34
Enterprise Management
Some respondents spent on the electricity, water and rent for their shop. Kyaw (keychain
maker, Bago) worked on lathe and used commercial electricity and got a bill of about
MMK 6000-7000 per month ($6-$7). Olivia (salon lady, Yangon) spent MMK 300 ($0.3)
on 20 litre of water and bought 2-3 bottles everyday at work.
Some of the MEs spent on their children’s education as well. Olivia (salon lady, Yangon)
invested in her children’s computer classes, english speaking, chinese speaking course (her
father was from China) last year and on buying equipments for her salon. Nyan (broomstick seller, Yangon) invested in her daughter’s enrollment to kindergarten.
Some of the MEs, rented rooms nearby to keep their stocks over night and paid a daily
rent ranging from MMK 300-1000 ($0.3-$1). Chan (strawberry seller, Yangon) and Ramon (DVD seller, Yangon) both used the storage to keep their stocks as they sold in the
market and lived not so close to the market.
As established, the MEs spent more than they earned at times. Their expenditure was more
than they earned. The only way to get sufficient money was either different sources of
income or borrowing money from the money lenders, pawn brokers, friends, neighbours
and relatives. This constant borrowing of money and not ever having enough to return the
amount and pay the interest put them in cyclical debts which most of them were unable to
break.
Mima pawned gold to get tender for her ferryboat