When her marriage fell apart, and the economic and political situation in her native Zimbabwe started rapidly declining, Thembi Bheka was forced to leave her home country to move to Canada as a refugee. Although it was heartbreaking, she had to leave her young children behind. She arrived in Canada with a whole lot of determination, and only $5 in her pocket – money which she’d been given by a fellow passenger on her flight.
Thembi worked odd jobs including as a car wash attendant and a caregiver, before being accepted into nursing school. She graduated with flying colours, and got a job, which meant she could finally bring her children to live with her in Canada .
But she soon realised that trying to balance being a single mother with her newfound career was not going to work. She also knew that nursing was not a profession she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing.
Thembi stumbled across a seminar on real estate investing, which introduced her to the bestselling book ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad‘. She credits that seminar and the book for literally changing her life. She was inspired to buy her first rental property and hasn’t looked back since!
“People still need a place to stay. That’s a need, it’s not a want. People always need a place to stay. So you have to invest in something that is really needed by the people which you know that you can provide a solution. And that is why I think real estate is more beneficial compared to stocks.” – Thembi Bheka
In addition to being a real estate investor, Thembi has decided to share her knowledge by starting a company which she’s called ‘Real Estate Real Riches’. Through her company, she offers training focused on educating and empowering others, especially women, about investing in real estate.
“Sometimes, us women, we try to use the masculine energy to try and keep up with the men, but we don’t have to. We could use our femininity.” – Thembi Bheka
Apart from her real estate investing, mentoring and coaching, Thembi has started a Virtual Assistant agency with a team of well-trained and highly skilled women from Zimbabwe. This platform gives opportunity and empowerment to these women to work as virtual staff, helping entrepreneurs and providing various services online.
“My legacy – I would like to have impacted women. I would like to have changed people’s lives for the better.” – Thembi Bheka
