Some of the income-generating projects they are currently involved in are not anything new, having been there since time immemorial.
People are now more concerned with branding to ward of stiff competition from other players like Nigerians and our Asian friends.
Instead of just concentrating on buying and restocking their goods people are now improvising on cheaper and easier methods of buying their goods, enhanced marketing skills through the use of information communication technology and how to manage their finances. It is against this background that more than 250 hairdressers and barbers from Ebony Salons this week took time off from their busy schedules and attended a three-day workshop on Internal Savings and Lending in Harare.
Led by Ebony owner and prominent businesswoman Sue Peters, the hairdressers and barbers, who also run other income-generating projects apart from working in the salons, were taken through five modules on how to become experts in running savings clubs and ultimately starting a business of one's choice.
The five modules were on individual self-screening, groups and leadership, the constitution, group fund development and record keeping.
The five are considered to be tenets of good financial management skills particularly to groups of people who are keen on starting savings clubs and eventually run their own businesses.
This latest development is one of the many income-generating projects that Ebony Salons have been running for its big family at the behest of Sue, who runs a number of business projects in Harare and Mutare, her home area. Spurred by a passion to uplift the standards of living for hundreds of people who work closely with her and women who are in need, Sue has over the years introduced new different income-generation concepts for her Ebony staff.
She has also extended the olive branch to a number of women's organisations, individuals and women's groups, who are constantly looking for opportunities to improve their well-being.
She has empowered staff within organisations she works directly with, to be assertive in business and they have embraced her concepts over a period of time.
While many people are likely to look down on hairdressers and barbers as individuals of little means who scrounge for a living, that is no longer the case for those working within Ebony Salons and other showrooms that are sprouted around Zimbabwe.
Other than specialising in different types of hair, the majority of hairdressers currently run different informal and formal businesses in retailing, property, transport and catering.
They have also been able to build their own houses, drive to work in their own cars and some of them are even paying fees for their children who are studying in universities that are in South Africa, Australia and Malaysia.
They attest that they have been empowered by their boss, and are often looking for opportunities to upgrade themselves, while pursuing hairdressing as a hobby. Once they are through with the training programme, the hairdressers and barbers from Ebony are planning on setting up a collective business in property.
They will also join thousands of men and women who are currently running well co-ordinated businesses after receiving training from Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, which has been running the programme since 2008.
The training, that has been taken to different communities in Zimbabwe, has transformed the lives of many people, who are now able to start their own businesses and still be able to run their finances effectively without employing a book keeper.
Some of the best practices of this training programme are church members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Zion Church and several income-generating projects that are being run by women in residential areas in Harare and its environs.
Women's Affairs has successfully replicated the programme - inherited from Care International - to most of the communities in Zimbabwe, where several success stories have been recorded.
The beauty about this programme is that anyone can qualify to be trained in Savings and Lending, provided they are within a group of between 50 and 250 people.
Once the group has found a venue, each group member will need to pay US$10 to cater for administration costs and certificates, before they can invite the trainer.
This is indeed a great opportunity for women and men to be trained in managing small businesses at a very minimal cost.