THE school cricket tour has encouraged Brunton Bigalke to use this opportunity to learn the fundamentals of what it takes to start and run a business and how to make money.
Brunton is a Grade 6 learner at Thomas More College and has been selected to go on a school cricket tour to the UK in June 2019.
Learners, their families and the school are fund-raising to support their travel.
As part of Brunton’s contribution, he was encouraged by his aunt, Michelle, a business executive in Johannesburg, to learn some business skills.
The 11-year-old took up the challenge during the December/January school holidays and came up with the idea of refurbishing sporting equipment and reselling it using his own brand; BRUN10 pre-trained sporting equipment, combining his passion for sport with his ambition to start a business.
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Early successes of BRUN10
Through advertising on Gumtree classifieds and speaking to friends, he bought his initial few cricket bats and hockey sticks. Many hours were spent sanding, varnishing and replacing grips.
Apart from the satisfaction and enjoyment that came from his labours, Brunton was also learning business principles by discussing his plans with family and friends. BRUN10 refurbished bats and hockey sticks were advertised for sale on Facebook.
The response was overwhelming and heartwarming. Not only were there offers to purchase for young family members, but there were many people, clearly impressed by the project, who offered to purchase equipment but asked for it to be donated to someone in need.
“This has led to a whole new spin on the business as people were now eager to donate unused equipment once they saw the potential benefits.
It is a win-win for all, Brunton is raising funds for his cricket tour and learning about business; the donor has the satisfaction of contributing towards social responsibility and a less fortunate child stands to benefit. This promotes physical well being, and encourages life skills to be learnt on the field and develops leadership and inter-personal skills,” said Brunton’s mom, Paula Diab.
The priest at Brunton’s church, Fr Julius Onuoha identified a cricket team at St Helen’s (a mission station supported by Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Kloof), in the Edwaleni Valley in need of bats. On Sunday, 10 February, Brunton with Fr Julius headed to Molweni to hand over the bats, cricket pads and other cricket equipment.
To support Brunton, contact 073 489 6914 or visit his Facebook page Brun10: Pre-trained sports equipment.
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