How selling atchar landed woman a car sales executive job

Selling homemade atchar from a roadside stall did more than help Tlangelani Pearl Mamba rebuild her life after personal loss.

It taught her the sales skills that convinced a Gauteng dealership to hire her as a car sales executive despite having no previous experience in the motor industry.

Today, the 38-year-old from Thulamahashi in Mpumalanga spends her weekdays selling vehicles at a dealership in Boksburg and her weekends selling homemade atchar at Kyalami Corner, where she has built a loyal customer base and attracted well-known supporters, including media personality Somizi.

Mamba said the journey began after one of the most difficult periods of her life.

“Starting the side hustle, I was suffering from depression after life happened and after losing valuables and my grandmother in 2020,” she told Sowetan.

“I know repossession, losing money, sleepless nights and spending three nights without food. My grandmother was everything to me and she used to sell atchar.”

Raised by her grandmother from birth, Mamba said making and selling atchar became a way of reconnecting with her after her death.

“When I mix the atchar, I always see her saying, ‘Tlengelani, I am proud of you.’ Going to the streets and selling atchar heals me. This is how I connect with my grandmother.”

Having spent years in the corporate sector after graduating, Mamba said she had lost a sense of purpose.

“I lost sense of purpose and had to accept the other spiritual side which I was not ready to accept, but God kept me strong, and I’m glad I had to go through that path to meet this version of me.”

In 2024, she decided to try something different.

She bought ingredients to make about 10kg of atchar before driving around Gauteng looking for a place to sell it.

“I sat in the parking lot crying and asking God to give me direction because I had lost everything but still had children looking up to me.”

After driving between Fourways and Midrand for most of the day, she stopped at Kyalami Corner. “I have never stopped selling there.”

Although she had never worked in sales before, spending weekends persuading customers to buy her atchar gave her confidence to approach people, understand their needs and build relationships.

She said those same skills opened a new career opportunity.

“Last year in August, I drove to a car dealership looking for work. They were not hiring, and I told them I wasn’t qualified. I also told them I sold atchar.”

Instead of turning her away, the dealership saw potential.

“They told me, ‘If you can sell atchar, you can definitely sell cars.’”

She was offered a position as a car sales executive and quickly adapted to the industry, becoming one of the dealership’s top-performing salespeople in December.

Before accepting the offer, Mamba made one request. “I told them that even if they gave me the job, I would continue selling my atchaar on weekends. They accepted.”

She says selling atchar remains far more than making an income.

“This is not just about profits because I’m not making much. When I meet different people going through different things in life, and I can tell them that everything will be okay, that also heals me.”

On busy weekends, Mamba said she sells as much as 20 litres of atchar.