Archive | August, 2010

How a young entrepreneur sold over 42,000 copies of his book in 9 months – Interview with Sabirul Islam

How a young entrepreneur sold over 42,000 copies of his book in 9 months – Interview with Sabirul Islam

Finally met up with sabirul islam, the famous entrepreneur that sold 42,000 copies of his book “The world at your feet” in 9 months, when he was 13 he got fired from working with his cousin only after 2 weeks.

Now to the interview , hope you enjoy it.

sabirul islam_opt

You got into business from such a young age, from my research its says you got into business at 13, but started your business at 14, what inspired you at such an early age?

Having been weighing up my options for GCSE at 13, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to work for my cousin, who at the time was 14 years of age. He ran his own business designing calendars for teachers in schools. Not the greatest of ideas but I was really inspired by his work. I had the role of a production director, designing the calendars. But I didn’t really live up to the expectations and 2 weeks later got fired!

I have to say it was the most difficult moment in my life, to not only have been fired but fired by my own cousin. It was hard to take in…However, he made £60 profit in one whole academic year and I was on a mission to prove my cousin wrong for firing me.

I wanted to run a business that made more money than he did which led me to setting up my first web design business at the age of 14, which was really successful having ran it for 2 years. Until I realised at 16 that web design was too common so I left the business.

How did you come about writing your book “the world at your feet”?

Having become an entrepreneur at the age of 14 and an investor at 16, it was somewhat outside the norm of what the community expected. Therefore, I had a lot of young people asking me constant questions on how they could do the same, which led me to writing The World at Your Feet book.

For every person I answered the question on how to become an entrepreneur, I believed that it straight away went through one ear and came out of the next. Therefore, I had to give something back in written evidence, which I believe they can always refer back to and seek as inspiration.

The book has a vision to inspire young people about the successes that lie ahead when opportunity is created and most importantly when young people strongly believe in who they are as a person and their abilities to make the most of their talents.

Reading your story, it says you sold over 42,000 copies of your book? That’s right, right? Or how many copies have you sold so far?

Yes, I did sell 42,500 copies of the book and in a space of 9 months.

Can I just “ how the hell were you able to sell 42,000 copies in the space of 9 months”, I’m sure everyone is curious about your tactics, strategies, how the hell did you pull that off, can you share some of your tactics with us, especially with people that are looking to publish their books?

I believe it is all about empowering people to believe in themselves and others that we are all extraordinary. Having written the book, I straight away became a motivational speaker, and spoke at 379 events within the 9 months (333 secondary schools) which led me to selling the 42,500 copies.

I felt that selling directly to young people will not be possible, therefore targeted the education market which I thought was fantastic.

But it’s not about being a sales person standing on stage and looking to sell. No! It’s about the power of inspiration and influence, enabling people to grow in self belief and being passionate about the topic in which you are talking about. Getting more people on board with your vision or topic enables greater opportunity for them to be a part of your network, purchase your products and see you as a role model and an inspiration.

Take us back to when you went to New York with Merrill lynch, how was the experience, how did it come about?

This was totally unexpected and to be honest, I wasn’t really keen to go to the States. But I was convinced
by my parents that it would be a fantastic experience.

Before the summer holiday period, I received a phone call illustrating the opportunity that lies ahead in learning about business and investment in New York. Having been convinced to go, I learnt how to trade in the stock market at the age of 16, working with professional traders in the New York stock market and entrepreneurs from Wall St.

I came back to the UK and put what I learnt to action…becoming a stock trader at the age of just 16. But I felt I was bit too young for this sort of commitment therefore only really bought stock for about 9 months. But it was a fantastic experience!

So you will be speaking at TEDx Youth Event in Amsterdam this November, how did you go about getting involved in that?

Once you develop a strong personal brand with a vision to inspire, and encourage the growth of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning…Opportunity will come to you rather than you having to seek for it. As an entrepreneur, unexpected things happen, which is exactly what happened here. I received an email from the organisers of the TEDx Youth Event from Amsterdam and was invited to speak at the event.

That is the great thing about being an entrepreneur; opportunities can arise any moment in time. So always expect the unexpected!

You’re no longer the teen entrepreneur, how has the journey been so far?

I believe that everyone is still a teen until they reach 30! I’m currently aged twen-teen (20) which I’m sure still makes me a teen 

But it’s been an unbelievable experience. I always look back to the moment I got fired at the age of 13 and think, what if I hadn’t been fired…Would I have been working at McDonalds at this point in time. I just don’t know!

But having become an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and an author, it’s been a fantastic journey. Having turned 18, I launched my own business board game which is titled as ‘Teen-Trepreneur’ hence that is where the name comes from.

The game has been used as part of the business BTEC academic learning which is quite extraordinary as I wasn’t really expecting it to achieve this accolade. Having turned 19, I started speaking in countries around the world such as Nigeria, South Africa, USA and now 20; I’ve launched the new business start kit for young people to encourage future growth and learning of entrepreneurship and will be on a world tour!
So, I say it’s been quite a fascinating few years but hey it’s still early days!

What inspires you and keeps you motivated as an entrepreneur on a day-day basis?

Every day is a new challenge and as an entrepreneur it is fascinating to tackle new challenges and obstacles on a day to day basis.

With my passion to inspire many young people around the world, I believe that every person out there is taking in the words of inspiration and trying to make something happen. I’ve had many people come back to me and state that I’ve changed their life…That is the biggest and most inspirational thing a person can hear.

And the fact that as an entrepreneur new ideas are always looming! So I believe both these two factor keep me going!

What are your hobbies? What do you get up to when you’re not talking business or giving inspirational/motivational speeches?

Over the past year or so, I’ve somewhat been attached to the Playstation which is quite a change for me, as I wasn’t attached to games before. But these modern high tech gizmos are quite rewarding and relaxing!

I also like travelling and taking breaks…so I do go out with friends and family and enjoy myself!
One thing which my mother’s not happy about is the fact that I bought a 6ft snooker table a few months back, which is now sitting in the living room! Have been playing that when I haven’t been working. Good fun!

What would you like to see more of happening as a young entrepreneur?

I just love doing business abroad…I would have to say that I would be delighted if more opportunities to speak or trade in countries that could really do with the products and services I supply.
But it’s all about taking one step at a time…That is where I believe the thrill of the journey comes from!

For the people that haven’t read your book yet, what can they be sure to learn from it?

The World at Your Feet follows a vision to inspire, educate and provide opportunities to jump on to the entrepreneurial platform. It provides a direction and choice of learning about the successes behind entrepreneurship and setting up a business.

The new launch of the Teen-Trepreneur Trilogy books supports life choices, for those who don’t know what they’ll do for their future.

The books help gain interest in the topic of entrepreneurship, help develop your personal brand and teach the core steps to setting up a real business.

There are many people out there full of scepticism and doubt about who they are and their talents. The World at Your Feet book aims to inject belief and hope that ordinary individuals who do something unique make them extraordinary.

And no, it’s not a 40 year olds views on successes in life…Its views from a teenager who was aged 17 (myself ), that had unlocked the beauty of success. So the gap between, those who need help to the person who wrote the book aged 17, is minimal. So there is hope that we can all achieve success.

You been to a lot of countries, giving inspirational talks, what has been your best experience so far?

Without a doubt my time in South Africa was amazing. I spoke at a conference which had listeners of over 2 million people on radio from over 170 countries.

Had great responses from people in South Africa and the people I stayed with will truly live long in my memories.

I even had my books and games sold in South Africa and now have constant orders from country…Great for business. One great thing that happened was when I spoke at a school in South Africa, one of the student bought my book from a local store and wanted my autograph.

She then searched online, asked people around and found out where I was staying…She came over with her dad just to have the book signed having searched for 2 days. Which I thought was awesome and really inspirational.

It will take something really special to beat the experience I had in South Africa.

What has been your most memorable moment so far?

It has to be when I was awarded the Mosaic Entrepreneur of the Year award by HRH Prince of Wales and HRH Princess of Jordan in 2008.

There have been a lot of extraordinary moments during my time but this has to top it, as I was nominated by Merrill Lynch, and was the youngest person nominated for the award, up against top business owners in their 30s and 40s. Which I thought was fantastic!

What has been some of the key lessons you’ve learnt so far on your journey as an entrepreneur?

It is very important to follow the 3 P’s as an entrepreneur…You have to remain Positive at all times. It’s important to always see negative influence as a means to doing positive things and to prove others wrong. I learnt about the importance in being Passionate about what you do, because without passion there is no hope. And finally, what I’ve learnt is that illustrating Perseverance is key. Hard work and determination, even through tough times is how true entrepreneurs succeed.

So what’s next for you?

I’ll be starting my World Tour in October, speaking in 20 countries in 12 months. In November, I’ll be launching the new Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau and from next year the Teen-Trepreneur Board Game will be selling globally.

So there is still a bit to do, but I’ve always said to myself…Duncan Bannatyne became an entrepreneur aged 30 and is now a multi-millionaire. I started at 14 and am now aged 20. Well, I speak for many young entrepreneurs when I say that we are already more success than he is! 

What tips have you got for young entrepreneurs especially those looking to publish their books?

It’s easy and simple…All it takes is for you to write a story, design it yourself or find a designer and publish on Lulu.com…It’s simple, its free and it will make you more successful than those who take their manuscripts off to a mainstream publishers and get rejected! Give it a try. It won’t cost you to publish a book!

Thanks for your time sabirul, hope to catch up with you soon.

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We can now celebrate, Online 99p shop with delivery- Suleman Sacranie

We can now celebrate, Online 99p shop with delivery- Suleman Sacranie

I recently got the chance of speaking to Suleman Sacranie, founder of 99pshopper.com, a really cool guy with an interesting idea and something that i will think will go far, it’s definitely going to be huge.

Rather than walking to your favourite shop, or maybe you forgot to do your weekly or monthly shopping, or you recently cut down the budget for your weekly shopping.

99pshopper.com offers you products for 99p with delivery, just think 99p store but online and delivery. Cool right? Now start ordering!

Now to the interview, hope you enjoy it!

Suleman Sacranie 99p shopper

Hi Suleman, how are you? Great of you to join us on YHP

I’m very well thanks, before we proceed I just wanted to say what YHP do is an inspiration to why today we have successful entrepreneurs that take the chance and start up their own business, it’s a pleasure speaking to you Joseph 

Thanks man, i truly appreciate that, I’m so psyched about this interview, so let’s dive in.

Before we start talking about how you started your business, can you quickly give me some background information about yourself?

Well, my name is Suleman I was brought up in Leicester a city in the midlands, on the day my mum was giving birth to me my dad opened his first Supermarket in Leicester a former Co-Operative store which for the next 15 years of my life I grew up in, living above the shop meant when it got busy my mum had to bring me in the shop to keep an eye on me and as you can imagine a child never stays in one place so I had a box tied to the shelf so I couldn’t move, but this is where my entrepreneurial spirit all started, as I watched my dad develop the business from scratch into the backbone of the family .

(Laughter) this is probably the funniest, most random and favourite introduction I’ve had so far, i like it

Let’s first go back a bit, how did you get into business? What was your motive then? What inspired you?

Business has been going way back from my granddad and my father, and my father has always been the one that inspired me to go into business.

We talk nothing else but business between us and it really frustrates my mum and my younger brother as we are always looking at what we can do then realise it’s like 3 AM!

I can relate to that, time flies when you’re talking business

I always thought I would go down the academic route having completed my A- Levels in Chemistry, Biology & English Language. I started my degree course off at University Of Leicester in Chemistry when I realised that this was not for me whilst in lectures I would always be thinking about business, coming up with ideas that I wanted to pursue without any research.

My motive was financial freedom and to be self employed, when i was 17, I realised I couldn’t work for anyone whilst working at a bank call centre, I always used to say to myself, how could this people be in this position, I used to get in trouble for telling them how they could improve and later realised and told myself ,if this is the working world then It’s not for me as I need to voice my opinion and the only way I can do this is by developing my own business and being my own boss! However I realised it was easier said than done

So you sold your first company when you were 19, tell us about this company and why did you decide to sell it?

At 19, I applied for BBC Dragons Den Online, my video pitch appeared online and never did I think 8 hours later I would be planning a flight to the US, the concept was a software to teach children to keep away from guns and knives to be honest I didn’t have a clue where I could take the business, like I said I used to have the most crazy ideas but not know what to do with them and when the offer came up to cash in I knew it would be the best option as it would enable me to further myself and having some capital to embark upon something else

What were you doing before you started this company?

Before I started this I was doing my A-Levels at college. I am not academically the most able but I get by, and surprised myself by managing to get a place on a degree course at one of the best Universities in the UK.

So to 99pshopper, how did the idea come about? What is the story behind it?

Well, you are going to laugh Joseph when you hear the story behind it, me and my dad were just having a laugh about it earlier. It was about midnight a year ago and I was in the bathroom and something just hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I always knew internet was the way forward and then thought to myself people don’t have time to even do their weekly shopping, we are in a recession we all want things cheap.

I ran out of the bathroom and my parents were sleeping, i switched on the light and shouted 99p Shopper!
My mum thought we had a thief in the house and my dad half a sleep goes “what an amazing idea”, this is where it all started.

But going forward it was easier said than done, I thought I could develop a cheap website so i found a company in Bangladesh thinking within two weeks’ time I will be launching 99p Shopper, without a clue of what stock I was going to have on the site, the company doing the website had no clue about what they were doing, I was doing more of the web design than they were and lost £500.

I finally decided to tell them to stop the work and for a month I walked the streets of Leicester wondering how am I going to make 99p Shopper happen, I was getting lots of web quotes equivalent to prices of houses which was really shocking for me, but like they say “if you keep trying something will eventually come up”, I went to London, Glasgow, Bristol searching for a web company and i finally found one which was based in Nottingham less than 30 mins from me.

I met the most amazing web company Eventure Internet.

Mark Storey the Director at the company has been the man behind the success of 99p Shopper, he has put all his knowledge in making sure we launch the most exclusive food site on the internet, without him we would not have built 99p Shopper today. We used to meet up every week in Nottingham working on designs going through the development features and 4 weeks ago we launched 99pShopper.com.

I was just browsing through the website and let me get this straight; customers come on the website and order products and get them delivered to their doorstep?

Yes, it’s that simple Joseph, simply add the products to your basket, we have a Save With A Case option which enables bulk buyers to save more money on their shopping so you can buy an individual product or purchase a case, once you complete the checkout process we receive the order at our picking centre, the order is then picked and dispatched to the customer usually within 48 Hours.

So let me get this straight, you guys have a delivery centre, and this is where all the products are stocked, once a order is made, you go to your delivery centre and get the item delivery to the person, right?

Yes simple as that

How much items do i need to order for my stocks to be delivered?

There is no restriction like you have with many other supermarket sites you can spend what you want and order how much you want, the concept is to give flexibility to customers hence why we have no restrictions

You know what i know some of the YHP audience will be wondering how you’re making money, what is your business model?

The business model has always been to keep the company as an online brand; we buy stock in quantity enabling us to pass the savings onto our customers hence selling branded products at 99p & less. But over the last 4 weeks we have had 200 franchises enquires to open stores across the UK. With Supermarkets making huge percentage mark ups, we don’t work on the high profit scale yet working on quantity and keeping all our customers happy.

To be honest, i really like the idea, you know the idea of buying things online for 99p an then you have the delivery aspect of it, it’s pretty cool, i just saw crunchy nut on there for 99p, i guess i will start my weekly shopping as soon as this interview is done, you know by the time i spend £20, I’m sorted! And i do believe that this is something that is really going to go viral or crazy as soon as people start realising it exists? University student will love this

This is the concept joseph, by launching 99p Shopper we are enabling everyone to shop for big brands at low prices, with families having to make cut backs etc. food shopping has been made a lot harder this way for example Crunchy Nut retails for £2.39 in the Supermarkets by the time you add your weekly shopping to your supermarket bag and with our prices of 99p and under you can clearly see the huge savings customers will be making.

To be honest it has been viral crazy the media are picking up on this and writing about 99p Shopper, I am getting text messages from friends saying I have just seen you in the Mail on Sunday etc. not even being aware it is pretty cool.

But the growth of the company in this month has smashed all expectations I had and I am looking forward to developing the company and taking it as far as I can, I think the ex-pat market place is another that we didn’t think we would get any response from, Mark suggested lets have European option in doing so we are shipping customers weekly shopping to Paris, Munich, Madrid, Milan and many other places across Europe.

One problem that i think a lot of people have with the whole 99p issue, is about quality, how are you able to keep your prices low and still maintain quality and I’m sure making profit at the same time?

This is where the experience of my father has been so needed, as he has over 30 years of experience in t
his trade when it came to sourcing the big brands in doing so at the prices I wanted, he has the knowledge of where to go and the methods of doing so and since we have had suppliers contacting us and this has enabled us to go from 200 products to a range of over 2,000 products and this has continued to grow.

Have you started getting orders so far?

So we far we have had 12,000 orders from customers across the UK & Europe

How have you been advertising and generating awareness so far?

To be honest, this has been going on for a month now and with our fasting month I have not really had chance to focus on any kind of advertising, but clearly word of mouth is the biggest kind of advertising out in there as people are hearing about us from their friends and the word is going round

You secured a £100,000 sponsorship from eventure funding to set up the website right? How did that
happen? What do they get from the deal?

Well Joseph as i mentioned earlier, the way I wanted the website was not going to be cheap and I am a very hard person to please and having discussed this with Eventure, they are investors in people and they invested in me. All our internet marketing and campaigns that will be working will only be done by them.

I rate them as the UK’s best web company as they care about delivering the very best and I am already looking at developing new concepts with them

Have you got any plans in expanding the business up a bit? I read something about you looking to go into partnerships with Tesco? Is there anything concrete on that?

I’m not sure where the Tesco thing came from but we’ve had major Supermarkets contact us in going into partnership, but at this moment in time this is not something or direction i want to go in, I want to make 99p Shopper a household name and looking forward to developing a franchise model to open retail outlets across the UK.

Although the offer from a UK Supermarket was concrete it just seemed to be going away from what I wanted to do with 99p Shopper, it was the biggest decision of my life but I stand by not agreeing to it but there is no truth in the Tesco deal, we have not had any contact from Tesco.

So guys are actually not distributing, you have an agreement with a distribution firm to deliver the products right?

This was the initial agreement until they realised that it was not going to be 100 deliveries a week and this is where the biggest nightmare happened as the distributors could not cope with the number of orders, we had to make sure we held the stock and dispatched it to our customers so before customers were receiving their shopping in two different deliveries now all shopping is delivered to the door in one package.

I guess with business you start off in one way and things change as the business develops but if you are making changes like this within a week it is very difficult and we had to make these changes as well as
making sure all our customers’ orders were fulfilled and by working 24/7 we pulled it off.

This is crazy, but before we go forward, i want us to go back a bit; you were studying chemistry at Leicester university right? First of all, how did a sales man/business man end up studying chemistry?

To be honest Joseph I get asked that question every day and even I don’t have an answer to that question, all I can say is I had an amazing Chemistry teacher in Julie Russell and she made me a good student at Chemistry and really I was not going to do anything else but looking back Chemistry taught me many skills that i have used today such as problem solving, calculations and many other things that all link back to Chemistry

Why did you decide to drop out, i mean you have just a year left right? Why not finish it off and then concentrate on your business?

My parents said the same thing to me, but when you want to do something so badly, no matter how much you want to delay it you will constantly be reminded of it and I am one of those people that has to do something as soon as it is in my head I can’t hold it out for 2 years to carry it out.

I guess it’s good you din’t wait for 2 years, I might be the one running 99pshopper now ..Laughter..

Suleman: Laughter

You could say i tried postponing 99p Shopper but couldn’t get it off my head, I tried the uni stuff out but my heart wasn’t in it, I just wanted to be my own boss and when I want something I have to work on it instantly and constantly this was no different, and looking back I don’t regret it, not one bit.

And when you read about 150,000 students not getting into University and here’s me saying the economy can only grow with new business coming into the market to enable jobs to be created, i guess you could say it is an amazing time to start your own business!

What has been the hardest part of building the business so far?

Where do I start, I told you about the website dilemma, at the moment Joseph it’s all really hard work but I would say raising that initial capital was the hardest part as they say there is support of start-ups out there I looked and couldn’t find anything I was fortunate to win an Enterprise completion at the University Of Leicester that gave me £5,000 funding to get going as well as the success I had later on with the sale of my first company

What would you say has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt so far?

Keep friends and business separate, starting up your business is very personal and when things are not going well I get very frustrated and angry and this sometimes can come across in the wrong way so I would always suggest build your team around yourself and don’t treat your business as a day with your mates.

Secondly never get your work outsourced, yes you will pay a lot less but if something goes wrong and you need to be able to have the matter resolved right way, you might end up waiting for two weeks just to get through to the company, I learnt one lesson, “pay monkeys expect peanuts” and that is what I realised when I initially outsourced 99p Shopper

If you could go back, what one thing would you do differently?

I wasted three months having the web site developed in Bangladesh and it drained me, I was left frustrated and didn’t know whether to turn left or right, I would have used a UK based company from the get-go but then again I believe everything happens for a reason and it was a lesson I learnt and it was hard at the time but looking back it was part of the journey to get to where we are today .

I know you’ve been so busy of late, i know you are fully booked during the week, i know how you had to squeeze me in for the interview, how do you keep the balance between work and rest? What do you do for fun at the moment, to take the edge off?

Balance between work and rest, well I actually have to think about that one, I am always on the go but I make sure I have a complete rest day on Friday, this is when I can catch up on TV, enjoy a day with the PS3 and do what every other 21 year old does. Saturday is my day to sleep I don’t get up till late afternoon but I need these two days just to take the edge off things.

Saying that I am 21 but my hair is nearly all white and my mum is chasing me with a hair dye every day so I know to take it easy but when you are so passionate about something it is very hard to relax and take your mind off things

What advices or tips could you give to aspiring young entrepreneurs looking to kick start their start-ups?

You will get days when you wish why am i doing this, we all do but remember this much just thinking about starting your own business is the biggest step forward, raising finance is difficult but look at what can you do to kick start things before 99p Shopper went live to raise funds I was running a pilot on eBay and raising funds from this.

Never let anyone tell you your idea is not going to be successful as with determination and hard work you can make anything work

If you are looking at using a web company, use a UK company so you have constant contact with your web company

Get a mentor in place from day one, someone you can go to and get advice not be told what to do, but get suggestions and then make your own decision.

Go to these free workshops to get you off the ground they are free and you will meet likeminded people and you never know the one person you may meet may just be the one to kick start your business

You get told by a lot of people focus on your business plan but my advice would be to work on making the idea happen, put all your effort in winning the hearts of your customers/clients and this will all come together
Look at funding around you, Enterprise Inc gives £5,000 to kick start your business dream, St Thomas White Charity give £12,000 interest free over 12 years.

Don’t give up I never thought 99p Shopper would ever go live looking back just 12 months ago, these were the hurdles I was going through and you have to fight though these things and come out stronger

So what should we be expecting from you next?

Over the next 12 months we are looking at making 99p Shopper a household name with meetings with Venture Capitalist coming up, I am looking at taking the company to the next level and fingers crossed we should be having 99p Shopper stores across the UK 

Thanks suleman, hope to catch up with you soon.

It’s my pleasure speaking with you Joseph thanks for this opportunity

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How a youtube vlogger is travelling, having fun while working – Nadine Sykora

How a youtube vlogger is travelling, having fun while working – Nadine Sykora

Hi Guys, i recently got the chance of interviewing Nadine Sykora, a youtube travel vlogger currently in new zealand working and having fun at the same time.

Check out the interview.

nadine sykora

Hey Nadine, How are you doing? Great to have you on YHP

Hey! Thanks so much for having me on here 

Can you kindly give us some background information about yourself?

Well, to put it short I’m a 22 year old video content creator on YouTube! I’ve been producing short silly videos for about 3 years now. My content ranges anywhere from short skits and parodies, to travel vlogs and warcraft videos.

How did you get involved in vlogging? Dint you feel a bit shy or scared about putting yourself out there?

Well, I stumbled upon it one day while surfing the internet and just thought to myself, “hey, I could do that!.” So I bought a webcam and started doing just that. As for being scared, I wasn’t intimated until I started receiving my first hate comments.

Those comments are hard to not take personally when you first start. As for shy, I’ve never been shy about my videos, maybe while filming, but defiantly not while posting.

What are you looking to go into from your YouTube vlogging?

It is hard to say because every year YouTube changes into something completely different, and you say you would like to go one direction one year, and then the next year a whole lot of different doors open up and suddenly your looking forward to something else. You just have to have an optimistic outlook and be able to adapt to change.

You’re currently in New Zealand working or should I say enjoying yourself, how did it all happen? Getting a job where you can do what you enjoy?

Well I recent graduated University last summer and I decide that since I had never done any pervious traveling before now was a perfect time to go since I had no previous commitments. So I signed up with SWAP, which is a working holiday visa program that allows me to legally work and travel as much as I want for a year in New Zealand. (that was the country I picked)

You have the #1 Most Subscribed Channel in New Zealand. What did it take for you to get to this point?

A lot of commitment. People don’t realize it but to have even a semi decent YouTube channel, you have to constantly be putting out new content and always be keeping up with the latest trends. It’s a lot of upkeep, but if you really enjoy what your doing, you don’t usually mind.

Have your videos gotten you into any trouble? If so, how?

None of my video have gotten me into trouble. I’m a very clean and safe person with my videos :P Haha, that’s probably a lame answer.

How do you cope with rude comments and negative feedbacks on YouTube?

It’s really tough when you are in a bad mood or if your feeling down to NOT let the negative comments get to you. As much as I like to say just ignore them, I am only human and when you are constantly being told all these negative things about you, it’s really hard to not let it get to you. I try to just step away from the computer and deal with the comments when I’m in a better mood.

As a YouTuber, how do you earn your income from YouTube as well?

Like all partners, we earn ad revenue sharing income, so it’s a percentage of the ad impressions Google puts on our videos. As well as, there are also other contracts that come in so you can make money from those.

What has been your most memorable moment so far?

My most memorable moment so far filming would probably have to be my Miley Cyrus video parody I did, where I ended up running around Auckland, New Zealand dressed in a chicken suit and jumping into a fountain. Haha, that was a crazy filming day.

What should we be expecting from you in the future?

Everything, the future is such a wide open canvas right now, I would like to tell you where my videos are going but the truth is, YouTube and I change so often, after only a few months I could be doing something completely different. What I can tell you is that I hope to be doing YouTube videos for a long time still.

What tips can you give you others outside looking up to you or advice in getting involved in the industry?

YouTube takes time and patience, things don’t happen overnight and therefore you have to be very passionate about what you do. Practice makes perfect, even with YouTube, overtime your videos and you will mature and you’ll be able to grasp more about what it is your really good at and succeed at making those types of videos.

Thanks Nadine for doing this, will be waiting for some postcards :)

Follow her on twitter
Check out her youtube page
Like her on Facebook

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Posted in Entertainments & Art, InterviewsComments (1)

Farrah Gray – Self made millionaire at 14!

Farrah Gray – Self made millionaire at 14!

Farrah Gray

Farrah Gray
is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and motivational speaker. He became a self made millionaire at 14 years old!

Farrah started his first entrepreneurial venture at the age of just 6 years old. He would sell homemade body lotions and hand painted rocks, for use as book ends and doorstops, in Chicago’s south side where he grew up. At 7 years of age he regularly carried his own business cards which read “21st Century CEO”.

When he was 8 years old this remarkable young entrepreneur was officially the youngest person to have ever had an office on Wall Street. This was the home of his newly founded company New Early Entrepreneur Wonders (NE2W), which was set up to educate and support “at risk” youth by developing and providing the tools to acquire additional income legally.

When Farrah Gray was 12 years old he founded KIDZTEL, pre paid phone cards for kids, which would end up making him a teenage millionaire.

His list of incredible achievements doesn’t stop their as he was a host on an interactive teen talk radio show where his voice was heard by over 12million listeners every Saturday night. At the same time he had yet another venture running, ‘Far-Out Foods’, food with a twist aimed at young people which brought in $1.5million plus, in revenue, in the first year.

Amongst many awards and accolades Farrah has received, he was given an honorary doctorate degree of Humane Letters from Allen University. ‘Dr’ Gray also uses his drive, enthusiasm and experience to host motivational speaking conferences.

At the age of 26 he is currently best-selling author and CEO of Farrah Publishing. What he has achieved so far in his life is extraordinary and is more than most people complete in a lifetime.

Farrah was motivated to work hard toward financial gain, after seeing his mother suffer in dire financial situations, as a youngster.

He is not all about money, money, money for himself though as he is a companionate person and regularly gives back to the community. Many of his entrepreneurial activities also are targeted at providing help and opportunities for those who are going through difficulties.

He is a social entrepreneur and this was evident in him from an early age as shown by his commitment to NE2W. I have no doubt you will be hearing a lot more about this young entrepreneur in the future.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, ProfilesComments (0)

How a Dyslexic entrepreneur started his chocolate empire at 13 – Louis Barnett

How a Dyslexic entrepreneur started his chocolate empire at 13 – Louis Barnett

Louis Barnett chokolit

From the kitchen to being globally accepted as a Chocolatier, Louis Barnett aims to take his Chocolate producing company “Chokolit” ethically serious which was launched in 2005.

Louis Barnett is dyslexic, yet it didn’t make him dormant. Academically, life wasn’t a bed of roses as he struggled from being bullied and fitting in within an ordinary school.

Due to his parent’s best interest, he became a home student. In Louis’s case his disappointment became an advantage.

Through home tutoring, Louis Barnett realised his passion for chocolate. Creating chocolate cakes started as his first task, which became a hit within his family and friends that he became a wanted cake baker by many.

His new found love deepened, as he begins to takes his hobby more serious. Due to personal research, he came across how the usage of palm oil affects animal and our planet; this caused him to vow to not use such within his products.

He has been asked to join a restaurant and deli, both offer wasn’t taken as he started his own business at the age of 12. Unknown to him, he became UK’s Youngest Entrepreneur.

At the age of 13, he became Waitrose youngest supplier, at 14 likewise occurred for Sainsbury – once again, he became Selfridge’s supplier at 15.

Also at the age of 15, he was the first person to be sponsored and supported on an “official” training course as Chocolatier Owner, in the academy of Barry Callebaut (World’s major supplier of chocolate products) in Banbury, UK.

Recently he has created a chocolate bar named “Biting Bars TM” which has indirectly sent a message across with the aim to protect wildlife and the environment, which donate 10p to different charities. Many more of his products broadcast awareness of global climate change, animal endangerment and human impact.

Chocolate is tasty, delicious and mouth watering – to top it up, its ethical and created by Louis Barnett – Chokolit is breaking boundaries!

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Posted in Start-UpsComments (2)

YHP is currently looking for writers/contributors

YHP is currently looking for writers/contributors

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YHP is currently looking for writers/contributors that are looking to join the YHP Team

If you believe that you are can add something to the YHP Platform or a section on the website that you would like to contribute.

We are currently looking to expand and promote YHP, still maintaining quality contents with exclusive interviews and in-depth analysis about start-ups and entrepreneurial and talent reports.

Get in touch with us

info@yourhiddenpotential.co.uk

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Myhab is giving you an eco-friendly festival and accommodation – James Dunlop

Myhab is giving you an eco-friendly festival and accommodation – James Dunlop

james dunlop myhab

Have you ever been to a Gig? Had fun, right?

Imagine the mess after an Open Field Gig event…James Dunlop put this into consideration and created “Myhab”.

James is the CEO and founder of the company Myhab which began whilst he was a student in University of West Bristol.

It became official in 2008, and started travelling to big gigs and festivals from 2009 onwards.

Myhab as a company is defined as the luxury festival accommodation service. Myhab creates tents at affordable prices for people.

It has also been hired by big companies such as The Big Green Gathering (took place in 2007) and many other novel festival organisers.

Myhab as a tent is a disposable habitat that is aimed to help reduce the unnecessary amount of tents left behind within different functions. It is also aimed to be a reusable/recyclable, luxury accommodation service for festival-goers.

It may look like a beautified cardboard box however, it has two cushion pads for sleeping, a chance to personalise with a name, a locker secure by a pin yet there is also made spaces for two.

Myhab also has a set of trained people as a team, for customers with their personal enquiries within festivals and gigs.

James has now made it possible for all to have fun yet leave limited stress for festival organisers.

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The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau

The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau

Speakers Bureau

The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau is an agency consisting of 50 speakers, 25 from the UK and 25 international. Speakers involved are those who are experts within their field or have a story to tell in front of an audience at organised events.

The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau will consist of fellow entrepreneurs who are able to share their success with those across the world wanting to hear how success is achieved and the steps you have taken to become the person you are today.

The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau is currently at its recruiting stage and will be launched and marketed to event organisers, education departments, and both local and corporate organisations to spread the word of the young entrepreneurs who are on board.

The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau is a part of the Teen-Trepreneur Brand under The World at Your Feet. Its vision is to inspire and educate people on how ordinary people can become extraordinary by doing something unique and out of the blue.

It aims to change the minds and perception of millions of people around the world that every person out there has skills and talents which has to be unlocked. The entrepreneurs and speakers on board with the Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureau will help create new form of success and leaders of tomorrow.

They are currently recruiting young entrepreneurs (25 from UK & 25 International) who The Teen-Trepreneur Speakers Bureaubelieve they have a story to tell that can change the lives of other people and am sending out this email on quest to look for those young entrepreneurs.

If you are interested or know any young entrepreneurs who are capable of speaking in front of an audience, please do let me know. As I would love to have them on board.

Check out @ http://www.theworldatyourfeet.com/

Posted in Be Inspired, Events/SeminarsComments (1)

No University Spaces? Screw it! More Reason to start a business now.

No University Spaces? Screw it! More Reason to start a business now.

crying over spilled milk

Before I discuss the issue at hand, i just wanted to say, either you go to university or not, it doesn’t matter. what matters is understanding the reason why you’re not going or going. .

Each path have their advantages and disadvantages, both path requires a certain level of discipline, dedication, focus and passion.

I guess this article in some way is for those that are considering not going to university or can’t get into their preferred university because of the recent space issues.

I hope I’m able to show you there is no definite answer to either going to university or not, just a choice that seems right to you.

Ok now to the good stuff.

I’m sure most of you have read the article on BBC reporting that at least 150,000 students are set to miss out on a degree level place in university this year, even though students got a record “A-level” results.

With 27% of entries gaining As or A*s, can i also add that students starting this year are likely to graduate with an average debt of nearly £25,000.

Over half a million students have applied to universities in the UK (660,000 according to figures on the BBC website and in 2009 only 482,000 got places in university)

Why the sudden rise?

Huge number of job losses has prompted parents into re-applying for places at university to get additional qualifications, which means competition for the small amount of jobs available.
Nothing else to do, no jobs, why not apply? At least there is money in it! Student loans = Guaranteed money.

What is the point?

This got me thinking, what is the point of going quickly into the lion’s den? When you could just take your time to think if you will really want to go?

I say save you the stress of dropping out? Or screw it, just start a business?

I guess you could see it as a blessing in disguise, if it all doesn’t work out, you could always apply to go back the following year.

Most people that are unsure about what they want, end up going for the first year and then dropping out, this way at least they get a taste of what the hype is all about.

But then again, what is the point of them all going to university to graduate only to keep searching for jobs?

Why not start early? Give yourself a head-start, instead of spending 3-4 years of time getting a degree that could prove irrelevant to the rest of your life, you could actually spend time doing something you love and enjoy.

Unemployment rate is increasing and instead of creating jobs, most people are too busy trying to get all levels of degree and then what? Hang it on the wall and live with your parents.

Rather than creating jobs most are waiting for employment, so why not be of the few creating jobs?
The opportunity to focus on your business without any stress of coursework or exam weighing over your shoulders, you can actually focus on building a great business or product.

Networking and building contacts can also be useful, especially those through conferences and parties.

Should i just go to the university – The perks! Is it really that important to have a university degree with a debt of over £20,000?

By attending university, we all know after turning up half drunk to lectures; the next best thing is making contacts and useful networks during your time at the university, oh yeah, your degree as well.

Ok, i am not trying to put you off going to the university, far from it, as you know i love the university life.
I mean we have countless numbers of entrepreneurs that have also gone to the university, graduated and then gone onto building successful companies, so what are you really missing on
Late night parties

  • The independent life
  • Lectures
  • Getting a degree
  • Getting drunk
  • Building networks and contacts
  • Having the time of your life
  • Student loan debt

Ok i agree that sounds amazing! I would be pissed off if i was you as well.

So here is it again:

Some 660,000 students have applied to university in the UK.
Overall there are more places on offer this year, but the numbers are capped and universities face fines for over-recruiting. In 2009, 482,000 students got places.

If you didn’t get in, screw it, start a business now!

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Posted in Start-UpsComments (2)

Foodzie Founder Emily Olson

Foodzie Founder Emily Olson

Emily Olson - Foodzie

Emily Olson is the founder of Foodzie, which was launched in December 2008, when she was 24. Foodzie is an online marketplace for artisanal food producers and growers.

She came up with the idea after working at a speciality food store, where she realised the difficulties that these producers had in getting their products into big retailers. Foodzie allows the passionate producers to connect online in an easy and efficient way.

To help here in starting the business she called on Rob LaFave and Nik Bauman, two university friends who had entrepreneurial ambitions.

Emily says “Being in the food business is not as glamorous as it seems, but everyone we work with is doing it because they are very passionate.”

After a year in business Foodzie was working with 250 vendors and was getting hits of 85,000 a month.

Foodzie offers many interesting in not a little odd varieties of food. Some products you are unlikely to find anywhere else, including Gobba Gobba Hey treats (Whoopie Pie-like confections, called “gobs,” made with all-natural ingredients and offered in exotic flavor combinations), and Bacon Jam (No, really it’s actually very good!)

Here is a little video to tell you more!

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Posted in Start-UpsComments (0)








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