From Boutique Hotels to Salon Buckets Washes; I Live in All My Layers: The beauty of living across LSMs

Dear Entrepreneur (Employees too),

After posting my Youth Day message yesterday, I found myself sitting with a thought that had me chuckling, then started reflecting deeply. I’m one person who lives comfortably across LSMs (Living Standards Measures, for those not raised by Stats SA). One day, I’m sipping MCC at a boutique hotel in Franschhoek, soaking in the views and soft life, and the next, I’m in a Soweto salon, washing my hair standing because the basin and chair combo is “not available,” and you have to make a plan. If you’ve ever washed your hair standing, you know there’s no metaphor needed, and that alone is a masterclass in humility and hustle. If you haven’t? Don’t worry about it; it builds character.

But this got me thinking, right…… We live in a world that wants to box us in. Either you’re luxury or township, you’re polished or struggling, you’ve arrived, or you’re still on the journey. But the truth? Real life is “both/and,” not “either/or.” But all in all, I’ve learned to embrace it; the boardrooms and the backrooms, the five-star menus and the kota with extra cheese. That’s where the richness of life is. That’s where perspective is born. And as entrepreneurs, that’s where innovation, relatability, and real leadership come from.

Here are a few lessons I’ve picked up living across LSMs:

1. Humility travels better than Gucci.

Whether you’re in silk sheets or polyester aprons, people will remember how you made them feel, not what you wore doing it.

2. Adaptability is your biggest asset.

If you can present to a CEO in the morning and explain cash flow to a street vendor in the afternoon, you’re not confused, you’re equipped!!!

3. Don’t kill your spirit trying to ‘arrive.’

Your story, your upbringing, your hustle; they don’t disqualify you from soft life. They qualify you for all of it.

4. Value is not location-based.

Being in a village, kasi, or estate doesn’t define the worth of your dream. You do.

So my friend, here’s to embracing it all. The vineyard views and the salon shampoo splash. The girl who knows wine pairings and where to get a R30 wash and blow dry. We are not one-dimensional beings. We are layered, textured, and seasoned; just like the stories we carry and the businesses we build.

Don’t shrink to fit an LSM. Expand to honour your journey.

With love and conditioner in my eyes,

The Business Doctor, Keitumetse Lekaba