As a former beauty queen, Doris Msibi knows that first impressions are important if you want to succeed. What's more impressive though, is how she has turned this skill into a thriving business.
Launched in 2005, the Capricorn Institute is Doris' impression management company, based in Johannesburg. The road to success has not been easy. "After I had my baby, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my career. I wanted to do something I was passionate about; I didn't want to feel like I was going to work," says Doris.
When she was crowned Mrs Globe South Africa 2006/07, Doris visited California, where she says she "got her answer". "I met and worked with Dr Tracy Kemble, president of the Mrs Globe Organisation and the Woman In Need Foundation in California, where I did a course in impression and image management. When I came back home, I knew this was what God wanted me to do."
Realising your best self
Defined, impression management is about developing and improving your identity and image to realise your best self. The term is fuelled by Doris' belief that "although it is important for people to be beautiful on the outside, they must be encouraged to be beautiful on the
inside too".
Capricorn Institute has two core services on offer to private and corporate clients. "For private clients, we assist individuals in identifying their personal image and enhancing it. At your first consultation, you fill in a questionnaire that is assessed. From that we determine what you look like; what you would like to look like and what you think are major problems with the way you look now.
"We offer self-image and self-confidence courses for people that need to enhance their self-concept. There's no point in looking good if you really don't feel good about yourself." The service is tailored to suit the client's lifestyle and schedule. "Relationships with clients are on-going and when we consult with them is completely up to them," Doris explains.
Offering a unique service
Entering into the somewhat cluttered beauty industry, she soon realised that the only way to differentiate her company would be to offer a unique additional service – the corporate package, which includes the Employee Development Programme. "We train front line staff of corporate companies, such as personal assistants, marketing
staff and receptionists – people that are the 'faces' of companies. We teach them personal grooming, effective communication and etiquette in the working environment."
Her client list ranges from property developers to top-notch corporates. "Our Employee and Client Well-being Programmes cater for very busy and highly stressed professionals who enjoy being pampered. We offer them grooming, haircuts, manicures, weekly massages and monthly facials. Surprisingly, the bulk of our clients for this service are men!"
Doris was recently awarded the rights to run the Right Living Programme in South Africa, a personal empowerment programme devised by Dr Kemble. "We help people that have been hurt by divorce, abuse and abandonment as well as teens who experience isolation feelings. We take them through the healing process in workshops and consultations. The programme is in line with my vision that everyone should be comfortable and happy with who they are," she says.
Doris believes, "It's important to be you – what you say comes from what you think and what you think comes from what you feel – it all boils down to the heart."
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