Q. How were you able to stay motivated during throughout your whole business journey? (Lemar, Sir George Monoux College)

A. Firstly if you want to make the life changing decision to launch your own business at some point then make sure you choose a journey that your passionate about as remember in business you don’t clock off at 5 so loving what you do is key , I did this and then added goals to aim for.

 

Q. What morning routines do you have? (Odayne, Sir George Monoux College)

A. I embraced fitness at the back end of 2018 so 3 times a week I make sure I work out pre 7am but if not a big work out I will make sure I do something fitness based in the day. Fitness is great to start the day!

 

Q. What inspired you to get to where you are in life? (Emre Boran, Sir George Monoux College)

A. Reading books by Richard Branson, Alan Sugar and watching dragons den and other business shows really drove me on to change my life as I came from humble beginnings and seeing what can be achieved by hard work and vision was my inspiration.

 

Q. Did you always want to be an entrepreneur? (Ellie, Amersham College)

A. Yes, I had a tuck shop at the age of 8 in my garden selling sweets to my friends , I sold clothes at school at lunch and at weekends helped a window cleaner just to earn and also learn the importance of hardwork. If you get chance to even volunteer at a business or in a working environment do it , it will help you later in life I promise you.

 

Q. How busy is your schedule? (Conor Eyre, Sharnbrook Academy)

A. Being an entrepreneur means you never switch off so while I have a schedule that can include meeting suppliers or higher management or I suppose my day starts at around 7am by catching up on emails but we have a business in the west coast of the USA also so with an 8 hour time difference it means I am taking calls at 2300 each night with results so its busy. Understand owning a business that you scale is not easy it’s a life commitment not 9-530.

 

Q. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in business? (Emily Simpson, Accrington Academy)

A. Listen , learn to delegate (accept some people are better than you so let them do their job), stay humble and the most important thing and I mean this is learn to say thank you and be kind where you can. This is something that Richard Branson is passionate about. Finally something that I don’t do enough,  but when you get an idea record it or share it as a big part of scaling a business is through ideas and vision which can happen at the most random times.

 

Q. What form of market research did you find most helpful and why? (Alisha Banga, Leicester College)

A. I worked in the industry before I started my main business so had an understanding of the market however my employer worked in a very non efficient way which is why I was disruptive in our industry as I embraced tech faster than most. So my main research was using online tools like google analytics and SEM rush which are great tools to gauge demand.

 

Q. What if you don’t believe in yourself? (Zoe, Folkestone College)

A. I always have!!! However understand if you want to run your own business then its not for the faint hearted, you will be doing 12 hour days and if you choose to scale the business you will need a strong mind. But also to help you believe in yourself make sure you surround yourself with positive people , negativity helps NO ONE!!

 

Q. What made you think of your business idea and what made you want to pursue it? (Jake Richardson, Folkestone College)

A. I saw a market that was Scaleable as you get re orders frequently

• Solid margins. Remember profit is what pays the bills not turnover in the long term
• Varied. Having a large inventory to sell from always gives you choice when certain products are not flavour of the month (don’t put all your eggs in one basket)
• Global reach. A pen is as pen in any country for instance

 

Q. What was your first initial step after education to take the first step forwards in business? (Ciara, Folkestone College)

A. I was never academic and joined the royal navy after leaving school but after leaving the navy I worked in various sales roles to learn the art of selling from phones to face to face so the first step you need is get ‘’experience ‘’ from the bottom up , while education is key in loads of professions the best education you will ever get is ‘’experience’’

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