Jessica Fitzpatrick 24, is the Founder and Managing Director of Scene Media who established Scene Birmingham magazine, Scenedating.co.uk and The Scene Card.

Scene Birmingham magazine celebrated its first birthday in April and is currently one of the city’s most talked about publications (best known for putting Brum’s positive highlights back on the map.) Jessica has also been nominated for various awards in 2013 including the C.Y.E Awards Entrepreneurial Award, Hot 500 Best Media Business Award and City&Style Entrepreneur of the Year.

 

You have recently released Scene Birmingham’s  October Edition, what has the feedback been like so far?
One of my friends down London text me saying that they had spent all of their lunch reading the magazine until the point that they didn’t have time to eat their food. The magazine is better than amazing; it is the best in the world. The feedback from this current issue has been fantastic so I am really happy; it makes me want to take on the world!

What inspired you to start the magazine?
I hated the fact that when I was at Southampton University all my friends used to take the mick out of me because I was from Birmingham. They used to say that ‘Birmingham is rubbish, the nightlife is rubbish, its dirty, the shopping isn’t great’ and I used to say ‘No its not, its amazing!’.  When I came back to Birmingham after Uni I started going out and found out that there was a lot of people who knew one another but there was nothing that brought everyone together apart from the likes of Facebook. I realised then that there was a ‘scene’ in Birmingham and it needed to be given a platform.

What was the start-up process like for Scene Media?
I have no background in magazines! My background is selling flowers on a market stall. It started with picking up other magazines, reading blogs, and saying right ‘we want to be this size. We want it to include events listings, interviews with cool people, art, fashion…we wanted it to be everything.’ Everything else I have learnt as I have gone along which has been a very challenging rollercoaster.

Your magazine has given Birmingham a positive spotlight; however, there still seems to be many negative stigmas attached to the city. What are your views on this?
In a recent report, it said that Birmingham was last for nightlife, culture, arts, and well-dressed people. I read this and I was like ‘WHAT?!’ It is not that Birmingham’s rubbish, people just don’t shout about it enough including people from our city. There are people who say that we are amazing, but there needs to be more.

“It is not that Birmingham’s rubbish, people just don’t shout about it enough including people from our city.”

What has your overall experience of running a business been like so far?
When I was at University, I had my own mini business selling pashmina scarfs on a market stall, it was not big business, but it prepared me for the real world. I was brought up by my Dad who is self-employed and has his own business and my Mom has been self-employed all of her life. I always knew that I wanted to do my own thing, so doing my own business has come naturally.

Where do you see the future of Scene Media?
Well at the moment, I am concentrating on the magazine, the stuff that I put online and there will be a lot of viral content going forward. We have a dating website that we started last year and its going well and we are just concentrating on building the brand.

In a sentence, tell us who Jessica Fitzpatrick will be at age 30?
Jess Fitz will be the socialite who likes to explore and learn new things.

What advice can you give to a ‘Skool Girl’?
When you are taking your GCSE’s or A-Levels know what you are good at and learn how to manage your time. When I was at school doing my GCSE’s I chose Art, Drama, Media and Graphics which were all course work heavy and when it came to deadlines I messed up and didn’t get the grades I wanted. So make sure you manage your time properly and enjoy what you are doing!