Kenneth Nelson of Heartcore Arts and Craft:
For Kenneth “Judah” Nelson, faith, preparedness, hard work and honesty are key to life.
“If you fail to prepare, you must prepare to fail: you are preparing to run a race, let’s say it’s 400 (metres), you can’t run 200 and stop. You’ve got to pace yourself and finish the race. If you don’t put in the work, how could you be Usain Bolt? If you’re an athlete and you don’t prepare, how can you win the race, set records? The same goes for business, for everything in life, you know,” he declared with a hearty laugh.
The first time I met Nelson, a self-taught artist, “who produces sculpture and jewellery from Guyanese hardwood and local seeds and beads”, I smiled all the way home. Not because I had purchased a stunning one-of-a-kind necklace and bracelet that continue to wow years later – no, the reason for my smile was the genuine warmth and kindness, which seemed to radiate from his soul.
Nelson, the owner of the aptly and cleverly named Heartcore Arts and Craft, learnt his craft the old-fashioned way, from apprenticing with the legendary Phillip Moore and other well-known artists of his day.” I never went to Burrowes (Art School),” he disclosed as he reminisced on the days he brought his own tools and absorbed all he could from the established master artisans.
Without malice or bitterness, he explained that he got into the business because back in those days it was “hard for a Rasta man to get into the system” and hold down a normal job. And the registered business owner has not looked back since.
“Whatever work you do, work hard. God will see it and bless you,” the Campbellville resident advised.
In addition to hard work, honesty and preparedness, he urged would-be entreprenuers to cultivate the habits of keeping good records, having a good attitude and being patient. “Be very innovative,” he also added. “You have to be constantly changing (to create unique things)…you have to be very creative. Don’t be scared to fail; you have to keep trying to pursue business, to pursue your goals. You have to have goals whether you’re in business to maintain your family or secure a living for those who don’t have families. Stay focused.”
In reiterating his point about being honest, Nelson warned that “there got something called karma”, so entrepreneurs should not cheat or ill-treat persons, or their business would ultimately fail. He noted that youths sometimes got a bad name for the wrongs they would do, but he said he did not blame them wholly because the “ones at the top” have set bad examples. “Set better examples,” Nelson implored, his open and jovial manner turning dead serious for a minute.
When asked what was the most important quality an entrepreneur should have, he noted that while “your whole attitude and how you deal with people” were critical, being competitive so that you would last in business was the essential quality. But he cautioned against “trying to get what another man’s got”.
“Set your own goals, set your own rhythm”, because the creative power God has given manifests in every person differently.
Questioned on what fuels his creative power and brings inspiration, Nelson said poignantly: “God is the greatest artist…I am a student of creation…Creation is the blueprint.”
Contact: 651-0006; Main Street Avenue
