University News Last updated 10 January
A local award-winning entrepreneur behind the UK鈥檚 second largest black business and community network has been awarded BCU鈥檚 Alumna of the Year 2025 award.
Sophie Marie Bennett, who completed a Foundation Year in Professional Administration in 2014, before going on to gain a BA (Hons) in Business Administration in 2016, followed by an MSc in Management and Entrepreneurship in 2017, is the Founder and CEO of Black Owned 探花直播.
The alumna鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit was embedded in her from a young age.
She said: 鈥淲hen I was young, my older sister and her friend opened a hair shop, Heavenly Beauty, in Smethwick. I remember loving the whole concept of it being their very own business.
鈥淚 would go and watch her open the shop and meet customers, and I loved it. It was my first look into entrepreneurship and what running your own business looks like. As a kid, I would even charge people 拢5 in the playground for me to style their hair and give them cornrows. I guess I was destined to be an entrepreneur.鈥�
But it took a huge amount of life experience and sheer determination for her to become the success that she is today.
She said: 鈥淚鈥檓 from a big family. In fact, I鈥檓 the youngest of nine siblings, and we all grew up in a two-bedroom bungalow.
鈥淢y parents were both from Jamaica. My Mum left school at 14, and my Dad at just 10 years old. After that, my Dad never got any further education as he worked in the fields and eventually moved to the UK. He was illiterate and couldn鈥檛 read or write. My Mum, on the other hand, came to the UK when she was just 15, and she learned very quickly how to read and write, articulate herself, and she worked in a bakery before working in the care service for many years. She then started to get qualifications through work.
鈥淏ut the priority in my household was always, if you鈥檙e not in school, then you鈥檙e at work. University simply wasn鈥檛 an option. I loved school and education growing up, but during secondary school, I got badly bullied. Every time I tried to speak to an adult about it, it wasn鈥檛 taken seriously, mostly because it wasn鈥檛 physical to begin with. But the words had a lasting effect on me.
鈥淏y Year 11, it had turned physical. Even with teachers watching me be treated awfully, from getting cream poured all over to me, to getting black eyes. I just wasn鈥檛 listened to. Up until then, I had always been super bright and was predicted A鈥檚 in almost every subject, and I had perfect attendance. But when the bullying got particularly bad, I started skipping school. I didn鈥檛 want to go anymore, and I would avoid any classes where my bullies were.
鈥淭his had a huge impact on me and my approach to school, and I started being rude and not wanting to listen to anyone around me. I spoke to my teacher one last time about it, but my bully found out. I knew that she was going to kill me for telling the teacher, so I thought, I need to hurt her first. I鈥檇 never had a fight before, and didn鈥檛 even know my own strength. Thankfully, my teacher stopped me before I could reach her. Despite telling the Head Teacher everything that I鈥檇 been going through, I was kicked out of my school due to how angry I had been in that moment.
鈥淲hen I got kicked out, it felt like my whole life was over. Although I was able to sit three of my exams, I failed my GCSEs. I started getting into all kinds of trouble with the police, and causing a havoc everywhere I went, purely because I had no structure and nothing to do.
鈥淢y parents put their foot down and said I needed to get a job, so I jumped on the bus to Connexions in West Bromwich, where they helped me to create a CV. I took my CV to McDonalds. They interviewed me the following week, and I got the job. But I still had no vision of my future, and no idea what I wanted to do.鈥�
After deciding to get back into education, Sophie once again discovered her entrepreneurial skills.
She said: 鈥淚 eventually decided to re-sit my exams, so enquired to Sandwell College. They saw that I had great mock results, but no GCSEs. I told them that I wanted to do the Hair and Beauty course there, and amazingly, they let me do it whilst resitting my English and Maths GCSEs at the same time.
鈥淚 got an NVQ in Hair and Beauty, followed by an NVQ2 in Beauty Therapy. I decided that I wanted to open my own beauty salon but was unsure how I to go about it. I asked around and ended up going back to Connexions to find out how to get a business qualification. They encouraged me to do an apprenticeship, and I soon began a Business Administration apprenticeship for Accord Housing Group.
鈥淢y apprenticeship allowed me to discover a totally different world. My parents really struggled with money, and we were poor growing up. Suddenly being around people in the finance department who spoke about huge amounts of money, made me realise that this kind of money exists in the world.
鈥淔ollowing my apprenticeship, that鈥檚 when I knew it was the right time to go to university, but I was pregnant at the time. I had no clue about UCAS, but I applied directly on the BCU website. Soon after, someone from the university called me and said that I didn鈥檛 have the qualifications for my chosen course, but that I could do a foundation year first, and then do the degree course. I went for my interview, got my place, and that began my journey at BCU.鈥�
Sophie began her foundation year just 12 days after her first daughter was born. With the support from her parents, she was encouraged to become the first in their family to go to university.
She said: 鈥淲hen I told my Mum that I鈥檇 applied to BCU, I was pregnant, but she said that if I really wanted to do it, that we would find a way 鈥� and we did.
鈥淐ulturally, it鈥檚 frowned upon to leave the house within six weeks of having a baby. But my Mum encouraged me to, and she even supported me by going with me. As my daughter was just days old, my Mum would walk her around the campus whilst I was in class. She did that for the first two months, and for the rest of the year, my Mum, who was recovering from a stroke, looked after both of my daughters from home. She wanted me to succeed, and she said that she would help me get there, whatever it takes.
鈥淢y first graduation in late 2014 was such a special moment for me and my Mum. She passed away just two months later, but I鈥檓 so glad that she was there to see me really achieve something.
鈥淪adly, both my parents have now passed away, but their pride is something that has motivated me throughout my entire academic journey and career.鈥�
Sophie thrived at BCU, and she enjoyed learning about the theoretical side of business. During her Master鈥檚, she was able to focus on areas of business that she felt applied to her, and the black community. She even did her thesis on black female entrepreneurship and why it鈥檚 hard for black people to get into business.
During her Master鈥檚, Sophie was pregnant, working full-time as well as running her own business. After completing her studies, she worked as a Freelance Business Consultant before being inspired to start Black Owned 探花直播.
She said: 鈥淎fter graduation, I worked as a Business Consultant. People could hire me through a website by selecting my profile which listed my skills and expertise. I had regular clients that I enjoyed working with and I was earning a great wage.
鈥淭hen, the website introduced a new policy, where all members must have a profile picture. I uploaded my profile picture and instantly lost clients. I lost so many that I was struggling to make ends meet. The only thing that had changed was that now my clients could see that I鈥檓 black and it was clear that my race was an issue for them.
鈥淐ompanies that I had strong connections with began ignoring me, and people I knew on a first-name basis wanted nothing to do with me. This sparked something within me, and I knew I had to build my own community to support other business owners and freelancers going through this, so I started the Black Owned 探花直播 Facebook page.
鈥淭he group was just a page for people to chat about their business struggles and support one another, I never expected it to blow up the way it did, but it just snowballed. We gained 2000 followers overnight, then 3000, and by the end of the week we were 7000 members strong.鈥�
Sophie discovered that 28 per cent of black-owned businesses apply for government funding but only 0.2 per cent receive funding and realised that so many people in the group needed the community because they can鈥檛 rely on funding, and that鈥檚 how Black Owned 探花直播 was born.
Black Owned 探花直播 now offers a wide range of business advice and empowers entrepreneurs and business founders.
She said: 鈥淲e help businesses register and we have created a directory of black-owned businesses in 探花直播. We also offer business advice. I work with local communities, providing equipment for school children and run summer schools.
鈥淭he business has gone from strength to strength, we鈥檙e now the largest black business and community network within the West Midlands and second largest within the UK. We even have our own awards ceremony, which is one of the best parts of my job as I get to celebrate my community鈥檚 success.鈥�
As well as being a successful entrepreneur and raising her three daughters, Sophie is also on a variety of advisory boards, including the UK Black Business Show, Forbes Black, and The Albion Foundation.
But her experiences of being bullied as a teenager have also inspired Sophie to work in schools, improving the prospects for children in her community.
She said: 鈥淣owadays, I鈥檓 a School Governor at Phoenix Collegiate Secondary School. When we look at exclusions taking place, I always ask to look at the history, and what led to the students being in a situation where they are now being expelled.
鈥淔or example, are they the same as me? Have they been bullied for five years, decided to stand up for themselves, and now facing the consequences? I know, looking back, that if my teachers had intervened, as they should have done, I would have got the support I needed. I see it as my responsibility to look out for those students.鈥�
Sophie鈥檚 inspirational story, and the support that she now provides others, hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed, and she has won several awards, including Certificate of Recognition from The British Citizen Award, the Best Business Excellence Award from Street Cred Awards, and the Community Learning Award from Diversity Awards in Education.
The alumna has also been acknowledged as the Most Inspiring Managing Director by SME News and is the recipient of the Excellence Award for Black-Owned Business Support. Under her leadership, Black Owned 探花直播 was also recognised as a finalist in Social Enterprise of the Year at The 探花直播 Awards 2023 and Charity of the Year at MBCC Awards 2023.
Her latest award, BCU鈥檚 Alumna of the Year 2025, is in recognition of her incredible journey to date.
Sophie has remained part of the BCU community by regularly giving back to the university, being the face of the Look At Me Now campaign and offering an upcoming series of workshops for students and fellow graduates.
She said: 鈥淏eing BCU鈥檚 Alumna of the Year is such an achievement for me because I left school with nothing. This is an ode to that teenage girl who was kicked out of school, and didn鈥檛 know what was next. Now, I have something to show for it all.
鈥淓verything that was set against me, I鈥檝e managed to fight through. From being kicked out of school and being a teenage mum, to now being in a position where I鈥檓 raising my children and giving them a better life, as well as teaching people and helping others.
鈥淏eing Alumna of the Year means so much to me, because I can look back at my journey and think, wow, I did it. I鈥檝e come from nothing, and now I鈥檓 something.鈥�