Four Friends

Prior to the pandemic, there was a 35% rise in The Number of under-24-year-olds becoming their own boss. But how have young entrepreneurs bounced back from the successive setbacks of coronavirus lockdowns? Bbc News speaks to three business people.

" My first memory of wanting to be a florist is because my mum said that she could Imagine Me being one, " says Emma Parry .

Emma Set Up her business, The Bloom Project, at the Age Of 22.

" When I was about 13, my mum drove me around all the florists in Leicester asking for a Saturday job for me until we found somebody who would give Me One , and it just went from there, really, " says Emma, now 26.

" As a teenager, I would look at inspiring accounts on Instagram from florists all across The World and I just thought 'I'd really love to do that in Leicester'. "

Emma was able to save about £4,000 to Start her business, combined with a £12,000 loan from a local charity.

" To be completely honest, I didn't have any business Experience - Nobody in The Family did - so it wasn't Like I had anybody who could mentor me, " she says.

" But, having worked in The Business , I knew the suppliers, I knew the mark-up and I have always been really careful with money. I did it all on a really tight budget. I had a really small shop and just built it up. "

Lockdown saw her business - Like so Many - pitched into The Unknown , until inspiration struck.

" I was still able to get plants from my suppliers, " she says. " I just put on Instagram 'Does anyone want a plant delivery?' because I could do doorstep deliveries.

" A few people said they would love it and it spiralled from there. "

Emma branched out into dropping off plants for people's gardens, when The Garden centres were closed.

" They were so popular, " she says. " People were also ordering flowers for their loved ones because they couldn't see them. I had a Mini Cooper and I would put the seats down, fill it with plants, and drive all over Leicester. "

Now she has returned to her shop, she has slow-and-steady expansion plans.

" We're going to make the space better and improve it, " she says.

" We just need to grow The Business in that way and take on more weddings and events. "

Her advice to other young business people would be to develop at a pace they can handle.

" I didn't invest all my money in my shop straight away. I made sure I had savings and that does take a lot of patience, " she says.

" At first, lockdown was Very Scary but I think that pressure brought The Best out of us as a business. "

Videographer Ben Collison, 22, runs Goldbox Productions, in Derby, with a group of friends, also in their 20s.

They dreamt up The Business as film production students at The City 's university.

" We got nominated for an award for a short film at the Birmingham Film Festival, " says Ben.

" On The Train on The Way back, we said 'Should we Start a production Company ?'"

Lockdown was tough for the Four Friends but they emerged with a host of Creative Ideas and decided to apply.

They started Goldbox - a content creation Company - 18 Months ago and, in that time, have worked with some high-profile names.

" We worked with Bear Grylls , making promo videos and photography and social edits for his fitness franchise, " says Ben.

" That led to us working with the British Army on training videos. We have also worked with Gameloft, one of the biggest Mobile Phone game developers, doing videos with YouTubers.

" What we have found is that our enthusiasm and letting our work speak for itself means so Many people want to help us.

" We wouldn't be where We Are today without that. "

Omar Sacranie started his own business - a Coffee Shop called Saints of Mokha - with his older brother Mohammed while he was still doing his A-levels.

" I opened my results on The Day the Coffee Shop opened, " says the 24-year-old from Highfields, in Leicester.

" Post A-levels, I had thought about going to uni but we also wanted to explore this avenue. "

The Business was born out of His Family 's love of coffee.

" My dad's a massive coffee drinker, so he's living The Life now, " he says.

" It was a side-hustle and I think most projects - if not all projects - Start as a side hustle. "

He and his brother had saved a few thousand pounds between them and used it to rent a small shop, seven years ago.

Their family helped them fit out the premises.

" The First store was built out of upcycled pallets from The Local factories, " Omar says. " Everything we did was funded from savings or reinvestment from The Business . "

That was seven years ago. Today, Saints of Mokha has moved to a bigger shop, and from 16 seats to More Than 60.

The Brothers roast their own coffee on site, with innovative flavours including a Red Velvet latte, inspired by the cake of the Same Name .

The expansion has come despite the setback of Covid which - Omar says - has even seen some benefits.

" Post-Covid, I think people are even more welcoming to independent businesses.

" The Thing I love most is that I get to know people and that people know me and I know them. It's a Coffee Shop where you can build relations, " he says.

" Sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down but it's just perseverance to Keep Going . "

Source of news: bbc.com