1. Quiz
  2. Your result
  3. Your plan
  4. Your guide

Step-by-step guide

Spaza or tuck shop: from registration to your first steady month of sales

Run a small shop from your yard, garage or a stand, selling everyday goods to your neighbours. This guide covers municipal registration, the Spaza Shop Support Fund rules, markup and margin, what studies report spaza owners actually make, and a worked rand example with clearly labelled example figures.

  • 26 lessons
  • 5 modules
  • About 2 hours
  • First lesson free

Is this guide for you?

Good fit if

  • You live where people walk to buy bread, airtime and basics.
  • You can open at the same hours every day.
  • You can keep careful stock and cash records.

Think twice if

  • You can't be at the shop most of the day.
  • You don't want to register with your municipality.
  • You need a full income straight away.

Honest expectations

  • Margins on everyday goods are small, so profit comes from steady volume.
  • Spaza shops and food-handling outlets must register with their municipality.
  • A 2019 study found most South African-owned spazas it surveyed reported R5,000 or less monthly profit.

What is inside

  1. Module 1

    Is this right for you?

    What it involves, who pays, and honest expectations.

    1. How a spaza or tuck shop worksFree · 5 min
    2. Honest expectations4 min (in the full guide)
  2. Module 2

    Set up and price

    What you need and what to charge.

    1. Your startup kit, costs and skills5 min (in the full guide)
    2. Set up step by step: ready to open6 min (in the full guide)
    3. Pricing your stock: markup and margin5 min (in the full guide)
    4. Your numbers: a worked example in rands5 min (in the full guide)
  3. Module 3

    Your first week

    The first steps, in order.

    1. Your first week, step by step6 min (in the full guide)
    2. Week one, step 2: Register with your municipality3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Week one, step 3: Compare two wholesalers3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Week one, step 4: Write your price board3 min (in the full guide)
    5. Finding your first regular customers5 min (in the full guide)
    6. Your 14-day playbook to your first steady sales6 min (in the full guide)
    7. Messages to copy: your first customers5 min (in the full guide)
  4. Module 4

    Your first month

    A routine that brings in customers.

    1. Your first 30 days: build a routine4 min (in the full guide)
    2. Month one, task 1: Keep the daily book3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Month one, task 2: Cut slow stock3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Month one, task 3: Work out real profit3 min (in the full guide)
    5. Common mistakes in a spaza shop4 min (in the full guide)
  5. Module 5

    Months two and three

    Repeat what works, grow and stay safe.

    1. Days 31 to 90: repeat what works and grow4 min (in the full guide)
    2. Months two and three, task 1: Add a service3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Months two and three, task 2: Check the Spaza Shop Support Fund3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Months two and three, task 3: Plan your next stock step3 min (in the full guide)
    5. Free courses to fill your skill gaps4 min (in the full guide)
    6. Getting paid and spotting scams4 min (in the full guide)
    7. Tax: what to put aside, with worked examples6 min (in the full guide)
    8. Risks, rules, tax and staying safe5 min (in the full guide)

What it costs to start

ItemCostNote
First stock, shelving, a lockable cupboard and a fridge if you sell cold drinks (example range)R3 000 to R15 000Example range. Start with fast-moving basics and grow stock from sales.

Try it before you buy

Lesson one is free. If it helps, the whole guide is R149 once-off.

Start the free lesson

Reviewed 26 October 2026 by the Earn Path team. Next review due 26 April 2027.