Young entrepreneur Junior Ogunyemi speaking to students at City College. Photo: Bill Smith

Students in Norfolk were yesterday told now was the best time for them to start their own businesses.

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Young entrepreneur Junior Ogunyemi, 22, told teenagers on the business, enterprise and entrepreneurship diploma course at City College Norwich, how he began his first football coaching business aged 17 and funded himself through university. He said: “You don’t have so much to lose. If you’re going to take a risk, do it now.”

Mr Ogunyemi, who was born in Nigeria but grew up in Islington, London, told students to make the most of their access to lecturers, resources, and their fellow students.

He added: “If you can be resourceful, money will never, ever be an issue.

“When I started up a football academy at 17, I didn’t have any equipment. I found a friend who was a coach and said ‘can I borrow your equipment one day a week?’ If I had looked at my bank account and said ‘I’ve only got £5.93 in it’, I would have never started the business.”

Lewis Hornagold, 17, of Barford, near Norwich, said he had been inspired by the talk. He said: “I’ve got some ideas for businesses. But like he said, you’ve got to wait for the right time and make sure you execute them properly.”

Mr Ogunyemi, who has written a book called How To Be A Young Entrepreneur, was speaking at the college’s St Andrew’s House base. He said he had set himself a target to help create 2,012 entrepreneurs to mark the 2012 London Olympics. But he added: “I want you to be inspired but I don’t want you to think it’s going to be really rosy. It’s not always like that. You will face barriers.”

Student Jack Chutwood, 16, of Dereham, said he planned to make the most of his time at college. He said: “I’ve only got a part-time job and I live at home. We will be setting up our own businesses in the next six months and have the chance to access investors while we’re here.”