‘Getting my hands dirty lifted me from no income to self-employment’

Bin cleaning business puts food on the table for Pretoria woman

23 January 2023 - 07:25
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In a good month 27-year-old Refentse Sekgaolela makes about R5,300 washing and disinfecting rubbish bins for clients in Pretoria East.
In a good month 27-year-old Refentse Sekgaolela makes about R5,300 washing and disinfecting rubbish bins for clients in Pretoria East.
Image: Supplied

A temporary social grant during the Covid-19 pandemic enabled Refentse Sekgaolela to start her own business. 

Thanks to spotting an opportunity and a go-get attitude, the Pretoria mother started her a rubbish bin cleaning company, Super Clean Wheelie, in October 2020.

She saved R700 for the start-up costs from the R500 top-up allowance awarded to caregivers for five months during the height of the pandemic by the South Africa Social Security Agency.

“When I came up with the idea I had been struggling to find employment since 2018. I started to think outside the box. With the bin business I saw I had an opportunity right in front of me, I just had to use it,” she said.

“I took a risk and I said to myself, ‘It is going to work. Even if I only find five clients I will be consistent and make it work, I am not going to give up’,” said Sekgaolela.

“I wasn’t scared because I am confident. When I tell myself I am going to do this, I am going to do it and I never look back."

The 27-year-old is generating an income of about R5,300 a month. Her company cleans and disinfects wheelie dustbins. 

Explaining how she got the idea, the Mamelodi resident said she was walking in the residential complex in Pretoria East where her mother lives and saw bins lined up on rubbish collection day.

“I thought, ‘Why don’t I start the service so I can make money to support my son and myself and grow as a person’.” 

She asked a friend to design a logo for her flyers. After printing them and buying cleaning supplies, she started distributing the flyers door-to-door in Moreleta Park.

She sets herself targets for recruiting new clients every month. Armed with a high-pressure water pump and other cleaning tools, the former admin assistant hopes to expand into other areas, including in her own neighbourhood.  

Sekgaolela said she made bad choices after school which had set her back.

She said she is thankful she has turned her life around.

“I finished matric and was studying sports management at a college in Randburg. I was mixing with the wrong group and dropped out. I was going down a hole and I almost lost myself. 

“When I found out I was pregnant I decided to change my life, not only for myself but also for my son,” she said.

She said has encountered disdain for the type of work she does, but shrugs it off.

“I get my hand's dirty. I do the work and I am making a living. Criticism doesn’t get to me because I know myself, I know what I stand for.  I am thankful for what I have."

Asked for her advice for youth struggling with unemployment, Sekgaolela said: “Keep trying. There are so many opportunities out there that we can do by ourselves. Just think outside the box and do not give up."

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