An unemployed Naklua man who found new life as an ice cream seller is urging struggling Pattaya residents not to give up in the face of the coronavirus shutdown.
Sangwan Homao, 57, went to work one day only to be told he was being laid off. It caught his totally by surprise and, at first, he said he had no idea what he was going to do.
Sangwan quickly settled on sales, but needed a product that wouldn’t spoil in a day. Walking by a busy ice cream shop in his neighborhood, he decided he’d go into business as a traveling ice cream man.
He bought about 10,000 baht in stock and set up shop weekdays outside the Banglamung District office and weekends at the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Foundation, but business was a rocky road.
Then Sangwan hit upon the idea of spicing up his normal vanilla product with free toppings. At no additional cost, buyers could choose from hulled split soybeans, peanuts, red beans, taro, palm seeds and jackfruit in syrup. That changed everything.
Now he’s selling up to 80 cups a day and taking home up to 800 baht in revenue, which he considers good income.
The moral of the story, Sangwan said, is to not give up in the face of hardship. Find something you’re good at, something you like to do and that doesn’t require a huge investment, and try your best.
