Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Walala Wasala

Recently I have been entertaining the thought to have my own business somewhere in the future. My ideal, of course, would be to have my own winery or olive farm, but I'll probably have to win the lotto before I'll manage that one. Then I'll have to start playing the lotto. I actually dreamt some lotto numbers last night, and a slithering heap of the most horrific reptiles in my shower. But that's besides the point.

For a business to work, you need to identify a gap in the market. I've been struggling a lot to get packaging for my products, and saw it as a gap in the market. And because the whole economic world is China crazy, my idea was to be an intermediary between a Chinese packaging company and South Africa. But one day, at the moment I've got other selfish plans. The Chinese do cheap, intricately designed, beautiful paper and foil packaging. It made so much sense.

Today I had yet another packaging crisis, but my furstrations were halved and then quadrupled when I heard that, not to worry, there's a new guy in the business who has hooked up with a connex from China, and will soon be importing cheap, intricately designed packaging in paper and foil. Shite!

But starting my own business is not for me, not now. I know nil-per-brain about business in any case. Haven't even read my copy of 'Rich dad, Poor dad'. I've got some good friends / connections, cause it's about who you know, you know? And they offered to help me, but later, later. No idea where the next 3 years is going to take me, but it's not going to be as the head of a company.

As for the China import/export idea: you snooze, you lose. Or, as I prefer it in isiZulu: walala wasala. My other favourite Zulu expression is zonke bonke which means something in the line of 'everything for everybody'. It's the slogan of the biggest funeral house. Death is a lucrative business in AIDS country.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey LUlubella

Do you know the zulu meaning of walala wasala and did you mean it that way?
(ons) slaap
(ons) bly

sojourner incognito said...

nou dat jy dit mention.. kan ek die connection sien. Het dit net by die workers gehoor - het dit op posters, etc gesien, en enquire wat dit beteken..

Kaan as ek dink aan
lala kathle (sleep well)
sala kathle (stay well)

maak dit nogal sin. Net nooit so daaraan gedink nie.

But yeah, het dit so bedoel.. walala wasala, sleep and you'll stay behind i.e. you snoooze, you looose.

Anonymous said...

Nice comments. Don't lose your drive - you have the spirit of a true entrepreneur. Set your goals and 'just do it'.
I was looking up comments on walala wasala for my newsletter and came across your blog.
From Engineers for Africa.

Anonymous said...

I have an unused farm in Kwazulu Natal.
Should you be interested, contact me on venisa.gomell02@gmail.com