Steve Burford
Web Entrepreneur
Web entrepreneur, Steve Burford, graduated from the University in 2008 with a BA (Hons) Media Writing and very quickly put the skills he gained from the course to good use.
He now runs a successful website, www.wealthystudent.co.uk|, (which is a must for any uni student to investigate) and is the published author of a book linked to the site called 'Defeat Student Debt'. Both of these offer a great deal of practical advice to students on how to survive as a uni student without incurring massive debts – tips on saving money, getting part-time work and making the most of all the freebies and cheap deals that are out there for students in the UK.
His successes with the website and with his book show a clear link between the writing skills gained on his course and the entrepreneurship encouraged by his tutors.
Steve says, "Solent helped me on my career path by supporting me through the SPEED entrepreneurship scheme when I wanted to start the online business to help students. The course was inspirational in terms of getting ideas for being a writer."
He is also very clear about how his course here led to the idea behind his publications. "As we soon were taught, it is best to write what you know about. Since I knew a fair amount about having a good time at university whilst keep debts to a minimum, I decided to write the book and self-publish it." This was definitely a good idea, because, as he says, the book "has gone on to sell over 1000 copies and has been downloaded over 4000 times from the website."
And Steve has excelled at what he does. He recently won a Men's Health Internet entrepreneur competition, and has been accepted in the Courvoisier/Observer Future 500 (a competition looking for future talent in the UK). He is also a 'Make Your Mark' ambassador, encouraging enterprise and entrepreneurship among young people.
Explaining what leads to such success, Steve says, "When you're growing a business you need to be adaptable and multi-skilled, you have to have a lot of self belief." One of the benefits is a varied and interesting working life. "All days are different for me. I am usually trying to create new business partnerships, putting new articles on the website or writing for other students' websites or magazines."
Following his experiences in the course and setting up his business, Steve encourages other young people to do the same. He says, "I fully endorse becoming a writer or an entrepreneur!"