The greater the risk and bigger the reward, says local baker

POLOKWANE – In 2018, Ntshepe ‘Lolo’ Maphoto took the biggest risk of his life by leaving Namakgale in Phalaborwa to invest in a business he knew nothing about, in the hopes of making a success of his life.

With little to no knowledge about the culinary or business world, Lolo used hard work, determination, research and consistency to get his business off the ground and opened Crispy Fresh Takeaways in Mankweng in 2018. “I started Crispy Fresh a year after my work as a technician ended. I have always known I had the ability to become a successful entrepreneur one day and I saw this as a window of opportunity,” he told BONUS.

Lolo says he noticed a gap in the food market in Mankweng and took the risk to open his business. “I had no idea what I was doing. I experimented with new recipes to find out what the market enjoys and the people in Turfloop responded well, allowing me to further my knowledge and deliver what they need. What I later realised was that students and residents enjoy the convenience of having their food delivered right to their door, which is why we implemented our super fast delivery service, which customers are able to use via our app from the Google Play Store.

Our app also allows our clients the freedom to choose or customise their meals to their satisfaction,” he explained. Lolo says challenges faced include attracting customers to a new food store, but adds that the power of social media helped him.

“I believe that advertising and marketing your business has a great impact on a business. I kept investing back into the business with the little I made, focusing on the presentation of the store, quality of my food and service. Consistency in what you offer has a great impact on the business as well,” he added.

Lolo says he had to amend his mentality around maintaining profitability as the first few months didn’t bring in much profit as his products were priced low because he wanted to attract customers.

“It was a struggle in the beginning. I ran the business alone without any assistance with deliveries and the collection of stock, but through hard work, determination and focus, we now have four employees and two other employees at the Crispy Fresh Bakery in Turfloop which offers the market a mouth-watering confectionery experience,” he said.

Lolo hopes to open another branch in Polokwane before the end of April and hopes to inspire up-and-coming entrepreneurs to keep pursuing growth for their brands. “I believe the pie is big enough for everyone to share and if other people take inspiration from me, I’ve done my job,” he said.

Crispy Fresh can be contacted via WhatsApp at 066 143 8643 or via their app. The bakery can be contacted at 084 720 6818 or 079 585 2720.

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