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

At the beginning of previous 12 months, Ewoma Ukeleghe’s skincare clinic was busier than it had at any time been.

“We were being totally booked and had massive plans to scale the enterprise,” remembers the founder of SKNDOCTOR. “But then Covid hit and reserving just after reserving was cancelled. My appointments went to zero and all of a unexpected my calendar was empty, which was very scary.”

Ukeleghe claims it was a “disruptive” and “confusing” time, but instead of panicking, she did what she thinks all excellent business people do: adapt. “You mourn and make peace with the actuality existence isn’t heading to be the exact as it was prior to – then you hustle and do whatever it requires to preserve the enterprise heading.”

For Ukeleghe, that meant concentrating on e-commerce, Zoom consultations and social media marketing. “I’m very fortunate that we thrived,” she claims.

Improvisation and perseverance are what secured the founder her spot as a finalist for this year’s Black British Business enterprise Awards, for which The Telegraph is a media lover. The party, now in its eighth 12 months, celebrates the achievements of some of the UK’s top rated company bosses and business people.

This year’s finalists have been sharing their tricky-earned enterprise classes ahead of October’s digital ceremony, in the hope it could possibly enable the future era.

Vese Aghoghovbia, founder of Philly & Buddies, also thinks adaptability is important. 

“People feel the path is easy, but it’s not,” claims the entrepreneur, whose business specialises in children’s publications, toys and game titles. “I begun out pondering I was heading down the publishing route, but I never anticipated to evolve into other merchandise.

“It’s fantastic to have a eyesight, but overall flexibility and open up-mindedness are what’s necessary to empower progress.”