Small businesses are suffering on Florida road in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, due to numerous shootings in the area with the most well-known being one that resulted in AKA’s (Kiernan Forbes) death.

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Jeanne Brooks, an entrepreneur who owns Wicked Donuts is among those who have taken a hit due to patrons feeling unsafe in the area as well as being impacted by the rolling blackouts.

Brooks has three stores located in the Pavilion Shopping centre, the Florida Exchange building on Florida road, Durban and in Astra Centre in Durban North.

She said she came up with the concept for this business when she had a conversation with a friend which sparked her curiosity into exploring donut making. Brooks began researching online and gradually entered the market via Durban Food Markets.

“Our donuts are good old fashioned, handmade, yeast raised donuts, we use our own signature dough recipe and do not use premixes. We have a unique range of mini donuts called lovebites and make customised letter donuts for special occasions.

“Customers can spell out anything in letters and numbers that their hearts desire. We are proud to say that we are a home grown, Durban start-up and 100% female owned,’’ Brooks said.

It has not been smooth sailing for the small business that has 20 employees, over half from what they had before the pandemic. The businesswoman said the shop on Florida road is her worst performing.

@wickeddonuts BRUTAL HONESTY!!! Social media gives the illusion that its easy to fake it til you make it or become an “overnight” success. When in reality its a struggle few people are brave enough to try. Even the people who are brave enough to try, are mostly TERRIFIED every step of the way. When i put this challenge to myself once more… I have STRUGGLED to find the courage i had when i started. Alot of water under the bridge, experience and now being so much more aware of everything that could go wrong, could have a lot to do with it. But in an ever changing world and retail environment, how does one keep up. How adaptable are you? How adaptable does one need to be? #wickeddonuts #donuts #durban #tiktoksouthafrica #proudlysouthafrican #greenscreen ♬ original sound - wickeddonuts

“We put this down to poor visibility of the store, no street frontage, lack of parking and security on the road. Consumers are also becoming more and more reluctant to visit the street due to several recent shootings and the increase of petty crime,’’ she said.

With Wish restaurant, the eatery where AKA was slain just outside its doors recently announcing that it is closing, other businesses in the vicinity have felt the ripples of the tragedy. Brooks said she has spoken to other owners of stores in her building, and they believe there has been a significant impact on sales.

“People are more reluctant to visit and many do not feel safe to sit down and eat. Neighbouring stores are seeing 15 – 35% drop in sales.’’

Brooks often gets approached by other business owners on TikTok who lament at the state of their enterprises. She has seen that load shedding, inflation and consumers tightening their belts and not feeling safe to move around freely are some of the growing concerns of small businesses.

“Many are now facing higher operational costs without any economic bounce-back after Covid-19. Small businesses are struggling to pass these increases over to their customers, genuinely concerned that they will lose customers when they increase their prices. The consumer is now very price sensitive and looking and asking for deals.’’

Brooks said she reason why small businesses are struggling is that unlike bigger corporations, they run month to month with little funds saved for a rainy day.

She said most would have struggled to acquire or qualify for the size loans they would need to navigate difficult trading since 2020.

“Those who had funds and were lucky enough to acquire loans in time would have burned through them by 2022 to 2023. Drastic increases in inflation and operating costs have nailed the coffin for many businesses. This coupled with consumer pressure, a weak economy and load shedding has made the situation dire,’’ Brooks said.

Many small businesses cannot afford generators, she said, as the size they would need to operate 3 phase equipment would cost R380 000.

“When the lights go out, our production stops, this means lost trading days and cancellation and refunding of orders, which could amount to R5 000 to R20 000 worth of losses per day. Those losses must be made up elsewhere and puts further pressure on our cash flow.’’

To survive, Brooks said that she is consolidating her business and reducing risk where possible. This includes trying to add value for customers and marketing her business via social media.

“I think it’s all about weathering the storm right now. The entrepreneurial journey can be a very lonely one, and requires buckets of grit and resilience … I don’t think it’s the time for bold moves. It’s about battening down the hatches and taking swift decisive action to cut what’s not working.’’

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