YCEOM Issue 10 by Young CEO Monthly

YOUNG

CEOMONTHLY 1

ISSUE 10 | FREE

Helping people to stand out online INTERVIEW WITH

Harvey Morton of Harvey Morton I.T Support

EDITORIAL

editor@youngceomonthly.com Produced by: CEO Monthly Publications Design: GB Designs

ADVERTISING

ads@youngceomonthly.com

Foreword 3

elcome to the 9th Edition of Young CEO Monthly, the magazine that aims to bring young known and especially un-known business owners from the age of 16-30 to the attention of the public. It looks like summer is officially over as the cold breeze is starting to pass through parts of Europe. That means wrapping an making sure we don’t catch a flu virus. Talking about virus, probably like me you have had them moments when your computer catched a virus and you needed a good IT specialsit to help you get rid of it. Well in this month’s issue we have a young entreprenuer who specialises in that area and also can you help you stand out online if you’re in need of a new website.

Young CEO Monthly is published by CEO Monthly Publications. Opinions and views expressed do not necessarily reflect CEOMP policy. CEOMP accepts no responsibilty for views expressed by contributors. Advertisements and reader offers are not endorsed by CEOMP.

We hope that his story will inspire you to go on an entrepreneurial journey and above all you’ll share it with your colleagues, friends and family.

George Boateng Editor

Quote

of the

Month

“Dare to believe in your sacred dreams”

Lailah Gifty Akita

To © All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohobited. Colour transperecies, manuscripts or disks submitted to the magazine are sent at owner’s risk; neither CEO Monthly Publications nor its agents accept any responsibility for loss or damage. Unsolicited material shoud be accomapnied by a stamped self-addressed enevelope.

be featured or have a question

Send an email to info@youngceomonthly.com for more info

Content Page 3 – Foreword Page 4 – Cover Story Page 8 – Business Advice of the Month Page 10 – CEO/Success Story Page 13 – Reflection

4 Cover Story

Helping people to stand out online

Harvey Morton (18) | Sheffield, UK

hat inspired you to start your business and when did you start it?

My first business was a key-rings and accessories company called ‘Key2Unlock’ and I ran this with one of my close friends as a partnership. We set this up through The BiG Challenge Enterprise Programme in Sheffield; The BiG Challenge is funded by Sheffield City Council and the European Regional Development Fund. The BiG Challenge aims to give competing teams a £25 start-up loan and see which business is most effective over a 5-month period. After winning several prizes in The BiG Challenge Enterprise Competition with ‘Key2Unlock’ including ‘Best Website Content’ – I decided to go solo and set up a company that was better suited to my personal strengths and Harvey Morton I.T Support begun. My inspiration came after realising that I was capable of running a successful business and this gave me the confidence to try something new. How did you come up with the name for your business? After listing various possible names for my I.T support business, my mum gave me the idea to use my name as part of the branding for the company as my friends and family always

Harvey Morton I.T Support Logo asked me for help with anything I.T related and others often recognised my skills in I.T. I loved the idea and decided to run with it… When people I meet ask me for the name of my business, they often react positively when I tell them, many love the fact that I’ve used myself as part of the company image.

5 What was your background before starting your business(s)? I have always enjoyed creating my own mock businesses and websites from a very young age. When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a Radio DJ as I have always adored music. I created my own pretend radio station called ‘Music Town’ and produced weekly radio schedules and a pretend website for the makebelieve radio station. Besides wanting to be a Radio DJ, I have constantly had a passion for technology and often spent hours teaching myself I.T skills and playing with technology. I’m sure I occasionally used to frustrate my parents, especially when I pressed the wrong button and broke the equipment I was using, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere!

“

new to the crowded market. Consumers and businesses often don’t realise that they want or need something until it’s there, so for us the only way forward is to look at what our competitors are offering and come up with a different way of doing it. In October 2015, we launched our social media management service with competitive pricing because many existing offerings in the industry were often priced too highly for smaller businesses so we decided to market our service towards SMEs. Since launch, the service has been incredibly successful and we are now working with many SMEs and larger businesses across the UK.

Don’t let anybody tell you that something is impossible or that you’re not good enough, because that’s not true at all.

”

What do you find to be the best thing about the industry your business is in? The best thing about the industry is definitely how every day is different. Being a technology professional can be incredibly vast – there is very little one can’t do. Personally, I love thinking of new ways to do things and working in the I.T industry not only allows me to come up with new ideas, it means that I have to figure out how to make those ideas work and I love a challenge. The I.T industry also lets an individual focus on their own skillset, which is why I decided to set up Harvey Morton I.T Support in 2013. I feel that there is no other industry that shifts the way the world lives and functions the way that technology does. What three areas do you focus most on in your business? Innovation – The culture of the I.T industry is accelerated and things are always moving at an extremely fast pace. I feel that if my company couldn’t keep up with the rate of change within the I.T industry, then we would definitely fail and we’d fail fast. Since the company was founded in 2013, I’ve worked incredibly hard to refine the services we offer so that they are the best they can be, whilst also working to launch new services and bring something

Harvey winning 1st Prize The BiG Challenge Media & Marketing Awards 2015

Personalisation – When I think about great customer service I have received from other businesses; I often relish any moment where I have received a personal touch. When working with our clients, we take extra care to learn about their business, what they stand for and then integrate this into all of the work we do for them. Since the company started, our clients have always enjoyed receiving a personal service and it’s often the reason why many chose us over one of our larger competitors. Integrity – I always feel that it’s important to relate to people in a way that is authentic and true. It’s extremely important to not rip people off or put up a false-front. At Harvey Morton I.T Support, we follow through on our promises to our customers and we do our best to be transparent in the way we do business at all times.

6 exciting I.T support business with a vision of doing things differently. I love what I do and I have a passion for all things I.T, I’m determined to continue creating a business that delivers outstanding customer service where the same clients return time and time again. I have always been interested in business from a very young age and Harvey Morton I.T Support has the potential to expand internationally in the future. What would you consider your main achievement so far in your business and personal life? Harvey on the The One Show sofa with his mum What is your work ethic like? My business is my passion. Although, my biggest challenge is often trying to balance running my business with studying Business and Enterprise Management at Sheffield Hallam University. This means that I don’t get much free time at all and my mind is always full of thoughts, stresses and new ideas which leads me to sometimes having sleepless nights and I don’t get to enjoy free weekends regularly. When I do get some free time, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, going to the cinema and attending concerts where I can. I’m very ambitious, I have so many goals and targets for the future, all of which I am determined to achieve and although I’m always incredibly busy, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m fortunate enough to have my dream job and I love what I do. I also have the most supportive friends and family around me and I’m grateful for all of the backing I’ve received.

My biggest achievement so far was making it through The BiG Challenge Competition in 2012 when I first entered with ‘Key2Unlock’ and winning various other prizes since. This made me realise that I was capable of running a successful business, even after lots of people had told me that I wasn’t good enough. Since 2011, my achievements in enterprise have earned me a good reputation and high admiration amongst my peers, even whilst some people weren’t happy with my achievements – however this has only made me a stronger person. Jealousy is an ugly emotion and I have experienced lots of bullying through school and sixth form, though this has just made me more determined to continue achieving and moving my business forward. If someone had said to me when I

How did you fund your start-up? When I set up Harvey Morton I.T Support in 2013, all of the funding came from my own savings. I invested enough to get marketing materials for the company such as business cards and flyers and also set up my website. Fortunately, the business funded itself from there due to the money I earned from my first I.T support call outs. I also had my share of the ‘Key2Unlock’ final profits and this helped to fund Harvey Morton I.T Support too. If an investor wanted to invest in your business what would they be investing in? They would be investing in a distinctive and

started secondary school that I’d be running my own successful company in 2016 with a network of contacts from large organisations and making a healthy profit each year, I would never have believed them. I’m so proud of everything I’ve achieved and for overcoming so many difficulties, both personally and in business. Every day I’m excited and determined to see what new opportunities are available and my passion is what drives me forward. Where do you see yourself and your business in

10 years’ time?

Harvey giving a talk at The NACUE Student Enteprise Conference 2016

In 10 years’ time, who knows where Harvey Morton I.T Support might be? Things have been moving at such a fast pace recently – though in 10 years’ time, I hope to be working with businesses not just in the UK, but internationally too. My ultimate goal is to develop my personal brand even further and I have plans to open a technology focused hotel and develop a fashion range. What is your #1 advice to another young person thinking about starting their own business? Don’t let anybody tell you that something is impossible or that you’re not good enough, because that’s not true at all. In the past, when someone has told me that I’m not capable of doing something, I’ve always ignored them – even if it is upsetting in the first instance. And I can say from experience that it is one of the best feelings ever when you prove someone wrong! After all, if you work hard – it will pay off in the end and you will succeed.

HarveyMorton HarveyMorton-ITsupport.com

Harvey Morton

Harvey Morton IT Support

8 Business Advice of the Month

5 Thought Experiments to Test Your Business Idea by Jayson Demers| Founder and CEO, AudienceBloom

Jayson Demers

The first line of defense in verifying the feasibility of an entrepreneurial idea is research. During the business-plan phase, you’ll exhaustively research similar businesses already on the market and closely examine your target demographics to see if your solution is truly a good fit. But there are some variables that data can’t account for, and some situations that can’t be objectively measured. How do you test your entrepreneurial idea in the absence of practical, reallife applications? Thought experiments allow you to imagine your business from different critical angles, probing it for any weaknesses well in advance of its official launch. These five thought experiments are perfect for evaluating the strength of your idea: 1. Rip it to pieces. Give yourself permission, no matter how much you love your idea or how perfect it might seem on the surface, to destroy it. Instead of looking for ways to justify why your idea is strong, this experiment is

all about looking for ways to identify why it’s weak. Begin the experiment with a new preconceived notion: your idea is terrible, and full of flaws. Imagine yourself in the role of a dissatisfied customer, and that there’s a cash prize for the number of flaws you can find. List them. This will help you identify weaknesses you may not have otherwise imagined existing. 2. A competitor emerges. Currently, there may be only a handful of indirect competitors for your idea on the market, or there may be a wide-open landscape. In this thought experiment, your goal is to design a competing brand. What would this brand do to differentiate itself from yours? How would it improve upon your original model? These questions will help you fortify your own brand against the emergence of an inevitable competitor, and may even help you take your brand in a new direction. Competitors are going to emerge no matter what, so the further ahead you can think about the possibilities, the better. 3. The decade test. The “decade test” thought experiment is an especially important one for the longevity of your business idea. The concept is to imagine life a decade from now, and evaluate your business’s place in it. For example, let’s imagine it’s 2025 and today’s trends have all but died away. Internet access is universal, self-driving cars rule the streets, drones are delivering everything and virtual reality is the new communication mode of choice.

t the root of most new businesses is a single idea that promises to either change an industry or make life better for a target demographic (sometimes both). But the strength of that idea can make or break the feasibility of the business. A seemingly good idea with flaws can cause the entire foundation to collapse, while a questionable idea with more merits than faults might be abandoned despite having a real shot at success.

Jayson Demers

9 These are speculative developments, but they help you imagine a very different world from ours today. How will your idea stand up? Is your idea timeless, or does it depend on a current trend or paradigm that might expire within the next 10 years? 4. The growth chart. The growth chart is less of an experiment and more of a giant brainstorming initiative. Here, you’ll imagine all the different ways your business will be able to grow over the first few years of its development. For example, could you branch out geographically, or would it be better to branch out demographically? Can you apply the product to a new medium, or simply make improvements to your original model? Branch out as many of these possible development lines as possible, and determine how agile your idea really is. The more flexible you can be, the better your idea will hold up to changing environments. 5. The relationship test.

Finally, you’ll test the possible customer relationships your brand will be able to support. Imagine a customer who’s thrilled with your product or service. What’s the best-case scenario? Will he/ she come back to purchase more? Will he/she pay more for a subscription? Will he/she tell his/her friends about the service? This experiment will help you evaluate how much recurring revenue you’ll be able to generate by keeping your customers happy. Essentially, it’s a measure of how much your revenue can grow. If you’ve got what you feel is a strong business idea, use these thought experiments to put it to the test. Don’t go easy. The harder and more critical you are at the earliest stages of business development, the better you’ll stand against the real hardships of business ownership when they come.

10 CEO Profile / Success Story

Laurene Powell Synopsis She is Laurene Powell Jobs, is an American business executive who is the founder of Emerson Collective that harnesses the entrepreneurial spirit. The organization supports social entrepreneurs and organizations that advocate social policies. Laurene mainly focusses at the organizations who are working against social justice, environment issues and for opening more education opportunities for students. Laurene Powell Jobs is not known just as a widow of Steve Jobs (Founder and former CEO of Apple) but as the co founder and president of the Board of Directors at the National Education Nonprofit Organization. She is the cofounder of a natural foods company, Terravera, based in California. During her early days, Laurene also worked for Merrill Lynch Asset Managementand for three years, she was a trading strategist at Goldman Sachs. She was working on a fixed income. Childhood Lauren Jobs is highly educated. She grew up in West Milford, New Jersey and completed her B.A degree from University of Pennsylvania. She also completed B.S in Economics from the Wharton School. In 1991, she also completed her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. On 18th March, 1991, she tied the knot with the former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs. She is a mother to one son, Reed and two daughters, Erin and Eve. Laurene is a warm person and has inherited a large fortune from her deceased husband. She has friends at every rank or position in popular companies. She has served less fortunate students and even though some of the critics stated her works to be a fashionable and pet issue, she neither responded nor stepped back from her work. She takes a strong voice regarding comprehensive and immigration reforms. Lauren believes that education is empowering and she has taken amazing steps for the students to complete their education triumphantly. Early Career Laurene also has done immense work to improve high school education, admission and college graduation fees. Powell Jobs and Carlos Watson worked together and formed College Track, which is a nonprofit organization to help the students in completing their education. It is located at East Palo Alto. This initiative helped the students immensely and there was a waitlist of about 5 cities who wanted to open up branches for the same. She also served the advisory board of Udacity that offers affordable education to the students. Career Lauren’s hard work and dedication changed the life of millions of students who could accomplish their dreams after earning their degrees. She served the board of directors of Achieva that created online tools to help the students study in a more effective way. Apart from the work at Emerson Collective and College Track, Laurene also serves the Chairman’s advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations. Laurene’s net worth today stands at £14.3 Billion | $17.7 Billion | €15.9 Billion (Forbes) Adapted from Successstory.com

10% of ticket sales will go to

Recognising Young London

Host Mo Chunks

Founders of Chukus London Emeka & Ifeyinwa

A Networking event recognising and promoting young entrepreneurs

Co-founders of Shear & Shine Aaron & Lina

Poet Mina West

Founder of Sophisticated Knots Nathaniel Holder

27/10/2016

Doors Open at 6:30pm Nomad Club 58 Old Street London EC1V 9 AJ Tickets available at: Toast2younglondon.eventbrite.co.uk

12 Classified

To advertise in our magazine email ads@youngceomonthly.com

Your business could be here! Email us today via ads@youngceomonthly.com to advertise with us.

Time To Reflect 13

SPEECH TO MLK SCHOLARS by Victor Azubuike | victorazubuike.wordpress.com

In January 2015, the Amos Bursary hosted the Martin Luther King Scholars at the Linklaters Head Office. It was an insightful and inspiring evening as ambitious young people from the UK and across the pond joined together to bring solutions to very pressing questions regarding global justice. I was called to give a speech about the importance of international experience (whether it be cultural, educational or professional advancement) for young people. I also touched upon my unforgettable time in New York City last summer. Below is the transcript of my speech. To think that one Google search, 3 years ago, would have allowed me to spend one month in New York City, working for one of the most prestigious architectural companies in the world is a thought that allows me to continuously believe that anything is possible as long as we are willing to put in the work. As we ushered in 2013, I had set some goals for myself to ensure I had a productive year. I remember searching for opportunities for young people in London and coming across the Amos Bursary. The rest as they say is history. I think in showing how vital the Amos Bursary overseas’ programme is, we need to refer to the statistics. And a key statistic that illustrates the need for the programme is found in the fact that only 6% of students in the UK will participate in some type of overseas work experience during their academic experience. This essentially means that only 6% of UK students will have had a opportunity to develop the cultural understanding and awareness that working in another country provides. Yet two thirds of top UK employers say that having professional work experience overseas makes a candidate more employable. The globalization of our world has made having cultural awareness a necessity as its vital to the UK maintaining its’ competitive advantage. My work with Adjaye Associates was both challenging and exciting – Troy, another Amos Bursary student and I provided support to the research team. Our research included Adjaye projects both here in the UK and US. One very exciting project on which we worked, involved the design and construction of the prestigious Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; which is in close proximity to the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. King gave his iconic ‘I have a Dream’ speech. In summing up I will leave you with an excerpt of my blog post which I wrote about my time in New York titled; “A New York Love affair” As I would walk down the dusty roads of Brooklyn, exchanging short but pleasant courtesies with locals while simultaneously avoiding pot holes – it dawned on me that despite the glitz, glamour and grandeur Manhattan had to offer, I was falling in love with Brooklyn. Brooklyn resonated with me because I could see that the locals personified the hustle that New York had become so well known for. In their eyes was a dream and in their hands were a chance, an opportunity, a hope that they clung to tightly. It was this same dream of a better life for themselves and their close ones that ignited the venture of many immigrants in past centuries to New York – creating a melting pot of immigrants all eager to cash in on the American Dream. It was this same dream that had led me to New York, a dream that seemed to transcend borders and lay at the very core of my purpose. Thank you.