It was always my dream to start a business, but I, as many students, did not know when to begin until I realised, what better time that at university? The place of opportunities!
In March 2011 in my first year of university, I started my brand Yull. It started with my design of ladies' courts shoes from my website http://www.yull.co.uk and is now a full range of shoes that are wholesaled throughout Europe to boutiques and through various websites.
When choosing which university to attend, Westminster Business School was a very easy choice. I wanted to study entrepreneurship and Westminster had one of the best courses of this kind in the country.
The course began with a law module which helped me in the legal aspects of setting up Yull Shoes and all the necessary protocol. We also studied an online marketing module which was ideal as my business is carried out solely online and we rely heavily on social media.
At first I was apprehensive about working and running a business while also studying, although in actual fact I realised that university was where I could establish my independence with all the free time I had besides lectures. Time management is not easy considering assignments, deadlines and revision, and in running this business I've had to prioritise as I continue to put systems and routines in place, I'm becoming more and more comfortable juggling these two responsibilities.
Studying while running a business is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. If anything it actually benefits my studies as I can base my projects and assignments around the business. I also take advantage of the fact that in the university there are many academics who are professionals and business owners. This specialist help is easily available to me so I need not look far for tips, tricks and great advice on running a business.
Giving advice to other students who would like to start a business, I would say "Go for it!" It is a lot of hard work, but nothing was ever achieved without hard work! You can't feel as though something is too far out of your reach, everything starts from something, however small that something is. The outcome is worth the input and I am doing something that I love. My best friend bought be a picture recently that said 'choose a job you love, so you never have to work a day in your life'. That sums up running Yull for me.
Yull has recently launched our first ever design competition, where we are giving away the opportunity for a lucky someone to design and name their very own Yull shoe, which will be featured in our Spring/Summer 2014 collection! It might even give someone a start in fulfilling their own dream. For more information and entry details please click here: http://www.yull.co.uk/design-competition