Lack of jobs led to financial freedom
''We decided to buy a single packet of cigarettes which we then re-sold to the public on the street,''
Two aspiring young entrepreneurs operating a mini vending shop on Sam Sekoati Road in Vosloorus have spoken about their job-hunting frustrations which led to them launching their new business idea.
The two young budding entrepreneurs told Kathorus MAIL how after years of job hunting they finally came up with a business idea that they say they hope is going to launch them into a business venture that could turn their frustrations into financial independence.
Lebogang Hahane, 28 and his childhood friend Nhlanhla Mdaki (26), spoke to their favourite Lokshin paper about how they managed to raise enough money to buy a packet of cigarettes which they then re-sold on street corners to raise capital. “We both decided to embark on this endeavour because we couldn’t find work. Fortunately, we decided to buy a single packet of cigarettes which we then re-sold to the public on the street. Within a few weeks, we had managed to sell enough single cigarettes to be able to buy more packets of cigarettes and started to accumulate enough profit to finally start a small cigarette vending spaza outlet,” explained Hahane.
“Although it’s not easy to sustain our business at this point, we are determined to turn our venture into a growing and sustainable business. We have also been encouraged by the news that there is a local government initiative to provide aid to small and micro businesses like ours. I strongly believe the Local Government is trying to assist, but their process is not as fast as we would like it to be,” added Mdaki.
According to the two young men, “Our long-term objective is to expand our business, by adding a car wash and buy-and-braai. Our advice to other young people who start their own business is that they should swallow their pride and implement their idea without thinking twice,” they said proudly.
