My Job / Occupation. Steemit participation challenge, week 4 by @patjewell
Our business
Life is too short therefor you cannot afford not to enjoy what you are doing. Enjoyment is far more important than that big salary payslip at the end of the month.
This has always been my philosophy in life since a very young child.
“I want to be a truck driver” This was my answer when asked what I want to become when I am older. My answer left the adult world grasping for air. A girl and she wants to be a truck driver! Uncles and aunties I don’t just be a normal truck driver I want to be long distance hauling truck driver. Those looks on their faces were invaluable!
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It all started with that dream of being a truck driver.
Coming from a very conservative Afrikaans (one of the tribes in South Africa) the “in thing” after finishing high school was a teaching degree. No ways! This was not for me. As with all children the dream of becoming a truck driver was long gone.
I want to become an economist and I want to work at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Those days female were not allowed to work nor trade at the Stock Exchange. I went to the local newspapers and I ever wrote to our Prime Minister (head of the state) to no avail. Woman was not allowed and that is it!
My dad then gave me another option, a degree in the Afrikaans language. I declined and told my told that I am going to start working and not even in my hometown but in a city 200 kilometers from home. My dad was not impressed and told me that I can go but I must never ever ask him for assistance in any way.
And that was the start of my dream to become a business owner which I am still today.
I found two jobs in the city of Pretoria, the one was as a laboratory assistant and the other own was a government post in public. I took the latter as not will they pay for my studies but I will also be able to take a second job. To satisfy my dad I enrolled part-time at Technicon SA where I obtained my Diploma of Political Science.
Why Political Science, I love history and at that stage I thought it will be the easiest field for me to study. Remember, I just wanted to keep my dad happy.
As I was working in the IT department I opted for the night shifts which not only gave me and extra allowance but I could also work during the day and when it was my week off once a month.
06:00 I was cleaning stables
10:00 I worked as a waiter
18:00 I was on duty in the computer room
I was on a mission but most of all I like what I was doing believing that my personal development was indeed linked to my professional development.
Pretty soon I had saved enough money to buy my first restaurant without having any debt. I now not only had a dream, I was also living it and I never stopped educating myself.
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| TYPE | INVOLVEMENT |
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| Restaurant | Restaurant, coffee bar and sport bar owner serving the hospitality industry for 14 years |
| Small business community | I was a member for many years |
| Motivational speaker | Speaker at numerous events |
| Life coach | Advising people about the changes they need to make |
| Business rescue practitioner | I assisted businesses which were in distress and managed their affairs building them from zero to hero |
| Law | Study law when I was 35 |
| Health | I was a co-founder of a company who manufactured products for the HIV/Aids market |
| Author | I published a book |
| IT | Co-owner and Director of an IT Company |
I am constantly educating myself. I believe it is vital to not only invest in yourself but to stay ahead of trends and changes and the only way you can do it is by learning.
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I was approached by a business owner who wanted me to assist him in getting his business off the ground. I had a look at his business and told him that I will do it on one condition, I want to buy shares in his Company, an IT company.
Now, my crypto and technology friends on Steemit knows that I stick to the basics. I knew very little of technology but I knew a lot of business and in my case study it was clear that I have found a diamond in the rough. I bought shares and 20 years ago I joined the Company.
“We made it!! We had the business we wanted after years of blood sweat and tears.
With, 15 members of staff, nearly 2,500 real estate agencies and agents as clients, hosting of over 1,000 websites and owners of 50 million deeds records we were swimming with the whales. We decided to sell the assets of the Company.
Our logo then and now
And that is what I am currently doing. I am managing a Company with no assets but who offers IT services when we want to, how we want to and when the money is good.
I am sure you are curious to know who the “we” is. After all the years I married my best friend, the other half of the company and my partner in crime.
The various functions I currently perform;
In my office
*Oversee the day to day activities of the Company
*Client liaison
*Managing budgets
*Co-coordinating the operations of the business
*Handling of administrative and financial duties
*Ensuring sustainability
I can assure that these might look like enormous tasks but I have learned to do a little every day and to stay ahead.
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Since our move to the coast time has changed for me. Our home is much smaller and there are fewer to do. I am now looking after my family day and night something I've been longing to do for many years.
↝ I am a wife
↝ I am a mother
↝ I am a granny
↝ I am a housewife
↝ I am a chef and a baker
↝ I am a taxi driver
↝ I am a nurse
↝ I am an educator and
↝ Best of all I am a keen Steemian!
Do I like what I am doing? No, I LOVE it!
You my Steemian friend can also become your own business owner, make a success of it and work when you want to if you believe in yourself. Just get going and don’t give up!
Our website
- Logo's designed with Coreldraw
- Website designed with WordPress
- Photo - my own taken with a iPhone 8 Plus
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I invite;
@patience90
@olabillions
@morpheussa
Great post👍 Reshared on @southernafrica
Tough curriculum vitae! Congrats - you found your way!
Thank you!
What a detailed explanation of how you started! I am wowed by your success stories. In the end, you have achieved your goal of being independent. But you know what? Your duties now surpass every other one but the difference is that you are enjoying it because it's what you love doing. Kudos to you and success in your entry
Good morning!
You are right.. I love what I am doing from the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to bed. Yes, it does go with moans and groans sometime but at least those are soon forgotten. (•ิ‿•ิ)
Thank you for your support my friend!
Guao amiga me impresiones leyendo tu post, me imagino tratando de surgir cada día y lo lograste, le diste gusto a tu papá y te diste gusto tu misma y ahora estás viendo los frutos de ese gran esfuerzo.
Te felicito saludos y bendiciones
Thank you for your visit and your kind words.
They say, "Where there is a will there is a way". This goes for everything in your life.
Put your head down and just do it!
I don't want to write to comments, I just want to know, what is it in life that you don't know because obviously, you have covered every sector
What a woman in man you are
I respect you
It also started by reading as a child. My dad made us not only read books but we had to read the newspaper every day of our lives. He always said that knowledge is the one thing nobody can take away from you and today I can say, "Thank you dad"
My stepson call me Mrs. Google and tells me that I am much faster than Google.
One day I can look back and say, "I had a full life".
Read.. read.. read.. my friend!
Oh well, dad is a hero, and about divan, I second his opinion
I will try and read, read and read more
Gracias
Woaw, i have always known your post to be nothing but quality
And i can see you are very versatile, welldone mum
Ah ha! You found it! (•ิ‿•ิ)
Thank you, I appreciate your visit and kind words.
Also an entrepreneur, just like you.
Best wishes for your career, don't give up!
I love your work, you are truly a strong woman. But wait how can you even imagine yourself been a truck driver though I Know there is money there but been a female. You are truly a boss woman thank you for sharing with us
Ah! A truck driver. Let me tell you a story. Just before Covid I met a woman in my hometown who was from South Africa but who got married and now stays in the USA.
She came to South Africa for cancer treatment. Guess what? She is not only a truck driver but she is also a truck owner. The stories she told me was unbelievable.
Julie is living my dream as a child and she is enjoying it thoroughly. The respect she receives from the male truck drivers is absolutely unbelievable. Not to mention how they have treated her through her cancer treatment.
If you have FB you can look up Julie Morgan, Tucson, Arizona
Ps: Thank you for your visit and support!
What a great success story, you started from working in three places a day to owning your own restaurant. You amaze me so much, despite achieving all this, you keep on learning.
Thanks for this great advice ma, giving up is not an option. Good luck ma.
Education.. education.. education! This is far more important than "location". (•ิ‿•ิ)
I suppose in the end you can call met a sucker for punishment but I love knowing more.
I am glad that giving up is not an option for you. I have seen your potential. Keep it up!
Thank you for support!
You are welcome
Chaaaa🤔 now I know where all those extensive and creative writing are coming from, humm I'm short of words.
Above all you are a strong woman ma'am, everything about you is just unique ❣️
Thank you for this words 👆
Best of luck..
We are all unique in our own way. We just need to make time to find the "true" me and not to doubt. If you loose sight in who you are, the goals you have and the things that makes you happy life can be one hard battle.
I bet you 5 Steems that if you sit and make a list of what you are currently doing and why you will find at least 10 things. (•ิ‿•ิ)
Thank you for reading and engaging with my post!
Thank you for the words of encouragement ma, I will difinatly do as you said.❣️
Pleasure my friend! 🎕