Angels in Alex
Applying psychology to driving instruction: could this be the
answer to South Africa’s road accident crisis?
We all know the stress of driving on congested roads especially
when bad drivers cause accidents. But what if everyone drove properly
and courteously? Well Angels Driving School is trying to
achieve just that.
Angels is the brain child of Kgomotso Ramushu. While busy
studying for her Industrial Psychology degree at UNISA she realised
that just teaching people to drive is not enough. The mental state of
drivers is very important and so changing mental attitudes can
increase driver safety and decrease road accidents.
Originally working with her older brother who has run Leonard Driving
School in Alexandra for many years, Kgomotso decided to start her own
driving school so that she could combine her psychological expertise
with the instruction of new drivers.
To get the start-up capital for Angels she ran a catering business for
eight months which provided her with enough money to open and equip an
office in Bramley.
She originally wanted to be fully operational before accepting clients
but found as soon as the signage went up people approached her for
instruction.
This forced her to outsource the actual practical driving
instruction part of the business to another driving school as she
didn’t have a car of her own at this point.
However she started to make a name for her business with her focus on
customer service and driver attitudes.
Kgomotso first visited The Business Place Alex in early 2007. She used
the internet for research and attended workshops on tendering and how
to write business plans.
Then she saw the Alexandra Business Leader of the Year Award 2007
being advertised and entered the competition. This was a collaboration
between TBP Alex and Standard Bank to inspire entrepreneurs within
Alexandra. She came third and won a cash injection of R5,000 for
Angels Driving School.
For any driving school having your own vehicles is critical for the
long term sustainability of the business. It is also important to have
new cars as a lot of capital is wasted fixing old cars which break
down due to the demands learner drivers put on vehicles.
This is the dilemma facing many in this business. They cannot get
funding to buy new vehicles and so can’t make the money needed to
sustain themselves.
Kgomotso’s marketing strategy is to focus on schools and universities
where final year students need a driving license. Lack of a driving
license is a serious impediment to securing a good job.
The Business Place could help Kgomotso further by providing access to
a preferential loan fund so that she could buy more vehicles for the
business. This would ensure sustainability for Angels going forward
and allow her to employ driving instructors of her own.
Business details:
Angels Driving School
provides training for learner and driver licenses
with a focus on changing driver behaviour on the road.
Kgomotso Ramushu
Mobile: 072 457 8696
Email: kramushu@yahoo.com
Address: No 39 8th Avenue, Alexandra Township
Kgomotso was assisted by The Business Place Alexandra’s Business
Leader of the Year Award 2007. Her story was written by Julie Machin
following an interview on 19 June 2008.
Great news on Kgomotso of Angels Driving School.
Kgomotso managed to secure funding from ABSA for a brand new car
and truck for her driving school a few weeks ago. However they needed
a considerable down payment. So she has done a lot of catering over
the recent weeks and managed to raise the down payment by herself.
Today she visited TBP Alex in her new, branded, car. Now she can
really take her business to another level. |
