Following........

Splendblex:
Interesting....can one start without the machines and make it?

you can't start without machine/equipment.

leon1:

sir can I get your contact

kindly check my signature. Thanks

...we spent two days to get the necessary materials for the fabrication. The first day, I left for Aba to get electric motors, pulley, gear reducer and geared motor. I didn't just go to buy anyone in the market, we had specifications and I made sure I got those within our specifications. The second day we headed to Onitsha to buy metal plates, pipes, rods and angles. He volunteered his vehicle and I fueled it. I am so lucky, I must say. Things were really going easy per say.


picture 1: getting gears and motors at No 1, Port road, Aba.
picture 2: picking metal materials from Head bridge market, Onitsha.

Inspiring! Your courage is commendable. Weldone sir

...I know some may begin to wonder how I was able to raise the little fund I started with. OK, this was how I did it. While I was on my pay job, I engaged in side hustles like conducting research protocols for university students, seminar and thesis writing. I also have a chemistry textbook I published immediately after my youth service. After we finished the first phase of fabrications, I went into full time research work and paint business. So these side businesses helped me to make little savings

pictures coming soon...

horia:
Ihart, can one person operate all the machines at once or would workers be needed at start?

while you can manage to operate the boiler and crutcher alone, you can't do same for the plodder. ...definitely you must need hands.

So inspiring

Lemme park here

...what a beautiful morning. 10th April and today is my birthday.

...back to the workshop. All materials to start with are down. We began to make rough sketches, taking closer look at pictures and measurements. We started with the plodder because it seems to be the hardest of the three we were to fabricate. It has too many parts that will need a lot of lathe work and machining. We measured out the parts and cut them to our desired sizes.

Just like that we started fabrication.

Pictures coming soon...

Picture 1: one of various sketches we made
Picture 2: closer view of plodder barrel from a moribund firm
Picture 3: closer look on other parts of the plodder
Picture 4: taking measurements and cutting the metals to sizes

...fabrication continued for some weeks. Cutting, machining, welding, fabrication was going on seriously. After about 6 weeks, everything have taken shape. Unfortunately we couldn't test the machines in the workshop but since we followed specifications, i believed everything will work fine.

I made arrangements and took the machines home.

Pictures: more cutting, machining, welding ongoing.

Following keenly. IHart I like your dogged push...

following.

iHart:
...what a beautiful morning. 10th April and today is my birthday.

...back to the workshop. All materials to start with are down. We began to make rough sketches, taking closer look at pictures and measurements. We started with the plodder because it seems to be the hardest of the three we were to fabricate. It has too many parts that will need a lot of lathe work and machining. We measured out the parts and cut them to our desired sizes.

Just like that we started fabrication.


Pictures coming soon...

Happy birthday

Thank you

paulaspearz:


Happy birthday

Thank you for sharing this ihart

Thanks for your inspiration. Happy birthday sir !

Op, I am trying my hands on paper air freshener production, which is similar. I need your advice on how to market the product. Anyone else who has an idea can also help. The products is ready, but marketing is proving to be an insurmountable obstacle. Please reply

iHart:


Business registration was handled by a lawyer. NAFDAC and SON won't be a problem as I know how they are done. When the time comes I will do them too.

The factory is located in our garage, a garage built for two cars.

Just keep a date, we will x-ray the business plan bit by bit.

Are you saying nafdac, especially, registration is not important at this early stage? Ain't their operatives disturbing you?

einsteine:
Why is it that Nigerian artisanal business people always veer into training.

You see make up artistes more concerned with getting training clients. Same with cake makers and the OP, rather than advertise his brand of soap is advertising his training of potential soap makers.

Perhaps it's more profitable to teach than to do, huh?

No. Training is only a way of getting quick money to fix your basic problems as a startup. Get good equipment, rent a space, register with regulatory bodies, advertise the product, etc. I'm looking for same with my product. Of course it stops once I'm fully settled into business

QuitNotice:
Are you saying nafdac, especially, registration is not important at this early stage? Ain't their operatives disturbing you?

they are not disturbing me now but i hope to go for the registration as i progress.NAFDAC number does not affect soap sells as no one ask you if the soap has NAFDAC number before they buy. Do you ask for NAFDAC number when buying soap?

iHart:
they are not disturbing me now but i hope to go for the registration as i progress.NAFDAC number does not affect soap sells as no one ask you if the soap has NAFDAC number before they buy. Do you ask for NAFDAC number when buying soap?

No

Your resilience and inspiration is commendable. I must confess, I've not gone through anything in my life yet

... the plodder, cutting table and boiler are ready. I managed to take them down to my factory and test run them. they worked well and i was impressed. The next project was to get the amalgamator/crutcher. After about a year of hustling, i was able to raise some funds. Then i mapped out plans to fabricate the remaining machine.


Picture 1: picture of the plodder as i did the test run
Picture 2: pictures of soaps from the test run
Picture 3: ...sketches and calculations as i prepare for the amalgamator.
Picture 4: ...in the market to pick materials for the amalgamator.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...ihart

The amalgamator happens to be the most expensive. There are too many parts needed for this machine. The gear reducer is huge and heavy, you will need a derrick to be able to lift it. It uses a big electric motor, mine is 20HP but the least i saw why i was visiting firms was 30HP. The machine also has a blower which is the drier. To get the machine running, you also need big bearing, shaft, metal arms, metal plates, thick angle rods, couplers, etc. I managed to get them and brought them down to my factory as i was going to do this fabrication in my factory. I was done with the fabrication training, so i can do this.

Pictures of some of the parts at the factory before fabrication commenced.

iHart:
while you can manage to operate the boiler and crutcher alone, you can't do same for the plodder. ...definitely you must need hands.

thanks, and happy birthday. I've always heard of entrepreneurship but had no idea like this. Thanks for sharing.

Love nairaland!

There is far more to these than i am writing here. This kind of project could be so demanding that you will begin to think of giving up even after you have invested so much. You really have to be TENACIOUS!!! It took me over two years to get to this point and i have not even gotten to the level i want. I am still pushing and pushing. One good thing about this kind of venture is that it offers you an opportunity to have your own work experience, especially if you are a fresh graduate. This you can squeeze into your CV. I remember getting a job in a soap firm simple because i was able to convince the interviewer that i have work experience in soap making. i was made the assistant production manager. Unfortunately for them my mission was not to come and work, i came to learn. after three days, i resigned. They were mad but they let me go. Me, i don grab wetin i want, take pictures, see their factory setup, take measurements, make contacts with the production manager and technicians. I can't "come and go" and work in a place where the salary cannot take care of my accommodation not to talk of feeding. I lodged in a hotel, got what i wanted in three days and left them in good fate. The essence of this story is to tell you that you can still use your soap skill to get a job if peraventure you couldn't continue with your own or you run yours on a small scale and the profit is not enough for you. If you know what you are doing very well, if a job says 5 years experience, you can apply even if you just have less than one year experience. What you need to do is to prove that you have an experience.


See below one of the pictures i took in a factory where i pretended to have come to work. I did this in over 4 firms, hahahahaha. God forgive me, i was just seeking for more experience. I never gets satisfied with learning, i can't really say i have learnt enough. So far as life keeps teaching, we should keep learning.

Happy Birthday friend. I wish you greater heights in all your endeavors.

Christardor:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY...ihart

thank you

Following so keenly!

is your factory in umuahia i would love to put your product in my super market