The Wife actor Linda Majola said his decision to close shop was not easy.
He opened his Humble Cafe food truck in 2019 after he managed to save and bought a trailer with the hopes of expanding his business in the future.
“I exhausted my credit card, and had to take up a loan. I bought a trailer for myself and I was able to buy some stock and January 24 2020 I officially opened the business.”
“I was running that for a while and then when Covid-19 came we experienced challenges and couldn’t really operate because of the restrictions. After that huge hiccup, I reopened. I was privileged at the time because I started creating content and I was getting the marketing. using social media as a way to market the brand and the business,” he told TshisaLIVE.
He said he encountered different challenges.
“It was making an OK revenue but recently it has been difficult because the expenses increased so much. Different challenges as well. People don’t have the same buying power they used to have and are saving every cent. It was difficult and I wanted to make sure my staff (three people) were paid. That was also my challenge, paying the staff and buying stock. Food prices are at an all time-high, and so are petrol and electricity. A lot of challenges had to be factored in before I could take the decision to close.
“We are encouraged when we can’t find work to create our own spaces and opportunities and when we do get the chance to finally open and establish our own businesses we are met with multiple adversities because it’s not just about opening a business, it is also about running it and making a profit.”
Linda said entrepreneurship is not a small feat.
“There are so many other factors we have to think about before we jump and think the business is going to make us money. There are years of struggle that entail branding, marketing, establishing your costs and other external issues like inflation, theft and the load-shedding we’ve been experiencing. Those are the things that made me discouraged to continue, because even when you try to create or build your table, you have so many challenges to maintain that table. It is hard.”
Linda told TshisaLIVE he is hopeful he will be back in business again and the closure is only temporary.
“I don’t like to speak about it in the past tense. I would like to believe it is something t I can revisit and gain strength to reopen. The fact that we are experiencing this hiccup is heartbreaking. As human beings even if the day was filled with storms, we always look forward to the following day, thinking and anticipating better things to come.
“I’m grateful I’m still here and thinking positively and optimistically about the future. It was unfortunate and it hurts me to tell people they can’t work any longer. This was somebody’s bread and butter and they were providing for their families. It is almost like I’ve failed them in a way.”
