Merchant Life UK

Young entrepreneur Darren Tenkorang delivered a 1 minute business pitch for his mobile barbering service Trim It. Trim It is the UK's first mobile barber service allowing customers to book haircuts via their app. Trim It are able to bring the barber shop directly to the customer with their fully kitted transit van, allowing customers to have their haircuts at a time and location that's convenient for them. Darren and his team have now raised over £200,000 in funding since they started their journey 2 years ago and they promise to contribute elevating the barbering experience for all. Read the full article

In part 2 of Joshua Ogunnote's interview with us, the young entrepreneur spoke to us about how he went about creating Chune app. The London-based entrepreneur broke down the steps that he took from turning his music app idea into something tangible. Joshua also spoke about his plans of promotion for the app and the importance of social media and influencers. Read the full article

In part 2 of Joshua Ogunnote's interview with us, the young entrepreneur spoke to us about how he went about creating Chune app. The London-based entrepreneur broke down the steps that he took from turning his music app idea into something tangible. Joshua also spoke about his plans of promotion for the app and the importance of social media and influencers. Read the full article

In part 2 of our recent interview with Cherelle Reid, the young entrepreneur spoke to us about the early days of her getting into the fashion business. The young entrepreneur from London spoke about the re-branding of her business from Sttud London to Che Reid in an effort to make the product line more sophisticated. Cherelle mentioned her recent YBBA nomination as one of her main highlights since starting Che Reid. Cherelle also offered some advice for university students and how they should go about pursuing their passions after they complete their studies. Read the full article

Supporting young entrepreneurs and start-ups is becoming a widely discussed subject matter. Usually, these up-and-coming business talents are starting their business careers right at the bottom. They have little/no connections, little/no following and little/no resources. Money will always be a need for every type of business, new and established. However businesses, especially new ones, need other things to help them get off the ground, many of which are completely free! Here are some quick and easy ways to support your friends with their businesses without spending a penny. Recommend and Review (Publically) New additions to the menu, winter/summer recommendations, collaborations you want to see happen. These are things you casually do for the big brands (who usually never respond to you). Recommendations and reviews (online/public) are indirect forms of promotion which help increase public awareness for the brand. How much does it cost you to tweet your friend's travel agency recommending package deals in Macau? Cost: £0 Social Media Follow, like, register, subscribe, comment, share. All of these can be done for free, and many of them can be repeated. Promote and ask questions about the product and service on social media. It represents interest in the business and adds credibility, which will only attract other eye balls to the business. Cost: £0 Refer a friend (more than once) Think of your favourite music artist, favourite restaurant or favourite show on Netflix. How many times have you told people around you (some even more than once) to check out that new album or if they've seen the new season? All while you're doing this, its not costing you any money. How is it any different with your friend's business? Cost: £0 So now you're fully equipped to go out and support your friends with their businesses, all without spending any of your money. Now obviously if you're a good friend and money isn't too tight you should also try and support financially. Support however is not dependent on money alone as this article has demonstrated.   Read the full article

Young entrepreneur Joshua Ogunnote spoke to us about his early life and being raised in a Nigerian household. Joshua developed a passion for technology during his childhood years, and took this further by studying computer science at Essex university. After 2 years at university, Joshua made a bold decision to drop out of university and pursue his vision for building an app. It was at this stage that Joshua came up with the idea to build his music sharing app Chune. After dropping out of university, Joshua went on to work at a Aviva as well as a tech start-up before working on Chune full-time. Chune is a music sharing platform which allows users to share their music interests with one another, thereby bringing back the social aspect of listening to music. Check out part 1 of our interview with Joshua Ogunnote above. Read the full article

Cherelle Reid recently spoke to us about her early beginnings and how she made her first steps into entrepreneurship. The young entrepreneur from South London studied fashion both at college and university, before going onto start her own fashion business. Prior to getting into business, Cherelle was pursuing employment in the fashion industry. After completing her studies, Cherelle experienced continuous rejection at job interviews and wasn't able to land the roles she desired in the fashion industry. Motivated by the desire to create, Cherelle went on to launch Che Reid, her very own fashion business. For more information on Che Reid, hit this link! Read the full article

Young entrepreneur Cherelle Reid presents her fashion business Che Reid with a 1 minute business pitch. Cherelle has been a fashion enthusiast for a number of years having initially studied the field at university. Upon completing her studies, Cherelle took her love for fashion further and decided to start a tailoring business, Che Reid. The brand is focused on designing tailored clothes with a particular emphasis on men from the urban community. Check out Cherelle's 1 minute business pitch above for more information. Read the full article

BBC 1Xtra DJ Jamz Supernova followed the journeys of 6 young entrepreneurs across the UK with their business ventures. Supernova regularly talks to young entrepreneurs on her 1Xtra show DIY Generation to get an insight into the stories and experiences of today's young merchants. Being an entrepreneur herself, Supernova is familiar with the experiences that young independents are facing today with their business efforts. Check out our short Q&A with Jamz Supernova below: ML: A few of the young entrepreneurs you spoke to mentioned that they dropped out of university. Do you think that a young person can successfully run a business alongside university, or do they have to decide on one path? JS: I don’t think there is one clear path & that's what we’re trying to highlight. I think a young person can 100% do both. In my weekly radio feature of DIY Generation we’ve had people like Festival owners Strawberries & Cream who met at uni, plotted and executed the idea whilst still getting their degrees! ML: Improvements in technology have made it easier for young people to get their business ideas off the ground, however, do you think that the business world is now becoming too competitive, and how should young people approach this environment? JS: I don’t think it makes it more competitive but I think platforms like Instagram can give off the impression that people are more successful than they are. What you see with the doc is that these are all incredible young people who have got their businesses off the ground and online look like they’ve made it. But in reality it’s going to take a lot more hard work for them to cement themselves. And when they meet their mentors you can see the real difference in how far they have to go! ML: With money being a key focus for most business owners, how would you encourage young people who may not be making money especially in the early stages of their business journey? JS: Money is always going to be a hard one, but I think it’s ok to have another job or a part time job in order to pay the bills. No one gets to live their dream straight away. But it’s really important that you compartmentalise your money and try to invest even just 5% of your income back into your idea! Full Jamz Supernova documentary here Read the full article

With entrepreneurship being promoted so frequently with "those Youtube ads" and today's social media motivational merchants, how do you truly make that step to career-independence? Should you risk it all, or keep your day job? The comfort of receiving a regular income especially if you have responsibilities, makes a day-job vastly more attractive than pursuing a business career. You go to work, Monday to Friday from the 1st to 30th, and as long as you stay out of trouble and don't get fired, you get paid! You pay your bills, buy a loved one a gift and save whatever you can at the end. You continue this process month on month hoping a surprise never disturbs this dance you have going on. Then one day at your retirement party you quietly ask yourself, "Where did all the time go? Feels like I only left university a few years ago". But what if you decide to scrap the day-job and focus on being your own boss. Money isn't guaranteed and you can't afford to be short at the end of the month when your bills are due. Long hours with little or no reward is what you're likely to face at the start of this journey, but you believe that your business idea can work...eventually. So what should you do? The best approach is to measure what "risk it all" means to you. If the potential damage to your life from leaving your day-job is too significant, whilst the rewards are not yet attainable, then keep your day job. Don't lose your house trying to sell hats with 10 website views per day. If however, you don't stand much to lose, especially from a 1 year gamble, then maybe you should consider taking the risk. If it fails, you haven't lost much if anything at all, and you can go back to drawing board. Check out what Business Insider had to say on this topic     Read the full article

In Part 2 of our interview with Mr Starzup, the young entrepreneur spoke about how important it is to network whenever you're seeking new opportunities. Zeus told a story about a conversation he had with Akin during a battle rap a few years ago and how this presented him with the opportunity to work with him. Zeus has introduced comedy sketches and acting into his arsenal of business skills and has also started a jewellery business, Diamonds by Zeus. If you missed part 1 of the interview, check it out here Read the full article

7 year old entrepreneur Shae Brown delivered a 1 minute business pitch for his bunny rabbit venture Shae Bunnies. The young entrepreneur spoke about what people can expect from Shae Bunnies, as well as the key players that are supporting him with his business. Shae Bunnies provides bunny rabbits for children’s birthday parties, which allows the children to play, feed and take pictures with the rabbits. Having rabbits at a children’s birthday party adds a new dimension to the experience for the children, compared to a regular party. Shae provides fellow children with this unique experience in a fun and safe environment. Shae started his business at the age of five, with the help of his family who encouraged him to turn his interest for pets into a small business venture. Having developed an entrepreneurial nature from such a young age, Shae is continuing to exercise new ideas for Shae Bunnies one step at a time. Check out the full one minute business pitch above! Read the full article

Zeus aka "Mr Starzup" recently opened up about his early days growing up in South London as well as some of his childhood business ventures. Zeus is a multi-faceted business man who has dabbled in a number of different industries over the years. In Part 1 of this interview, Zeus spoke about his early efforts in business as a school kid. He sold sweets, drinks and other snacks in school, and he also set up Pokemon tournaments for his fellow students. "I was getting 50p a day from my Grandma, I was taking that to the shop and telling the shop man I'll pay for the drinks after. I would take the drinks to school and sell them" Zeus also had a love for music as a youth which led to him getting involved in the industry as a rapper and songwriter. He formed his music group D-Fam, and their combined achievements made Zeus realise the power of really going after what you want to achieve. A hit song on TV and sessions with Krept and Konan are just a few of the highlights that the young entrepreneur has had on his music journey. Check out Part 1 of the interview above! Read the full article

The Forbes 30 Under 30 summit will be live and in full-effect again this year to present some of the brightest business prospects from around the world. This prestigious event will involve four days of networking, music, food, start up presentations, speeches among many other exciting activities. Previous summits have seen a private performance from Wiz Khalifa, as well as some key-note speeches from the likes of Richard Branson and Ray Dalio. Interested in attending this year’s event? Click here Read the full article

In part 1 of our interview with Manny Adz, the young entrepreneur introduced us to his early life growing up in South London, as well as his early motivations behind pursuing a business journey. Manny is one of the founding members of the radio debating show He Says She Says, which focuses on tackling a variety of topics, both from a male and female perspective. Manny spoke about his passion for having thought-provoking discussions among his friends, and how this inspired him to create a platform for others to also get involved. Manny explained – “There would be a few of us at the table at work and we would debate religion, relationships and other topics" He Says She Says is not only a radio show though. The brand has also delivered YouTube series which allow the viewers to see the faces and personalities behind the voices. Check out part 1 of Manny's interview above! Read the full article

Teenage entrepreneur Jaequan Faulkner started his very own hot dog stand, serving those in his hometown, Minneapolis. The young man started his small operation two years ago to help raise money for clothes, until he was reported for not having a health permit. Jaequan’s hot dog business, Mr Faulkner’s Old Fashioned Hot Dogs was forced to shut down by the local health department putting, what seemed to be, an end to Jaequan’s hustle. After the Minneapolis Department of Health found out that they were investigating a 13 year old entrepreneur, they decided to support him with his business with a short term permit as well as some training. The news has attracted sponsorship for Jaequan which has allowed him to maintain his business beyond the initial short term agreement with the health department. Read the full article

The man behind the radio talk show He Says She Says gave us a 1 minute business pitch, presenting everything that this unique brand is about. The young entrepreneur from South London started the radio and YouTube show one year ago alongside his team of presenters and panelists. The talk show covers topics such as relationships, money, social media and gender roles just to name a few. Manny told us how he aims to bring the show directly to the youth via live speeches and debates, and therefore raise more awareness among the young people in 2018. Check out the full 1 minute business pitch above Read the full article