More and more young black people are making waves in the business world by setting up their own companies and creating their own opportunities. By Tosin Omilaju
“Almost a third of black people in England want to start their own business, compared to just 9% of the white population. However, only 4% of black people manage to.” This was the disturbing statistic quoted by David Cameron earlier this year. In his bid for leadership, the now Prime Minister promised to combat inequality in the gateways to entrepreneurship by setting up a national mentoring programme to help aspiring black business people. While we wait for the manifestation of this programme, however, emerging out of our universities is a growing group of ambitious black people who are latching on to the increasing entrepreneurial trend and not waiting for the government to pursue their dreams of enterprise.
These eager students are resourceful. If it means going to private companies or financing their business with their own funds, they are not letting perceived limitations hold them back. “I looked for funding from the Prince’s Trust, but because I have a degree they wouldn’t give me support,” explains Dean Carby, the 23-year-old founder of entertainment company VNV Sounds. Growing up with a single-parent mother who worked hard to support him, life was not always easy. “I’m still from a disadvantaged background,” he continues, then tells me how his pursuit of further education left him to fund the events-based business himself.
Funding aside, David Cameron’s proposed solutions also promised mentors and credible black role models, which, according to him, rested on getting “more black and ethnic-minority Conservative Party candidates”. As subjective as that is, young business people in the meantime have sourced their own role models for innovative inspiration. “My mentor is my best friend’s older brother, who is a business consultant,” says Stephan, 21, director of online advertisement business Get Pro Basketball. Establishing a business that links basketball players with coaches, scouts and agents from all around the world is not an easy venture, and Stephan explained how having a mentor helped him cut down his exasperatingly long business plan to five pages. This experience has taught him that “having a mentor in the field you want to go in is essential.”
However, for those not blessed with mentors, drawing from the shallow pool of black business role models in the public eye can be a frustrating exercise, with Levi Roots and Tim Campbell seemingly the only two recognizable faces of black business in the UK. Barbara Soetan is the mind behind the student-led campaign Visible Women (VW), an initiative that challenges the under-representation of women in certain sectors. She comments: “There is a great need to put on a platform other people who are doing well in business.” The dimmed spotlight placed on black role models is an issue that is close to Barbara’s heart, and she champions efforts that challenge this skewed view. “The Power List is a great publication that showcases and promotes the role models that do exist within all sectors of the industry.” This shows that young people do search for inspiring individuals to emulate.
What’s contributing to the rising entrepreneurial trend? Being part of a fast-paced generation seems to have caused some young people to feel suffocated by the confines of a regular 9-to-5 job. Many wish to work and make money on their own terms in a more flexible environment. According to Dean of VNV Sounds, “We’re in the information age, where you can share information in a second. Whether it is on the Internet or on your phone, people are seeing now that it is so easy to make money. There is this need to be self-sufficient and create your own future.”
However, some argue that it is not just a case of young people wishing to change their working environment, but also a shift in their mindset. “Students have always been creative and leading creative enterprises,” says Barbara. She attributes the growth to an increasing enterprising culture. “Being entrepreneurial doesn’t have to mean setting up something, but can be seen as specific attributes that are coming to the forefront.” This has resulted in determined and driven students heading businesses, organizations and campaigns that are bound to grow into leading initiatives in the future.
In a world where many live by the Adidas mantra that “Impossible is nothing”, ideas tend not to sit dormant any more. Expansive ideas are brewing in the minds of students, and they are being built into physical and lucrative realities. “We want to set up an athletic clothing range, as well as a basketball academy in Ghana,” explains Stephan of Get Pro Basketball. “We have a big vision.”
Vision can take one so far, but what separates those with business brains from those who embody fully fledged entrepreneurial skill is their ability to network. “No man is an island, and you need to effectively network and effectively partner,” Barbara wisely explains. The fact that so many have clung to this as an essential element to the survival of their business breaks down the long-standing myth that those within the black community, unlike other race groups, fail to support one another in business.
There is no doubt that for these self-starting young people the future is bright. By grabbing opportunities that come along and by not letting obstacles blur their vision for success, they bring refreshing bundles of enthusiastic aspiration into the black community.
