Success Story: Anna Phosa

Like it will be always said, behind every success lies struggles, some devotion, hard work, patience and perseverance. What's most important about success stories is to appreciate the story behind the success, and not the success itself.

Today, we talk about another African, this time, a South African.

Photo Credit: theamazingvillage.com

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Anna Phosa's ambition had been to be a Nurse, but life took a different turn. She lost her dad just some years after she was born, and the responsibility of raising her and her siblings was solely transferred to her mum. We know how difficult this is. At a point, Phosa had to drop out of school as the financial burden could not be afforded.

She got married later and joined her husband in his business. But as time goes by, she and her husband decided to get into vegetable farming business to give some extra support to their income. Her quest for knowledge on how to succeed with farming led her to build relationships with some other farmers, and along the line, she met a friend, a pig farmer. That's where it all started. Her interest on pig farming developed and she took the first step by buying four piglets and starting her own pig farm.

In 2004, Phosa bought four piglets. She started with a capital of $100 (about 1000 Rand). Her quest for excellence in the business led her to study books relating to pig farming. She supplied pork (meat from pig) to some companies.

She grew a reputation for herself, and by 2008, She was contracted to supply 10 pigs, weekly, to the stores of Pick ‘n Pay (the second largest supermarket chain store in South Africa, which was established in 1967). This grew to 20 pigs weekly and after a while, the company awarded her a five (5) year contract of about $2.5 million, to supply 100 pigs weekly to the company stores.

With this contract, she obtained loan to expand her business and acquired a larger space of land. From 4 pigs, her farm then holds about 4,000 pigs at a time, and she supplies about 100 to 120 pigs weekly, to retailers in South Africa. She also has a staff of about 20 persons who work for her (As of the time of the first writing of this story).

That's amazing! But one should think about the stress she went through and the constant motivation she had to put on so she doesn't give up. It's in You to Succeed! Sometimes you're on the right part, but you just give up before you get to your destination.

As I write this, my friend who came to visit me asked me a question: He said: "Do you know that every business is a pyramid?"
Come to think of it, it's true. You start with small and grow from there as far as you keep the focus. If you loose focus, you may start from beginning again. Same with working in a company. You start from a basic salary. You can't earn what a person who's been there for 5 years earns. You have to work your way up!