At age 20, Andrew van Wyk took the biggest decision of his life
He decided to forego tertiary studies and rather opted to run a business.
From a tender age, he had a passion to venture into business.
Van Wyk owns a Sausage Saloon franchise at Mall at Newmarket, which opened its doors in December 2019.
The franchisee from Germiston completed matric in 2018 at St Catherine’s School.
Upon completing matric, he decided to study for a BCom degree at Varsity College, but after six months he realised he was passionate about entrepreneurship. It wasn’t long until he decided to solely focus on business.
“I just knew that I wouldn’t be happy if I did the course, so I decided to leave and stay at home for a while. Then an opportunity arose to purchase the business; my parents assisted greatly in investing in it. I have always wanted to be my own boss. I have never thought of working for someone else,” said van Wyk.
His creativity and expertise have brought in ideas that have made the store stand out from many other Sausage Saloon franchises. He described the store as a dynamic environment, with friendly and trained staff. The store has recently completed its revamp and will gradually grow with time.
He told the RECORD his business has grown tremendously and that he has created employment to three staff members.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride to get to where we are today. I’ve learnt so much in the past few months compared to six months of actual learning. Your success is based on the hard work you put into your job,” he said.
He also said people tend to have a certain perspective because of his age.
“Sometimes people tend not to trust easily because of age, but once they see the results they change their minds. People should base their opinions on your level of knowledge, not your age. Age is just a number and doesn’t determine how I run the store,” said van Wyk.
