Self-employment

Economic and management sciences

Grade 7

Economic principles

Module 1

Self-employment

How often have you wished that you were able to generate your own income to be independent of your parents? You’ve imagined this to be impossible? Consider it again!

1. Self-employment in South Africa

No lazing around for young Crossroads boy

By Sobantu Xayiya

An 11-year old boy from Crossroads who could not gain entrance to school has started his own barber’s concern.

Xolisa Mgusholo, the young entrepreneur from the Transkei, says that he started his enterprise because he did not want to just sit around for a year.

“When I came from the Transkei at the beginning of the year, I tried really hard to gain entrance to a school, but all the schools were full and they said I should try again next year,” he said this week.

“I did not want to be bored and unoccupied, so I started cutting hair. Nobody showed me how to do it . . . I just trusted my instinct and taught myself as I went along. At first I used a pair of scissors, and practised on my family, for R2 a head.”

“When I had earned enough money, I bought an electric cutter for R113 and then my enterprise took off,” he said.

“The number of customers grew and I needed to work faster.”

Customers came to his house, but when they could not do that, he went to their houses.

His customers vary from toddlers to scholars, as well as “Oobhiti” – older people – and he now charges R5 per person.

With the approaching festive season in sight, the young entrepreneur plans to buy a second electrical cutter “because I do not want to disappoint my customers”.

Xolisa says he is not afraid of competing with established town barbers.

“The people know me and they will come to me for as long as I satisfy them.”

All his profit goes to his mother Alice, a domestic worker, to help the family.

One of his customers, Xolili Khambi, 13, says that he decided to support Xolisa when he saw how he had cut his brother’s hair.

“He did a good job,” he said.

Xolisa has about eight customers a day and makes up to R32 in profit over weekends.

From: Sunday Times Cape Metro , 21 November 1993

1. Self-employment in other countries

The number of people working for themselves is increasing worldwide.

Activity 1:

To interpret statistics and make inferences

[lo 1.2]

Study the following table, interpret the statistics and draw conclusions

• Which country has the lowest percentage of people in the labour market working for themselves?
• Which three Eastern countries have a strong focus on self-employment?
• Make a list of household articles produced in these countries. What deductions can be made from your list?
• Convert the above statistics to percentages and present the information in a block graph.

The reason why so few South Africans create their own employment is to be found in the very strict labour regulations that used to exist and which made it very difficult for an individual person to obtain permission to start his/her own business. Compared to other countries, much of South African economic activity was centred in a small number of large businesses.