It is tough to run a business in the health sector, and homeopathic doctor Tholakele Sekhukhuni continues to learn this lesson in her business as she strives to make homeopathy affordable and available for black people. Sekhukhuni opened Dr Thols Homeopath & Family Doctor in August last year after completing a homeopathy graduate programme at the University of Johannesburg.
“One important thing I realised is that once you are qualified as a doctor, you must jump out of the comfort zone and start the practice with no formal knowledge of running a business,” she told Vutivi News. Sekhukhuni said she was fortunate that she knew a homeopath who owned three health shops. She was in the process of opening another shop and wanted a homeopath onsite. With the woman’s assistance, Sekhukhuni opened her practice in Honeydew, Roodepoort on one of the main roads.
“I bought most of my equipment on my own, and the homeopath doctor and her husband helped me secure the room, paint it and get furniture,” she said. Sekukhuni said that educating black people about homeopathy and its benefits was priorities because not many knew about its benefits. “The black community does not understand what homeopathy is, and when they come to the practice, they erroneously think that it is just a pharmacy,” she explained.
“They also think homeopathy is not a real medical field, and they only believe in its authenticity after I show them the machinery I use!” Sekhukhune told Vutivi News that homeopathy was a natural choice for her, and she lived to help her patients. “I went into homeopathy because my family has a history of chronic illnesses, and I didn’t like how the treatments always had terrible side effects because I believe that medicine shouldn’t make us sick,” she said.
“I did research and looked for an alternative method of medicine that is both legitimate and scientific, and I found homeopathy. “I get people who come and tell me that I helped them in a short space of time after going in and out of hospitals for months, even years.”
