Kutlwano Magazine

Persevearance Pays

Source : Kutlwano

Author : Keonee Kealeboga

Location : Gaborone

Event : Interview

Though he would go home empty-handed for a number of days, he did not allow this to dampen his spirits. For once, he believed his dream of running a successful small-scale music shop would come true. Thus, for 32-year- old Modiegi Tshekoetsile, the ride has been undoubtedly a bumpy one. Perhaps, he reflects, his situation has been worsened by factors such as being relatively young and inexperienced, and the lack of education.

It was in 1996, when the then 17-year old Tshekoetsile, armed with only a Standard Seven certificate, decided to embark on a venture to become his own boss.

Having literally shunned formal education by refusing to proceed any further after completing his primary education, he knew that time was ripe for him to defy the odds and do something worthwhile with his life.

“I could not go on with school. I had had enough of it. Performing poorly throughout my school days had also drained my love for formal education. What’s more, I could not stand the shame of always being singled out in class for poor performance,” he recalls.

Therefore, having explored all the available opportunities, and further having failed dismally at attempts to get a job to raise start-up capital, Tshekoetsile resolved that there was no way he was going to be counted among people who depend on government hand-outs for survival. For a couple of months he survived on the bare basics, denying himself

even the smallest of luxuries that one can imagine; the purpose being to enable him to save so he could start his own small-scale business.

In the meantime, he took his time and weighed the benefits as well as the challenges that he was likely to encounter.

“Making it from one day to the next was a challenge and this was no time for luxuries. I struggled to make ends meet. Driven by the intense desire to start my business, I could not allow temptations to indulge in some little luxuries to derail me,” he notes.

After raising what he thought was enough funds to buy his start-up stock, and despite the fact that he struggled to secure a trading permit, he kick-started his business without wasting any time.

Although he simply itched to start reaping the fruits of his efforts immediately, weeks into the business, he realised that he was not prepared for the realities that confronted him.

For days in a row, he would go home empty-handed, without having made even a single sale. At times it was better though, as he would go home with P30 from the sale of one music cassette.

Though mere survival was a challenge given the circumstances, the young man was nowhere near surrendering on his dream.

He simply soldiered on, knowing that he would ultimately be able to spot rays of

light at the end of the tunnel. As years went by, business improved

quite dramatically, reaching a point where today he pockets about P400 every day.

And if he knew how, or was empowered with divine powers, he would definitely order that the Christmas holidays take place as often as possible, at least twice a year as the festive season had proved to be the best period for his business.

Though he made only P900 on Christmas day in 2011, he hopes that one day he will make as much as P1 500.

He cherishes fond memories of a year in which he made a whooping P1 800 on Christmas day.

The father of two, a boy and a girl, is happy to be doing something to feed his children.

Seeing young people who would rather rob and kill for survival when there is so much that they can do without harming other people, disappoints him more.

“I might not be wealthy but at the same time I am not poor. It is sad that some young people would rather resort to crime in order to survive,” he opines.

For him, nothing can take away the joy and contentment that come with self- employment.

“Apart from having to report to no one, I have learnt to be financially prudent, a skill that has over the years ensured that my children never go to bed hungry,” he shares.

Though the business is generally doing well, piracy has proven to be a constant thorn in the flesh and Tshekoetsile can only hope and pray that one day this evil miraculously vanishes.

And, as if instructed to do so, Tshekoetsile every now and then throws in a heart-felt appreciation for Amina Rotkins, a local businesswoman in front of whose shop he operates.

Rotkins has not only allowed him to operate from her shop front, but also provides overnight storage for his wares; relieving him of the need to secure transport to ferry his goods to and from his rented house every single day.

“Mma Shabane (as he fondly calls Mrs Rotkins) has been a real blessing. I don’t know how I could have come this far without her. It is as if I have my own shop.

And unlike the others in this form of business I don’t have to push a wheel barrow to take my stuff home at the end of the day,” he says with a chuckle.