23 Aug 2017

A 33-year-old Ms Lebogang John says when she completed her course in dress making at Marapong Brigades she was hopeful that she would easily get a job in line with her course.

However that never happened.As fate would have it, Ms John also failed to secure some financial assistance to start up a sewing project.

However, while all these misfortunes crumbled on her, she did not despair, instead they made her think outside the box and she eventually settled for patch work and quilt design.

Ms John started off relatively low. She designed items such as rugs, doormats, pillowcase, table cloths and several other ornaments.

Due to her financial constraints, she solely depended on the use of a hand sewing needle so as to come up with different end products.

“When I was shattered out with challenges of unemployment and lack of finances, I resorted to patchwork and had to rely only on free hand stitches,” she said.

Additionally, Ms John said she used different colours when working on quilt so as to have a variety of appealing end products.

Although this kind of activity is taxing considering that she uses a hand sewing needle, she does not regret the path she chose.

Her end products have received a positive response from the community and they brought along satisfying profit margins.

Ms John’s idea was not only to make ends meet through the profits, she had a bigger picture.

“I have managed to save some of the profits and this enabled me to open a kiosk.

I also bought an electric sewing machine, which now helps me to speed up my production,” she said.

Moreover, she said she used some of the profits to advance her academics through BOCODOL by re-writing her BGCSE examination and she did well.

Ms John said although she keeps excelling in her project, starting up was an uphill battle and some people around her dismissed her efforts as a waste of time.

“As some naysayer despised my efforts, I distanced myself from them for I had a mission to achieve.

I stood bold and I did what I believed in,” she said.

Ms john encouraged the youth who still loiter around and decry limited job opportunities not to despise any business idea they have.

She said any business idea could be a leading path as long as the basics of determination, focus, and a proper business planning strategy were exercised.

“Though the world of business is not a walk in the park, especially when one has to start from the scratch and with limited resources, with clear intentions one can excel,” she said.

Ms John further highlighted that as government was making efforts to support aspiring entrepreneurs, it was wise to always have a back-up plan in case one fails to benefit.

She also said those who have benefitted should refrain from the tendency of doing shoddy jobs only to complain of lack of market opportunities and low sales. BOPA