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Armed with nothing but a dream, Nezisa Sogoni, a 28-year-old who is based in Butterworth decided to take a leap of faith.
She had an IT job that brought in between R10 000 and R15 000 a month and she gave it all up. That was a year ago. From then she decided to start her chicken farm.
It’s been a year filled with errors and wins but Nezisa says it was all worth it because she has almost doubled her salary.
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This is how it all happened:
Quitting a stable job can attract a lot of negative emotions from loved ones, especially for parents. But Nezisa has a different story to tell.
“It was different for me, my family was very supportive, they were sceptical at first but they emphasised that it is best to try something than regret never having tried,” she says.
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Nezisa was focused on pursuing a career in IT as she has an IT degree from the London School of Business. She worked for one of the network companies as a business account consultant. The pay was good, but from a young age she had a dream of running a chicken farm.
She started with ten chickens in her backyard in June 2018. “By December, I had more than one hundred chickens. We produce 500 eggs a month and between 200 and 500 chickens. Each egg is sold for R1.50 and chicken are sold for R100,” she says.
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It wasn’t easy to start her business as she once got scammed.
“I saw this other website that promised to help launch aspiring chicken farmers and everything about it seemed legit, until I paid them R7 000. After that the company stopped taking my calls and the website was suddenly no longer operational. I had ordered and paid for chickens, chicken feed and chicken equipment but all that money was gone,” Nezisa explains.
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She was also scammed off R4 000 on another occasion. There are times when she felt like quitting but always remembered her dream of running a farm.
“Everything depends on me, I have to restock and make sure that I pay myself and the people that help me in the business. I do not expect an income, so it’s not guaranteed. Unlike when I was employed, I knew come month-end, I would be getting paid and my plans were aligned according to my salary. Farming is a challenge, you just need to be able to work hard and have a really strong support system.”
Observing the progress and what she has been able to do, it is evident this venture has paid off. “Currently, I have a farm which has more space and can accommodate more capacity. I produce chickens, broilers, and we produce eggs. Now I am planning to build a chicken structure to expand my clientele.”
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Apart from just starting her farm, she also loved the idea of creating job opportunities. “I have three part-time and two full-time employees at the farm,” she says.
When she has a surplus, she services her nearest communities. “The Market is anyone who loves meat and eggs. From the youth to old age, households and surrounding areas like Idutywa, King Williams Town, Centane and East London to name a few,” says Nesiza.
Have you ever taken a leap of faith which paid off? Tell us your story here.
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