A 55-year-old Tembisan entrepreneur is determined to build an empire on auto body repairs.
Mr George Tsebe fixes all kinds of damaged and smashed cars, no matter what the damage is.
“In 1982 I went to college to study electricity and following an aptitude test I could not enter the course of my choice. I was automatically enrolled for auto body repairs,” said Mr Tsebe.
He said he has been doing this sort of work for 32 years now.
Mr Tsebe has worked for a number of big vehicle body repair businesses. When the last company offered him an early retirement option he took it.
He said that was an opportunity to start his own workshop.
“I started to buy my own tools and materials. I began working on my own in 2004. I saw a big difference between working for someone else and running my own business,” Mr Tsebe said.
He said on a salary he could not afford a lot of things, as the money would be exhausted on credit payments too quickly.
He was making a lot in business. This enabled him to buy himself a car, something he couldn’t do on a salary.
“At the moment I plan to get a bigger working space and employ people to assist in the workshop. I want to fetch young people straight from technical colleges and give them in-service training,” he said.
Mr Tsebe is worried about graduates’ inability to secure hands-on experience. He feels he wants to help young people in that regard.
He said he also wants to work on vehicles brought in by insurance companies.
“I have never worked with insurance companies before. I do a good job and my customers are happy. I don’t have any return jobs. When a car leaves my workshop it means it meets good quality standards,” he said.
“I love this job. One must be patient in order to succeed in this business.”
He said young people must not give up or lose hope in life.
Mr Tsebe said he is willing to transfer his skills. Thereafter the students will get an apprenticeship and will be able to apply to be artisans. Consequently they can get certification as an auto body mechanic.
Mr Tsebe does mechanical services and vehicle spray-painting. His wife applies her expertise in vehicle body polishing.
If you are interested in learning the trade or you want to enlist his services, call Mr Tsebe on 071 820 9075.
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