Starting my own business – SK Design Media

Petty trading in Africa

I have always see myself as a business person even when I was in Africa, I was doing petty trading hawking ice water and selling drinks on the street. Coming to the UK in my teens, where I completed most of my education from secondary to university level and started working I continue my quests starts my own businesses. However I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, due to personal experiences and toxic relationships I took interests in blogging and online content. So I started researching and learning more on blogging, WordPress tutorials on YouTube and areas of improving on the subject.

Blogging platform – I Rep Salone

I created a blogging platform called I Rep Salone promoting Sierra Leoneans and entertainers in the community so my passion grew and continued to develop my skills in web design and created a website where I was posting contents online as well as sharing these contents on social media. Grew massive followings, excellent engagements and won several awards for my hard work.

Studied at University of East London

I did my university education at University of East London at Dockland Campus and graduated in 2013. After I completed my Business and Business Information Systems degree, I started working as a security officer prior to that I had the opportunity to work at the London 2012 Olympics and Para-Olympics as a steward which enabled me to study for the SIA security training and applied for the security badge in order to be able to work in the industry. Initially I wanted to purse a career in Human Resources however things did not go as planned and personal responsibilities got in the way so I continued working as a security officer with top security companies in the UK after I finished uni.

The business name LB Internet Consultancy

Setting up my business has been very difficult due to personal reasons, work and finances however my passion is to have my own business. I had so many business ideas but none of them seem strong enough to do. I started as a blogger and affiliate marketer. During this time I made so many mistakes but with extensive research online and went through the learning process I was able to focus my idea to start an online business. However, before the idea was developed I went on a 3 day training with Simon Coulson where I studied the 3 Day Diploma In Internet Marketing course. After the course I then conducted another online research to narrow down my ideas and then decided to give my business a name called LB Internet Consultancy.

The challenges

I now have a business idea and a business name, so I paid and register the domain name but there are more bigger problems such as finances, sponsoring the business, looking after myself and at the same time working full time. Another factor is been able to create time to run the business so I continued working as a security officer while I find ways to run the business. I also went to the Prince’s Trust charity organisation to assist in setting up the business and provide me with mentorship support but due to my age I was not able continue with the process. The Prince’s Trusts only support individuals wanting to go into entrepreneurship below 31 years of age and I turned 31 in July 2017 so I had to use my motivation and ability to research for information online to setup the whole process with minimal support from organisations or business individuals.

Even though I had the business idea, business name, domain registration and what is required to run the business, I was not able to set up the business on time. One of the major setbacks of the business is finance, I had my rent arrears and bills to take care of, I couldn’t take a business loan as my personal credit history is poor and I really wanted to be a business person. So I continue working in difficult situations where at times I don’t feel like going to work and the money that I was earning from work is not enough for me to stop work at once. I struggled to raise money to fund my business so I continued sponsoring the business on a little by little process. For example if I wanted to pay for the business office address and promotional materials I had to work extra hours to raise some money. Till date I continue running the business with my personal finance and work money including paying for materials and business address and marketing tools.

Present day of the business

I continued to work as a security officer till ending of 2019 and I stopped working because I was tired with that career path and wanted something else, the hours I was working and the money I was making was not enough. I was looking for alternative ways to make money without working hard or stressing myself to make ends meet however due to personal commitments I got another home job as a telephone customer service, yet money was still little due to the amount of hours I was working. I was always behind with my rent and personal bills due to that it affected me so badly and I resigned from the job due to unfair treatment. I stopped working and later decided to give the business another go, I was also advised to change the company as it did not matched with the type of services I am offering. So I changed the name and called it SK Design Media and also made the change at Companies House.

SK Design Media

SK Design Media is a website design company based in East London, Hackney. Aside website design services, we do digital marketing, graphic design and social media management. Our target audience is mostly blacks and African communities living in East London predominantly in Hackney. Our focus is to ensure that we provide quality services and supports to start ups and small businesses in the local community without spending huge budget but also looking for a professional website for their products and services. Our aim is to make sure these business owners have great value for money however at the same time feel relax and supports their business to build a strong online presence. We design websites that are not only beautiful and professional but also built intelligently to convert your visitors into clients. Our website designs are created with your target audience in mind and are mobile friendly to ensure they work to deliver the desired results.

The challenges for running SK Design Media

After I lost my customer service job, I went to Africa to visit my sick mum, that was my first time I visited Sierra Leone after 22 years (the experienced in Sierra Leone was not good however I needed to see my sick mum). When I came back to the UK I embarked on running my business, had some business supports and mentors and I had one in particular who helped me so much that I will never forget. His name is Bradley and he was amazing, helpful, supportive and took me out of my comfortable zone however in a good way (I will never forget him as he made so many positive changes with me and my business). I still continue to struggled with the business, had some clients however these clients were not enough to survive and the money they were paying were so little. I had so many difficulties and challenges with these customers, I was explaining myself a lot for them to pay for my services and the amount of work I was doing was so much and professional for what they were paying. So I got tired and put the business on hold again and went and upskill myself to renew my the security licence in order to get the badge and a job.

Got a full time job as a security officer

Since I was struggling to pay my rent, bills and money was an issue, not having enough clients or surviving on the business I had to go back to the security work even though its zero hour contracts I do enough shifts to survive. I used most of the money to pay bills, pay for business expenses and decorated my flat in the UK as it’s needed decorations. I also travelled last year (2024) to Africa to see my sick mum and when I came back I continued to work at my current job while trying to work on the business. Due to medical condition and health challenges I am deciding to do the security work part time and do the business on the side in other to continue developing the business. However I have few training courses that I need to do for self development until I am able to reach at a stage that I can live the security job and run the business full time since is my aim to become a business owner and a reputable one to my community both in the UK and my home country Sierra Leone.

Conclusion

The future of my business and SK Design Media, eventually stop working and run the business full time, continue doing courses for self development and market the business to a greater height as well as employed other people to work for me and one day become recognised for my hard work and effort both in the UK and other countries. I also have the dream and passion to have my own office, run training courses on web design and expand my services to other related topics. I see greater things happening for the business and myself as I have the determination to achieve excellence and become successful.

Thank you for reading and I will be updating my progress on my website and my personal social media pages so watch the space and follow me on social media, Sally Kamara.