Jerminah Malema sells with love near the Randburg taxi rank
RANDBURG – Jerminah Malema, who struggled to find a job, is now an assistant in a street vendor business.
Jerminah Malema, who was born in Botlokwa, Limpopo, started working as a hawker in April this year and she has developed a love for her customers.
Malema had been struggling to find a job for over three years and decided to start working as a vendor, selling fruits and other products.
She said, “At first I did not love the business, but now I have gained a lot of experience working with people form different backgrounds.”
But she added that waking up in the morning without the assurance that you will go back home with something for your little one is difficult.
“Because I do not own the business, it is sometimes hard to tell if I have made a profit or not, or if the owners have made a better profit.”
According to Malema, she does not stay in Randburg but travels on a day-to-day basis to come to work, and sometimes this can be a problem if her business has made less profit.
She said that the business makes about R300 profit each day and even more if she works extra hours.
Most people think that working as a street vendor is an easy job that anyone can do without having to face any problems, she said, but being a hawker has high risks, especially because anyone can steal from you at any time.
“I do not know of any insurance that covers theft or robbery for this kind of business; you have to pay for the damages yourself.”
Malema has advice for those wanting to start their own business:
- Ask people in the area for feedback regarding their business
- Take note of what other hawkers are selling so that you can come with a different approach
- Level your price with other businesses to avoid being expensive.
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