In this episode Cem and Wayne interview Blessing Maregere, a multi-award winning young entrepreneur, author & inspirational speaker. He started his first business, a cleaning company, at the age of 16, which turned over £10k a month, employed 6 cleaning staff and he did it all in just 3 months. He shares with us how he did it and why having a positive mindset was key to his success.
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Introduction
02:40 Blessing Maregere Introduction
05:45 Did school set you up for a career in entrepreneurship?
07:00 What can schools do to promote entrepreneurship?
10:00 “Following my granddad around his business helped me to learn a lot.”
10:50 “Find someone who’s been through the journey you want to take and ask them to mentor you.”
12:20 What advice would you give to a young person who wants to drop out of the educational route?
14:40 “If you believe in yourself, other people are going to believe in you.”
15:40 How do you build a positive mindset?
17:20 “Reading success stories can be really inspiring, especially hearing about people overcoming failures.”
18:20 What common fears do you see in young people when it comes to entrepreneurship?
20:00 How do you avoid familial pressures and negative people around you?
21:00 What if someone doesn’t know their passion?
22:00 “There is nothing wrong with changing your passion.”
22:40 How do you deal with mornings when you’re not feeling motivated?
23:00 “Reconnect with your ‘why’ when you lose motivation.”
25:50 What were the first steps to starting your cleaning business?
28:00 “You can sell your service without actually having a business, it’s about testing your market and securing your customers first.”
30:00 Should entrepreneurs have idols?
32:20 “If you’re in a 9-5 job, you become an entrepreneur from 5-9.”
33:00 Are there any links between volunteering and entrepreneurship?
34:00 “Volunteering developed my confidence and taught me to believe in myself.”
37:00 What are the three first steps for anyone interested in entrepreneurship?
1) Find your passion.
2) Get yourself a mentor.
3) Network!
Powerful Nonsense Questions:
What’s the most powerful piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
38:30 “Success is about the mindset.”
What’s the biggest load of nonsense you’ve ever heard?
38:50 “You can’t be young and successful.”
41:00 Episode Wrap Up
Find out More About Blessing:
Website: blessingm.com
Email: blessing@blessingm.com
Let Your Passion Be Your Alarm Clock – Blessing Maregere at TEDxYouth@Croydon
Book Recommendations:
Useful Links
How to Start a Cleaning Service
Volunteering at vinspired.com
Supporting Social Entrepreneurs unltd.org.uk
Funding For Social Enterprise: O2 Think Big
Questions for the podcast?
Post them in the comments below, we’d also like to know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes.
Don’t forget to say Hello on Twitter @ckyildiz & @Wayne_ingram
