I engaged in labouring job to fund my first shoemaking equipment –Oluwadamilare

Bashorun Oluwadamilare Lukmon is the founder, Codedfeet, brand that specialises in footwears and fashion leather products, belts, clutches and hand bangles. In this interview, the graduate of Education Economics shared his journey into shoemaking and how it led to establishing a training hub for youth to acquire skills in shoemaking. How do you start your […]

Bashorun Oluwadamilare Lukmon is the founder, Codedfeet, brand that specialises in footwears and fashion leather products, belts, clutches and hand bangles. In this interview, the graduate of Education Economics shared his journey into shoemaking and how it led to establishing a training hub for youth to acquire skills in shoemaking.

How do you start your journey into shoemaking?

It was 15 years ago, after completing my SSCE. I thought of acquiring a skill that could last a lifetime as I got to understand a little bit more about life then. Not to rely on my parents for everything I needed, I decided to acquire the skills of shoemaking. It was a rough and tough beginning when I was 15 and I had to learn it for two years.

After completing the training, I got admission into Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) to study Economics Education and it was then one of the toughest courses on the campus. That did not stop me from offering selfless service to my mates as a class governor.  Also, a few months into gaining admission, my dad had issues with his source of income, which almost led me to being a dropout. That was when reality hit me and I realised I had to buckle up as I am so much in love with education, thus couldn’t watch myself being a dropout.

So I took it upon myself to innovate in getting cash, which I started producing in my 1-room rented house as a student. I will connect my tools through my window to file and produce products after classes and on weekends. During the week, I will take the products in a bag to school and after classes, I will advertise them to my course mates. Gradually, I began growing the courage to advertise to other departments, then to my college (Faculty) and from there to other colleges (Faculties) and that was how the Codefeet brand spread all through the campus during the 4 years course.

I also reached out to a famous barbing saloon owner to display my products in this shop till I graduated. This helped me have a place where clients can reach me if the need arises or check out my products while in class.

What are the challenges you encountered?

Finance has been the biggest challenge to take the skill and dream to greater heights and getting money to set up my workshop was a very big deal for me and it’s still currently a big deal for me.  In the early days of 2012 when I wanted to get my first filling machine, which was N12,000 as at then, I had to do labourer work with the bricklayers for a month and 2 weeks to be able to raise it. That went on for months till I was able to get other basic tools to start the job till I could start producing. After acquiring the tool I started producing and I was crazy about growing. So, after university through the help of my younger sister I got a N50,000 loan then and was repaying and increasing till she graduated. After that, I had already graduated and had a kiosk outside the campus where I managed myself. So after that my then fiancée who’s now my wife, through the help of her mom joined cooperative on my behalf where I saved for 2 and half years before acquiring a loan of N500,000 and that was where the whole story began making sense in 2018, because this money was what I used to establish my showroom. Even though it wasn’t enough.

But the Codedfeet brand is very much open to big investors that can provide large funding for us to produce in million quantities that can increase our annual revenue.

What influenced you to start a training school?

It is the urge to give back to society with what I can and have. I have the skill already and it’s a known fact that nobody lives forever as we are not immortal. Right from my university days, I have had students like myself that will declare their intentions of learning from my products and they will ask me, are you sure you made this? I have heard that question over a million times in my lifetime.  I was trained to be an economist and also a teacher because I attended a university of education, and to the glory of God I’ve had over 20 trained trainees over the years that are also now doing well for themselves with the skill.

Running the business for about 7 years, I observed  that there is a change in our youths. It is obvious most don’t want to learn handmade skills due to the era we are in now, and even if they want to learn, they don’t want to spend much time like we did then. So, I thought of making it a formal training centre for shoemaking and crafts. Some parents still do want the best for their kids and thus do help them plan their lives. While some are convinced with the products they see at my store while passing by, some actually do hear of my story and are also inspired to learn, while not leaving radio adverts and social media adverts behind.