What is Logan Paul's net worth?
Logan Paul is a well-known American YouTuber, boxer, internet personality, and actor. His net worth is around $150 million. Currently, he boasts over 23.6 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. At different points, he’s been one of the top-earning YouTubers globally, raking in at least $20 million a year. On Instagram, he has 27 million followers, and on TikTok, he’s got 18 million.
Beyond YouTube, he runs a super successful merchandise brand called Maverick Apparel, which pulled in over $40 million in sales during its first nine months.
Since November 2018, he’s been the host of the Impaulsive podcast. Recently, Logan and his brother Jake have made a shift into the professional boxing scene.
In 2023, he inked a multi-year deal with WWE, reportedly worth $15 million over three years, after making several appearances in the past.
Key Highlights
Earned $12-14 million annually from 2016 to 2018
Raked in $40 million in merchandise sales just 9 months after launching
Owns an $8 million pad in Encino, California
Boasts over 23 million subscribers on YouTube
Accumulated more than 6 billion views on the platform
Pulled in $5.25 million from boxing Floyd Mayweather.
RELATED: Jake Paul’s Staggering Net Worth Revealed: How He Built His Fortune.
Prime Energy Drink
In the last few years, the energy drink "Prime" has sparked a lot of chatter about Logan Paul's wealth. For those who might not know, Logan and his boxing rival KSI have been backing Prime since it launched in January 2022. Unverified reports from Prime suggest that between December 2022 and December 2023, the drink raked in a whopping $565 million in revenue.
So, do Logan Paul and KSI actually own Prime? Not exactly. They’re more like promoters, but they do have a stake in the brand. It’s commonly thought that they each own about 20%, or together they hold a total of 20%. The rest is owned by a Louisville-based company called Congo Brands, which is co-owned by Max Clemons and Trey Steiger.
Let’s say Logan and KSI each have that 20% stake. When Rockstar was sold to Pepsi for $3.8 billion in 2020, it was pulling in $800 million in revenue, meaning it sold for about 5 times its revenue. If Prime is making around $600 million a year, that could put its total value at about $3 billion (5 times $600 million). If Logan and KSI each own 20%, their shares would be worth around $600 million.
But if they only have a combined 20%, that would mean $300 million each. Since we don’t know their exact ownership percentages and the revenue figures are unverified, this is all just speculation. Still, it’s pretty clear they both have valuable stakes in a business that’s on the rise.
Prime has gathered a bunch of famous faces to back their brand, like quarterback Patrick Mahomes, soccer sensation Erling Haaland, and MMA champ Alexander Volkanovski. It’s likely that these celebs got some equity as part of the deal for their support.
Early Life
Logan Alexander Paul was born on April 1, 1995, in Westlake, Ohio. He has a younger brother named Jake Paul, who’s also made a name for himself on social media. Logan kicked off his YouTube career at just ten years old with a channel called Zoosh. In 2012, he was an All-Star linebacker for the Westlake High School football team and also snagged the title of State Champion wrestler.
After high school, he headed to Ohio University to study engineering. Between 2013 and 2014, his follower count skyrocketed from 900 to 1.5 million across different platforms, with Vine being a major hit for him. He decided to leave college in 2014 to chase his dreams in Los Angeles.
Career
A collection of his Vine clips was made into a YouTube compilation and uploaded. In April 2014, the video racked up over four million views in just its first week. He quickly gained 4 million followers on Vine and landed gigs creating paid content for big names like HBO, Pepsi, and Virgin Mobile.
By 2015, he was ranked as the 10th most influential personality on Vine, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars from his short videos. After Vine shut down, Paul shifted his focus to YouTube.
Now, Logan's videos have nearly six billion views. He boasts over 23.6 million subscribers on YouTube, 26 million followers on Instagram, and 15 million fans on Facebook as of now.
Suicide Forest Controversy
Paul posted a video on his YouTube channel that he shot in Aokigahara, located at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, on December 31, 2017. This place is often referred to as the suicide forest due to its tragic history. In the video, Paul captured a dead body hanging from a tree. It quickly went viral, racking up 6.3 million views within just 24 hours. Following this, numerous online petitions emerged, calling for YouTube to take down Paul's channel.
He ended up removing the video and apologized in a tweet on January 1, 2018. A few days later, on January 9, YouTube released a statement on Twitter denouncing the video. The next day, they announced that they were pulling Paul's channels from their premium ad program, Google Preferred. Additionally, he was let go from the YouTube Red series "Foursome." In response to the backlash, Paul donated $1 million to organizations focused on suicide prevention.
Other Controversies
YouTube hit pause on all ads for Paul's channels in early February 2018 because of his "pattern of behavior." They were particularly upset about him participating in the "Tide Pod challenge," the incident where he pulled a fish from his pond to, as he put it, "jokingly give it CPR," and the time he filmed himself using a taser on two dead rats.
During that time, he didn’t earn any money from his views. Ads were back on his channel two weeks later, but he was still on probation for 90 days, meaning his channel and content couldn’t show up on YouTube’s trending tab.
Fast forward to January 2019, Paul made a comment on his podcast saying, "What is it, male-only March? … We're gonna attempt to go gay for just one month." This sparked a lot of backlash, with many criticizing him for suggesting that being gay is a choice.
KSI Boxing Matches
Logan Paul and KSI, another popular YouTuber, are known for their intense rivalry. On August 25, 2018, they faced off in a pay-per-view boxing match that was dubbed "the biggest internet event ever." They had a rematch on November 9, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The first bout attracted 2.25 million live viewers, with 1 million tuning in through pay-per-view and an estimated 1.2 million watching illegally on Twitch. Ultimately, 1.3 million people bought the fight via PPV, raking in about $13 million in revenue.
It's estimated that both Logan and KSI made around $2 million each from the match before taxes, factoring in merchandise sales. For their second fight, they were each guaranteed at least $900,000, and their total earnings from that event, which was streamed by DAZN USA, likely exceeded $3 million each.
RELATED: KSI's Net Worth: YouTube, Music, Boxing and more.
Personal Life
In the fall of 2015, Paul and his roommates, Mark Dohner and Evan Eckenrode, were living it up in a Hollywood apartment complex alongside other social media stars like Juanpa Zurita, Amanda Cerny, and Andrew Bachelor. With everyone so close, they teamed up to create videos for their channels.
By the fall of 2017, Paul had moved to a fancy estate in Encino.
In July 2018, Paul and actress Chloe Bennet made their relationship official, although they had been dating for about a year before that. Unfortunately, they split up just a couple of months later in September.
Fun fact: Paul is red-green colorblind.
Fast forward to May 2020, when Logan Paul revealed he was dating model Josie Canseco, the daughter of baseball star Jose Canseco. In June, he posted a YouTube video titled "I Bought My Girlfriend A Horse." After a little spat, he decided to surprise Josie, who loves riding, with her very own horse. The video features them riding together, and Paul reassured her, saying, "100% yours. Even if we break up, you can keep them."
In 2022, Paul began dating model Nina Agdal, and they announced their engagement in July 2023.
Annual Earnings
Logan raked in $12.5 million in 2016. The following year, he earned $12 million. In 2018, his earnings jumped to $14.5 million, but in 2019, he brought in $10 million. By 2021, he had a solid total of $18 million.
From September 2022 to September 2023, Logan's earnings hit $20 million.
Real Estate
For quite a while, Logan Paul called this mansion in Encino, a suburb of Los Angeles, his home.
Logan bought his house in October 2017 for $6.55 million, after it had been on the market for a few months at $8.5 million. The place is massive, over 30,000 square feet, with 14 rooms. He ended up selling it in April 2022 for $7.4 million, and the new owner is none other than Machine Gun Kelly.
For the past few years, Logan has been living in Puerto Rico, renting a mansion that costs over $13 million in a private gated community at the Ritz-Carlton.
In 2019, he snagged an 80-acre property called Fobes Ranch in the San Jacinto Mountains for $1 million, which is about two hours from downtown LA. Back in the 1960s, this ranch was home to Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor who became an LSD producer. He lived there and cooked up LSD with a group of surfers from Laguna Beach known as the "Brotherhood of Eternal Love."
Floyd Mayweather Boxing Match
On Saturday, June 6, 2021, Logan went head-to-head with Floyd Mayweather in a pro boxing match. Logan managed to strike a deal that gave him a base pay of $250,000 along with 10% of the Pay Per View earnings. On the other hand, Mayweather was guaranteed a cool $10 million just to show up, plus an impressive 50% of the PPV profits.
Logan boasted that he would rake in at least $20 million from the bout, while Floyd estimated his earnings would exceed $50 million.
In the end, around 1 million people bought the fight. This meant Floyd walked away with about $35 million, while Logan took home roughly $5.25 million.
Logan Paul has transformed from a viral YouTube sensation to a multifaceted entrepreneur and entertainer, amassing an impressive $150 million net worth. His diverse career includes a successful YouTube channel with millions of subscribers, a thriving merchandise business, and a lucrative partnership with Prime Energy.
Additionally, Logan has made waves in boxing and signed a significant deal with WWE, further expanding his brand. Despite past controversies, he has shown growth and resilience, continuously reinventing himself and achieving success across multiple industries. Logan Paul's journey is a testament to his ambition, work ethic, and ability to thrive in various arenas.
What is MrBeast's Net Worth?
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is a well-known American YouTube personality, philanthropist, and entrepreneur with a net worth of around $1 billion. This figure reflects a conservative estimate of his extensive business ventures, considering that he typically doesn’t profit from his videos. MrBeast has always claimed that he reinvests all his earnings from videos into creating new content. In November 2022, news broke that he was seeking investors to join his business, which was valued at $1.5 billion.
Fast forward to January 2024, and it was reported that MrBeast was finalizing a $100 million deal with Amazon for an exclusive streaming series. During a court case in 2024 related to his MrBeast Burgers, an organizational chart detailing his assets and monetization was submitted and later made public.
This chart revealed that in 2023, MrBeast's ventures brought in $223 million in gross revenue, with projections of hitting $700 million in 2024 (as of February 2024). Thanks to these insights, MrBeast officially became a billionaire in June 2024 at just 26 years old, making him the eighth youngest billionaire globally. Notably, among the 16 billionaires under 30 at that time, he was the only one who didn’t inherit his wealth.
MrBeast is famous for his YouTube stunts that often involve giving away large amounts of money to friends or charitable causes. He’s recognized as a trailblazer in the realm of philanthropic stunt videos and ranks among the highest-paid YouTubers worldwide. In 2020, he earned $24 million through his YouTube channel, merchandise, and sponsorships with companies like Microsoft and Electronic Arts.
The following year, his earnings jumped to $50 million, with about $30 million coming from YouTube ads and $10 million from sponsorships. His videos often have a charitable twist, such as giving money to strangers or adopting entire shelters of rescue dogs.
Right now, MrBeast's main channels—MrBeast, MrBeast Gaming, MrBeast 2, Beast Reacts, and MrBeast Philanthropy—have more than 415 million subscribers combined. His main channel alone has 270 million subscribers, which makes him the top account on YouTube.
Interesting Facts
Brings in about $50 million in gross revenue each month.
Secured $20 million to plant 20 million trees.
Donated more than 100 cars.
Gave away $1 million in just one video.
There were whispers about the business being worth $1.5 billion.
Made $223 million in 2023.
On track to hit over $700 million in 2024.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, was born on May 7, 1998, in Greenville, North Carolina. He went to Greenville Christian Academy and graduated in 2016. At just 12, he kicked off his YouTube journey with the username "MrBeast6000." He tried college for a bit but decided to leave and focus on YouTube full-time. His early content mainly featured video game commentary, reaction clips, and hilarious compilations.
RELATED: Michael Jordan's Net Worth Soars to a Staggering $2.6 Billion!.
Mr Beast's Success
Jimmy shot to fame in 2017 with his viral video "counting to 100,000," where he literally spent 44 hours counting. That video racked up over 21 million views!
He didn't stop there; he later made a video counting to 200,000. Some of his other wild stunts include reading the entire dictionary, going through the "Bee Movie" script, taking an Uber across the U.S., saying "Logan Paul" 100,000 times, and watching the cringe-worthy Jake Paul music video "It's Every Day Bro" on loop for 10 hours.
Fast forward to today, and his YouTube channels boast over 400 million subscribers combined, with his videos pulling in tens of billions of views. Most of his average videos get over 20 million views each. He was nominated for Vlogger of the Year at the 2019 Shorty Awards and snagged the Breakout Creator award. In 2020, he was up for a Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Male Social Star and took home the YouTuber of the Year award, along with being named Creator of the Year at the Streamy Awards.
Stunt Philanthropy
Jimmy struck gold in 2018 when he kicked off his "stunt philanthropy" gig. One of his standout videos from that time featured him handing out $1,000 to random folks. This caught the attention of millions, and his subscriber count skyrocketed as he started giving away hundreds of thousands, even hitting the $1 million mark.
Then in December 2019, he dropped a video where he dared people to keep their hand on a pile of $1 million in cash. The last person to take their hand off got to walk away with the cash:
Monthly Video Production Budget
MrBeast has revealed that his monthly expenses for creating content match his earnings. This makes sense, especially since he often gives away a million dollars in some of his videos. He shells out at least $3 million each month on production, staff pay, rent, and other costs.
Monthly Earnings
MrBeast is raking in at least $3 million every month just from his YouTube views. Take March 2022, for instance—he dropped 54 videos across his 13 channels, which got a whopping 283 million views. To break down his earnings, he has three main income streams:
Let’s dive into each one:
Ad Revenue
The CPM (cost per thousand views) for video ads varies a lot by country. Ads in the US and Canada pay way more than those in Brazil. But if we average it out to about $5 per thousand views, that means with 283 million views, MrBeast could be pocketing around $1.4 million.
Sponsorships
Reports say MrBeast charges about $1 million a month for the main sponsorship on his primary video page. In March, that sponsor was Experian. Plus, he likely pulls in at least another million from sponsorships on his other channels, bringing the total to around $2 million.
Merchandise
This is where it gets really interesting. Last year, MrBeast made about $54 million, and roughly half of that came from merchandise sales. That’s about $2.25 million a month, but let’s play it safe and say it’s around $2 million.
Adding up these three revenue streams gives us:
1.4 + 2 + 2 = $5.4 million
That means we made $174,193 each day in March.
RELATED: Jake Paul’s Staggering Net Worth Revealed: How He Built His Fortune
Team Trees
In October 2019, Jimmy teamed up with ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober to kick off a fundraising initiative known as #TeamTrees. They aimed to gather $20 million for the Arbor Day Foundation in just three months. Amazingly, they hit that target in only two months! As of now, the project has raised $23 million and planted over 7 million trees.
Once they achieve their ultimate goal of planting 20 million trees, it’s estimated that the project will have taken out around 1.6 million tons of carbon from the air, along with eliminating 116 thousand tons of chemical air pollution.
Mobile Gaming
In June 2020, MrBeast kicked off a multiplayer endurance challenge called "Finger on the App." The idea was pretty straightforward: players from all over had to keep their finger on their phone screen in the app. The last person to lift their finger would snag a cool $25,000.
Awards
MrBeast has snagged quite a few big awards throughout his career. Back in 2019, he took home the Breakout Creator award at the Streamy Awards, and he was also up for Ensemble Cast and Creator of the Year that same year.
Fast forward to 2020, and he scored several Streamy Awards, including:
- Creator of the Year
- Live Special
- Social Good: Creator
- Social Good: Nonprofit or NGO
He also won YouTuber of the Year at the Shorty Awards that year. By 2022, at the 12th Streamy Awards, he added more wins to his collection with awards for Social Good: Creator and Brand Engagement.
In 2021, he got a nod for Favorite Male Social Star at the Kids' Choice Awards, and then in 2022, he won the Favorite Male Creator award. He repeated that win in 2023, and when he accepted the award, he got slimed!
MrBeast Burger
Back in December 2020, Jimmy kicked off the "MrBeast Burger" by teaming up with over 300 restaurants across the U.S. Right after he dropped the MrBeast Burger app on the Apple Store, it shot to the top as the #1 free app. So far, he’s sold over a million burgers!
Fast forward to September 2022, he opened a physical MrBeast Burger spot at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. However, MrBeast later shared his disappointment about not being able to ensure quality and hinted at wanting to shut down the burger business, but Virtual Dining Concepts wouldn’t let that happen.
Things took a turn for the worse with MrBeast Burger. In August 2023, MrBeast filed a lawsuit against his partner, Virtual Dining Concepts, claiming they served up inedible and low-quality food. He also mentioned that he hadn’t made a dime from the venture in almost three years. To add to the drama, Virtual Dining is now countersuing MrBeast for a whopping $100 million.
MrBeast's Clothing Line
Aside from his YouTube earnings, MrBeast rakes in a significant chunk of his income from his merch line. Available at shopmrbeast.com, he has a variety of products like t-shirts, hoodies, hats, water bottles, mouse pads, backpacks, and more. It's estimated that around 40% of his yearly income comes from these merchandise sales.
Feastables
In January 2022, MrBeast launched Feastables, a food brand that kicked off with its own chocolate bars called "MrBeast Bars." This was followed by a series of sweepstakes, challenges, and giveaways. By April 2023, the brand expanded to include gummy candies named "Karl Gummies," created in partnership with Karl Jacobs.
RELATED: KSI's Net Worth: YouTube, Music, Boxing and more
Charity
Throughout the years, MrBeast has donated or raised millions for various charitable causes. His stunt videos have provided support to homeless shelters, the Veterans Army Wounded Warrior Program, Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, and a local animal shelter in Los Angeles. For instance, in December 2018, he donated $100,000 worth of clothing and supplies to homeless shelters.
In October 2019, Jimmy teamed up with NASA engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober to launch a foundation called #TeamTrees. Their aim was to gather $20 million in three months for the Arbor Day Foundation, which would plant a tree for every dollar raised. Many YouTubers joined in to promote the initiative. Within just 24 hours, #TeamTrees had already raised $4 million. By December, they surpassed their goal, raising over $20 million, and as of now, they've collected more than $22 million.
Personal Life
Jimmy deals with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel condition he was diagnosed with in ninth grade. He’s talked about the ongoing struggle he’s faced with this tough illness. Before he found out what was wrong, he was feeling sick almost daily and even dropped 30 pounds one summer due to the severe discomfort. Along with his medication, MrBeast sticks to a pretty strict diet.
Girlfriend
In June 2019, Jimmy started dating Maddy Spidell after they connected on Twitter.
Maddy was first introduced as MrBeast's girlfriend in a February 2020 video called "Surprising My Girlfriend With 100,000 Roses For Valentine's Day," which has racked up over 50 million views. Since then, Maddy has appeared in several other MrBeast videos, like "I Adopted EVERY Dog in a Dog Shelter" and "I Spent 50 Hours in Solitary Confinement."
Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, has transformed from a YouTube creator into a global phenomenon, becoming a billionaire by the age of 26. His unique blend of philanthropy and entertainment has redefined what it means to be a content creator. Through his viral videos, including giving away millions of dollars, he has built an empire that includes lucrative ventures like Feastables, MrBeast Burger, and merchandise sales.
Beyond his financial success, Jimmy’s dedication to making a positive impact on the world—whether through charitable donations, environmental initiatives, or supporting causes like #TeamTrees—has earned him admiration and respect worldwide.
What is Gregg Wallace’s Net Worth
Gregg Wallace, who was born on October 17, 1964, in Peckham, London, is a well-known English broadcaster, entrepreneur, and author. He became famous as the co-host of the BBC’s “MasterChef” series, which includes both celebrity and professional versions. Aside from his TV career, Gregg has made a name for himself in the food industry and has written several books, solidifying his status as a key player in British culinary media.
Full Name: Gregg Allan Wallace
Date of Birth: October 17, 1964
Place of Birth: Peckham, London, England
Nationality: British
Occupation: Broadcaster, Entrepreneur, Writer
Years Active: 2002–2024
Television: “MasterChef,” “Celebrity MasterChef,” “MasterChef: The Professionals,” “Saturday Kitchen,” “Eat Well for Less?,” “Inside the Factory,” “Time Commanders”
Children: 3
RELATED: Gregg Wallace: A TV Career in Crisis Amid Misconduct Allegations
Early Life
Gregg Allan Wallace grew up in Peckham, South London. When he was just eight years old, he faced sexual abuse, a tough experience he later opened up about to inspire others to share their stories. After leaving school at 15, he took a job as a warehouseman at Covent Garden Fruit and Veg Market. This early experience in the produce world sparked his love for food and set the stage for what he would do later in life.
Career Beginnings and Key Milestones
In 1989, Gregg started George Allan’s Greengrocers, which raked in an impressive £7.5 million in sales. His know-how opened doors to media gigs, like co-hosting “Veg Talk” on BBC Radio 4. In 2002, he made an appearance on “Saturday Kitchen,” and by 2005, he was co-hosting “MasterChef” with John Torode. This really boosted his visibility, paving the way for more presenting gigs on shows such as “Eat Well for Less?” and “Inside the Factory.”
Notable Works and Achievements
Gregg became a well-known figure thanks to his time on “MasterChef” and its various spin-offs. He’s written a bunch of books, like “Veg: The Greengrocer’s Cookbook” from 2006 and his autobiography “Life on a Plate” released in 2012. In 2022, he was honored with the title Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his contributions to food and charity.
Current Relevance and Recent Updates
In November 2024, Gregg left “MasterChef” after facing accusations of making inappropriate comments to his coworkers, which he firmly denies. The BBC started looking into his conduct on various shows. Before that, in 2023, he had taken a break from “Inside the Factory” to dedicate more time to his autistic son, Sid.
Personal Life and Relationships
Gregg has tied the knot four times. His first marriage to Christine was super short, lasting just six weeks in 1991. Then in 1999, he married Denise, who used to be a pastry chef. They had two kids, Tom and Libby, but split up in 2004. His third marriage to Heidi lasted about 15 months. In 2016, he found love with Anne-Marie Sterpini, who is 21 years younger than him, after they connected on Twitter. They welcomed their son, Sid, in 2019, and in 2022, Sid was diagnosed with autism.
Net Worth and Lifestyle
Gregg's net worth is around £3 million in 2023, mostly thanks to his work on TV and book sales. He lives in a five-bedroom farmhouse in Kent that he bought in 2017, sitting on five acres with stables and a pond. He's also a car enthusiast and has a collection that features a Jaguar XKR convertible.
Fun Facts
Gregg sports a tattoo of Millwall Football Club on his chest and had a wild past with football hooliganism when he was younger. He’s been open about his weight loss journey and even started a fitness website to inspire others to live healthier lives. He connected with his fourth wife, Anne-Marie, on Twitter after she reached out to him about one of his recipes.
RELATED: MasterChef's Gregg Wallace Steps Down Amid Allegations.
Charitable Work and Legacy
Gregg has participated in a bunch of charitable activities, especially focusing on food and children's issues. He was honored with an MBE in 2022 for his work in food and charity. Even with some recent drama, he still has a big influence on British culinary TV.
Future Plans and Impact on Culture
After leaving "MasterChef," Gregg's path in TV is a bit unclear. Still, his impact on food media and pop culture, thanks to his unique way of presenting and his work in food education, will stick around for a long time.
Gregg Wallace has had a remarkable career as a broadcaster, entrepreneur, and author. Known for his role as co-host of BBC’s MasterChef, he has built a lasting legacy in British culinary media. Starting his career in the food industry with a successful greengrocer business, Gregg transitioned to television in the early 2000s, becoming a household name.
His contributions extend beyond TV, with several published books and a notable MBE award for his work in food and charity. Despite recent controversies, Gregg’s influence on food culture and TV remains significant, and his future in media continues to evolve.
KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, is a prominent English YouTube personality, video game commentator, comedian, and rapper, boasting a net worth of $100 million. He ranks among the highest-earning internet figures globally, having earned $25 million between September 2022 and September 2023. Currently, he operates three YouTube channels: "KSI," "JJ Olatunji," and "KSIClips," collectively garnering over 8.6 billion views. His primary channel has attracted 24.1 million subscribers, and he is a former member of the YouTube collective known as the Sidemen, which oversees four channels: "Sidemen," "MoreSidemen," "SidemenReacts," and "SidemenShorts."
The name KSIOlajidebt is derived from the gaming community acronym "KSI," combined with his first name, Olajide, and "BT" for British Telecom. KSI primarily focuses on FIFA games, having played alongside Arsenal and England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. In his music career, he released the single "Lamborghini" featuring P Money in 2015, which achieved #7 on the UK R&B chart and #30 on the UK Singles Chart. He has also produced studio albums "Dissimulation" (2020) and "All Over the Place" (2021), and has collaborated on singles with artists such as BlacknWhite, Sway, and Yogi. In 2015, he authored the book "KSI: I Am a Bellend," which was retitled "I Am a Tool: How to Be a YouTube Kingpin and Dominate the Internet" for the U.S. market.
KSI is well-known for his rivalry with Logan Paul. On August 25, 2018, they participated in a pay-per-view boxing match, billed as "the biggest internet event in history." The bout concluded in a draw, leading to a rematch on November 9, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The initial fight attracted 2.25 million live viewers, with 1 million purchasing the pay-per-view and an estimated 1.2 million watching through unauthorized Twitch streams. Ultimately, 1.3 million viewers bought the fight via PPV, generating approximately $13 million in revenue, with both KSI and Logan likely earning.
In recent years, the energy drink "Prime" has emerged as a significant topic in discussions surrounding KSI's net worth. For those unfamiliar, Logan Paul and KSI have been promoting Prime since its launch in January 2022. Unverified reports from Prime indicate that the beverage generated $565 million in revenue during the twelve-month period from December 2022 to December 2023.
The answer is no; they serve as promoters but do possess equity in the brand. It is widely believed that each of them holds a 20% stake, or collectively they own 20%. The majority ownership is held by a Louisville-based parent company known as Congo Brands, which is co-owned by Max Clemons and Trey Steiger. Assuming Logan and KSI each own 20% of the brand, it is worth noting that when Rockstar was sold to Pepsi for $3.8 billion in 2020, it was generating $800 million in revenue, translating to a sale price of approximately five times its revenue. If Prime is indeed generating $600 million annually, one could estimate the brand's total value to be around $3 billion (five times $600 million). If Logan and KSI each hold a 20% stake, their shares would be valued at $600 million.
Conversely, if they collectively own 20%, equating to 10% each, their stakes would be worth $300 million each. Given that their actual equity stakes remain undisclosed and the revenue figures are unverified, all of this remains speculative. Nonetheless, it is reasonable to conclude that both individuals possess significant stakes in a burgeoning enterprise. Prime has also secured a range of celebrity endorsements, featuring notable figures such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes, soccer star Erling Haaland, and MMA fighter Alexander Volkanovski. It is likely that these celebrities were granted equity in return for their endorsements.
Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, known as KSIOlajidebt, was born on June 19, 1993, in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. His mother, Yinka, hails from London, while his father, Jide, is originally from Nigeria. KSI has a younger brother, Deji, who is also a prominent YouTuber. In 2015, KSI achieved the distinction of being ranked #1 on Tubular Labs' list of the "UK's Most Influential YouTube Creators," with Deji following closely at #2. KSI attended Berkhamsted School, where he formed a friendship with Simon Minter, who would later become a member of the Sidemen. In 2018, Deji released a video that disclosed KSI's personal banking information, prompting KSI to publicly express his disappointment towards his family, stating, "Don't you f**king dare put my information out on blast like that. I keep that shit private. Mom, dad, I'm disappointed."
KSI initiated his YouTube journey in 2008 with his first channel named "JideJunior," and subsequently created the "KSIOlajideBT" account in July 2009. As he began to generate a consistent income from his FIFA gaming commentary videos, he made the decision to leave sixth form college. KSI later expanded his content to include vlog-style videos and a broader range of games, reaching one million subscribers by 2012. In 2013, he signed with Polaris, a sub-network of Maker Studios, and in October of the same year, he became a member of the Sidemen, a British YouTube collective known for their sketches, challenges, and gaming commentary. In August 2017, KSI announced his departure from the Sidemen and subsequently released diss tracks targeting the other members.
KSI made his musical debut with the album "Dissimulation," which was launched in May 2020. This album achieved remarkable success, securing the top position on the Irish Albums Chart and the second position on the UK Albums Chart. The Gold-certified album includes notable singles such as "Down Like That" featuring Rick Ross, Lil Baby, and S-X, "Wake Up Call" featuring Trippie Redd, "Poppin" featuring Lil Pump and Smokepurpp, "Houdini" featuring Swarmz and Tion Wayne, and "Killa Killa" featuring Aiyana-Lee. In 2021, KSI released his second album, "All Over the Place," which also reached the pinnacle of the UK Albums Chart. This album features the Gold-certified singles "Really Love" with Craig David and Digital Farm Animals, as well as "Don't Play" in collaboration with Anne-Marie and Digital Farm Animals. Additionally, KSI has produced several EPs, including "Keep Up" (2016), "Jump Around" (2016), "Space" (2017), and "Disstracktions" (2017).
Related: Jake Paul’s Staggering Net Worth Revealed: How He Built His Fortune
KSI is deeply committed to charitable endeavors and has actively participated in various charity television programs, including "Comic Relief," "Stand Up To Cancer," "Children in Need," and "Sport Relief." In 2015, he contributed $10,000 to an online charity stream hosted by YouTuber Castro1021 and participated in a Race Against Slime event to support SpecialEffect, a U.K.-based organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals with physical disabilities through video gaming. Between 2016 and 2018, KSI and his fellow Sidemen organized three charity football matches, collectively raising nearly £400,000 for organizations such as Childline, the Saint's Foundation, and the Charlton Athletic Community Trust. In 2020, he made a donation of $60,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and other charities focused on supporting the Black community, in addition to donating clothing to the Seaview Project. That same year, he participated in "The Independent's" Help the Hungry campaign and the "Evening Standard's" Food for London Now initiative, and he contributed to the charity single "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" for Children in Need.
In 2021, KSI donated £10,000 to Comic Relief during BBC Radio 1's "Lol-a-thon." KSI is an avid supporter of the London football club Arsenal F.C. and has made appearances on AFTV, a channel dedicated to Arsenal fans. In 2012, he faced allegations of sexual harassment against women at a Eurogamer event, as well as accusations of sexually assaulting spokesmodel Brandy Brewer. Although Brewer later tweeted, "I consented to the motorboat it's called comedy……relax," KSI was subsequently banned from attending future Eurogamer events.
Related: Ashton Kutcher’s $200M Net Worth Empire: From Sitcom Star to Tech Mogul
In 2016, KSI was honored with a Diamond Creator Award at the YouTube Creator Awards and was recognized as Vlogger of the Year by the NME Awards. In 2020, he received an Amazon Music UK award for Best Song for his track "Lighter," which also garnered him a nomination for Best British Single at the BRIT Awards. KSI has been nominated for three Shorty Awards: Best in Gaming in 2012, YouTuber of the Year in 2017, and Best YouTube Ensemble (alongside the Sidemen) in 2019. His work, "Sidemen: The Book," was nominated for the British Book Award in the category of Non-Fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year in 2017, and he also received a nomination for Best British Vlogger at the BBC Radio 1's Teen Choice Awards that same year. Additionally, KSI has been nominated for various accolades, including the Global Awards (Social Media Superstar, 2018), MTV Awards (Hottest Summer Superstar, 2020), MOBO Awards (Best Media Personality, 2020), and TMTV Awards (Hottest Summer Superstar, 2021). In 2022, he was awarded "Personality of the Year" at the Rated Awards.
After all, it doesn’t take long at all for your company’s financial history to be filled with dozens upon dozens of mini transactions and recorded earnings. The sheer volume of figures and data that come across your screens every day is enough to make your head swim.
If you are feeling like you’re drowning when it comes to managing your company’s finances, we’re here to say that you’re not alone. Learning the ins and outs of financial management is a rite of passage for all entrepreneurs. Thankfully, this seemingly monolithic task can be broken down quite easily.
Here are just a few ways that you can organise your business finances and stay on top of your company’s financial performance with ease.
Alongside investing in business management software, opening a business bank account is hands down one of the single greatest things that you can do to set your enterprise up for success. This is because having a dedicated business bank account set up before making any sales can allow you to maintain a clearer picture of your company’s spending and earnings from the get-go.
As you may imagine, having this crucial piece of financial infrastructure in place can help greatly simplify virtually all aspects of your company’s financial management, from completing your break-even analysis to calculating your business deductions in the lead-up to tax time. Having a business transaction account can also be a valuable tool when it comes to making office supply purchases or even just keeping track of ad-hoc business expenses like Ubers or other unforeseen travel costs.
Separating your business banking from your banking can also provide the added benefit of further establishing your business as its entity that’s separate from you as an individual. When you open a business bank account, the account name will effectively be the same as your company name, which means that any invoices that your company sends out can be payable to itself rather than payable to you. In other words, having at least one dedicated business bank account set up for your business can make your business feel that much more concrete and legitimate in the eyes of your clients, staff, and stakeholders.
Now that you have all your business expenses and earnings filtering through to one business bank account (or multiple, depending on the size of your enterprise), it’s now time to set up your financial management processes. This refers to all the processes involved with evaluating your company’s recorded income and expenses and organising this information across hard-copy and/or digital files that pertain to individual financial quarters.
Maintaining this practice can help you pinpoint any excessive expenditure with greater certainty from quarter to quarter. For example, if you have suspicions that a particular department in your company is spending unnecessarily, you can review their expenses alongside those recorded by another department within a given fiscal quarter.
This practice can naturally also help streamline the process of filing your business tax returns come the end of every financial year. No longer will you have to waste time chasing down receipts so that you can back up a tax deduction. From here onwards, you should have everything you need thanks to the expense and income tracking processes that you’ve been able to put in place.
All seasoned business owners know that generating a consistent cash flow is one of the most challenging aspects of managing your own business – especially if you’re a smaller or medium-sized enterprise. If you do ever experience issues with your cash flow, then it’s highly likely that you may turn to financial lenders for a little bit of external support either for weathering the storm or for funding strategies for development or innovation.
And whilst business loans can provide a lifeline for your business during its earliest stages or at times of economic downturn, there are some undeniable dangers associated with taking out these financial liabilities. For starters, taking out a business loan will impact your company’s ratio of assets to liabilities for the duration of your loan repayment period. This can, in turn, affect your ability to attract any new investors or buyers, if you’re hoping to organise a company acquisition down the line.
If your company is experiencing ongoing issues with cash flow, there’s also no guarantee that you will be able to pay off your loans, which can in the worst-case scenario, result in your company going into liquidation. And we’re not just trying to fearmonger here. Financial management is all about maintaining a balance between your incoming and outgoing funds. So if the balance is skewed towards the latter side of that equation, then it’s probably best to avoid taking on any additional debt.
That brings us to our final point and one that most entrepreneurs will often find themselves grappling with when they’re on the verge of success: understanding the real costs of business growth. It can be so easy to become idealistic about funding the growth of your business, but the reality is that not all investments made for the sake of your company’s growth will be likely to yield a high return.
With that, it’s important not to put all your eggs into one basket, so to speak. In other words, don’t overinvest in one facet of your company’s growth potential. Keep your business growth strategising broad and multidimensional rather than hyperspecific. And this advice is doubly applicable to small businesses that are less likely to have the resources required to maintain an aggressive or proactive growth strategy.
And if you are wondering whether the cost of additional overheads or new staff factor in here as well, then you’ve hit the nail on the head. Whilst there is some value in the age-old adage that you ‘gotta spend money to make money’, you also want to make sure you have adequate financial resources to respond to other opportunities that may arise before your competitors do. Yes, it pays to be a baller, but the best ballers are those that are agile and ready to make moves when they need to.
As we’ve mentioned throughout this guide, financial management is all about balance. Learning how to look past the numbers and engage with the reality behind your company’s figures can help you maintain a healthy balance between your earnings and your outgoings. And it is this ability to maintain balance that will help your company grow organically, that will help you helm a larger enterprise as your billings grow in suit. That is without a doubt, the most sustainable way to transition from a startup entrepreneur to a bonafide CEO.
The Apprentice recently returned for a 14th series, as 16 entrepreneurs and impresarios battle it out to win a significant investment in their respective business ventures from Lord Alan Sugar.
Creditsafe analysed the key financial data of each contestant to identify which hopeful is the real winner when it comes to business success, with former ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ and ‘Media Disrupter of the Year’ Jackie Fast coming out on top.
To rank the business acumen of this year’s Apprentice candidates, Creditsafe devised a scoring model that considered the profitability of companies they've worked at, their history as directors, a current ratio of their total business assets and current liabilities, their credit score, County Court Judgments against candidates and finally, their net worth.
Jackie started her first business, Slingshot Sponsorship, in her bedroom in 2010, with only a laptop and a budget of £2,000. Six years later the business had expanded into a number of international markets and boasted a client list that included Shell, Red Bull, Richard Branson and the Rolling Stones. She later sold the business in 2016 to the Marketing Group plc for millions, having grown the company’s net worth from £23,153 in 2013 to £243,239 in 2016.
Jackie also serves as a Non-Exec Board Director of the European Sponsorship Association, one of the youngest in the association’s 30-year history. Her latest business venture is REBEL Pi, a rare Canadian ice wine brand focused on the UK market. Now a public speaker and author, her first book ‘Pinpoint’ was published in 2017, exploring the effectiveness of sponsorship in driving business growth.
Creditsafe’s data also indicates that this year’s runner-up is Kayode Damali, a 26-year-old motivational speaker and former director of the National Union of Students (NUS), making him the only contestant to have worked in a business outside of the SME space. During his time at the NUS, Kayode was appointed as a director, with the organisation producing revenues in excess of £19 million.
David Walters, group data director at Creditsafe, said: “When compared to last year, it’s clear that the slate of contestants this time around have had significantly less board level experience prior to coming onto the show. It will be interesting to see whether experience really does pays off when the contestants battle it out to be crowned the winner of this year’s Apprentice.
“From our experience, the background and past success of business leaders is an important indicator of future success. Before entering into any partnership with a new company, it’s important to do due diligence on who you’ll be doing business with and how they have performed in the past. There’s no doubt Lord Sugar will be grilling the contestants and doing his own research to ensure he picks the right apprentice.”
(Source: Creditsafe)
In a surprising turn of events, foreign investors don’t seem to be put off by Brexit. In London over 99 financial projects were backed by overseas investment beating out the likes of Paris and Berlin, foreign entrepreneurs are actively seeking out the Entrepreneur Visas to come to the UK.
Globalisation: The next stage business
Expanding business holdings on an international is the move for the 21st century, whether it’s opening a foreign franchise or taking over an existing company, the exploration of a new country’s economy can put businesses ahead of competition.
The UK is currently attracting pioneering business women and men as one of the biggest investment hubs in the Western world, a great international pedigree, and a fantastic business time zone. With over a billion-pound worth of investment in the city of London over the past 12 months, it’s clear to see that over Brexit worries are not slowing down business opportunities,
The Visas
There are many ways to enter the UK but for those looking to pursue a successful career and make the most of the UK economy an Entrepreneur, Visa will definitely be the best option. This visa defined as a ‘Tier-1’ is for prospective business people from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland who are looking to either set up or run a business in the UK. For those looking to go to the Capital, an immigration lawyer in London would be able to guide through the steps for a successful application.
(Source: Immigration Advice Service)
Greg Cox is the CEO and co-founder of Quint Group – an award-winning FinTech company with headquarters in Macclesfield, Cheshire which also has operations in London, America, Poland, South Africa, China and Australia. Here Greg tells us more about the FinTech giant’s beginnings and triumphs, as well as his role in achieving all of this.
Tell us a bit more about your career path, prior to founding Quint Group - what attracted you to the financial technology sector?
After learning to code at 16, I worked in a range of businesses areas, some online, before focusing in the consumer finance industry. I’ve always had keen creative inclinations (both parents are designers) and an entrepreneurial approach which, when combined with a computing background, seemed to be a successful recipe for building a business like Quint.
How was the idea about Quint Group born?
I was a passive investor in a consumer finance business in 2006, which subsequently failed in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008. When the business failed, I was asked to investigate and summarise to other investors why the business was unsuccessful and what our options were. While completing this report I started to look at the market in detail and it became apparent to me that consumer finance was primarily delivered to customers over the phone and on paper, which seemed crazily outdated. I could not believe how far behind the consumer finance industry was in terms of online technology application - this realisation prompted me to start Quint. Upon launch in 2009, my aim was to build businesses in the consumer finance space that focused on online platforms and technology.
Despite your countless responsibilities, you are still involved with the day-to-day technology developments of the business - how do you ensure you are directing the company in the correct direction, form a technological point of view?
I have lots of talented people around me that are experts in tech and product delivery. Those people work across our three separate tech hubs, allowing me to take considered views from three independent groups of experts. This is helpful and means I get a balanced perspective. The experience gained from making good decisions and the lessons learned from making bad decisions historically are also very valuable in my current decision making progress.
Do you look at others in the FinTech industry as competitors or do you take a different view?
Yes and No. As a Group, we do not have single direct competitor because we have multiple business channels combined within one group. However, we do have competitors to some of our individual businesses, although my perspective is that everyone in the sector is someone we can potentially work with and learn from. Across the Group, a competitor of one of our businesses might be a potential client or supplier of one of our other businesses, so our outlook is necessarily collaborative and perhaps more relaxed to competitors than most.
To what extent is Brexit going to affect Quint Group?
That is a very good question – I don’t think anybody knows the answer to how Brexit will affect their business! We do not import or export goods and have limited exposure to currency fluctuations so certain aspects of Brexit may not affect us in the same way they will other businesses. My feeling is that Brexit and other economic and political challenges we have ahead of us, could result in an economic downturn, which could have the potential to negatively affect the UK economy. All we can do is prepare as much as possible, diversify to mitigate risk and react timely to changes in the socio-economic landscape.
What goals are you working towards with the company? What do you hope to accomplish?
Our company is ultimately consumer focused – our greatest successes are derived when we put the consumer’s needs at the heart of what we do and this ultimately drives our commercial success. In terms of revenue, our short-term goal is to grow to £100M GBP annually and successfully develop our international territories. Our long-term goal is to create Europe’s most successful group of FinTech businesses.
What is your advice for successful leaders in the modern tech-focused world?
Focus on the medium to long term and worry about getting that right. The medium and long term will soon become the now and if you take a long term approach, you will get long term results. It can be easy to get distracted with the day-to-day, so I mindfully set aside time for strategic planning on a regular basis. Another key area for me is keeping laser focused on real profits and revenues as opposed to users or other tech intangibles. I’ve witnessed too many people give away valuable services for free because they feel user volume is more important than traditional metrics of success. I think this approach will result in many businesses failing in the coming years.
Website: http://www.quint.co.uk/
This may seem like a scary feat, but according to Rob Moore, The Disruptive Entrepreneur and author of Global No.1 book ‘Money: Know More, Make More, Give More’ released on audio on July 27th on Amazon, there’s no better time to invest time and energy, if not money, in becoming an entrepreneur.
Should You Become an Entrepreneur?
I’ve often said before that the idea of “time management” is a joke, and it is.
Instead, let’s focus on “life management”.
So, ask yourself: how well are you managing your professional life? Are you keeping up with payments, progressing well in a field you are passionate about, protecting yourself and those you love, and feeling fulfilled while making a difference to the world around you?
Or, are you feeling overwhelmed, struggling to move forwards in your career, and feeling as if your decisions are controlling you, when you should be controlling them?
If you are answering “yes” to any of these latter questions, then I’m here to tell you that it’s time to learn how to succeed in life and how to make a change, to take your life into your own hands, and to find a way to carve your own profitable path of success.
It’s time to become an entrepreneur, right now.
Survival of the fittest
If you haven’t recognised that we are working in Darwinian times, what world have you been living in for the past couple of decades?
Pensions have become a vulnerable, endangered species. Manufacturing or manual labour jobs are being devoured by automated systems. Money is changing form and moving faster, technology is accelerating and contorting the whole financial, professional and private landscape, and businesses that sell no products and hold no stock are floating for billions.
Beyond all these disorientating changes, and more significant than these sometimes-worrying concerns, is the fact that with the age of information there has also arisen an age of opportunity. With the right mindset, the right dedication, and the right decision-making, you can make this upsurge of technology work in your favour and find your own successful niche in the market.
I’m almost tempted to suggest that we are living in a Brave New World, but this would be an exaggeration. Business is the same as it has always been; it’s simply changing shape, and the gulf between old and new technology is widening at a growing pace. This is the reason that we must all embrace this new age, or risk being trampled beneath it.
So, I repeat: it’s time for the stronger, fitter, more ambitious professionals among you to become an entrepreneur, right now.
Hard work is killing you
One of the most repeated, most foolishly believed lies is that ploughing through a 60-hour week for years on end will bring you success. That if you work harder and longer than anyone else you will triumph beyond them, make more money, and progress further.
These are the claims of someone who has not yet embraced the idea of finding success on their own terms, and someone who is ignoring reality. In 2016, work satisfaction in the UK was at a 2-year low, with almost 1 in 4 workers looking to leave their jobs, and over 1 in 3 saying that they were unlikely to fulfil their career aspirations in their current roles.
If you spend 60 hours every week working yourself mad for someone else, in the hope that you will get that promotion you have always craved and that your pay will rise incrementally, what about the activities you truly love? What about aiming for a greater share of the wealth you deserve? What about the time you struggle to spend with the people you want to be around? What about the physical and mental exhaustion that comes from slogging your guts out for so many hours, every week?
Then there is the fact that many of these industries are becoming redundant, and the inherent risk of basing your entire income and future on a technical skill that could no longer be required in the very near future. Without the ability to control the financial upside of your role, and if you are relying on the safety net of state systems to protect you when you retire, you may be wasting your present while putting your later years at risk.
After all, how many employees do you know who are truly satisfied and fulfilled by their job? How many shut their minds down at work and “just get through the day”? Combine this lack of passion and satisfaction with the long hours, the exhaustion, the lack of financial recompense and the fact that many sacrifice the time they could be spending doing the things they love, and you have a recipe for dissatisfaction at best, and disaster at worst.
Another time for the record: it’s time to become an entrepreneur, right now.
Merging passion with profession
I’m convinced that the ideal scenario is to run a company that allows you to merge the things that enthuse and excite you with technology and with the opportunity for making large amounts of money. You have nothing to escape if your work involves doing what you love. Interested? If not, why the hell not?
Once you have accepted and embraced the need for change, I advise seeking out the path of least resistance which has a limitless earning potential, a limitless customer base, and the opportunity for creatively making a difference in your field and potentially the world.
I’m not here to tell you the path you need to take, but the prospect is not as intimidating as it sounds. Some people who have been working a job for years will struggle to imagine altering their course now, and will scoff at the risks involved. But what is riskier than spending your life in a career that does nothing to satisfy you emotionally and very little to reward you financially?
While it may seem like a pipe dream before you begin, remember that the wealth of the richest people in the world, who make up 1% of the population, is worth 65 times that of the poorest half of the world.
Whose strategy seems to be working best: the 99% or the 1%? Which do you think is the group that is more satisfied with their lot, the more fearless, the more financially stable, and the ones making a real difference?
If you aren’t answering “the entrepreneurs” loud and clear, then I don’t know what else to tell you.
Seriously: it’s time to become an entrepreneur, right now.
Where can you start?
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is not always a straightforward process, but there are trends and similarities between different people’s success stories that you will benefit from taking notes from. When you study the most successful people in the world, you learn ways to emulate them, and are giving yourself a reliable fast-track road towards mastering being an entrepreneur. Read their books and biographies, listen to their podcasts, and watch their videos. No one can give you a better, quicker, and more thorough guide to mastering your own potential and investing in yourself, than those who have already succeeded in life and achieved what you want to achieve.
The fact is, many of these mega-rich money-makers idolised those who came before them, just as the smartest entrepreneurs are idolising and following the world’s richest entrepreneurs, now.
When it comes to your own personal vision for your ideal business, it comes down to your own values and shaping them into something profitable. Anyone seriously considering their future as an entrepreneur should have a crystal-clear image of what they want to achieve and a profound awareness of the things that matter most to them.
Look deep inside, start making notes on the things you love and the things you want to achieve, and start emulating the entrepreneurs who already know how to succeed in life.
You can do this. Many have succeeded in life before you, and many will succeed after you do, too.
So, what am I going to tell you, one final time?
It’s time to become an entrepreneur, right now.
All businesses look to content creation when it comes to marketing, so why not try video marketing. Get in touch with Tell Your Story UK here for any small scale company video production services.
Looking to start your own business? Maybe you’re a few steps in already? You feel like you’re treading on egg shells? Gary Turner, UK Managing Director of Xero, here gives a brief analysis of all that can go wrong, and how to avoid them!
Entrepreneurs deserve a huge amount of respect for taking the leap to start their own business venture as it’s no small feat. You just have to look at the troubling statistics which show 21% of SMBs don’t make it past their first year to realise the challenge that’s set before them. I’ve been vocal that 2017 will be an unpredictable year for the UK economy, and following last week’s budget it’s vital now more than ever that a new business starts with as few issues as possible.
Here are my 6 Don’ts to ensure success in your first year.
1. Don’t rush your dream team
You may have a small network, you may have never hired an employee, and you may have many family and friends happy to help out. This can lead to new business owners bringing in familiar faces to help get them off the ground – but while this is useful for some aspects of work like admin and delivery, external expertise are vital. It’s not advisable to bring in family just because they’re accessible, take the time to recruit people who belong in a small business. The key traits to look out for are ambition and initiative, and an innate ability to work in teams. Alongside a specific skillset for different aspects of the business such as marketing, IT, sales and the like, it will help frame your company as a professional one.
2. Don’t market your company before developing your brand
The excitement of launching your own business is unparalleled, and naturally you’ll want to shout about it from the high heavens. However, before you go spending money on services claiming to boost the potential of your social media channels, you first need to create your own business identity. This includes creating your own brand values, distinguishing your unique selling point, identifying your tone, and keeping consistent messaging across all PR and marketing. No matter how someone hears about your business, it needs to be in line with where they may hear about you elsewhere.
3. Don’t lose sight of your personal life
Just because you’ve become a business owner doesn’t mean it should become who you are. You need to remember to keep you personal life separate from business. We need to respect ‘burnout’ as a real phenomenon, it’s not something only the weak experience, it’s human to feel run down and demotivated from a lack of enjoyment in life, so take the time to focus on you. A lot of this boils down to balancing work with play, and today’s technology makes accessibility to work a lot more possible. By using the cloud anywhere, you can cut commuting time and spend that time on extracurricular activities.
4. Don’t assume the role of an accountant
There are intelligent software tools that allow you to take your finances into your own hands. Online platforms can allow you to analyse your numbers, expenses, wages, POs/invoices and more. And while we believe this makes small business finance accessible and more easily digestible, nothing compares to the experience of an accountant. They’ll be able to monitor books for errors, use their knowledge to discover your eligible tax breaks, offer guidance and insight as a result of your numbers and more. Yes, accounting tools are important, but using someone’s expertise will help those numbers go that much further.
5. Don’t set yourself unrealistic goals
Ambition is important, but your first year should be the time to get your ducks in a row. Setting specific and high targets can be demoralising if you don’t hit your highest hopes, which is why you should set bronze, silver and gold targets. This will allow for a feeling of success, but it will also encourage you to push yourself to strive for gold – be it sales, exposure, clientele - targets will always be beneficial in building motivation and momentum.
6. Don’t go at it alone
Recent findings from Xero’s Make or Break report shows that, despite Brexit being a huge concern, 58% won’t be seeking help from a mentor. It’s unclear why, perhaps it’s from a lack of access to industry peers, perhaps it’s a strong sense of self-belief, but either way mentors can bring huge benefits . There is no shame in asking for advice, and most people will be happy to share their wisdom and experience. Don’t make a mistake that could have been easily advisable, hit the forums, attend networking events or even ask people in different industries – any knowledge you can soak up is vital to your future success.