The road to success as it is said, is always rough and tough, however, it is also a general belief that tough times never last but tough people do. To surmount the challenges of life requires hard work, consistency, resilience and to cap it all, the best move is to seek the face of almighty God through prayers.
According to Arc Hassan Olawale Giwa, these attributes, in addition with entrepreneurial spirit were the foundations of his rising profile from a mere cobbler, to barber, to photographer, to carver and then to real estate, where he is today.
He made this remark while featuring on a popular life inspiring television interview programme, ‘Eyan Bi Tiwa’ anchored by a popular presenter, Segun Oladejo.
Architect Giwa, the Managing Director of Amron Global Services Limited said his entrepreneurship journey started since he was in Junior Secondary School class two.
“The journey started from the monetary gift I received from someone when I was in junior school, class two to be specific. I made a wooden box from the money to keep tools for the shoe making business because I wanted to start repairing shoes; Yoruba people will call it ‘so bata’. It was not that I was starving but I had the mindset and belief that a child must strive and be able to work. My father was a contractor and my mother is food vendor, they strived to send me to school out of their meager earnings.”
Giwa, an alumnus of the Federal University of Technology, Minna also disclosed that his entrepreneurial spirit came alive when he began to undertake menial jobs of carvings, sign posts, running a barbing salon, making photocopies, typing projects and photography as a student.
“Even as a student, I would travel to Lagos to buy phones and its accessories, assemble them and sell them to my student colleagues. Even with all of these activities, I did well in school and finished my studies as at when due.
Speaking on how he started the architectural business as a stand-alone, Dr. Giwa explained that he had possessed attributes one needed to succeed in business when he was in school.
“I was not scared about the fear of the unknown. I started with a car which was also my office. A lot of people did not even know my house or office, they just had my phone number and they transacted business with me. That was because goodwill was present and I was and I am still a man of my words. It was by determination and consistency that we went this far since 2004/2005 that we started. I didn’t even have savings then.”
Giwa, the CEO of Palm Estate did not fail to acknowledge some of the challenges he encountered on the journey towards success.
“There are times we would complete houses and there would be no one to buy them. We had delays in payment as well and a few other things that stood as challenges. All of those things have helped me become a better person now.”
The Founder of Hassan Olawale Giwa (HOG) Foundation emphasised that he has been impacting positively on the lives of others through his Foundation for over 16 years, adding that it was as a result of the passion he has to put smiles on the faces of people.
“We have been to different schools to give students school uniforms and you’ll see their parents in tears. A lot of them do not have money to change their children’s school uniforms, this has been my motivation. We give out books and other writing materials. We give out WAEC forms, we organize sports competitions, and renovate schools.”
In his word of advice to the youth, Dr. Hassan Olawale Giwa revealed that taking shortcut to the top is the most dangerous step.
“If you go through a shortcut, life will cut you short. If you take things by force, you’ll pay for it. Even when you get up there, there are some attitudes you must exhibit and you would have learnt them while you grow in your journey, success does not happen in one day.”
Packaged by Kunle Gazali
