Street Hustle Accra: A day in the life of shop-keeper saving for tertiary education

Susana is a Senior High School graduate and is working to secure some money to continue her education.

Here’s more about her day:

Morning

Usually, I wake up at 4:30 am because I don't stay close to the shop. I have to prepare quite early so that I can get to the shop early.

So I do my usual house chores like sweeping and cleaning then prepare myself for the shop. At least by 6:00 am I should be at the shop. Because it’s a provision shop, I get there early so that I don’t miss the workers who would want to buy something for breakfast and some snacks for their children while they take them to school.

Sales are very active from about 6 am to 10 am. So after this time, I get some free time to eat breakfast then the usual work continues.

Afternoon

In the afternoon, sales are quite slow so I have enough time to sometimes read or be on my phone for a while. I check social media and news portal to see what is trending while doing my job as well.

After 3 pm, sales become active again because by then, students are back from school and parents begin preparing dinner so they buy a lot. During this time, there certainly isn’t time to check your phone or eat so all these must be done early to prevent me from getting hungry.

Evening:

The evening sales are unpredictable. There are times when I either get active sales or a very dull sales time. When workers are home early, then they are likely to buy what they will need early. So just a few buy quite late in the evening. At other times, they come home late so they buy very late.

Regardless, I close at 9 pm so people who buy from me always do so before the time I close. I always make sure I eat before I close, if not, then it means I have to starve for the night because I am scared of getting a bigger tummy.

After I close, I head straight home because I always get tired for the day and have no time chatting with friends at that time.

So I get home, take a shower, check my phone and reply to some important messages and then go straight to bed.

Best work moments:

My work is a little flexible and gives me time to read and have time on my phone too, so I get in touch with friends.

One other interesting moment is when customers ask me to keep the change. It feels good and I save them for future use. Sometimes, I only spend my tips and save my salary for my school.

Challenges:

It’s difficult for my boss to trust me. Because of this, I write every single thing bought in the shop down including toffees and this is very stressful. I do this so that she knows I don’t steal from her.

Another thing is that I work from Monday to Sunday and it is very stressful. The only time I have to rest is when I am sick or I have to attend to some serious family issues.