When the chips were down Jesse James came out all nail guns blazing
Enterprising youngster who made wooden birdhouses for his neighbours in order to buy a takeaway is expanding his business and wants to buy a trampoline for his granny's house!
A SAVVY young entrepreneur from Drumconrath who came up with the idea to make and sell wooden birdhouses to his neighbours to make enough money to get takeaway from his favourite chipper says it has inspired him to start his own business when he’s older.
When eleven-year-old budding carpenter Jesse James Stewart’s mum refused to give him the money for a chipper he decided to take matters into his own hands and came up with the idea to make the birdhouses from scrap timber to afford a burger and chips from his local takeaway.
After all of the wooden creations were snapped up by keen locals the youngster - a 6th class student of St Brigid’s NS in Meath Hill - decided to keep his enterprise going by making wheelbarrow planters selling an incredible 50 in just one weekend this time with a new goal to get a trampoline for his “super gran’s” house!
Self-sufficient Jesse James whose only request for Santa was to bring him a cordless drill last Christmas says he wants to “design and build kitchens” when he is older explains why he decided to take the initiative and find his own way to make money for what he wanted.
“I wanted a takeaway chipper so I thought where am I going to get the money so I went outside and I saw timber at the corner of my eye and I was looking at little birdhouses a few weeks before so I thought it would be a good idea to make birdhouses and sell them to get a chipper.
“My mam is building a new kitchen and she gave me the scrap timbers and I used a handsaw and a drill.
“I went around the neighbours and knocked on the door and said would you like to buy a birdhouse to hang in your garden, loads of people said they wanted them and then I ran out of birdhouses so I had to go back to the house and build more.”
When the 6th class student who lives on the family farm in Cloughrea with mum Marie and big sisters Rebecca and Emma (32) finally had the money for the coveted take away he said it “was the best burger and chips he ever had.” He added:
“I was really happy that I got so many orders that I could afford to go and get two chippers for me and my cousin.
“Next I thought it would be a good idea to make something for Mother’s Day so I was able to buy more wood with the money I made from the birdhouses so I started making the wheelbarrows and my auntie Geraldine advertised them on Facebook.
“I’m saving up for a nail gun and a trampoline for my granny’s house that all of my cousins and I can use, granny said she’ll even get on it if I make enough money. We call call her super gran because she does so much stuff with us.
“It’s that feeling of actually doing something, making your own money, it’s a good feeling.”
Mum Marie says she is “super proud” of her shrewd son Jesse James whose name was inspired from her father’s love of John Wayne movies.
“I remember the evening he came into me looking for the chipper for him and his cousin and I said no absolutely not there is loads of lovely food in the fridge and he said well if we get our own money can we get a takeaway so he arrived back a half an hour later and asked if he could use some left over timber.
“I gave him the timber and I was watching them out the window and the next thing he came in and showed me this birdhouse and I couldn’t get over it.
“His breakthrough was Mother’s Day when he sold 20 barrows in one day.
“When we saw that he was interested in it and he was making money I loaned him the money for the nail gun. It was €500 and he has €250 paid back to me and he bought a big batch of timber and has a new project that he is getting ready for the summer making wooden cross flowerpots for graves.”
It’s no surprise that the Drumconrath lad has started his journey into entrepreneurship early according to Marie.
“When he’d get Lego sets or anything like that when he was younger, he’d have them together in no time, he was always good with his hands. I had to buy him the snicker trousers for all his tools, and he asked for a cordless drill for Christmas.
“I don’t know where he comes up with his ideas and he just makes them from his head, no drawings, he’s a wee genius and very near buying a trampoline for his granny’s house.
“He has always been very active and gets up and feeds the calves here on the farm every morning before he goes to school, he’s a great lad.”