At just 21 years old, Juan Carlos Mora already assumes responsibility for the position owned by his father in the Mercado Nuevo de la Duarte, and despite his youth, his mastery over the business is evident, his gift of command.
From a very young age he had to accompany his father to the market, where little by little, he was able to establish himself as a merchant while he ran around in the narrow aisles stacked with merchandise and the revelry of the merchants in the negotiations of their clients.
He remembers that he was seven years old when his father and mother separated and he was left in charge of his father as part of an agreement between them. “I used to leave school and go here until around eight at night, but like all boys, one thing that stopped was running around,” he says. He explains that first his father was a messenger for his brother and then he got that position in the market. “When they gave him the job, he owed three months of work and had 47,000 pesos of capital, what they gave him was a problem, but then my dad told me let’s get to work and today we are here, with the Over the years he managed to set up a grocery store in Luperón, he set up another one at 40 Cristo Rey and bought a store.”
As his father took on other businesses, Juan Carlos remained in charge of this position, under his help and supervision, devoting almost all his time to it. He says that he gets up at four in the morning to arrive between five and six to serve the merchants who come to stock up to resell in his business.
“When I was in my first year of high school, my father was still in charge of the business, so I went to the Liceo and then came here (market stall) and then I started studying at night, I did my second year of high school at night and then I they gave me a letter and I started studying at Cenapec on weekends”, explains Juan Carlos, who also practiced baseball and dreamed of being signed in the Major Leagues, which a physical injury prevented.
Currently, this young merchant is pursuing a degree in Marketing at the Universidad el Caribe (Unicaribe), a profession that is in line with the passion he has developed for sales and business.
20% profit
At the stall, which sells products from the basic basket such as: sausages, rice, oil, cod, herring, cheese, Juan Carlos works with four other employees, with whom he shares the hard work of the day to day.
When we ask him about his salary, the young man says that he receives a weekly salary and also when inventory is passed he receives 20% of the total profits of the business, this is part of the agreement with his father so that he takes responsibility for the position.
With this, Juan Carlo bought a car and has made savings with which he plans to invest in the real estate sector. “We are studying, but one does not know about tomorrow. What I have is mind is to be able to build in the future, buy land and that in 15 years I can say that I have something to live with”.
a difficult day
Juan Carlos remembers that once the Duarte market burned down and that was a difficult situation for many merchants.
He explains that being surrounded by “hot neighborhoods” it is common to see robberies and acts of violence. He has also had many situations with fake money.
life of old
When answering what he does outside of his work at the market, Juan Carlos says “I came to life as an old man” and explains that he arrives at the market around 5:00 in the morning and leaves at 5:00 in the afternoon from Monday to Saturday. and that he comes home, if he has homework pending from the university, he does it, he plays Nintendo with his brother or watches some series, but he hardly goes out because he has to sleep early to be able to get up at dawn.
“I like to go out and party, but I can’t afford to go to bed very late because then I’m going to be sleeping in the shop and I don’t like being called to attention,” emphasizes Juan Carlos, indicating that “who he does not like to be called attention to, he must do things well”.
