All Good Firewood

 
                                                                     Welcome to the All Good Firewood Blog 

Okay, so here you are (hopefully) reading about a Firewood business ???

The thing is.... It's not just a firewood business, so don't go anywhere just yet, I have an interesting story to share and still tell. Join my journey (Jaden Hoedemaker) and  get to know how I started my entrepeneurial aspiration of becoming the best firewood company in Cape Town.  

Anyways, here is the story summed up.

I started my business at 19, but the entrepreneurial spirit has been with me since childhood. My parents nurtured this drive, teaching me how to run small ventures from a young age. By 12, I was running a boerewors stand at the farmers market where my mom worked.

Fast forward to 2019, during my first year of university, I was searching for ways to fund my "low-maintenance" student life. My mom offered me a job at her farm stall near Kommetjie. It was ideal—working close to the beach meant I could surf after my shifts. One day, my grandpa asked for help delivering firewood. The task involved unloading a bakkie full of loose wood, something I wasn’t thrilled about. But with my mom’s encouragement and not wanting to leave my grandpa to handle it alone, I agreed.

After an hour of hard work, I was handed the payment—the largest sum I’d ever earned.!! When my grandpa asked if I wanted to learn more, I eagerly said yes. He taught me the trade, and soon I was buying wood from him to resell.

It was a wild start—I had no idea how to sell the wood or find buyers. So, I filled my mom’s bakkie with firewood, wrote "Firewood for Sale" on a chalkboard, and parked at the side of the road, waiting for customers. For a year, I hustled like this, selling enough wood to fund a few surf trips, including a three-week stint in Sri Lanka where I surfed my brains out :)

Balancing academics and business was challenging, but the first year taught me invaluable lessons. I sold around 50 bakkie loads of wood and gained a wealth of experience—though I returned from my holidays with an empty bank account, I considered the year a success.

Stay tuned for more !