Our second year accounting and finance student, Fadil Sharif on his entrepreneurial side-hustle.
When UA92 student, Fadil Sharif, set up his luxury personal shopping service in 2018, he didn’t envisage that in just a few years he would be selling footwear to big-name footballers and influencers.
And yet, the business he started just three years ago, Asset London, has seen him sourcing hard-to-find and exclusive sneakers – some of which cost upwards of £10,000 – for famous faces including Chelsea football player Reece James, Love Island star Laura Anderson and hip hop name Krept.
Fadil started out selling footwear through his online business whilst still in sixth-form and kept up his venture as he began his first year of studies at UA92 in 2019.
However, it was during the lockdown in 2020 that Fadil saw business take off. Having the time to establish a new website and promote the business, he saw increased sales from verified ‘blue tick’ celebrities which helped spread the Asset London name and reputation, particularly on Instagram.
Fadil has balanced running the business with completing his second-year studies and, in September, he will move into the final year of his course at UA92.
He says: “Things have taken off massively since 2020. I’ve established a reputation for sourcing exclusive styles and word has spread because of that.
“I’ve been able to build the business because of the fixed structure that UA92 offers. I am an afternoon student and will be for the whole of my degree course, so I know for sure that I will have time in the mornings to work on my business and keep an eye on what’s new.
“Because there are also far fewer exams at UA92 than on most other accounting and finance degree courses – we don’t sit traditional end-year-exams and the course has lots of exemptions from assessments with the professional accounting bodies – I’ve used the time I would have spent prepping for tests to focus on building my business.”
Despite his success in the world of high-fashion footwear, Fadil is keeping an open mind as to what the future holds for him once he graduates. He continues: “I definitely want to keep Asset London going, but I also want to explore other things. I’ve now got experience in building a business and in accounting and finance, thanks so my degree, so I feel like there are lots of opportunities open to me in future.”
Discover more about the unique UA92 timetable, where you will always study from either 9 am to 1 pm or 2 pm to 6 pm, on our How You Study page.
You can also check out more about studying accounting and finance and other business-related qualifications on our course-finder.