Small thinking, big ideas
Small, whose real name is Hope Malatje is thinking big. The 22-year-old entrepreneur is one of many people who had to go back to the drawing board after Covid-19 hit as he could not keep his business in town, Small’s Car Wash, afloat. He made the difficult decision to close the car wash and take time to plan his comeback. “When Covid-19 hit, business wasn’t doing well and the cost of staying open was too much. I had to go back and get my bearings before I made another attempt at a business,” he said.
He was at home for two months when he was struck by the idea to turn the initial idea of a car wash into a cleaning service that is not limited to washing just cars. He recalled a customer who would bring his carpet to get washed whenever he brought his car. “It made sense to work on this idea. I started washing windows and offered other small services in cleaning,” he said.
Malatji got funding from the National Youth Development Agency for machinery that made growing his business a possibility. “I thanked God when I got the machinery because it showed that He had not abandoned me. It really helped me because I used to borrow machinery from someone else in the same business and I would give him a cut of the profit I made,” he said.
Small currently employs 10 youths on a temporary basis. He hopes to grow and create permanent employment. He also plans to create his own cleaning products and secure office space once he can secure funding.
He is on all social media platforms as Small’s Cleaning Services.