In early 2006 I bought a Bedford 8 tonne truck in Harare.
The reason I bought the truck was that I had been buying and selling cattle
(cows) and transporting them with a pick up truck (bakkie), it made sense to buy a truck that
would carry more cows to the abattoir as the abattoir was paying a nice transport rate on each beast you brought in. I could actually make more money on the transport refund alone. By that time I had been running general
dealer stores since 2001.
Over 90% of the time when my guys phones me, there is a
problem that I am required to solve. My wife supports me a lot, sometimes I
have to solve multiple problems that I can only tell her about the problems
later. Never take anything personally, always have joy no matter what problems
you are facing in the business. My driver once asked me why I was still smiling
when two trucks needed their engines to be overhauled.
I am always grateful of the journey I have traveled so
far and believe better days are yet to come. Running a hustle helps you to be
mentally tough. I would be phoned that the truck had tyre problems and is stuck
with farmers at Zhombwe along Harare- Mutoko Road. On a weekend I would rush to Siyaso buy used tyres and
drive to Zhombwe to replace the tyres. Another night the truck was stuck at
Blue Ridge Spar, I rushed there and pulled the truck and it started and
continued with the farmers to Mbare and Highfields.
I laugh when my work colleagues tell me I am a hard
worker. When I was self-employed I worked 7 days a week and by 6am I would be
running to the train on my way to Mamelodi and then run to the truck stop in
Pretoria East. I did not know what was in store for me each day. One such day I
ended driving with client’s goods to Zimbabwe. I would also take a bus to Zimbabwe and spend days looking for cheap pig feed. Any business you do, you need to manage your costs to be as low as possible.
Being self-employed is liberating but tough. If you want
to go through that route invest in your hustle and try new ideas, fail and
learn from your mistakes. Become mentally tough. Learn to work really hard
whilst you are still employed. When you are working it is easier to get personal loans or finance for your vehicle and once you become self-employed when you most need the finance it dries up completely. You will also be to provide employment for a few
people hopefully. You will meet many people who are also managing their hustles
and you will learn from them 🙏🏿
