Hawkers: the guys who are at almost every single robot at which you stop; the reason you keep your windows rolled up and enjoy your air conditioning. I spend a considerable amount of time in traffic, like every other Johannesburg resident. The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the spirit of these hawkers.
I am a young lad who was fortunate to be blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit. Along with that spirit came common business sense, which was fortified by mathematics, economics and a few other subjects I took while at school. My mathematical skills tell me that if I buy an item for R20 and sell it at R20, I break even. Anything above R20 is a profit. However, business economics taught me that there are other expenses incurred when selling an item, such as transport and other operating costs. So selling something that cost me R20 at R25 might not be making me a profit after all.
My economics class taught me about the laws of supply and demand. If the demand is great enough and there is a supply, then I have a market in which I can trade my goods or services. Unfortunately, the guy wielding the purple dinosaur and bright green hats at the robot doesn’t have the same knowledge I do. I think that the basics of supply and demand are purely common sense and that anyone could clearly see that there is no huge demand for the items he is offering.
I admire the spirit of these hawkers. They are not turning to crime; instead they are trying to make a decent living. I am not bothered by the fact that they are trying to sell something to me on the side of the road. I might not buy it, but I am sure glad it’s one fewer criminal. No matter how many times they get turned down, they still persist. They are even willing to break even or sell at a loss just to recover the cash, because they need it to eat or get home.
Although I might not buy anything from these guys, I sure do wish them the best of luck. I feel sad because they do not have the business education that I have, no matter how little it is. I do believe their entrepreneurial spirit will pay off and maybe one day I will be able to share my knowledge with a few of these guys and make a difference in their lives.
To anybody who runs business or who is an aspiring entrepreneur. I really recommend watching Door to Door, a true story about Bill Porter. In my opinion, it will reinforce the importance of two of the most important values in starting a business or closing a sale: patience and persistence — something I think those hawkers have perfected.
I agree with you on the hawkers, the Homeless Talk sellers especially. How they keep smiling in the face of all those passing motorists who couldn’t give a damn is a wonder to me. Day after day, week after week: how do they do it?
The same problem exists for street traders on the Durban beachfront. The hawkers, like the street traders may be subsidising their activity. Effectively they may be disadvantaging themselves while believing that they are earning a living. I therefore urge our young researchers to collect data on this issue. We may then be able to learn how the street traders and hawkers navigate supply and demand and price determination. Patience and persistance are admirable qualities, but are they a function of livlihoods and poverty reduction?
Do you really believe they don’t realise they’d be better off selling more desireable items?
Surely the problem for them is not knowledge of supply and demand, but access to things like startup capital or market research in order to determine exactly what will sell, and to be able to buy those items at a discount.
Jaynathan’s comments about street traders in Durban got me thinking. I’ve expanded on it here: http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/britten/2007/11/28/economics-market-forces-and-wire-and-bead-craft-sellers/
Gerhard misses my point. It is to first determine the thinking of the traders themselves as well as limits they may be experiencing. We may then suggest appropriate strategies and policy approaches. We need to understand the malady before prescribing the (wrong) medicines!
Jayanathan my comment was mainly directed at Tyler’s article.
Tyler, I don’t know if you are aware that the guys you see at the robots or at the intersections are not making any profit because they are there working, strangely not for themselves but for somebody else who at the end of the day pockets the profit or who makes money. (This reminds me of taxi drivers who drives like maniacs on the road and kill people everyday for their bosses. When you see the way they drive you assume that they own these taxis yet they are not.)
The hawkers at the robots or at the intersections are forced by their employers to be in high spirits and persistant, even if they are turned down cause if they don’t they will be fired.
This is fuelled by foreigners as well whom do not mind to earn as little as they could just to be in the country like SA and have food. Having said that most of these hawkers are foreigners.
The discounts that they give is what their employers initially gave to them as the prize for that particular product and the discount is to lure you the customer into buying. One day you might want to roll down the window and ask them they will tell you.
Anyone who thinks there is no demand for purple dinosaurs and Barbie hats obviously has never driven down a “hawker-road” with a 5 year old. And the hawkers might not know economics, but they know their customer: not me, but my child. They will demonstrate to her how fabulous their toy wares are, and leave it up to her (very well honed) persuasion skills to close the deal.
And I agree with Tyler: often when I am coming home from work, hot, bothered tired and dreaming of greener pastures I am amazed by their spirit, which I do not think can be faked or forced. They are there, in the heat or the rain, taking abuse, day after day, often with smiles on their face and a spring in the steps.
Makes me feel stupid and selfish. And often, I buy their wares. So maybe they do understand business better than we realise.