Today is a big day for us at the Maker Movement. Our first graduate Wam has opened his first business, Thole Services, which is running the second BGR burger restaurant on Florence Ribiero Road in Pretoria.
Wam’s background and story are not unique. The barriers and hurdles he has had to journey through are typical of what so many young, high-talented South Africans face in establishing themselves in our economy.
We spent some time hearing him share what it has taken him to get to this point and where he wants to be in future:
Wam coaching the team
Tell us about where you grew up?
I was born and grew up in a small village called Bumbanae, whose direct translation means United. It is under the Cala municipality about 100km from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. I did my primary schooling there and went to Queenstown for high school where I boarded at student accommodation
Wam’s home town Bumbanae
How did you end up in Gauteng?
At the end of 2012, I was unemployed and looking for employment in Queenstown. I was residing at a location called Ezibeleni. Because there were close to no opportunities in Queenstown I decided to come up to Joburg because I had an aunt living in Newvale and she was happy for me to stay with her until I could find a job. I came up here in early 2013 and got my first job in 2014 selling airtime at a taxi rank.
Wam at his first day of work
How did you become a Maker?
I came across Harambee in March of 2014 and I was invited to 3 assessments and then I was connected to BGR. I became a Maker on the 27th of August 2014 (my birthday) and was part of the first team at BGR. The first store in Rosebank officially opened on the 24 November 2014.
What did you learn on the Maker programme?
The first thing I would highlight is the excitement and joy of interacting with different people from different backgrounds on a personal level so that we can build relationships in our environment whether they are Makers or customers or suppliers. It brings joy to be working in an environment which is so different to other environments that I have worked in such as selling airtime.
The major shift that happened in my life happened mentally. It happened when I stopped thinking about looking for a job but when I decided to become a business owner so that I could own my own business and help others succeed as well.
What have you learned about leadership?
Personally, I do not believe I was born a leader - I grew up in an environment where I was a follower. What I have learnt about being a Maker is to never be afraid to lead change. With that said, it made me step out of my comfort zone and learn how to lead others and now I am a leader. People are different, and the way you communicate doesn’t mean that everyone on your team necessarily understands. It is important that when you communicate and lead, you accommodate every person. The system you use is not necessarily correct all the time, it may suit some people but not others so you have to find different techniques of delivering messages to different people.
Where did this experience take you?
The three years on the Maker programme was equivalent to me doing a business degree. I became the first store coordinator at Rosebank for a year and then my leadership of that store allowed me to take on two leadership positions at different petrol stations. Being able to go out and apply what I learned at BGR in a different environment was very valuable to me. I was able to do that as a site manager and an assistant site manager responsible for the forecourt, the C-store and the food offering for these petrol stations. It was a good way for me to widen my skills and experience in dealing with customers and bigger teams.
Wam is BGR's first Owner-Operator
Tell us about Thole Services
Thole Services was established because I was given the opportunity to become an Owner-Operator for BGR where I can operate the store at Florence Ribiero in Pretoria.
It is important to me because when you are young and are growing up you are influenced by many things: your education system and the job system. When I was growing up I was looking up to people who had great jobs in government or a good company. There was no chance when I was growing up that I could think that I could be a business owner.
The fact that I have established a business that is serving customers and has its employees is important to me. It is not just a shelf company. It is real. It is the first step where I can leave a legacy for my wife and children and start building wealth for them. For most people, the only thing that you inherit is culture and I want that to change, I want my kids to inherit culture and wealth. That is my vision.
What do you hope to pass on to the new Makers in your store?
The most important thing that my guys need to learn from day 1 until they are owning their own business is that they must show curiosity because it can unlock a lot of things in their lives. It is going to give them a lot of information. If they don’t do this, they won’t learn and won’t get out of their comfort zone to grow and will remain at the same level as they are now. If you are curious you are going to find out a lot about a lot of different things: hospitality, operations, finance, leadership, people management. Curiosity gives you the ability to keep growing and learning so that you can break the barriers so you can go into whatever you want to achieve in life.
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