Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
FOR the past 25 years, Mr Danny Sibanda who owns Danny Tyres Enterprise has been getting his hands dirty through handling motor vehicle tyres.
On a busy day, Mr Sibanda handles hundreds of cars that stop over for tyre-related services such as mending, pressure and wheel alignment. He gained experience in tyre works when he worked for a local company from 1998 and started his business in 2005 with only one assistant.
Mr Sibanda underwent training through short courses in tyre fitting, wheel alignment, wheel balancing and tyre mending. After working for the company for seven years, Mr Sibanda decided to open his own business as he wanted to build his own empire. He later underwent training in teacher education and worked for two years before resigning from his job and returning to tyre mending as this is his passion.
“I started my business in 2005 and at that time it was very small. I had one assistant and we used to handle a few vehicles in a day. As time went by, our clientele began to grow and we had to move our garage to another place as the cars were crowding the little space that we had. After some years, I had to move again because the space was becoming smaller. At the moment I operate behind a fuel service station in Gwanda. The space is better but the clientele has increased and my customers end up blocking the way for passing cars or parking in front of neighbouring businesses. It gets so busy here especially during the festive season and we end up handling hundreds of cars. No tyre is too small or too big for us to manage, we even handle heavy duty vehicles and construction vehicles,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said he needs a bigger space where he can serve his clients and also introduce more services as the space he was operating from is constraining him. In 2015, Mr Sibanda enrolled with the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic where he obtained a Diploma in Education. He taught for two years before he resigned and decided to concentrate on his business once again. Mr Sibanda said he prefers being self-employed and creating employment. He said establishing a new business and creating employment is key to developing the country’s economy.
“I desired to be employed, that’s why I took up a teaching job and left someone to manage my business. But I realised that being employed has its limitations and I couldn’t call the shots and spread my wings as I used to. My business was also being affected as I was no longer hands-on. I resigned from the teaching job and went back to running my business. As a businessperson, it’s important to be hands-on in order to ensure that clients get good treatment and excellent services. I now have eight workers and I always emphasise to my employees that good service is key to the growth of the business which will in turn benefit them too,” he said.
Mr Sibanda said he desires to grow his clientele, adding that the tyre business has grown over the years with the increase of vehicles in the mining town and vehicles in transit. Despite having many players in his line of business, Mr Sibanda has managed to maintain his clientele by ensuring that his clients get the best business.
“Just like any business, there is a lot of competition and the number of service providers keeps increasing. I remember when I started working for the company where I got my training, there were no other places that were offering tyre fixing services. This is partly what motivated me to start my business as I realised that there was a gap. Now there are many players who are in this business both in the Central Business District and high density areas. This means that as a service provider, I have to maintain a high standard, do my work to the utmost best and ensure that my clients are satisfied. I always emphasise to my workers that they must offer the best service to our customers,” he said. — @DubeMatutu
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