Ex eggs seller became a millionaire by shining shoes

Those who have polished their shoes at an airport in South Africa, probably was thanks to Lere Mgayiya, who is currently the owner of the largest company of shoeshine Africa, but 13 years ago he was selling eggs to survive.

In fact, his company Lere’s Shoe Shine Experience has business in the three major airports of the country: Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. In Johannesburg they clean about 350 pairs of shoes a day, about 120 pairs in Cape Town and another 120 in Durban. In total, the business has 45 employees in these airports and is currently seeking partners in America and the UK as it tries to expand in Africa.

With gains close to 2.5 billion rand, about $ 228,000, the attitude conveyed by this African ingenious resembles his feet, very comfortable. But fate has not always smiled, as he had to overcome a series of failures to get where he is today. His life is a great business venture risk and reward faith.

Long before becoming the King of cleaning shoes of South Africa, Mgayiya began his career handing out boarding passes for South African Airways, but after years working with the airline, he was fired, so that he launched the business of transporting livestock from his family, but did not go well. Again he was unemployed. But Mgayiya continues to maintain contact with their livestock customers and soon embarked on his new project: selling eggs to the kitchen of the South African Parliament. Gaining $6 per carton of eggs, it was not a very lucrative business. Although he had already faced obstacles in 2002, it was launched in the shoeshine business at the airport of Cape Town; a task that he already knew. So he located his old contacts from his days in the airline and tried to take the square for his business. At first, Mgayiya worked with a partner from 5 am to 9 pm, every day of the week.

It was very hard. But gradually, the number of customers was increasing. One day a customer suggested renaming the company to The Lere Polish Shoes. This worked. People liked it so much that only four months after the team had expanded to five people and business was booming. The success in Cape Town did not stop the enterprising ambition of Mgayiya. In 2014 he had the opportunity to manage all airports in South Africa. He managed to convince his partner and its expansion began soon after, to have 60 employees in five airports.

Today, Magyiya has made a strategic retreat to focus on the top three: Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. An advice given to those young entrepreneurs who have an idea to be successful is, when you start a business in South Africa, you need to trust yourself. The conditions are not always favorable. But if you do not start walking, you will not get anywhere. You have to start.

 Today, his company, Lere’s Shoe Shine Experience, is valued at half a million dollars. A great example to follow.