I wanted to be a presenter/announcer since I was small. From the time I was in grades 8/9, I had a huge longing to make a speech at the morning assembly. With time, when this urge gradually became a dream, it grew bigger and bigger to the point where wanting to be a presenter/announcer in a radio or television channel became irrepressible – since I was a schoolboy, I used to visit a number of radio and television stations to make my dream a reality though I had to turn back home with their parting words “We’ll inform you later.”
But my dream never dwindled. While I was still a student, I went for interviews at television channels leaving home as early as 3’o clock in the morning. As I my hometown was Galle, Colombo was not a familiar place. As a result of not having any buses plying to our road, I had but to walk to Unawatuna Junction. Normally the bus reaches Pettah by 7.00 a.m. As it is too early for interviews, on many occasions I had to spend hours at the bus stand or the railway station before going to the interview venue.
When I was in grade 12, buying myself a scooter became a dream. By that time, my father’s salary was just Rs. 16,000. As his salary could not afford a scooter, I went through a lot of newspaper advertisements looking for a job. When I was the deputy head prefect of our school, I was able to find a job at a hotel in Koggala, which earned me Rs. 800 a day. My job was to do the washing-up, sweeping and serving food to the guests at the wedding ceremonies there. By that time, I was normally doing this work around 10 days a month being absent to school. After some time I realized that buying a Rs. 245,000 worth scooter was too distant a dream to realize with this meagre earning of mine. But I was so obsessed with the idea that I used to visit various websites advertising vehicle sales, maybe, hundred times a day.
As the scooter was unreachable, I decide to go for a small motorbike worth Rs. 45,000. Only then I discover that I could buy my dream scooter with a basic down payment of Rs. 50,000. With my father’s help, I become the owner of a brand new scooter in 2015. By August 2016, father was diagnosed with cancer. Following father’s hospitalization, I found a job just after 10 days from my A/L exam. On February 13th 2017, father passes away. By the time of his demise, I fall to the bottom of hardships. When he was in hospital, I work till 10.00 p.m. and then attend to him at the hospital at night, get up next morning and repeat the same on the following day. With his demise, the burden of the bike’s monthly installment falls solely on me. I shoulder that watching my friends follow various courses of their choice. They were beyond my reach. I continued to work at hotels and appear for interviews at television channels. All these efforts were futile. Since father’s death, mother took his responsibilities too upon her and accompanied me to every nook and corner in Colombo to find her son a job. After becoming sick of all these, finally I decided to start something of my own.
The journey of success I started with one YouTube channel has now made me the proud owner of several of them.
Various institutions in Sri Lanka have become the customers of my two advertising agencies. At the same time, many famous personalities in Sri Lanka have trusted me with their social media promotions. When I became 22, I was able to own my own car. I am happy to humbly say that, at present, I am running two advertising agencies and an academy to educate the public about social media.
“Dream and endeavor to make it a reality.”
Nisala Nanayakkara
(Founder, CEO – Ideaplus / Black & White Production / Plus academy)
