By Kefiloe Kajane
Being passionate about reading and having worked as a volunteer at a library led a young woman, Retṧepile Sello from Mokhotlong, to start her book rental service – Newtoro Books.
Sello uses social media to reach most of her readers and referrals.
Speaking to theReporter this week she said through social media her readers let her know which books they are interested in. Newtoro then sends them a catalogue, which currently has 232 titles from which they can choose a book of their preference.
“From there, we get their details and deliver the book to them through a courier services company, Skyberg. Our readers pay for the first seven days of the rental when they receive the book and they can opt to extend the period. When they finish reading they let us know so that we collect the books,” Sello explained.
She said Newtoro was launched in October 2020 but the idea had struck her a month earlier. The company was registered in the same month of September while the first books were delivered in October.
What had prompted her most to begin the business was an intention to beat unemployment and also empower people, especially the youth to become self-reliant.
“Education or life-long learning is one of the paths towards independence and entrepreneurship. So the books business seemed just a right choice for me,” Sello remarked.
“I had about sixty books in my personal library and I decided to share them with some readers. I know reading is important for personal growth. Enabling Basotho to access good books at a reasonable cost is my style of contributing towards empowerment,” she added.
After completing her high school studies Sello volunteered to work in a library for six months. Subsequently, she worked part-time in a library for two years while in enrolled in college studies..
“From that experience I attained knowledge on skills to run the library through book rental service. I also gathered knowledge on collection of books,” Sello explained.
She warned that the country’s youth must rise and take their space in the world of business.
“I urge Basotho youth who feel called to start businesses to do so now,” she encouraged.
Sello thought that the current economic situation was not so conducive to absorb the graduating youth into the world of works. She then appealed to them to try their luck in business development.
“Mel Robbins, in her famous book, ‘The 30 Seconds Rule’, states that: ‘Most wonderful ideas are killed by hesitation’ and I agree with her. It is not necessary to figure everything out before you begin. Things will fall into place as you learn.
“When I started Newtoro, I didn’t even know there was a countrywide courier services company. I wanted to use the public transport for deliveries. I had no clue about marketing or branding, I am just learning everything as I move on. So, my major advice is find something that you like, preferably something that is not saturated in the market already, and follow up on it,” Sello said.
Newtoro Books can be found on its Facebook page ‘Newtoro Books’ to rent a book or find more details on prices.
The books are delivered countrywide through courier.
