Leo M. Suppliers / A personal business archive

Livingstone, Zambia · 2022–2026

Before the code,
there was
a shop.

From selling in the field to running a store. This is where I learned to work with customers, make stock decisions and take responsibility for a business of my own.

My role: Founder · Sales & Operations
Business operated: February 2022–April 2026
The place: Plot 98, John Hunt Way
Livingstone, Zambia

Follow the story ↓

The space before the stock / 31 August 202231 August 2022: inside the store I had found, before stock and displays filled the space.

The growth, in photographs

An empty room.
A working shop.

The change is visible: bare shelves, furniture being unpacked, then a shop filled with products. Each stage brought more to organise, more practical work and more responsibility.

Leo Mabuku in the empty shop, with bare shelves and a garment rack — 01 / The starting point · 31 August 202231 August 2022: inside the store I had found, before stock and displays filled the space.

Open cartons, tools and furniture parts on the shop floor — 02 / Building the furniture rangeOpening the boxes: unpacking furniture and preparing the shop floor as the range expanded.

Wide view of the stocked shop with furniture, bedding and household goods — 03 / Bringing the shop to lifeBehind a stocked shop were ordering decisions, product displays and everyday responsibility.

A visual account of the business taking shape. Only the empty-shop photograph has a confirmed capture date; the setup and stocked-shop images are from my undated business archive.

01 / November 2021 → June 2022

Finding a way
to earn.

When I finished high school in November 2021, I started looking for an income stream. I returned to something I had already tried during the pandemic: selling cupcakes in the field.

By February 2022, I had moved into bedding, selling fleece blankets and duvets. The business grew quickly. My father helped source products from Botswana, while my mother and sister supported field sales.

By June, I had registered Leo M. Suppliers with PACRA. What began as a way to earn was becoming a business I was responsible for running.

Nov 2021

Finished school.
Returned to field selling.

Feb 2022

Started selling
blankets and duvets.

Jun 2022

Registered
Leo M. Suppliers.

02 / 31 August 2022

A name.
An address.
A responsibility.

I had found a store at Plot 98, John Hunt Way in Livingstone. The photograph at the beginning of this story is me standing inside that empty space on 31 August.

Bare shelves and a garment rack came before the stocked displays. The next step was preparing the space to trade.

Livingstone / Shop No. 3

A white cabinet outside beneath the Leo M Suppliers Shop No. 3 sign — The business, in its own nameA name on the window, a place in Livingstone: Leo M. Suppliers, Shop No. 3.

03 / 14 September 2022

Opening the shop.
Opening the boxes.

14 September was a turning point: the shop opened and I introduced furniture.

That brought a different kind of practical work. I learned furniture assembly as the range expanded, alongside the ordering, displays and customer service involved in running the store.

The photograph below records the setup work: cartons, parts, tools and packaging before the finished display.

Clothes, curtains, baskets and household goods displayed in the shop — An existing rangeClothing and household goods formed part of a range that grew beyond bedding.

Glass dining table and six chairs displayed inside the shop — A new directionFurniture became a new part of the business, bringing practical assembly and display work.

Furniture joined the range; clothing, bedding and household goods remained part of the shop. These archive photographs document the mix, rather than a precisely dated sequence of stock changes.

04 / The work behind the displays

A shop is more
than its stock.

I was the owner and an active sales representative. My responsibilities reached from ordering products to supporting customers and managing the people helping run the business.

Employees helped with field operations and in-store attendance. Coordinating that work became part of my experience of business management.

Cabinets, glass furniture, rugs and hanging clothes inside the store — Adapting the product rangeThe range evolved: furniture, clothing and textiles shared the shop floor.

Customers & sales

I worked directly with customers, from field selling to conversations in the shop. Customer engagement and service were part of my daily work.

People & coordination

I managed employees who helped with field operations and in-store attendance. Running the business meant coordinating people as well as products.

Stock & procurement

I handled ordering and stock decisions, and arranged products in the shop as the range expanded from bedding into furniture and household goods.

Marketing & delivery

I handled marketing and deliveries alongside the daily operation of the shop, taking responsibility beyond the point of sale.

Leo Mabuku in a pale-blue shirt and tie inside the furniture shop — Leo Mabuku / Founder & operatorMy work stretched across sales, customers, employees and the day-to-day running of the shop.

05 / April 2026 → What I carry forward

The shop closed.
The experience stayed.

Leo M. Suppliers closed in April 2026. It remains an important part of how I approach work.

I had sold directly to customers, managed employees, made stock decisions and learned a practical skill as the business changed. Those responsibilities gave me experience of the people and daily work behind a product.

Today, I bring that perspective to software and to operating my internet service. SubTrack BH grew out of another practical need: keeping subscribers, payments and service access organised.

The next chapter: SubTrack BH ↗See my full experience ↗

Photographs & public record

From the shop archive.

Explore the Facebook page ↗

Original photographs from my business archive. The empty-shop photograph is dated 31 August 2022 from my own record; the other photographs are not individually dated. Phone numbers on the historical shop sign are part of that record, not current contact details.

Explore 11 more photographs

A stocked aisle with cabinets, baby walkers, fans and boxed goods — Another view of the shop’s mix of furniture and household products.

Television, cabinets and glass furniture arranged inside the shop — Arranging products so customers could see the range together.

Black, white and red pedestal stools outside the shop sign — Furniture displayed outside the shop, with the business sign behind it.

Black and orange upholstered pedestal chairs inside the shop — A closer look at the furniture range.

White cabinet and black television mount outside the business sign — A furniture display beside the shop’s historical sign.

Black glass television stand outside the shop window — Another example of the assembled furniture on display.

Clothing, textiles, fans and glass furniture in the same shop — The furniture range sat alongside clothing, bedding and household goods.

Leo Mabuku standing among furniture inside the shop — The shop as a workplace, as well as a space for displaying products.

A portrait at the shop entrance beside a red stool — At the entrance to the Livingstone shop.

A mirror self-portrait inside the shop, with clothing and stock behind — A personal photograph from inside the shop during its operating years.

A close self-portrait with household stock visible behind — A personal record from the shop’s operating years.

Leo M. Suppliers · Operated February 2022–April 2026Contact me about my work ↗

Before the code,
there was
a shop.

An empty room.
A working shop.

Finding a way
to earn.

A name.
An address.
A responsibility.

Opening the shop.
Opening the boxes.