Justin's Shop, which is situated near the farm workshop area in an old storeroom 
Justin & his girlfriend, Anna, standing inside the shop. Justin is very proud of what he has achieved as he's wanted to start his own business for a long time now.Last year, Justin came to my husband & I to ask if he could turn one of our empty store buildings which is situated up near our main farm workshops, into a small shop selling basic foodstuffs and supplies to both our permanent & casual staff (which can number in the 100’s during our busy planting & harvesting seasons).
We discussed it thoroughly with him, and decided to let him use it – rent free – providing that he kept the area surrounding it neat & tidy (no customers throwing litter on the ground !), stuck to set shop hours and did not encourage loiters to hang around outside the shop.
I then spoke to him about basic things like stock control & rotation, keeping a float, a basic account keeping system and cleanliness and hygiene in the shop. I helped him to set up his initial stock lists, and gave my input on what I thought he should stock. He asked us for a cash advance so that he could have some capital to start it up, which we loaned him (interest free!) He also managed to get 30 day credit facilities from a dry goods supplier in a nearby town. He also asked if my husband would mind, the next time he was passing through the town which he buys his supplies from in his pick-up truck, to collect them for him & bring them to the farm.
It is true that the more staff you employ, the more headaches they give you, and the more things they want (!!) but Justin has been such a loyal and dedicated staff member for so long now, that we really wanted to give him this chance to get his own little business off the ground.
I am a firm believer in providing opportunities for local people & in helping them to see a way out of the poverty which so many of them live in. Justin supports his own ailing mother, his sister, her 2 children and a child of his own from a relationship he had with someone on our old farm (who doesn’t live with him anymore) as well as his new girlfriend. So having this shop does make a difference as it is providing him with an additional source of income and independence.
Most people live hand-to-mouth here and do not budget for their salaries to last them throughout the month (I would say that probably 95% of our staff do not have bank accounts as they do not believe in them and feel that it is far safer to keep their money hidden in their own homes than to put it into a bank). Justin allows people to have 30 day accounts in his shop, which means that they are able to buy food throughout the month to feed their family.
So, what does Justin’s shop stock ? Well, he stocks sugar, rice, beans, flour, maize meal, cooking oil, salt, candles, matches, margarine, yeast, tea leaves, washing soap, soap powder, toothbrushes, toothpaste, batteries, cool drink mixes, sodas (these are consumed warm as he has no fridge/electricity in the shop), bottled water, glucose powder, sweet biscuits and loose sweets (candies).
Justin’s girlfriend of 4 years, Anna, runs the shop for him. Justin is hoping to marry Anna one day but in order to do so he has to pay her family for her in cattle first. So he is saving up enough money to buy the cattle. I tease him and say that maybe if he spent less money on smart clothes, appliances (his recent purchases include a TV, hi-fi & video machine) and a fancy mobile ‘phone, he would be able to buy the cattle sooner, but he just laughs !
I have stopped buying my sugar, flour, soap powder and basic supplies in town now & get them from Justin’s shop instead – mainly to support him and help him to turnover his stock & keep his cash flow flowing smoothly ! He tells me that I’m his biggest and best paying customer (!!) & it’s quite handy if I suddenly run out of something like sugar in the middle of the day – Justin dashes out the kitchen door and is back within minutes – a huge smile on his face and a bag of sugar under his arm – who needs a 24 hour convenience store when there’s Justin’s shop just over the back fence, ‘eh ?!
We discussed it thoroughly with him, and decided to let him use it – rent free – providing that he kept the area surrounding it neat & tidy (no customers throwing litter on the ground !), stuck to set shop hours and did not encourage loiters to hang around outside the shop.
I then spoke to him about basic things like stock control & rotation, keeping a float, a basic account keeping system and cleanliness and hygiene in the shop. I helped him to set up his initial stock lists, and gave my input on what I thought he should stock. He asked us for a cash advance so that he could have some capital to start it up, which we loaned him (interest free!) He also managed to get 30 day credit facilities from a dry goods supplier in a nearby town. He also asked if my husband would mind, the next time he was passing through the town which he buys his supplies from in his pick-up truck, to collect them for him & bring them to the farm.
It is true that the more staff you employ, the more headaches they give you, and the more things they want (!!) but Justin has been such a loyal and dedicated staff member for so long now, that we really wanted to give him this chance to get his own little business off the ground.
I am a firm believer in providing opportunities for local people & in helping them to see a way out of the poverty which so many of them live in. Justin supports his own ailing mother, his sister, her 2 children and a child of his own from a relationship he had with someone on our old farm (who doesn’t live with him anymore) as well as his new girlfriend. So having this shop does make a difference as it is providing him with an additional source of income and independence.
Most people live hand-to-mouth here and do not budget for their salaries to last them throughout the month (I would say that probably 95% of our staff do not have bank accounts as they do not believe in them and feel that it is far safer to keep their money hidden in their own homes than to put it into a bank). Justin allows people to have 30 day accounts in his shop, which means that they are able to buy food throughout the month to feed their family.
So, what does Justin’s shop stock ? Well, he stocks sugar, rice, beans, flour, maize meal, cooking oil, salt, candles, matches, margarine, yeast, tea leaves, washing soap, soap powder, toothbrushes, toothpaste, batteries, cool drink mixes, sodas (these are consumed warm as he has no fridge/electricity in the shop), bottled water, glucose powder, sweet biscuits and loose sweets (candies).
Justin’s girlfriend of 4 years, Anna, runs the shop for him. Justin is hoping to marry Anna one day but in order to do so he has to pay her family for her in cattle first. So he is saving up enough money to buy the cattle. I tease him and say that maybe if he spent less money on smart clothes, appliances (his recent purchases include a TV, hi-fi & video machine) and a fancy mobile ‘phone, he would be able to buy the cattle sooner, but he just laughs !
I have stopped buying my sugar, flour, soap powder and basic supplies in town now & get them from Justin’s shop instead – mainly to support him and help him to turnover his stock & keep his cash flow flowing smoothly ! He tells me that I’m his biggest and best paying customer (!!) & it’s quite handy if I suddenly run out of something like sugar in the middle of the day – Justin dashes out the kitchen door and is back within minutes – a huge smile on his face and a bag of sugar under his arm – who needs a 24 hour convenience store when there’s Justin’s shop just over the back fence, ‘eh ?!
