WE are in a time when people are getting more aware of the fact that what they do, or do not do can affect how long and healthy they could be in life.  In other words, certain habits can lengthen or shorten an individual’s life span and his or her general well-being.  People are now well informed that regular exercise is good and important.

It is this awareness that spurred the emergence of gymnasiums  and health fitness centres all around town where people often travel long distances to pay good money to attend sessions, especially during weekends, at these centres.

But not everybody, who is interested in keeping fit by doing exercise, has the means to join the membership of a gymnasium centre.  This was the problem a friend, Mr. Kayode Adebayo, faced which eventually led the Economics graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo Univeristy, Ile- Ife, into the business of health fitness products.

Mr. Adebayo had a friend who needed warm-up exercises in the convenience of his home to keep him trim and healthy. He felt skipping was a good physical activity to do.

Adebayo was asked by his friend to get him a skipping rope whenever he travelled to town, as the product was unavailable in their locality.

In his quest to find a skipping rope to buy, he discovered that many of the supermarkets he visited had none for his friend’s size, who was over six feet tall! Instead of returning to his friend with a disappointing response of, “No, I couldn’t find any,” Mr. Adebayo thought  that making one by himself would not be a tall order.  So, he got the materials and made one, which, when his friend saw it, was amazed at the strength and durability of the skipping rope which was hand-made by Mr. Adebayo who later did a mass production for sale.

What was the motivation to go further with this idea that came to him by accident?  Mr. Adebayo reckoned that if one skipping rope sold for N400 and there were about  1000,000  households in Ibadan, where he lived, then if half of these households bought, he would have made N20 million.

What is the start-up capital for this kind of  business?  Mr. Adebayo said he took a loan of N2,500  way  back in 1999.  He said the cost price of  one unit was N80 to N100, while the  selling price  was N200 at 20 per cent wholesale discount to the  supermarkets and shops he supplied.  Current estimations puts the cost price at N160 to N200, while the selling price could be N400 at 20 per cent discount for wholesale purchasers. 

Depending on the marketing skills of the person who ventures into this business and the location where he or she chooses to sell it, prices could range from N600, N800 to N1,000.  Considering the amount you put in, these figures mean your investment comes back to you in multiples and not fractions as it comes in several buying and selling businesses.

How did Adebayo make the first skipping rope? Mr. Adebayo recounted of his trip to a local sawmill, where he met  with a carpenter  who carved out the wooden handles he designed. These handles were made hollow in order to pass a rope through.

A roll of  nylon rope (size 5) was purchased.  These are the two  basic  items needed to manufacture a skipping rope.  The next thing needed is a lighter to supply heat.

First, cut the rope to size.  Standard lengths are nine feet for adults and seven feet for children.  Next, pass the rope at both  ends through  the pair of  wooden handles.  The handles need to be held in place by heating both ends  of the rope with a lighter till the ends melt.  Then, the melted ends are pressed against a hard surface such as a concrete floor so that the melted ends could spread out covering the hole through which the rope is passed.

Taking production further after his first attempt at skipping rope making, Adebayo told us that proper packaging was necessary to market the product and make it sell.  The materials  to do this  are nylon bags, a label carrying the brand name for your skipping rope and a sealing machine.  Simply  fold the skipping rope neatly and place in the nylon bag of appropriate size, together with your label and then seal.

His  marketing strategy  for this  product was simple. What he did  was to take the product to the retailer  with  an arrangement that if the product was not sold after a particular time frame, it should be returned.  No unit of this made-in-Nigeria skipping rope was ever returned.  He recalled that the product was in high demand due to its longer-lasting nature over the ones manufactured in China and imported into Nigeria.

His market spread covers cities beyond his domain — from Ibadan to Ilorin.  Buyers of these products from the shops  and supermarkets he patronise include children, who find skipping to be a funfilled recreational activity, and adults  who, as we have mentioned earlier, skip to stay fit.

Skipping can  be beneficial in your exercise to lose weight. It is also effective in burning calories. It has been  discovered that an hour of  skipping  will make you burn up to 1,000 calories, strengthen your bones, and increases your stamina and endurance. Skipping enhances flexibility and athletic abilities. It improves your reflexes, balance and posture.

Therefore, this health fitness product is a good way to make good money for yourself with little hassle, while contributing to a happier and healthier society.