This month we were delighted to catch up with Kemi Farquharson, designer and founder of Kemi Boutique which designs couture wedding dresses for the bride-to-be with curves.

Her collections have attracted international interest and have led to even more entrepreneurial ventures, including her couture perfume line, First Love, a Plus Size Wedding Fair called Loving Your Curves, and, Creative Entrepreneurs, a monthly networking event for creative entrepreneurs.

Kemi trained as a mentor last year so that she could support fellow entrepreneurs on their journey, she says:

"The start up process can be daunting for some and it's a wonderful feeling to know you're doing something to give back, I always try to support where I can".

Although Kemi hadn't mentored previously on an official basis prior to the training, she had incorporated mentoring into her internship program, and since completing her training has mentored a young woman keen to go into the wedding industry as a wedding planner. She says:

"It was great, I think our mentoring meetings offered a safe place for the mentee to explore her business idea and pursue her desire to travel first without influence or judgement."

Indeed, after several meetings the mentee decided to go on a gap year travelling, not only to have a bit of fun before the commitment of the business started, but also to explore different cultures as she felt if would give her a unique selling point within a multicultural city like London.

There's no doubt that Kemi's support made a difference to the mentee, we asked whether the fact that she chose to travel in the short term created a issue in terms of mentoring, she said:

"Not at all, for me that felt like success in terms of mentoring, I listened to what she wanted to ultimately achieve and supported her as she reached decisions about what she wanted now and how that could contribute to her future success",

"Starting a business is a long term commitment, so there is no point in her diving in now if she wants to explore cultures and her own ambitions before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey, a few months won't impact on her longer term success, other than perhaps improving it"

Perhaps the reason she understood her mentee so well was because of its resonance to her own entrepreneurial journey. Kemi was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in her early twenties and took some years to embrace her curves and redefine her syndrome. It was during her late twenties, frustrated with the European plus size market and her PCOS, that Kemi travelled to Jamaica for a few months to relax, rejuvenate and design her own plus size collection, she says:

“My inspiration is life itself. I love to travel, new adventures, colour, comfort, love and draw my inspiration from memories I have created, my digital camera and notepad are with me all the time and I love to capture the memories of the moment. It is that captured memory that I have infused into my collections".

Kemi's inspirational journey is what has helped to create the business she has today and it's wonderful to know that Kemi has now also integrated mentoring into her professional life. Indeed she says that it's something that she always plans to do in some capacity. As someone that has also had her own mentors throughout her career she's also a strong advocate for seeking the support of a mentor:

"You have nothing to lose and everything to gain", she says, "when you have someone that has walked the path you are travelling it helps you feel that you are not alone".

Kemi's experience and knowledge will no doubt be incredibly supportive to many up and coming entrepreneurs in the coming years.