07 Sep 2016

For many people, having more than 10 years in business would mean the expectation is high. In most cases the expectation is that the business owner would have regular clientele and therefore be making more money. 

However, according to Ms Thato Chalashika who is the business operator of Stone Belt Milling Company in Jwaneng, such is not the case. The 25 year old woman said in an interview that as the daughter of the company owner, Ms Idah Chalashika, she has seen the business endure ups and downs but against all odds it is still operating.

Thato said their business started operating in 1999 and the nature of the business is mainly milling and supplies. “We basically do milling of things like sorghum, maize and anything that can be milled,” she said. According to Thato, there was a point in time when the business used to do well when that part of the country used to receive good rains but the business has since declined due to low rainfall. She said their business mainly targets farmers who usually bring the crops to be milled either for consumption or for their pets.

The woman who originates from Masunga said her parents moved to Jwaneng when she was very young and she witnessed how they started the business from nothing, nurture until it became what it is today. Being in the administrative part of the business, Thato shared on the different aspects of the milling business. She said in the recent years, people do not do a lot of milling as they used to in the past. “Most people prefer to buy ready made mills as they believe it is cheaper,” she said. She however commends her mother who still believes that the business will grow to reach greater heights.

Drawing inspiration from her mother, Thato also had the opportunity to start her poultry business which she stopped operating two years ago because she had to focus more on her tertiary studies. “Because of my personal experience in running a business, I find that I am able to overcome all kinds of challenges I face in this family business,” she said. She said her mother employed her cousin Widzani Ntobetsi aged 21years to do the actual milling. In an interview, Mr Ntobetsi said she enjoys working at the company because he takes comfort in the fact that it is a family business. 

“I am motivated daily when I come to work by the fact that this is a family business so its growth means my personal improvement,” he said. Ntobetsi said he mostly enjoys meeting and interacting with different customers almost everyday.

According to Thato, their milling company used to supply mills to other places surrounding Jwaneng like Mabutsane,Khonkhwa and Maokane amongst others. She said that there has been a decline in supplying for those areas because oflow rains. “People no longer come to do milling as they hardly plough,” she said. Thato said the famine has affected the business greatly. She said however as a family they are not perturbed as they keep moving from strength to strength. She said something that comforts them is the fact that they own the land where their business is located and a such they are exempted from paying rent. “We also have two offices which we have put up for rental and a tuck shop here which adds a bit of income” she said.

The business operates from 730 am until 5 pm on a daily basis. It is situated near the Camp in Jwaneng. Thato said she has observed that customers are price conscious. “For a long time we had not increased our prices but as soon as we did, most people moved from us to do their milling in Kanye,” she said. 

She said however, patience, perseverance and hope keep them going. “My mother has even decided that we should seek financial assistance from government to expand the business,” she said. Currently they have three milling machines in the business and they have never applied for any funding.

In her last words, Thato who is a graduate has urged youth who may be unemployed to make themselves useful in their community by volunteering their services. She said she has offered to do tutoring at Mpule Kwelagobe Charitable Organisation and is still awaiting the response. 

She said their family business keeps inspiring and believes it would reach greater heights despite all odds. ENDS