This week, we were joined by not one, not two but three queens! Renée Cottle and her daughters Leilani (aged 16) and Avaiyia (aged 12)!

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These Queens are the proud owners and operators of 5 businesses between them! Mum Renée has @lovestormcakecakecompany, founded in 2009 and makes incredible custom cakes for all occasions; Leilani is the founder of @lovestormcupcakesbyleilani (amazing cupcakes) and @leisrags (du rags and face masks); Avaiyia is the founder of @thekookiekid (custom cookies) and @raeraesvegansauces!

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This incredible family has rightly captured the attention of Forbes Magazine: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katehardcastle/2020/07/26/i-want-to-see-my-sauces-on-the-shelves-in-waitrose-as-soon-as-possible-12-year-old-entrepreneur-has-big-ambitions/?sh=14a3aa0b95cd

and Avaiyia has a gofund me page https://uk.gofundme.com/f/12-year-old-creator-and-business-owner to help her upscale her budding enterprise!

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Tune in to find out what makes this inspirational trio tick, how they manage to do what they do and how it all works and how their enterprises complement each other and to learn how to instil such great belief and self-determination in young people.

This week, we are joined by Mr Samuel Mensah - CEO of Uncle John’s Bakery - the No 1 Ghanaian bakery in the UK! https://theunclejohnsbakery.com/

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The company was established over 25 years ago by Samuel’s parents (John and Emelia). It was created out of the necessity of not being able to find decent substitutes for bread and other baked goods on emigrating to the UK from Ghana in 1982.

The business carries the legacy and family recipes of Samuel’s grandmothers and their quality Ghanaian baked and associated goods, can now be found all over the UK, including in major retailers such as Morrison’s. They also export internationally!

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If that is not enough, Samuel and 2 other entrepreneurial friends launched “The End Goal” podcast in May this year, delving into pertinent business topics, how to navigate the effects of the pandemic as well as tackling the world of business from a black perspective - an interesting and informative listen. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-end-goal-podcast/id1516700094

This week we are joined by the lovely Michael Scott and Johnathan Scott- cousins whom have teamed up to bring the world Box Lab Experience and Ultimate Learning!

It all started with science teacher Michael whom was encouraged to start his Youtube channel, Ultimate Learning to reach more children with his inspiring and unique way of not only representing within education but in the field of science also. Having cousin Johnathan onboard to finesse the videos and build on the ideas has been a welcome addition to the evolution of the Ultimate Learning and now Box Lab brands. The latter is a means to have a box filled with exciting experiments for children aged 7-12 to enjoy at home- perfect for these home schooling times!

Check them out: Ultimate Learning channel on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGSkN-DD5zk0uLrGq-as3uA and Box Lab Experience on https://boxlab.store/ you and your kids will not be disappointed!

Today we are joined by the one, the only @sanchezpayne!

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This King has been in the spotlight since the tender age of 7 when he was interviewed for and featured in the groundbreaking “7 up 2000” documentary.

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Since then, @sanchezpayne honed his skills on the football ⚽️ pitch and played for @leedsunited and @hydeunitedofficial.

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Cut to now and @sanchezpayne has enjoyed success in the music industry as a DJ with a residency in Ibiza, music event organiser with his brands @dbaeventsuk and @legacy.uk and also as a presenter on @bbcradioleeds.

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@sanchezpayne has recently been announced as the first ever day time radio presenter on the newly launched BBC Radio Bradford weekdays 10am till 2pm! Check him out online, DAB or the BBC sounds app for great guests, music and conversation!

This week's lovely guest is Deborah Ajaja, the talented and creative queen who founded Colour Celebrations after the birth of her son in 2018.

https://colourcelebrations.com/

Deborah has created the only company that offers baby milestone cards and luxury gifting for Black and mixed race babies.

What we love is that Colour Celebrations empowers parents to celebrate both developmental baby milestones and cultural milestones in a fun and impactful way #representationmatters!

Additionally Deborah is Head of Change Managed Services at KPMG!!! Is there anything that this Queen cannot do? Listen to find out more about her and this fabulous brand.

This week, we are joined by the inspirational multi-award winning entrepreneur, international speaker, martial artist, engineer & pilot! Mr

Nathaniel Peat! Nathaniel is the founder of the multi-award winning social enterprise The Safety Box®; a company whose training and development programmes helps with reducing youth violence & helps young people develop important social and commercial skills. https://www.thesafetybox.org/. Nathaniel is also: a patron of the Ernst & Young (or “EY”) Foundation; Chairman of Jamaicans Inspired https://www.jamaicans-inspired.com/; and co-founder of GeNNex Solar to name but a few of the enterprises he is involved with https://gennex.co/ELITE/.

In 2017 Mr Peat was entered into the UK Black Powerlist and BAME 100 Top Board Index List.

Listen to find out more about the man behind the brand, what drives him and what makes him strive for more and to help others in the process.

This week we are blessed by the presence of fabulous guest, the wonderful Athena Kugblenu. This incredible multi-award winning comedian is a member of the BBC Comedy Room 2019/20

a 2017 nominee for the 99 Club Female Comedians’ Bursary

regularly writes for @BBCRadio4.

Athena has written for Horrible Histories, The Russell Howard Hour and Radio 4’s The Lenny Henry Show to name just a few of the comedy shows she has contributed to.

Since 2017, Athena has featured at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her show "KMT" aka "kiss mi teeth". Her second celebrated hour was "Follow the Leader", a political show with a personal twist.

She’s a founding member of Do the Right Scene, a London based improv group: https://www.hooplaimpro.com/BAME

Athena also has a fabulous podcast: Keeping Athena Company, which we love! https://www.athenakugblenu.co.uk/podcast/

Check out her website for more information about up and coming gigs and further projects: https://www.athenakugblenu.co.uk/

Today we are joined by the sensational multi-award wining Marverine Cole: journalist,TV, radio and podcast presenter, broadcaster, radio producer, screenwriter, media trainer, lecturer AND beer sommelier.

Marverine is a fine ambassador for her home city of Birmingham and has worked with several household networks including 5 news and Sky news.

Her “Black girls don’t cry” documentary on BBC Radio 4 was awarded the Bupa Mind Media Journalist of the year award in 2019.

Marverine is passionate about beer, so much so that she is an accredited beer sommelier, has been writing about it for over 10 years including on her former blog, Beer Beauty and is now a recent addition as a beer writer for BBC Good Food. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/best-beer-gifts

Her podcast, “Fabulous Woman Podcast” is available on Spotify and Apple which is all about being intentional about bringing “inspiration, triumph and joy”, something the world most definitely needs more of!

You can listen here:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7DE5mpDR0W59spBvfZVjZN?si=PbaWzLStSSuBkywS7O2uuA

Marverine BBC Good Food: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/author/marverinecole

BBC 4 "Black Girls Don't Cry""

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b9zfws.

Artwork by @leanne_creative

Music by @antoinekiim

Podcast produced by @kofi_smiles

Today we are blessed with the presence and wisdom of Mr Ayo Akinwolere WORLD Record Swimmer, writer, dj and award-winning broadcaster!

We delve into finding more about his background- what it was like immigrating to UK at age 8 and learn about his experiences growing up in Birmingham.

We discuss everything from:

- assimilation

- appreciation of one's culture and heritage

- the journey to becoming one's authentic self

- how he came to reclaim his Nigerian roots

- Ayo's glittering career to date

- THAT swim challenge

- what he is currently working on at the moment!

What a King, one whom continually uses his platform to encourage, educate and empower others to BE better and DO better for a brighter future for all! We need more people like you in the world

Hello and a very warm welcome back to Season Two!

In this week's episode, founders Steph and Julie look back and reflect on our fabulous guests from Season One.

We hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane!

Artwork by @leanne_creative

Music by @aintoinekiim

Production by @kofi_smiles