By Barbara Hollands

What started as a sideline business for Khanyisa Peter has become so successful that she is giving up her well-established law practice to concentrate full- time on her B&Bs.

A winning formula at her East London guesthouse won her the coveted 2007 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Eteya) and on Saturday Transkei-born Peter, 34, jetted off to England as the Eastern Cape representative at London‘s World Travel Market.

She is one of nine national finalists. If she wins the overall national competition later this week, she will be R50 000 richer.

“I am excited but nervous about representing the Eastern Cape in London,” Peter said.

“But I am looking forward to it and will do everything in my power to be a good ambassador because I will not only be representing my establishment, but also my province which is so rich in history.”

Peter and her husband, Lunga, are respected attorneys in Durban, but she travels to East London regularly to ensure high standards at the Cozy Nest B&B in the seaside suburb of Quigney are being maintained.

“We have popular Wednesday night Xhosa cuisine dinner evenings and we always put the clients first,” she said.

While her business is a thriving one, Peter never dreamed that the hospitality industry would eclipse her career in law.

She has already opened another Cozy Nest B&B in Durban and is preparing to spend next year researching the possibilities of franchising her businesses.

The Herald