We sat down with Rumbie Mutsiwa, (pronounced; ‘Room-B’ ‘Mootsee-wah’) Founder & Director of Rumbie & Co. in this latest instalment of our BOLD Women series. As a fierce lover of all things personal development and curls, Rumbie’s flagship salon is based in Chippendale, Sydney offering a range of specialist treatment services for Wavy, Curly and Afro hair as well as bespoke products.
By making the science of curls simpler and more enjoyable than ever, Rumbie & Co are on a mission to help as many people as possible to thrive and embrace curls with confidence. Read on for Rumbie’s BOLD mission and BOLD stories.
What does BOLD Beyond Beauty mean to you?
Being BOLD Beyond Beauty means being UNAPOLOGETIC. Dare to be different, and dare to stand out! Dare to be comfortable with yourself.
How do you maintain fresh, glowing skin with your busy schedule?
Like I would say with curly hair, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I’m blessed with great skin genetically but I had to learn to not take it for granted. I used to wash my face with my body wash and cream with my body cream but thank God I saw the light. LOL. Exfoliate, cleanse, I have a great moisturiser and not to forget my serum. And of course, I always make sure I wash my makeup but all of this needs to be quick and easy!
What is your favourite Ella Baché product?
Oh, stop it!!! That’s not fair, how can I choose 1? Can I say 4?
- The Refining Exfoliating Gel (Gently exfoliates, nourishes and smells amazing
- Creamy-Rich Cleansing Milk (It's exactly as the name suggests with a subtle ‘clean’ scent)
- Hydra Crème De La Crème (it smells amazing, feels luxurious on my skin and hydrates my I love touching my face plus a little goes a long way)
- Radiance C Defensive Mist (My skin is brighter and smoother – I’m hooked! It’s light, refreshing and smells amazing too!).
Is there something about you, either physical or non-physical, that you have struggled with over your lifetime?
There is one struggle which touches both physical and non-physical aspects at the same time. I always loved to change my hair style – anything long, straight, loose curls you name it – loved it! To go natural, my hair would have to be shaved short and I kept giving excuses why it would never be a good look for me. But at the same time, I also encouraged my clients to wear their curly hair natural, and what a beautiful result I see when they take that courageous step! But somehow, I couldn't see that for myself, so I had to overcome my reluctance to wear my hair naturally curly because I couldn't motivate other people to do something that I wouldn't do myself.
One day I cut my hair off with the scissors and every time I looked in the mirror, I told myself, "I am enough, I am enough." In my mind, I'd said that everything I have is enough for what I was meant to be. With time, I became comfortable with the true version of myself and now even without make up I look at myself and know I am enough, and that I am not trying to conform to any standard.
What is the boldest move you've ever made?
That's a hard question considering that I have a high-risk appetite. There are so many bold moves I have had to take in my business lifetime.
If I had to pick one, let's go to the beginning – Leaving Zimbabwe to study Psychology in Australia!
I actually ended up studying nursing (not my doing, but my family’s). The challenge of growing up in an ethnic family, was that almost if not everything is a family affair. From orientation day I knew I'd hate nursing but quitting wasn’t an option. I wasn't going to upset my mom who was paying for my international Uni fees. I worked in nursing for 6 years and got to a point where I was feeling unfulfilled, asking others if they loved their work and surprisingly most people cared only that they got paid.
Once I had discovered this passion (hair) I knew that I knew that I had to honour this feeling I had. And for the first time in my life I stood up as Rumbie the woman not the baby sister, the cousin, the daughter. I put my big girl pants on and I left the nest despite the fear of “what if they are right? What if I fail?
What is the number 1 BOLD move you will made in 2021?
It has to be rolling with the punches and fully transforming our website into an online store with my team in under 2 months. Making sure that our Rumbie & co. Products would be readily available to every curly haired person in the world. In that process I realised that there’s a big difference between a website also selling products and a well-functioning e-comm store. In the lockdown I had to learn and implement and often learn, teach and assist with the implementation.
Having the guts to be bold and own your own career journey is something we admire about our ‘BOLD women’ did you face any setbacks when you started out with your career?
Heck yes! In the beginning it had to be the nay-sayers and people suggesting I made a mistake leaving nursing. So, in my subconscious mind I realised that I had allowed myself to have an option b if building a Rumbie & Co. Curl Empire failed, so I removed the option. I stopped working part-time or casual nursing shifts, therefore I fell way beyond short of the minimum required hours to enlist for registration with AHPRA so the only option for me and Rumbie & Co. was to go forward. Sink or swim… all I knew was that I was a swimmer.
What’s your best advice, things that you live by yourself, to give people who want to live a bolder life?
- Have an anchor bigger than you.
- Learn and continue learning about yourself.
- Get a mentor or coach who has been on the same path and displays results. Don't be coached by people who have read books - it’s a very different result you will get.