I grew up in Meadowlands and came here to Rietvallei in 2008. Meadowlands is a fast-paced place, whereas here is super quiet and super slow. It takes time to get used to that, but my life is here now, and I like it. It is a close-knit community. People know each other. Knowing each other builds trust and trust is a big thing - especially if you are selling food as I do.

I met the team from SocioTech and did the MyFuture training in 2022. It was then that I became open to the idea of having a side hustle business of my own. I had done commerce at school, so I knew some of the principles of business accounting, but I still found the idea of actually having my own business frightening. I was very hesitant at first, but Charles was very helpful and encouraging. There was also a story in the MyFuture manual that gave me courage and confidence.

I thought about it for a long time. I did my research to see who else might be selling in this area. I could see that no one else is selling in this street and that there could be a wide range of potential customers - children coming home from school, neighbours who have no time to cook, and right next door to me there is a guy who fixes cars, so all the people who come to him could be customers too.

Once I was convinced that there was a market, I started to save so that I could buy stock. I also work as a security guard, so I put aside some of my wages each month. Earlier this year, in April 2024, I thought, it is now or never, I have done all the planning and saving that I can do, let me just go for it. So, I bought R2000 worth of stock using my savings and I started my business; Tete and Son.

I sell kotas. My most popular item is the R10 Kota. It has polony, atchar, sauce and chips. I make the chips with real potatoes. The first week was wonderful. I did a lot of business, so it came as a big shock when things slowed down. I didn’t know about that period in the month between the 10th and the 15th when no one has money. They call it Mampara Week! Now that I know, I can plan for it but the first time it happened, I was really confused. The other thing that I hadn’t been prepared for, was how many people would try and buy on credit. They come and say to me ‘borrow me the money for a kota and I will pay you on the 25th’. At first, I found those requests for credit really hard. I knew that I had to say no, but I worried that potential customers would be offended by my refusal and that they wouldn’t come back.