An 18-year-old schoolboy has become the envy of his peers after starting a business at a very tender age.
Phetho Makhadi of Thohoyandou Unit E, or Ha-Magidi, is a boy with dreams and has become a classic example that everything is possible, depending on how much effort one is prepared to give to what one is doing.
Others would think that starting a clothing brand would need thousands of rands, but for this Grade 12 learner at Tshivhase Secondary School, it needed only a few hundred rands and proper planning.
The idea to start a clothing brand came in 2016, but the young man did not know how to go about it as he did not have capital. R200 given to him as a birthday present by his mother kickstarted the business and a brand called FLEX was born in 2017, and Makhadi has not looked back.
Not knowing how the public would like his work, he started off by designing his personal caps and posting them on Facebook - the response was overwhelming.
"This inspired me a lot and my mother became my other source of inspiration as she encouraged me to go for my dream. One thing led to the other, and today I have five cap designs, T-shirt designs and two shoe designs. My latest design is the Flex Cruise shoes, which has been well received and is doing very well," he said.
Makhadi further indicated that he wanted to show that the youth could succeed in what they dream if they set themselves goals and disregarded their own backgrounds. He added that he did not have money, but sacrificed his pocket money, sometimes having to travel on foot to save money in transporting his merchandise to Thohoyandou for clients.
Besides his business insight, Makhadi has developed a soft heart and has since started donating beanies to disabled learners at Tshilidzini Special School. He said he would continue donating the beanies to the learners as long as his brand was still alive.
His other plan is to create jobs for the youth and prevent their spending their precious time roaming the streets and ending up doing crime. "I would like one day to see my brand going international and being sold at the big shops. To the youth out there my advice is that never to let your home background be a stumbling block towards achieving your goals and dreams; work hard and you will reap the fruits," said Makhadi.
Youths seeking advice can contact Makhadi on Facebook at FLEX88 of phone him on 072 732 9232.