Joburg – Dress how you want to be addressed, that is the message from Irvin Mashele, who is popularly known as Chairman Archaar.
Being able to buy just about anything at a street intersection is part of the South African experience. Whether it is cooldrink, hangers or sunglasses, street vendors are always at your service with their wares.
One of the most noticeable of these entrepreneurs is Mashele. He is always impeccably dressed as he sells his atchar to motorists and passers-by. He believes his fancy attire attracts most of his clientele.
“You cannot open a crèche and paint it black and expect people to bring their kids to a black crèche. It doesn’t make sense. It needs to be colourful. Have you ever seen a fast-food outlet that looks dreary? You’ve seen McDonald’s, Spur and KFC. It has to be attractive. It has to be colourful.”
“That is why I even wear mismatched socks. So, when I am different and stand out from everyone else, that is when I make money. People need to be sold on you before they will buy the product,” Mashele said.
Mashele’s colourful personality allows him to build rapport with his customers, and he can often be seen giving motivational speeches and sharing anecdotes with his customers while they navigate traffic.
“Everyone you come across has a story to tell. You can see it in their eyes. Sometimes you look at somebody, and you can tell that they are in a dark place, and I feel I need to be the light.”
“Once you are in business, you need to interact with customers. Once you interact with customers, they will always buy. They will always buy because they know you will say something positive to motivate them,” he said.
Mashele takes his business seriously and has been selling atchar on the streets of Soshanguve and other parts of Pretoria for the past six years. He has registered his business and even has branded containers. So naturally, one would think he would have tried to put his product on the shelves of retail stores.
“I don’t think I’ve reached a million people yet. You need to build a client base. I model myself around DJ Sbu. Before he took his energy drink to the retail market, he sold it on the streets so he could build a customer base.
“I’ve always felt that before you take your product to the shelves, people on the ground need to know you first. Even the kids need to know who you are and what you are selling so that they can walk into the store and ask for your product by name. I’m on the streets, creating a buzz and a name for myself. Covid has also affected my plans, even though I was still selling, ” Mashele said.
Mashele was born in Winterveld township in Pretoria and later moved to Soshanguve. Unlike most children, he didn’t dream of being a doctor or anything of the sort. He was always of the belief that he would make something of himself. He dreamt that he was destined for bigger things.
Growing up in the township, he had few positive role models. Instead, he and his peers idolised gangsters and thugs as they seemed to be living a good life. This resulted in him being incarcerated.
“I grew up under the influence of crime. We saw gangsterism as our way out. Most of us idolised gangsters and criminals because, around the township, we don’t have doctors and lawyers. Once people qualify, they leave and move to the suburbs”.
“I ended up in prison. I did not escape the cycle. It led me to end up in prison for a robbery, and that was in 1996,” he said.
Once he left prison, he decided that a life of crime was not for him, and he tried his luck selling various items.
“I’ve sold everything except for drugs. I’ve sold clothing, panties, bras and everything else you can think of, and I’ve always targeted women because they like to buy things. Even when men come to buy my atchar, it’s often because their wives have instructed them to do so,” Mashele said.
A friend of his taught him how to make atchar, and he has not looked back since. His business has grown from strength to strength, and he has been able to buy a bakkie from the proceeds of selling his brand of atchar.
He implores young people not to wait for jobs but to look for opportunities to start their own businesses instead.
“Young people must rid themselves of the mentality of wanting to be employees. They need to use what they have where they are and take advantage of the opportunities available to them,” Mashele said.
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