A man known by many names, Jemal Peters knows the streets of London only too well. Motivated by the arrival of his daughter, the now savvy businessman picked himself off the streets to form Big J’s Kitchen, a business that blends elements of London culture to offer ‘Da Flavour of Da Street!’
Hi Jemal. Can you start by telling us a bit about your background?
Where do I start? I’m south London born and raised. I’m a go-getter with a passion for food and drink,
I grew up with my mum and two brothers, and since I was a child I’ve always been known for having entrepreneurial ways and a go-getter attitude… I’m known for making things happen.
What aspects did you learn from your childhood that you have taken into the business?
Most of it! The obvious things I’ve taken into business are my cooking skills, the ability to taste and mix flavours and then create something special.
From early on I learnt how to hustle and I knew that if something cost me £1… I’d sell it for at least £2, which to me is the fundamental point of a business. Certain situations happened in life which enabled me to realise from a young age that the world owes you nothing but at the same time is willing to give you anything and everything you want … all you’ve got to do is go get it! So I’ve had a saying that I created from a young age: “A dream’s worth nothing if you leave it on your pillow!”, so anything I want in life… I pray for it then work hard to get it.
You have amassed a high following through Instagram. Tell us how you’ve used the app to your advantage…
I’m always on the lookout for what’s new and ways of doing things that haven’t been done before. My brother takes some top quality photography and about a year or two back he was telling me about this thing called Instagram. He was on it sharing pics and he had people from all over the world contacting him. Facebook's good and Twitter’s cool, I’ll go on them now and then, but I prefer things more visual, so ‘insta’ was perfect for me. I noticed a trend that people would always take pictures of their food and post it… so not only did I start slapping meals up using my products, I also got everyone involved by doing competitions where people put the #BigJsKitchen hashtag on their food pictures and automatically got added to the competition where they could win special Big J Goodie bags and the winning pictures would go up on my website. This took off and went out of control; I got a number of followers and business contacts which led to Big J’s Kitchen products being put in Puma Sports VIP goodie bags for the London 2012 Olympics and many other promotions. This was vital in showing the world that London’s not just tea and crumpets; we have a new food brand that represents the fun, real and diverse urban side on the up – Big J’s Kitchen, “Da Flavour Of Da Street”!
How do you think non-food related businesses could utilise the image-sharing concept to gain a following?
In exactly the same way. Seeing is believing; it allows people to see what you’re about and get involved with you. A product’s a product, whether it’s food, trainers, clothing or technology. Find your community in there and let them see what you’ve got! Also no one likes stingy people, so give something back… prizes, giveaways, discounts whatever. Social networking is major and it’s only getting bigger… you can reach all corners of the world and it’s usually free! You’d be a fool not to take advantage of it.
To you, what makes a business successful?
A business that’s something fresh and new, even if it’s in a well established field, as well as the people behind it, good ethics and values.
How would you describe your entrepreneurial approach?
Trustworthy, creative and effective. I make sure I box clever, and I “Keep It 100”. Integrity is important to me and I like to build good relationships.
Finally, can you offer any advice to those wanting to change their circumstances for the better?
A dream’s worth nothing If you leave it on your pillow! If you want something, get up and get it.
Learn from others’ mistakes and successes. Don’t do it all on your own, there’s no point! Take advantage of the support that’s out there. I made sure I got support and mentoring from people who had done it before and could really help me, I linked up with mentors like Chelsey Baker and Jim Foxhall through the Rockstar mentoring programme and in a few short sessions they taught me a number of things that would have taken me years to learn and things that I may have had to learn the hard way.
For more information on Big J’s Kitchen go to http://www.bigjskitchen.com or if you need funding and mentoring for your business or business idea contact The Rockstar Group www.Rockstartstartuploans.co.uk
Extracts taken from the full interview with Jemal Peters, which can be found at http://www.startyourbusinessmag.com/jemal-peters-aka-big-j/
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