Letlhogonolo Motseeng, a 35-year-old entrepreneur from Magogong Village in Taung, North West Province, has spent his entire life selling.
"I started selling sweets in Sediba Thuto Primary School when I was 11 years old and continued until I finished Matric at Joseph Saku Secondary School. I entered the formal business world in 2017 when I registered and opened my cleaning business," he explained.
Motseeng's cleaning business arose from a desire to supplement his income while working a 9-to-5 job.
"My salary could only last me about two weeks after payday, so I decided to start something on the side for extra money. That is how my cleaning business started. It grew so much that I had to hire six people to work with me," he explained.
His side hustle turned into a viable business - demonstrating that entrepreneurship and self-employment provide the most significant opportunity to create jobs in South Africa.
The inevitable occured when he left his 9-to-5 job in 2019 to focus on his business when he launched his second endeavour, Moja Chicken. He saw it as the finest business concept because chicken is considered the most-eaten meat product in the country.
He then founded Shandis Wear last year - influenced by his upbringing and a long-held dream to establish a clothing or shoe brand.
"I saw a gap in the market, and 2022 was the right time for me to join one of South Africa's leading sneaker brands. Growing up, I only had one pair of shoes, which were always black shoes that I could wear to school, church and on other occasions. I wanted to fill that void from my childhood by designing and owning my shoe brand," he explained.
Shandis Footwear has two slogans: "Walk with that thing" and "Creating pride for the ordinary", because Motseeng" realised what a beautiful shoe can do to a person's confidence and self-esteem".
His businesses are all national, and he believes that they all bring value to society and remind young people, particularly those from the villages, that everything is possible.
Moja Chicken now has nine stores, each with four staff members. Motseeng believes that each of his enterprises has its distinct personality. He has franchises in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Gauteng. His home province is the next in line to boast a shop, he assured.
He said: "What makes Moja Chicken unique is the colours; they are loud, confident and passionate. Our recipe distinguishes us. Moja Cleaners' business model and pricing set them apart. Unique features of Shandis Wear include its sneaker and slide designs and its ability to serve both men and women," he explained.
Motseeng was designated a 2021 National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) Trailblazer and is one of the top 200 Young South African Mail & Guardian honourees. "Being chosen out of millions of young South Africans to be in the top 200 in the business category and being able to run three entities successfully are my biggest achievements," he said.
What he enjoys most about being an entrepreneur, are is opportunities of meeting new people while growing his empire.
Motseeng has faced numerous difficulties; he has lost cars, friends, businesses, and himself. However, with the traits he believes are most important for an entrepreneur to possess-resilience, confidence, consistency, passion, determination, and understanding 76he has been able to get through those challenges.
He believes resilience, emotional intelligence, decision-making, creativity, and leadership abilities are the most important traits an entrepreneur should possess. He also emphasized that discipline, devotion, hard effort, and wise decision-making are the guiding values in his work.
He emphasised that young people must make more effort to learn about and understand entrepreneurship. The North West government must promote and assist more young people in entrepreneurship, he said.
"The province occasionally needs to host business workshops to educate young people about business and entrepreneurship. The province must do more to assist young people and provide them with possibilities to establish themselves and their communities," he added.
"Your dreams are real, and you should not doubt them. Whatever your background, follow your aspirations and work hard. Recognise that things take time, but if you want to start something, do not wait too long; start immediately. Know yourself, be resilient, commit, be passionate, and put in the effort. You will achieve your goals," he assured aspiring entrepreneurs.
