Black History Month special - In conversation with Ebun Ewedemi, Founder of Prime Link Property Services
Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.
To mark Black History Month (BHM), Priya Aggarwal-Shah chats with Ebun Ewedemi, Founder of Prime Link Property Services to celebrate five years of her business. Ebun is an entrepreneur and a risk taker, pursuing the road less trodden, while many of her peers have chosen traditional career paths. At only 23, Ebun founded her Property Inventory business and has since grown her scope of work and her team, one of her biggest achievements.
But it’s not been all plain sailing and Ebun speaks candidly about some of the challenges of running a business and more so, the impact of COVID-19 on day-to-day functions. That being said, Ebun has successfully diversified the business's services, expanded their work across London and has plans to head to other major UK regions. Watch this space, the next five years are going to be special.
How it started
“I started working when I was 13, earning £5 p/h, working one evening a week at a youth/theatre club for teens; I would do that after school. I’ve had a strong work ethic instilled in me from a young age.”
Ebun spoke about how her parents had inspired an entrepreneurial bug within her as they owned small businesses. However, her interest in property peaked from watching Homes Under the Hammer. The combination of the two inspired her to study Residential Property at Kingston University. Although this was more of a surveying related degree, she then started part-time work at Property Inventory company, learning the ins and outs of the trade. After her time at university, she landed a position within the real estate company, Savills but soon quit to start her own business, which is known today as Prime Link Property Services.
Major Milestones
Running a business is no easy task, yet every milestone is worth being acknowledged. Ebun graduated with a First-Class Honours from Kingston University and started her own company at just 23 years old not long after. A key achievement was employing her first member of staff whilst her peers had begun climbing the corporate ladder, and the cherry on top of the cake was buying her first property a year after graduating from university at age 22.
“I bought my first property a year after I graduated from university. Whilst I was at university I worked part time during term time, full time during the summer. I saved my wages and lived off of student maintenance loans and grants during my time as a student. I saved with the intention of purchasing a property, that was a pretty important goal for me. I wanted to get on the property ladder straight away, I saved up and did just that, which was a huge achievement for me.”
Ebun has been fortunate enough to purchase an additional property since then, which is currently undergoing a refurb to add value.
More recently, she has been nominated as finalist for the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the year 2021’ award in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It’s an honour to receive such recognition, alongside esteem individuals different sectors.
She has and continues to ‘do it all and then some’ all whilst being young. A truly inspiring figure for today’s youth and to shine a spotlight on her will certainly help to show others that if she can do it, they can too.
Being unconventional when it was easier to do the opposite
From our conversation, it was clear that Ebun’s parents had been very influential in her life. But starting a business at such a young age when her peers were starting out their careers must have had its own challenges. Ebun was clear that whilst her chosen path differed to those around her, her journey would also be unique.
“Post uni, students from my course were securing positions in graduate schemes and jobs at the big real estate firms, they had their Surveying and corporate Real Estate careers mapped out. I always knew my journey would be different. I tried not to compare myself and I knew it would be rewarding down the line. But yes, some people questioned my decision to go into this field, to them it just seemed so random?! My friends were curious but also supportive. My dad was excited and all for it. My mum was initially a little sceptical, as I had literally just started paying my mortgage, however, I had her full support not long after.”
She went on to say that it is difficult to step out on your own, however working part time when she first started her business was the best thing, because she had more time to focus on her newly budding enterprise whilst remaining financially afloat.
The highs and lows
When asked about her experience on being her own boss, Ebun stated that the best things about the transition from working for another to working for oneself, is living life on her own terms, and having the freedom to wake up each day and be in full control of her schedule. Another perk of being her own boss is cultivating her own team, which is made up of women of different races and cultures.
“Empowering and supporting my team is a priority for me. I enjoy watching people develop and thrive within the company. I’m big on self development and I make a conscious effort to ensure everyone has the opportunity to grow within their role. I love helping people, also having a close-knit team, is another part of entrepreneurship that I enjoy.”
When it comes to the lows, Ebun has realised that every aspect of her business comes with its own challenges. If it is not a challenge with regards to expenses, it is the challenge of working through moments of self-doubt. With such huge responsibilities, it is certainly easier to give up, but she is adamant in pushing through the adversities.
As she aptly states, “with failure comes wisdom, I’ve had a lot of challenges on this journey, but I see each negative experience as a lesson. For each time I’ve been knocked back, I’ve come back better and stronger.”
The impact of COVID-19
Since Ebun’s business is based on tenants moving in and out of properties, she explained that for a short period at the start of the pandemic, the phones were ringing but her team could not go out and render their services to customers. To combat the issue of not being able to go out, she started looking at other avenues such as virtual inventory check ins.
“At the beginning of Covid-19 we started looking into other methods of performing our Inventory services, such as virtual Inventory check ins and self Inventory check ins. We were ready to adapt and change our methods to meet the needs to our customers during that challenging time. We didn’t actually end up launching these services, as the government soon gave the go-ahead for property viewings to continue, which meant that tenants could move, therefore business slowly started to pick up again. As a result of the crisis, we adopted remote working, created our own covid safety practices and invested into a great deal of PPE! I am blessed and grateful that we were able to bounce back, we all know many businesses that struggled during the pandemic, and are still struggling.”
The importance of diversity
“It’s so important for me to offer opportunities to and work with people who look like me, because I know we all have it hard. I feel like we’re the only ones that are going to help ourselves.”
From one challenge to another, diversity in the workplace was our next topic of conversation. Ebun reiterated that as a Black woman, diversity is very important to her. She believes that everyone deserves a fair chance, no matter their race.
For her, especially as a Londoner, coming together to share ideas, is when the 'magic really does happen.' She also explained that because she’s grown up as a Black woman and had to face certain challenges, she does not want other ethnic minorities to face those challenges either. Thus, she is creating opportunities for Black women because a lot of big corporations, even in London as diverse as it is, are not really diverse in who they hire. That is why it is important for her, as exemplified with her team to hire people from different racial backgrounds. Hiring ethnic minorities puts a spotlight on them and their achievements which will in turn allow those in power to give such individuals a chance.
Next steps for Prime Link Property Services and Ebun
“We've always predominantly offered Property Inventory services, however we recently diversified and now offer a variety of services making us a one stop shop.. Alongside the business, I’m working on building up my property portfolio and working with more Investors and Landlords on property investment projects."
A huge congratulations are in order for Ebun, as her business has achieved a major milestone of turning five. When asked what her plans will be for the next five years, she is looking to diversify the services that the company provides. Although Prime Link is primarily known for providing inventory services, they also offer other services such as: Professional cleaning, Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), Gas Safety certificates, and more. These services complement each other, so it very important for Ebun that they garner equal recognition. Another goal of hers is scaling and expanding the business across the UK.
Last but not the least, Ebun shares her thoughts on Black History Month
As our BHM special interview, it was only right to ask Ebun a few questions about what this means to her.
“I feel like every month should be Black History Month. The Month is a time of reflection of the past accomplishments and sacrifices Black people have made. It means learning about my roots and how I got here. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate how far we’ve come, and recognise our contributions to society today."
There is no doubt that Ebun has achieved a huge amount in a short space of time. She has navigated through challenges and made the best of opportunities. All the best for the next five years and we look forward to following her journey.