The President of the Events Vendors Association of Ghana (EVAG) and CEO of Thea Villa Hotel, Kate Hassan, has revealed that she used to sell iced water and tomatoes at a very young age in order to afford her basic needs during school days.

Speaking on Joy Learning TV’s ‘The Career Trail’, Madam Hassan said she discovered that she inherited her work ethics and love for business from her mother, who was a businesswoman.

She said that during vacations, she would rather choose to help out at her mother's fabric shop because of her enormous ardour for the art of transacting business at a very early age.

“Even when I was in the boarding house, anytime we came home for vacation, I would see my friends going for vacation classes, but that wasn’t me at all. I was thinking of selling, buying and selling in particular, so I was just contacting people. You know, in those days, I sold iced water. At that time, it wasn’t the sachet one; you had to go and buy the ice block, put it in a bucket, carry it on your head and hold another bucket at your side”, she explained.   

Her passion for business as a young girl further compelled her to engage in selling tomatoes as well. She used to get the tomatoes from her mother’s friend at the market where her fabric shop was located.  

“So I’ll just go like, oh let me help you, and she would give me some of the tomatoes. She would arrange it in fives and ask me to go and sell them at one cedi. However, in order to gain more income, I would remove one from each arrangement so that I could get an extra one to sell. So it was all like business for me”, she recalled.

According to her, her mother was her greatest supporter when she decided to embark on selling 'iced water' and tomatoes in order to earn some extra income. Her mother did not dampen her hopes, rather, she encouraged her and was very supportive of her initiative.

Kate said she found business to be her niche. She realised that the art of buying and selling in order to make profits was something that came very naturally to her at a remarkably young age.

The CEO of Villa Hotel insisted her early passion for business benefited a great deal from the times when she helped out at her mom’s shop.

Similarly, she said her love for coordinating outfits for people was birthed in her mother’s fabric shop.

"So I was working with her. In those times, since ready-made attires were not in vogue at the time, everything was about sewing. When customers visited my mom’s fabric shop, I would help them choose the right fabric. For those who were having their weddings, I was helping them to choose their laces and also helping with the combinations. I really loved what I was doing and I think that was the reason why I never even bothered to go to all these vacation classes during long vacations. I was really into buying and selling”, she said.

Despite all of the challenges that come with owning a business, including being chased and attacked by dogs during one of her business trips to China, Mrs. Kate Hassan maintains that she would never give up her passion for business, no matter how difficult the circumstances.  

She admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a huge blow to the events industry, however, she chose to remain very optimistic and resolute.

“Just like I said, I am that person who, when challenged or undermined, will show you that I can do it”, she affirmed, in response to a question on how she resolves difficult and challenging situations.

She urged all upcoming entrepreneurs as well as students who aspire to be entrepreneurs to strive to discover their true passion first, to hold steadfast to their dreams and to persist in being resilient in the face of any and all kinds of adversity.