A professional entrepreneur
“I love the feeling of being owed money by a customer. It gives me peace of mind, knowing that I have my money with people even when my pockets are empty at a given moment.”
For the first part of my adult life, I professionally worked as an accountant/account clerk, a skill I still retain. Because of job loss, I found myself loving the idea of farming. Apart from selling my agricultural produce, I also sell several things; second-hand clothes (libhele, which I stock from Mozambique), and Tupperware’s. I love the feeling of being owed money by a customer. It gives me peace of mind, knowing that I have my money with people even when my pockets are empty at a given moment. I can say that I got the love of selling things from my father, who sold fruits and vegetables from our family van.
I feel so much joy from owning myself, my time, and energy, maybe as compared to being employed. I feel JOY. It is so wonderful to wake up to your own vision, hustle, and plans. When you are employed, there is nothing much you are able to do for yourself, because all your time is given to the employer. Of course, it is possible, but you MUST BE SUPER DISCIPLINED. The employer keeps you in the job, with a salary incentive, then lets you go once you are of age, or if they have someone ‘better’ to employ. At that mature age is when most people begin life afresh, and it can be overwhelming. All along they have been in someone else’s vision, and they forget their own. In being self-employed, you employ all your energies into what you want to be while you are still agile. I have been blessed that my accounting skills go together with everything I do, and I do my own books.
2020’s covid halted my brain for a moment. It disrupted everything I thought I knew and my way of living. I could not cross the border to get my stock anymore. I needed to think on my feet, about what people needed the most that I could sell. Money is a state of mind. I started a spaza, selling vegetables and other wares. I found that it was not that helpful to me. Then I thought, no matter the situation, people always need food; covid has got nothing on it. Then I got into farming- I fell in love. It ignited a fire in me. In farming, I see so many possibilities, and I constantly think of ways of improving. God blesses the work of your hands. I am confident that this year is going to be a more wonderful year than the last.
“That does not mean however that my skills are redundant, freelancing my accounting is adapting to the situation. I sell my accounting skill to other businesses, especially start-ups and free lancers.”
To supplement my income, I started selling Tupperware. As far as a job is concerned, I did apply for jobs, but I think my age is not attractive to employers, and covid did not help the case either. That does not mean however that my skills are redundant, freelancing my accounting is adapting to the situation. I sell my accounting skill to other businesses, especially start-ups and freelancers. It is a matter of thinking fast, and the ability to change and adapt. Not being hired does not take anything away from me, if anything, it has forced me to dig deep within myself to find the solutions I need for my livelihood and that of my children. I AM THRIVING.
“May the youth learn to at least try to do that which they actually want to do.”
To the youth: our background has crippled us to a large extent. We knew that one ought to go to school, then college, get a job, and earn a salary. It has been our way of thinking for most of our lives. This socialization does not explicitly state that after the salary, you pay bills your whole life, then die. Yes, we need to do what we got to do to get through each day, but may the youth learn to at least try to do that which they actually want to do.
If you can’t find a job, do something in the meantime, such that the job finds you doing something. Lift yourself up before you can lift others, work for yourself instead of seeking to work for other people all the time. It must be far from us to rest after our jobs, WORK! From your job at 5pm to your work at home. There is more the youth can do, THINK. Think what people need, how you can get them to give you their money. Avoid the negativity that comes with ‘there are already so many people selling this’. Find a different way of selling the same thing. THINK. Others do not know that they have a talent, because they have not deliberately/consciously sought to find it out. You will be surprised how much you love it. Put yourself out there, seek to grow. I see myself owning these farming streets. I am learning everyday, I improve daily, and my productivity increases. My failures have been my biggest lessons.
I am a MOM of three too. It has been incredibly difficult to handle all my hustles and be a present mom as well. 2020 has shown us flames since we must be teachers and supervisors to our kids as well. I have found that planning relieves me of the tensions, and it paces my schedule right. Being present with my kids, and giving them my time, makes my efforts justified in their eyes. It makes them supportive of what I do in different ways. If I did not give them my time, they would hate what I do, and that is negative energy to my hustle. I do get frustrated, but I calm myself down and put my head back into the right space.
