THE BEST KEPT BUSINESS SECRET IN LONDON

By Reena Dayal

Are you serious about being an Entrepreneur in London? There are many reasons why London is seen as a vibrant hub for entrepreneurs. The networking forums, the accelerator programmes, the diversity of people, the openness in accepting entrepreneurism as a career choice, the advancement of cutting edge topics, the understanding by many government bodies that entrepreneurship is a viable ticket to London’s growth post-Brexit, the success stories of both young and old entrepreneurs...The list goes on.

Yet, we know that there are many entrepreneurs that simply ‘shut up shop’, contributing to the almost 80% of start-ups that fail. So why is this happening when London offers such a conducive playground? I hear some of you say that the environment is not that perfect, that there is some bias due to age, gender and ethnicity which works against entrepreneurship. I agree, and it can be a huge dampener, even more so when coupled with the hardships of running one’s own business. One could argue that the freedom to work with who you want to, on a topic you are passionate about, offers entrepreneurs an attractive counter proposition. For me, taking the decision five years ago to start working for myself, reduced my mental stress significantly, and I know this also rings true for many of your fellow entrepreneurs out there. Yet, we accept that the burnout and high levels of struggle that entrepreneurs often experience is very real. The concept of an accelerated ‘exhaustion curve’ can lead to fatigue, clouded judgement and, in the most unfortunate cases, exit from entrepreneurship. Why is that? I am not saying the eco-system is perfect in London or that it could not do with significant improvement, as there is always room for this. What I am eluding to is that, if you are an entrepreneur in London, or are thinking of becoming one, you are in THE right place. It is also THE right time and has huge personal benefits. The question comes down to whether you are THE right person? The truth is that for entrepreneurs to succeed it is not so much what happens in the ecosystem, but what happens inside the head of the entrepreneur. After all, we all want to be winners, we just might not always know how to be winners.

Today in London, Accelerator programmes are big business. However, what I have learnt, and what I have seen multiple entrepreneur clients of mine really benefit from, is the time and attention they invest in redefining, reframing and refining themselves.

The concept of self-leadership is undervalued. What I find lacking, is the quality of personal development or self-leadership training that is offered by some Accelerator programmes. Some of them have that entire module missing, or simply play lip service to it, failing to make a real connection between productivity, business impact, personal strategy and purpose. We know this soft stuff is now the hard stuff in today’s highly chaotic and disruptively opportunistic environment. If you reflect for a moment, it is actually the game-changer as it allows entrepreneurs to win. Think of world-class sportspeople and the efforts they make to excel in their art. They spend hours to develop a winning mindset, physically fine tuning themselves and practising their sport (with rules/strategies et al). Being an entrepreneur is a similar parallel. To be a skilled entrepreneur you need to train like a sports person and you WILL win. It requires hard work and discipline and structure and that’s why I ask the question - are you really serious about being an entrepreneur? London has a lot to offer and the time to disrupt and grow big is NOW. Make sure you are not getting in the way of the success you, your team and business can experience. "We must never become too busy sawing to take time to sharpen the saw.” Dr Stephen R. Covey announced his 7th habit of highly effective people ‘Sharpen the Saw’. I urge you to do the same - do it well - with rigour and strategic intent. You will be amazed at how good you are and the new ways you can put together all your talent and skills and experiences to become entrepreneurs of purposeful businesses.

By Reena Dayal, author of The Brilliance Quotient and is currently the Acting Chair of The Institute of Directors - London Region

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THE DIGITAL PANDEMIC

By Selina Seesunkur

As Covid-19 became a worldwide pandemic, and governments were putting their countries into lockdown, I was in bed with a cold. Having spent months organising a community Fashion and Talent show, which was subsequently cancelled due to early fears surrounding Corona Virus, I was tired and worn out.

I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so when my body wants to sleep it will, but I am also incredibly energetic and the prospect of staying in bed unnerved me. I watched a bunch of movies but quickly got bored as my brain began to itch. I opened up my laptop only to find a social media frenzy of bulk buying reports, shouts for help where the elderly could no longer walk down to the pharmacy to get their prescriptions, and cries from people who had gone to the supermarket only to find all the shelves bare! It was soul-destroying watching this unfold as I lay in bed.

Being a social person, I was really looking forward to catching up with friends in a few weeks’ time, but it was clear that this was now not going to happen. I get irritable if I am at home for too long without speaking to people so I could see this was going to be an issue. But my craving is just that, a craving. I know people who would go into depression if they could not go out and be part of the world, I also know people who would also spiral at the prospect of being alone, so completely alone. But what to do?

My best ideas tend to come to me in my sleep, and it was in this way that the concept of the Self-Isolation Plan, a SIP, was born. The idea was to get people to think about a routine, something I was told by my own physiotherapist was a good idea for people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My friend was also given the same advice for something he was going through. He was also told to keep his mind busy during the day to help him sleep at night. To get my concept out there, I launched a Facebook help group, which attracted over a 1000 members in over two weeks. Whilst this was exciting, I had to ensure the page remained meaningful, so I used my network to provide areas of expertise on issues such as mindfulness, fitness and gardening. We have people who post regularly on these subjects, but most surprising was how much people love sharing humour, which has been tricky to manage as people tend to get offended by different things, but the key rules are nothing offensive, nothing political and nothing which incites hatred or violence. I also have a team of 3 admin and two moderators to help.

I did not anticipate the amount of positive feedback we are getting, and one member said he thought the page was a lifesaver! I do wonder what will happen to the page once we are over the Corona Virus, answers on a postcard!

Selina Seesunkur

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HARRY AND MEGHAN – A PROMISE SNATCHED OR A LEGACY OF HOPE?

By Pauline Lewis

It did not seem too long ago – so many wedding party pop-ups happening all over the country, with misty eyes, wedding hats, and champagne glasses all clicking to the same celebration – Harry and Meghan were getting married. 

For the Black community, in particular, there was an interest in the Royal Family that had not been present before.  Meghan was marrying into the Royal Family and she brought her African American heritage with her.  Suddenly, Black people had someone in the Royal Family to identify with.  This was unprecedented, joyous and exciting.  This historic advance in cultural diversity expressed itself perfectly at the Royal wedding in Windsor castle – a congregational mix of royalty and aristocracy with celebrity, and a service that fulfilled their cultural mission – a Black Pentecostal preacher who wonderfully demonstrated the Black Pentecostal tradition. This wedding came with a promise and that was celebrated by many – of every culture.

Fast forward to 2020 and we are seeing a very different picture. The promise of diverse representation in Royal circles is all but gone. No Harry and Meghan at Christmas at Sandringham and finally the announcement that the Royal couple will not be carrying out any new Royal engagements.

No-one really knows what issues Harry and Meghan face, nor how difficult it is for them to deal with those issues. Harry has said that he could not see any other choice when coming to the decision to give up Royal engagements, and there is no doubt that this is how he felt.

The most unfortunate consequence from this is the loss of promise in the leap forward for Black British cultural diversity. Through Meghan and Harry, we had that promise. The Black British community suddenly looked up and saw themselves in a place they had never seen themselves before. With our history of being racially discriminated against and, as a community, often being consigned to the lower economic bands of society, this promise was welcome and well overdue.  Indeed, the promise of change was embraced by the wider British community too.

There is, therefore, more at stake than the personal difficulties of Harry and Meghan with which I am completely sympathetic.  The hope of wider cultural diversity in the UK has taken a big blow. But a big blow is not a complete defeat. We have now had a taste of what can be, and we can now look forward with full confidence to a Britain with more cultural diversity than ever before.

Pauline Lewis LLB(Hons)

Barrister Atticus Lawyers

Conservative Women Organisation (Diversity) National Chair for Lawyers