By: ‘Moelo Motsiri
MASERU
To fulfill her dreams of becoming her own boss, Buci Tshabalala has made a bold move of starting her own business, Jabulile Fast Food.
Her business, Jabulile Fast Food is a professional food business offering fast food such as fat cakes, chips, Russians, sliced potatoes, to mention few.
It was formed and registered last year.
In an interview with the Informative Newspaper, Buci said she named the business after her child, Jabulile, which means happiness.
“I wanted the name to mark my happiness towards the start of my business, which has always been my wish for a very long time,” she said.
To raise capital for the start-up, Buci said she went to South Africa and worked in kitchens to raise funds. After that she came back home to start this business.
“It has always been my wish to start the fast-food business but I did not have funds, that is why I went to work in the kitchens to raise funds. I succeeded, and finally came home to pursue my dream,” she said.
Buci noted that the business has been performing well since its establishment but conceded that sometimes it becomes slow before it eventually recovers some other day.
Buci noted that she is really grateful for the success of Jabulile Fast Food, adding that she even gets motivated that she is working well. However, the business slows “I sympathize with myself but tell myself that everything will be okay,” she said.
Among the challenges she faces in business Bucci said that some customers do not get satisfied, so they come and complain that they expect big fat cakes without considering that what she offers suits the low price that they can afford.
In some cases, her customers complain that her food was not prepared well.
“Some come and confront her saying her fat cakes do not have sugar or it they have too much salt but I do not consider this one as a challenge. Instead, it is a point of correction that helps me not repeat the same mistakes to serve my customers with care and keep their loyalty,” she noted.
Despite the challenges, Buci said her business really performs well. It helps her earn a living and take her two children in high schools, despite being a single mother. On top of that the business even enabled her buy a site.
“Right now, I am planning to build a house, I am able to earn a living, to pay an employee. I am so happy for this success that I have always been wishing to achieve after a very long time,” she said.
She said she has loyal customers that keep coming back regularly, which motivates her even more that at least many people like her food.
She said she is able to sell all the food daily with hardly any food left over.
Busi said that she wants her business to grow to the point where it becomes a proper restaurant with chairs where people sit and enjoy their food.
She further explained, “Right now I have budgeted to buy a food warmer so that my food stays warm all the time, I want to see my business growing into a restaurant, selling everything, such as papa, boroso and many others,” she said.
Apart from these things that Buci talked about, she said she also wants to see her business having its own premises and she is going to build it on the site that she recently bought together with her house. “On the site that I bought, I am going to build my business first before building the house,” she said.
She lastly expressed gratitude on her business success. “I am really grateful; it has not been a long time since I made this business but I am already seeing the light and achieving big things. I am so happy that finally my dreams will come true,” she said.
Buci advised all the women to start their own businesses and work for themselves rather than working for people because working for other people will make them slaves earning a small salary which cannot even meet their needs.
“If you do not have the money for starting, go to work, save money and come back to start what is yours. You will see that business indeed pays off,” she said.