’s pension money to set up her very own airline and Africa’s very first female-run aviation company called, SRS Aviation.
The airline has been operating for some 12 years, with its first major business coming from the South African government in 2004.
After an initial little take-off, the company partnered with MCC Aviation to give Sambo access to their fleet of aircraft as well as technical and operational support.
Since then, she’s organised personalised helicopter and luxury flights services for business travellers as well as chartered tourist services. And as well as flying domestically, her crew have also been hired to take travellers to destinations as far as the US and Germany.
She said tourist charters start from around $1,000 and reach up to $200,000 for a VIP aircraft to the United States.
“I’m where I am today because somebody invested in me.”
Sibongile Sambo, SRS Aviation Founder
“It’s my opportunity now to invest in other people.”
So kids, next time someone tells you you’re not good enough, put your foot down and prove you are.