THINK BIG START SMALL 2

I’m indeed very sorry for writing the Part 2 of ‘Think Big Start Small this late’. Do accept my apologies for keeping you waiting. Anyway, they say ‘better late than never’. So, let me continue my story. Sometimes in 1996, I bought a piece of fret work and I took a deep look at it. Suddenly, something within me whispered ‘Dele, you can do this and even better,’ that triggered a lot of thinking and subsequent actions followed. Today, I’m glad that I took the bold step into an unknown world. I make bold to tell you that if you feel you can, then YOU CAN. I, as an individual always want to go beyond theories and paperwork, I believe in practical and realities. I met the person I bought the piece of artwork from and when he told me how profitable the business was, I probed further on how I could get started. He offered to take me to the market and with N400.00 only in my pocket; I got all what was needed to start what I call ‘playing with wood’. Actually, I didn’t want to buy all the materials, he encouraged me to give it a try. However, to my surprise, someone came to my room, saw the first piece that I cut and offered to buy it. I was shocked and that was how I was launched into the world of fret working. To cap it all, I was a final year student in School at that time, seriously in need of money, and within 2 weeks, I had made a profit of over N4, 000.00. At a stage I had to start refusing orders from fellow students because I had too many orders on hand. That is why I believe seriously that if you are a student, you stand to gain more from this vocation. In addition, one of the best target markets for fretwork is the student community. In 1998, when I went for a course at Auchi, Edo –state, Nigeria. I met a boy whose parents were poor, he used to visit me and told me he was interested in fretwork, he felt he could do it. I was really encouraged I felt it was better to teach him ‘how to fish than to continue giving him fish everyday’. I taught him some basics and because he could not afford even the little money to get started I gave him my set of tools & materials as a parting gift after the course. After a few months, he wrote a very long thank-you letter. He stated that through the profit from sales of his artworks, he had been taking care of his parents and siblings. The boy was about 17 years old; he just finished his school certificate examination. The next time I went to Auchi, he brought his mother to come and thank me for empowering her son. That gave me so much joy & I felt fulfilled. Your age, background or educational qualification is no barrier to entering into this field. Let me give you this other account. I organized a workshop in a church in Kaduna for young boys and girls from 12 years and above. I was so amazed at the creativity in these young people. The workshop lasted for less than 5 hours and they were able to learn and produced works that were exhibited the next day (a Sunday) during church service. Presently, the common types of engraving works available are as listed below: > Picture frames. > Door tags. > Desktop Name tags. > Wall décor. > Religious Quotations on flannelette. > Signboards. > Puzzles pieces. > Inscriptions relating to birthday, wedding & other occasions. > Plaques. > Silhouette. Do note that these are just a few examples. You are at liberty to use your creativity to become UNIQUE. It gives you an edge over others. Dare to go the extra mile – knowing that ‘imitation is limitation’. Stand on the shoulders of those ahead of you so that you can see farther and better. Due to my personal resolve to see to empowering people, I have compiled my experience into a comprehensive manual ( electronic and hard copy) with more explicit insight. All what it took me, pictures of some of my works, materials required, target market that will make money roll in for you and even websites of renowned fretworkers. In addition, I have also put together a 70 – minutes Teach Yourself Video CD that will take you from the scratch on how to become a guru in the field. If you want more information on how you can get these materials you can send an email to me at dele_arogundade@yahoo.com . Have a fulfilled week. Dele