CAREERS INFORMATION EVENING

On Monday 14 November pupils and parents attended the Careers Information Evening: Entrepreneurship & Starting Your Own Business. During the evening they heard different entrepreneurial stories of three OAs who have set up their own businesses.

Becca Sandler (OA 2014), Dan Bedi (OA 2008) and Andy Jeffries (OA 2007) all have varied experiences. Each spoke about their career journeys and how they set up their business, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Here are some of their top tips and pieces of advice they shared for any budding entrepreneurs.

Find something you really love
“I love the creative freedom that comes with my business. There’s so much scope for personal development and it’s amazing to do something I love every day. There are highs and lows, but that also makes the journey exciting and challenging.”

Becca Sandler

Setting up your own business isn’t for the faint-hearted but the rewards can be fantastic
“There are so many upsides – you get to meet and network with amazing people that you wouldn’t meet otherwise. You learn so much – both about yourself and business – and you get to have some amazing experiences which you don’t typically get working in a company. I once pitched in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace to 500 people, for example.”

Dan Bedi

Take risks and keep trying, keep learning and have fun
“This wasn’t the first business I’d attempted – there have been many failures! You need to take risks though and know when to fail – fail fast, test and make choices. The journey is extremely hard but you’re in control to make the change. I’m always learning – off people, from doing and from podcasts.”

Andy Jeffries