Vegetable Hawker

History and the Source of income:

They are in this business for almost five years. Most of them started off their business with Tk. 1000 on average, which they usually earned by working as a day laborer. Today they have a total investment of Tk. 4000, which includes Tk. 2000 cash and a cart worth Tk. 2000, on an average.

Daily Activities:

They start the day at around 5 a.m. in the morning and go to the wholesale market at Kawran Bazar to buy the goods at a cheaper price. Usually, they buy goods worth Tk. 1500 to Tk. 1800 daily and save around Tk. 200 for their personal expense.

Sales locations:

They mainly sell in the Zigatola and Kathalbagan areas. They have chosen these locations to carry out their business because they have been living around these areas for at least two years and know many people there.

Credit Sales:

Although most of their sales are made on cash but sometimes some of them make few credit sales to those people whom that hawker knows or has been selling to for quite a long time. Normally cash from credit sales are recovered within a day or two but if any of them fails to collect they considers those to be bad debts.

The price of Goods:

The pricing mainly depends on the market price and they generally try to keep a fair profit for themselves. But at the ending period, if some goods are left unsold some of the hawkers try to sell them at a considerably lower price while some try to sell it on the next day.

Business Risks:

Since they sell perishable goods, there is always a chance that they might have to sell vegetables remaining at the end of the day at a loss. Market price fluctuations also affect this form of business adversely.

Political Risk: