‘Resilience, dedication a must for shoemakers’

It is often said that a man’s fashion is always assessed from the shoe he wears. With that on his mind Lawal Aanuoluwapo Ayoyimika started his shoemaking business with that opportunity.

Ayoyimika who started his shoe line “Gslimfooties” two years ago, said he had to learn the trade some years back when an Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike forced them to stay out of school.

“I noticed the demand for shoes is very high; I also noticed that most people like to have more than one pair of shoes. I then thought to myself that it will fetch me good money if I venture into it,” he said.

While giving account of how lucrative the business is, Ayoyimika acknowledged it also gives a high sense of fulfilment when customers purchase the products and recommend to others.

The Psychology graduate of University of Ibadan, said it requires resilience, dedication and creativity to be a professional in shoemaking business.

The young entrepreneur lamented that his major challenge has been “lack of funds to get some materials and machines, to make my business better. Having those things will boost the work.”

Due to high demands Ayoyimika said he may not meet the need of some customers in time but he has strived to do so.

“I will advise job seeking youth to stop the idea of looking for job when we can create jobs ourselves,” he said.