futures❵ENTREPRENEURIAL SPECIAL Gergana Koeva speaks to the man who wants to make everyone famous
On the ladder to Fame “O
ne day back in Nigeria I was asked by my girlfriend to sell some cakes. I managed to make great profit. So I took a loan from my mother and
opened a small business. Before I knew it, I was selling so much and the business was growing every day.” It was this experience that pushed the young
entrepreneur Deji Osobukola (MA Marketing, 2009) to develop his business skills further. This vibrant and cheerful individual was already working for the University of Hertfordshire when he started Fame – a magazine dedicated to showcasing talented students. One day he was in the library sitting next to a student he had never met before. Somehow they ended up talking and he found out that he had started his own business designing bags and selling them in the USA. He was making enough money to have built a website
and keep the company running. Deji had one question on his mind: “How does no-one know about this guy?” This simple conversation was the spark that led to
Fame, and Deji couldn’t get the idea of a platform for entrepreneurial students out of his mind. Deji’s passion for being entrepreneurial is evident, and when asked about the recipe for a successful entrepreneur, he smiles and explains that a person should be willing to take on a new challenge. They should never give up and show that they believe in themselves because if you don’t believe in yourself, no-one else will. He hopes that Fame, with its profiles of entrepreneurial students, will help to develop this self-belief.
Of course, there have been many problems for Fame along the way. The first was money. He couldn’t afford to build a website, so he began to read books on website creation; Deji and his cousin frequently worked until 3am until they had finished the first website. To start raising income, Deji started knocking on doors to gain advertising. He went to numerous companies and got a myriad of rejections. Nevertheless, his enthusiasm didn’t cease and gradually money started coming in to the magazine to finally get it on its feet. Although his family were really supportive most of the time, they were also encouraging him to find a solid job as they were worried he couldn’t live without a salary.
Deji says that he appreciated that the decision to quit his job to start Fame was quite a significant risk, but he wanted to follow his dream, saying: “Trust me, if you love what you’re doing you won’t think about money half the time, but it’s still good to have it, because if you don’t you’re in trouble. In the end if you’re happy, money will come from somewhere.” This certainly seems to be working, as his positive energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Currently Deji is working on increasing the magazine’s distribution, coverage and circulation aiming at all UK universities, as he believes that there should be at least one publication that gives students a voice rather than celebrities. Recently he was lucky enough to meet Sir Terry Mansfield CBE, a magazine industry guru. He will be working with Deji to help him get an inside look at the industry. The future certainly looks bright for Deji, whose plans and ambitions will undoubtedly continue to grow with time: “Fame is going to improve and we are always going to be different; I never want to be average, I want to be the best and every time I do something I want to make it better.” f❵
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