From the moment you leave school, you are launched into a world of work, providing a service to the community in which you live in and earning money as a result. Regardless of your degree or GCSE results, it is very unlikely that the first job you have will be the job you have always dreamed of, which could be due to a lack of experience in a certain field or not meeting the right criteria. It may take years, or even decades, for you to get a job which makes you happy and pays you enough money to live off for the rest of your life.

So why not make your first job your own?

Being an entrepreneur allows you to be in control of the work you want to do based on the change you want to see in the world. Although it is often something which requires a lot of patience and commitment, it is something which can be achieved by anybody with an imagination.

 I was fortunate to interview a fellow entrepreneur named Ronké Oke who created the Emi&Ben natural skin care products, reaching many achievements such as having her company published in Pride magazine and being award a BEM (British Empire Medal) for her services on 31st December 2015.

What inspired you to start your own business?

“I’ve always wanted to be my own boss, and I just felt that this was something that I was passionate about and really focused and determined to make a success.

I was inspired to start Emi&Ben because I saw that there was a gap in the market for natural shea butter to be made available in the UK. The only real time shea butter is available commercially is in products which have chemicals, and the fantastic thing about shea butter is that it’s so natural and it’s so good, and the different healing benefits it has for your skin [so] you don’t need to add any chemicals. This was my driving force to start the business; to make natural shea butter available to everyone in its natural form.”

How did you come about the idea of making your product?

“The idea of Emi&Ben and making my own product came about when I was pregnant with Emi in 2007. I received some shea butter from my great grandmother in Nigeria and I used it throughout my pregnancy, and I was reminded of how fantastic a product it was when I put it on my bump that was growing as it just kept my skin nice and moisturised and supple and scar free, and I just felt like ‘ yes, I’ve always wanted to do something with shea butter, and now that I’m pregnant and I’m going to have time because I’m on maternity leave, this is the opportunity for me to start the brand.’”

What setbacks did you have to overcome to make your product successful?

“‘I think I’m quite blessed to say I haven’t have many setbacks in starting Emi&Ben. I entered an industry that I knew nothing about, and I just went out there to learn about the industry and find myself in the right places to get the information. I didn't really have financial setbacks because I was able to manage the initial outlay, so yeah, I didn’t really have any setbacks.”

How did you ensure that your product was publicised well?

“Because I have a PR (Public Relations) background, I was at an advantage to get my brand out there, and one of the things I did was linked with other big organisations that had a bigger and wider reach of audience, and I worked with them to promote myself and my brand through different projects that I did with them.

For instance, I became an ambassador with The Prince’s Trust, and this led to various opportunities. I used to do speaker opportunities where I would address a room about the work that The Prince’s Trust did and how fantastic they were, and that also gave me a platform to talk about my own business; to talk about me being an entrepreneur and the owner of the natural skin care company, and that helped to promote my brand.

I also joined forces with Richard Branson’s company Virgin and became an ambassador of their online platform called Virgin Media Pioneers, and through that I was able to launch the Startup Loans Initiative which provides start up loans to small businesses, and that also gave me a platform to be recognised and to be promoted alongside Richard Branson, but also again to promote myself as an entrepreneur and to promote my brand.

I also pushed myself and the brand via PR, and that was through contacting various magazines to have myself interviewed as a business person, but also for them to include Emi&Ben within their product pages when they are encouraging people to buy various products.

I attended weekly markets ( I had a weekly stall in Greenwich market on Friday, Saturday and Sunday), and that helped to raise awareness and for me to sell my product directly to customers, and I also attended events across London doing the same thing; having a stall, talking to customers, getting them to try the products, etc. Sampling was a very good way to get people to buy the products; once they sampled it and they liked it, they bought it and then they became regular customers."

Are there any regrets you have in the actions taken to make your product successful?

"Again, I’m lucky to say I don't have any regrets really, and even if I did, as much as I would be annoyed that I made a mistake, that’s how you learn, so even if I was to say now that I had any regrets or mistakes that I’ve made, it’s good because I know better now so I would have learnt from those mistakes."  

What are your future plans for your company?

"My future plan for the company is to focus on the online retail platform, emi&ben.com, so that it increases our revenue. I really want that to be a driving force as to how people buy our products rather than me having to attend events. I also plan to launch new products this year, and just to have a bigger presence online. These are the three key things that I want to do in 2017."

What advice would you give to those wanting to pursue a career in entrepreneurship?

"The things that I would encourage an entrepreneur to do is to -very, very important - gain experience in your field. If you want to be a fashion designer, then contact fashion design houses that you aspire to be and get work experience. If they say ‘work experience for free’, then work for free. I worked for free when I was going into PR agency over I think 20 years ago, and it was one of the best things I did because by me working for free for a whole year, that’s what impressed my future employer to give me my job because they saw that I was dedicated and that I was willing to work hard to get where I wanted to be. So I would definitely say a number one thing is to gain experience.

The second thing is to surround yourself with people that you can learn from, so get a mentor in the field you want to pursue and have that person as your go-to person so you can make sure you’re doing the right things and you know the things that you’re supposed to know within your field - and just keep learning!

Be a sponge and soak up as much information as you can. Be willing to learn, and be willing to be focused and determined and to make sacrifices to get to where you want to be. So if a sacrifice means not being able to go out with your friends because you are working and you’re doing that work experience for free or whatever, it is a sacrifice to get you to where you want to be."

By Stephanie Olujinmi- Raji, Newstead Wood Grammar School for Girls.