BY Ahmed Suleiman
Mr. Olawale Benjamin is the Chief Executive Officer of Mr. Ben Boutique Shoe Design, whose flair for shoe making has been a passion since childhood. Thus, it galvanised him to dabble into shoe making and design which is a dream that came into fruition.
“My love to make people look good made me venture into shoe making and to ensure that my creativity brings me money. I realised that shoes are very important because when people dress the next thing that people around you will notice and want to catch a glimpse of is the shoe.” he enthused.
He further explained that he raised his capital with the little monies he had with him while on apprenticeship and his parents contributed financially towards his business.
His words; “I have been contributing towards having a shop of my own while I was an apprentice. In fact, my parents were in support of my apprenticeship and they contributed financially towards making me self-employed by buying all the equipment I needed. Today, I am also an employer of labour with six apprentices under my tutelage.” he stated.
Benjamin who has been into the shoe design for over 5 years enjoined youths to be self-reliant instead of chasing after the elusive white collar job which is rare to get.
“Being an entrepreneur,does not stop me from going to school as I am a student. I desire that more youth embrace skill acquisition so that they can become employers of labour too instead of idling away after school.
“I want to urge the youths to develop the little talent God gave them, package the products or services. For instance, if you learn this kind of trade (shoe design), package it coupled with the education you have, you will go far. And ensure that you make it look beautiful in the eyes of people and entice them to buy your product.” he concluded.
