Neo Mothopeng and Mpho Monareng own the Sandwich Baron at Westgate on the West Rand.
They are both 27 years old and, apart from the love of their business, they enjoy chilling with friends and watching movies.
They are also football fans.
The young men say they are determined to succeed and leave a legacy. How long have you been in franchising?
We have been in this business for the past three months.
What was your path to your current position?
We wanted to get into business but we noticed that a lot of other people had concerns about capital and other resources, so we decided to finance ourselves, which was the first step taken towards our goal of starting a business.
We started saving capital while working for our previous employers so that we could prepare ourselves for any opportunities that came our way. We wanted to avoid loans from institutions, therefore the route to save money ourselves made sense.
We continued looking for investment opportunities while reading a lot of business books, magazines and biographies of successful entrepreneurs.
We read up about our current business, Sandwich Baron, in an entrepreneurship magazine and it interested us straight away, so we pursued it as a viable business option and today we are the franchisees of our own store.
One thing we can tell you, this is only the beginning of our investments. What do you do (broadly speaking)?
“We are young businessmen aspiring to succeed and leave a legacy,” says Mothopeng. “Furthermore I’m an actor and a student at the Vega School of Brand Leadership where I’m doing my honours in brand management.” Briefly, what else does the job entail?
“We build and maintain customer relationships every day, driving sales. We visit customers and market the business. Quality control is important as is keeping staff motivated and making sure that our system functions properly. Where are you based?
We are based on the West Rand, in Westgate Shopping Centre on Ondekkers Road. You can give us a call on 0117688415 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 0117688415 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. What do you love about the job?
Meeting new people and the thrill of winning over customers with our quality meal offerings. How did you get into this line?
Reading, being curious and constantly seeking more. We’ve always wanted to be independent and wanted to own a business. Was it always your dream?
To be in business was not always a dream but we developed the hunger for it as we grew up and through our studies. What are the benefits of the business?
You have flexible times, but still need to manage time properly to get everything done that you need to do. What are some of the drawbacks?
The stress of your business not performing as well as other stores. What kind of a personality is suited to the job?
A person who is passionate, dedicated and pays attention to detail. What education/tertiary background is needed?
Education in general is vital to broaden the mind so any formal tertiary education would assist, but it’s not compulsory. Having some experience or background knowledge in finance helps with your own business. What level of matric should one have/subject passes?
First, do your best to pass all your subjects. In our opinion maths, accounting, business economics and language subjects would be beneficial
http://www.thenewage.co.za/62435-1043-53-Young_hungry_and_out_to_lunch
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