In business, the sale is arguably the most important part of a transaction. Whether it’s cigars, coffee or your voice, the ability to find buyers for your product is invaluable. AfriKera graduate Chido Chigariro practices this principle. Successfully advertising her confidence to choreographers and creamy cupcakes to hungry classmates. I sat down with my former student to discuss her journey as a businesswoman and dancer.
Ticha
I see today you’ve brought some cupcakes.
Chido
Yes.
Ticha
How much are they going for?
Chido
50 cents.
Ticha
So I only have …..dollars, do you accept them?
Chido
Yes, they are the ones I’m taking. I also take Euros.
Ticha
Euros? Can you use them here in Zimbabwe?
Chido
I will use them when I travel.
Ticha
Here is what I’ll do… 50 cents right?
Chido
Yes dollar for two.
Ticha
I’ve got something here, (reaches into pocket) please can I have two.
Chido
You can open and take.
Ticha
This is a very nice container, where did you get it?
Chido
I bought it in town
Ticha
(Takes two, closes the container and takes a bite)
Mmmmmh! What flavour is this?
Chido
Chocolate mint and chocolate vanilla.
Ticha
It’s good! This is the second time I have brought something from you, the first was…
Chido
The yoghurt drinks.
Ticha
Yes! So, you are a third year student, here at AfriKera, correct? You are graduating later on in the year.
Chido
Correct.
Ticha
How did you start your business of selling food, clothes etc?
Chido
You said how, rather when. I call it a hustle though it’s entrepreneurship. I started selling in primary school, should be Grade 4 or 5. It started as trading, someone during break saw what you were eating, ‘Ah I want that’ then a trade was possible. It became a selling habit throughout high school, I remember when we used to have high rates like R8 (rand): $1.*
So, my mom would give me a dollar to spend for two days. I would go to the tuck-shop and buy something for two 20 cents, then I get R8 rand as change in coins, since we don’t use American coins here.
If someone would ask for change, I would give them the R8 and get a dollar back.
I would do the same thing the following day, spend 20 cents, look for someone who wanted change and the dollar. Then my mom would give me the next dollar after two days, and I would have generated a small profit.
Ticha
Was your mom influential in terms of selling goods and making profits?
Chido
I would say so. She worked as a salesperson in Hwange and was also involved in marketing, so the commercial bug runs in the blood!
Ticha
When did you start dancing?
Chido
In primary, though my mom would say I started as a toddler. I loved dancing.
Ticha
So, you started dancing before selling?
Chido
Yes.
Ticha
Okay, tell me about your journey into the AfriKera Dance Training Program (APDT), how did you hear about it, how did you get into it?
Chido
There was a performance for Dreamstar, a talent search show at a hall in my neighbourhood ,Highfields.
I went to see what was going on and met up with this lady Deborah. Generally, approaching people doesn’t scare me. I told her ‘Hey, I really like your hairstyle, are you an artist?’ She told me yes, I am. By then she was studying at AfriKera and showed me her videos. I was surprised ‘There is a dance school in Zimbabwe!?’
I wanted to go to a professional art school and had to come into the APDT. I got Soukaina’s (AfriKera director) phone number and texted her ‘Hey, I would like to come.’ She responded in a harsh way, but I never gave up. I kept on asking Deborah about the auditions, she told me that you have to go for the three-week audition tryouts, which will get me into the three-year program on a scholarship.
I finished high school in 2012, met Deborah in 2014 and waited for three years to get into the program. That’s how I came here.
Ticha
During your three years here, I noticed that in shows, if there is singing involved or dialogue, you feature a lot in those segments. You did mention that you are not afraid to approach people, you seem to be very sociable and also popular amongst your classmates. What qualities do other people/teachers see in you to give you these positions of ‘spokeswoman’ or voice of a certain project?
Chido
What they say they see: The confidence I carry. I can tackle something I’ve been assigned to do. It may not be easy, but I project the confidence. Also sometimes there is a certain body type needed for an activity, as a tall woman I have an advantage for certain performances plus my confidence.
Ticha
What do you think is more important in having that ‘front-row’ position, the physical size of the person or size of their confidence?
Chido
The way they attack and their confidence. You might be able to do something but with no confidence, it is difficult for people to work with you. I can say to someone who has low self-esteem: ‘if you cannot believe in yourself no one will.’
For someone to come and choose you, they believe in you. No matter the size of the body, you have to be confident to attack the role you have been assigned. Confidence is powerful with knowledge of the task at hand but can be deadly without it, so a combination of the two is key.
Ticha
When you are selling stuff, that is an important ingredient?
Chido
Confidence and being able to convince. You can be confident, but someone doesn’t want to buy.
For example let’s make it fun, ‘I can really see you digging into these cream cakes!” or in the streets, confidently stop in front of a person and say, ‘Hey this is what I have and I want you to buy one.’
Ticha
In terms of body language, you seem to pick up hints from people, what are the signs of a potential customer?
Chido
Everyone is a potential customer. Yesterday, I went into a flea market, there was this other guy, you see that they are there to buy but can be scary to approach. You just have to go and say ‘Hi, this is what I’m selling.’ Read their face. If you see that they are tense, come relaxed. You can’t fight tension with tension. Crack a joke or try something else depending on the persons mood.
Ticha
This work can be very tiring.
Chido
It is.
Ticha
Do you have any rituals to help you relax?
Chido
To get the energy back considering that I’m a student, I get home tired and want to bake, the whole preparation, I rest after baking. I’m a person who believes in God, I say ‘I don’t know but I will learn.’
It’s not by my power but by God’s. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to connect the dots to see the wholesale markets and places to operate.
I’m a person of strong faith. Praying for a few minutes thanking him for the dollar I got, those are my rituals.
Ticha
In terms of your products, what do you make and what do you source?
Chido
The ones I make on my own and buy to re-sell?
Ticha
Yes.
Chido
The products I make are baked and cooked goods like the ‘Ma fritters’ I brought. It’s a mixture of flour, potato and onion, then you deep fry.
For clothes, I buy from different places and people, Where I get them for $2 I put my $1 or $2 profit because there are so many costs I have to count, if I am going to get something. Baking is also expensive because there are a lot of ingredients needed and time.
Like I would need four hours to make these cream cakes, because I am changing trays and putting them in then out of the oven, unlike a cake which uses one tray.
I remember a Saturday night when I slept at 2:00 [am] having started at 22:00.
So, in terms of percentages it’s 40% of the things I re-sell and 60% goods that I make.
I barely have enough time to bake considering I need to get home, study, rest, yes, I’m a student but also somebody’s child. I have to take care of my mom and people who look up to me. I can say that it is not easy, but I am fighting. You know ‘runners’ people who cross borders to buy goods?
Ticha
Yes.
Chido
I also use them and cheap shops. But the time to do that is during my lunch break.
Ticha
Which is an hour!
Chido
Even 30 minutes if something pops up! It’s not enough. Also, this whole Covid-19 period, it’s shrunk the time and I don’t have as much time as pre-pandemic. It’s tiresome.
Ticha
God forbid-if I’m lying… you seem to be doing well!
Chido
If you look at me, you don’t see it but I am tired. Like I said, if it wasn’t for God I wouldn’t be able to do all these things.
I can sell here but not everyone might buy. These students have other stuff to take care of as well. So, it won’t be easy to sell here and it’s not all the time that they would want to buy clothes for example.
Plus, you won’t have the same customers every day, you have to have a huge clientele: classmates, someone in the street, people in my neighbourhood.
I struggle and fight. To sell is not easy but you are your own boss and the owner of your money. How much you earn in a day, month-end is really up to you. People who work for themselves don’t have to work for someone else. That is the advantage.
Ticha
Speaking about being your own boss and touching on self-motivation. It seems that selling, buying and dancing, these things intertwine. Self-confidence, motivation. Yes, you are in school but you are also selling yourself. Example, there is your natural profile: Being tall, good for projects where you have to be centre-stage.
You also sell your confidence, voice projection. Many people do not see this in school: Getting chosen for certain productions is like a demo for the real world. A selection based on qualities, good singer, actor with facial expressions. Or perhaps an athletic dancer. Do you see where the qualities interact in both dance and business?
Chido
Yes, I apply them on both sides. As dancers is it important for people to have the mentality of ‘I am my own product, I am selling myself.’
In Zimbabwe some people look down on the arts and pay us lower than the value of our craft and effort. You need wardrobe/clothes to look presentable when looking for work. Sometimes costumes are needed for a certain project and the cost comes from your own pocket. We artists have a lot of wants and needs. A side hustle is a must.
Ticha
I’m starting to see the picture… if a student graduates from here with their sole focus on dance, you mentioned the need for a good wardrobe to sell yourself, if you don’t have that, convincing people to work with you in the professional dance market becomes difficult.
Chido
In Zimbabwe the co-dependency rate amongst the youth is high. In other countries, young people have properties in their own name or that they have worked for. Here a 19 or 18-year-old who has a property, is most likely inherited. So, you need to work.
Life in Zimbabwe is not easy, especially for us ladies. If you do not work, somebody is going to work on you.
Ticha
Mmmmmm! (Nods in agreement)
Use your brain to get what you want and need. We don’t see the blessings we have: Being able to dance. Some people in the world do not have all their limbs, but they find a way to make money to support themselves. We have all our limbs, but we just want to use them to beg and beg, get someone out there to give us.
Chido
I was inspired when I saw the story of a disabled man who plays golf, he doesn’t have legs and hands, so he holds the club in his mouth.
Why can’t I work if I have everything that God has given me?
Be content with what you have, while working for what you want.
Ticha
Very beautiful, thank you for sharing your business and dance stories! I always like ending my interviews with some quick-fire questions
Chido
Fire on, I’m here. (Laughs)
Ticha
What’s the most you’ve made in a day. Profit?
Chido
$17
Ticha
Biggest loss suffered?
Chido
Less than 50% in a day.
Ticha
What is your most successful product?
Chido
Perfumes, jewellery, jeans and cream cakes. Not one, sorry!
Ticha
The product that is hard to sell.
Chido
None. I can sell anything, even the gum you are chewing.
Ticha
Do you have more male or female clients?
Chido
Men.
Ticha
Hold on… this is interesting why?
Chido
Perfumes for men and they buy straight up. A lot of women ask to buy on credit. I don’t take credit.
Ticha
Most important thing dancers need to know when selling themselves?
Chido
Their worth.
It takes a thousand thoughts to think of all the things your body does in a minute. Fingers, toes, eyes facial expressions, everything. The journey is tough, so they have to know their worth.
Ticha
Chido, we will both use our cupcakes to toast your future successes as a dancer and businesswoman. Toast!
Chido
Toast!
*Zimbabwe introduced a multi-currency system in 2019 which included the South African Rand and United States Dollqr.
