Five questions with store owner Rizwan Janmohamed

Rizwan Janmohamed started his own shop, Aromas of Zanzibar, in Stone Town in February 2011. He spent a year before that studying and surveying the curios and boutique business before opening up the shop. Rizwan was originally born in Morogoro and completed his secondary and higher education there. By 2006 he had a certificate in Hospitality and Tourism Management, and obtained a job with the Ammani Kendwa Beach Resort, where he worked until late 2010.

1) Please tell us a little bit about what you sell at Aromas of Zanzibar. For example, where are the products made, and who buys them?

When we talk of aromas in other words we can describe them as flavours or tastes. We have aromas of oil, aromas of tea, aromas of spices, aromas of textiles and aromas of curios. Briefly I can say I sell different types of tea, spices, necklaces, curios and clothes. The concept here at Aromas is that everything is made from local and natural resources and everything is made right here at our workshop.

For example, one product sold here at Aromas is the necklace. The necklace is made out of glass beads, local tree wood known as Mninga, together with fabric which comes out of kanga and kitenge. This results into a necklace which we call the Afrikana necklace.

So you can see the whole creation of the necklace comes from local resources available. Our main clientele are indigenous people of Zanzibar plus tourists.

2) What are the benefits of running your own shop in Zanzibar as a young person?

We have to understand that people do not work always for themselves to get rich; greed is rarely a motivation for taking the risk of running your own business.

Currently, I can say I’m learning a lot of new things. I am gaining a lot of experience and I pursue new adventures often. New ideas come up and I try to implement them.

Apart from that you have the freedom to set your own goals, leave your mark on the world and change something. Running your own business also enables you to have clear vision. The other thing is controlling your ideas, as you are in the driving seat so your destiny rests in your hands alone. The choice is ultimately yours; there are no policies that dictate the software you use or the colour of the office wall. Your organization can reflect your own personal taste and style. Also you get to hire your own people so you choose your team. There is also a flexibility of adapting to new opportunity. You no longer have to feed ideas up the line for other’s to make the decision.

3) What are the challenges you face as a business owner?

Setting up in business and sustaining it, especially in its early stages, is a real challenge. We young people can find it particularly hard to translate business ideas into a working reality but with the right approach, guidance and support, it is possible.

Even after you have formed a business though, it is also difficult sometimes to decide whether you are making the correct decision to make your business grow. There is never enough time in the day. For example, recruiting new staff becomes stress full because it is difficult find employees who can coop with the environment.

As a business owner, I face challenges not only in the day-to-day management of my shop, but also in ensuring its long–term viability. Because there is economic uncertainty on the flow of the tourists, I cannot be sure that the products in my shop will be in demand in the future; the best I can do is observe the demand patterns and work with them.

4) Zanzibar attracts a lot of tourists, especially because Stone Town is a World Heritage Site. What business ideas do you think work best for tourism in Zanzibar?

If you walk through the Stone Town, you will notice that most businesses have the same ending as the shop name (eg: — Arts, — Souvenirs, etc.), or the same products or same services. Therefore it is high time now to come up with something that is unique. The local resources have to be utilized to the maximum.

For example, there is a lack of a cultural center in Stone Town, and this may be the first place we can start looking towards. A business project like a cultural center will give the local people of Zanzibar a chance to share their culture and livelihoods in a common space and will also allow entrepreneurs to showcase diverse products that assist in the local peoples’ daily lives.

5) Do you have any advice for our young readers about running a business in Zanzibar?

I would say that one of the biggest problem that young business owners have is the failure to properly identify and understand exactly who their ideal client or customer is before they get too far into their business. So often we see an entrepreneur who thinks that ‘everyone’ needs their product or service.

I would encourage other young entrepreneurs to know who their ideal client is and learn exactly what it is that they want, what are their fears, their desires…what is going to solve the issue that they currently have.

As an example, you cannot sell a glass of water to someone who is not thirsty. You could, but it would be a long and tough sell. It would make more sense to set up a water station by the beach or at a marathon where there are lots of thirsty people.

So I would say to young people before you establish a business, know your ideal client first. It is about them, not you or your product.

Thank you.

Vijana FM thanks Rizwan for his time and thoughts! He can be contacted at aromasofzanzibar (at) gmail (dot) com. Don’t forget to contribute to this conversation here below!