MASERU - Rich Kids and Transportation, this is a new concept that specialises in commuting kindergarten and primary schools children from MASOWE and surrounding suburbs to various schools within the Maseru City.
business
Oct. 24, 2019
PALESA MATŠASA
4 min read
‘It pays to get paid for what you love’
This is the brain child of Tšepo Manamolela, a 24-years-old man resident of MASOWE 3 in Maseru who describes himself as ambitious, focused and business minded, and believes this business is a money spinner.
He subscribes to the basic code of self-employment. Mr Manamolela started this business in March 2016 upon realising the many school going children in his neighbourhood who lacked transport service. Being business minded, he cut in to take advantage of this potential market. He smiles when he narrates that he started in 2016 with a single small cab.“I realised that I transport children to private schools, which means that their parents want only the best education for them, in order for their children to reach their goals. This gave me the impression that I drive high profile future generations to schools,” he recalls.
He describes these children he transports as “rich kids who are always neat, well-dressed, punctual and eager to go to school just like the future leaders they are destined to be.” He says he has learnt a lot from interacting with rich kids, and that: “Children are cheerful and genuine. I have also learned a lot about how to handle the different age groups, as I transport toddlers and teenagers.” He says a tinge of marketing is also important in his line of business, and that there was a time when he rented luxury Toyota Fortuner SUVs to transport these rich kids to school as part of his marketing strategy.
“This was part of advertising and marketing the Rich Kids Transportation. It was also done to motivate the children to aim high while also exciting them to realise that they too can reach anything if they dreamed big. “The best marketing tool is good service and word of mouth,” he continues, indicating, though, that capital was also an essential part that means a lot of sacrifices if one wants to progress and expand in his chosen business, or any other.
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“As a young man, I had to sacrifice a lot of things such as nice clothes, entertainment and going out in order to save enough to inject capital into my business. “Every day I would remind myself that I am a business owner. I had to stay focused to support my business to grow. Discipline eventually paid off as I now look back on my humble beginnings,” Mr Manamolela recalls. He adds: “Three years later I have saved enough and have I bought three nice looking and comfortable taxis and have two drivers in my employ.”
He says challenges related to this business include the ability to wake up as early as 6am and knock off at around 430pm from Monday to Friday all year round as school breaks happen at different times for different schools except for common holidays like the Christmas break. He says as a small business owner, his job doesn’t come with benefits enjoyed by other professionals who offer services to learners. Other challenges involved in this business, he says, include vehicle maintenance, road traffic accidents and vehicle break down.
Notwithstanding these challenges, he greatly enjoys his job and it allows him to make money. “I love working with children and I have realised that the feeling is mutual. I love the generous smiles I get when I collect the rich kids and the cheerful chatting in the car always keeps me awake and motivated to have a good day,” notes the young business owner.
He says while a business’s core vision is to make money, he goes an extra mile to ensure that he promotes bonding and sharing amongst the children he transports, another plus to a thriving business. Once in a while he organises snack days, where parents contribute money and children indulge in pizza or other goodies - this happens on Fridays as the older children don’t have afternoon classes.
The spirit of sharing, caring and connecting continues even during school holidays as he sometimes organises outings to the mall or to the park for children to play together. “Saturday outings are not limited to rich kids only, other kids in the neighbourhood are welcome to come and play with us. Even in my absence, they still visit one another instead of staying at home watching television the whole day,” says the business man fondly known as ‘Abuti Tšepo’ to both parents and children alike.
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