‘Stop procrastinating and go for it’ say Britain’s top black entrepreneurs

At the commencing of previous calendar year, Ewoma Ukeleghe’s skincare clinic was busier than it had at any time been.

“We were being completely booked and had large plans to scale the small business,” remembers the founder of SKNDOCTOR. “But then Covid strike and scheduling after scheduling was cancelled. My appointments went to zero and all of a sudden my calendar was empty, which was extremely scary.”

Ukeleghe claims it was a “disruptive” and “confusing” time, but in its place of panicking, she did what she thinks all fantastic entrepreneurs do: adapt. “You mourn and make peace with the reality lifetime is not heading to be the exact as it was prior to – then you hustle and do whatsoever it can take to maintain the small business heading.”

For Ukeleghe, that meant focusing on e-commerce, Zoom consultations and social media advertising and marketing. “I’m extremely fortuitous that we thrived,” she claims.

Improvisation and perseverance are what secured the founder her spot as a finalist for this year’s Black British Company Awards, for which The Telegraph is a media lover. The function, now in its eighth calendar year, celebrates the achievements of some of the UK’s top rated company bosses and entrepreneurs.

This year’s finalists have been sharing their tricky-gained small business lessons ahead of October’s virtual ceremony, in the hope it could possibly assist the up coming era.

Vese Aghoghovbia, founder of Philly & Close friends, also believes adaptability is critical. 

“People consider the route is simple, but it’s not,” claims the entrepreneur, whose company specialises in children’s books, toys and video games. “I commenced out contemplating I was heading down the publishing route, but I in no way predicted to evolve into other solutions.

“It’s great to have a vision, but flexibility and open-mindedness are what’s needed to empower growth.”