If likes were converted to money, SAs hustlers would be rich

Me and my brother, Xolani Ndabeni off to sell at MTN head office

I would be lying to you if I say I started my businesses because I felt the need to solve something.

To be quite honest, initially I crafted for fun and they joy of  helping  my friend, Cynthia who had a stall  in town then. 

I became a partner when I could see she needed financial help with her business. At first, I would borrow her money needed and she would pay it back with interest of course. This went on for two years. Yes I played with the idea of starting a business whilst employed as a full time journalist, but upon consulting and doing research on my own. It was rather a bad idea to start a business and not be there physically to run it.

But this crave was fulfilled when I was bullied at work and left with no option but to resign.

At the time, I had many things I wanted to do, like write my book and other South African stories. But I knew I wasn't well equiped  for those project yet. Art and Craft or rather beading for me at the time was going to provide money for the basics, ie food everyday, my child's school fees etc. I felt the  company I had worked for had  wronged me and I needed to challenge it using other means as my voice within the company was not heard.

 But I didn't want to starve while doing that, I wanted my two-year-old  to continue getting all the things he was now used to. I didn't want him to suffer because all of sudden grew some balls. No! It wasn't going to happen.

So I started the journey of being a hustler, it was and still is not an easy road to travel.

 On social media, hustlers like myself portray an image that everything is good, we even posts messages of encouragement on our timeline and our followers get so inspired and motivated they treat us like their idols. Little do they know that we are suffering in silent. 

Our products are of the highest quality you can find hence we count thousands of likes and attract followers. But  dololo money coming in. Majority of South Africans will never support us. You get belittling remarks from your fellow white South Africans in the market. While your own black people would rather buy a Chinese imitation at a higher price than to buy your product.

This is a struggle that is probably behind the mental breakdown of Sbu, the young entreprenuer behind the brand a men's socks brand, Skinnysbusocks.

  Like many, he probably thought he had ticked all the correct boxes for his dream to fly. Maybe in his township and around the people he grew up with, he was a role model. Probably had the media eating from the palm of his hands with his mind blowing idea for these socks. But what happens when the sales do not stream in like the hype created when it started? What if we fail in our endeavors? After all we are humans, yes we want to support the vision of creating more employment in the country. Hustlers do not want to be part of the unemployment stats. To some like me, you opt for business for survival during the tough times. With our background, we take the leap of faith even when we are not financially schooled on how to run it. Now I'm not saying that was a case with the owner of Skinny Sbu Socks. To be quite, I know little about him except for the information shared with me during The Hook Up Dinner (THUD) session in Maboneng yesterday.

But this left me wondering, if Skinny Sbu Socks were this high quality( I bought myself two pairs) why was he struggling? Surely there was a market and he has done his part researching his idea before spending thousands in it.

Skinny Sbu, like all the other hustlers in South Africa needed the support from of his people, from his family, church, area of the township he lived in and South Africa as a whole.

We need an aggresive way of telling people that we are here, if you buy from a South African brand you creating a job for another South African. You contributing to the growth of the economy. We need to go to churches, clubs and everywhere that there's gathering and preach the gospel of buying locally produced goods.

I for one do not know where this hustle will take me, but I spread the message where ever I go.

PS CATCH US ON MAPONYA PRECINCT MARKET THIS SUNDAY AT VW SOWETO GROUNDS