Turnover Magazine

South London
printing kingpin
Taffy Murdock describes how he tackled adversity and made a
name for himself in the business world
By Lisa Woods
Twenty-two-year-old Tafadzwa
Murdock, known as Taffy, grew up
on a council estate in Brixton. He
has always had a passion for entrepreneurship,
recalling his childhood when
he would sell sweets to his fellow classmates
on the playground. “All my friends would tell
me, ‘Taffy you’re going to be a business-man
one day,’ and I always knew it.” Today, Taffy
runs his own clothing-printing business We
Print Clients LTD. Reaching success, he has
worked with big names such as rap group
Section Boyz and YouTube star Vanbanter.
The minute hand had just reached 12 -
signalling 6pm - when Taffy stepped through
the doors of Peckham’s Costa. Innately composed,
he sturdily postured himself, adjusting
the chair to take up the shape of his body.
Assertiveness seeped through his words as
soon as he opened his mouth.
“Obviously growing up as a young boy in
South London, I saw people making money
legally and illegally. Unfortunately, the majority
of my friends were involved in illegal
business. It was difficult growing up in that
area because there were so many negative
things influencing my decisions. I didn’t really
have a father figure there, so it was just
me growing up and learning for myself.
“It’s very common to be another stereotype.
You know, to be one more guy on the
road. Not many people stand out and actually
make a difference. That’s what the hard
thing was. Many people around me thought
if you step out of that stereotype it’s not normal,
and the problem was, at the beginning
I cared too much about what other people
thought.”
Struggling to step outside of this trend,
in his youth, Taffy became involved in crime.
“I was gang-affiliated at one point and was
involved in things I didn’t want to get involved
with. It got me into serious problems,
serious fights and serious crimes that affected
me as a person.
“It got to the point where I was unhappy,
I cracked and hit the wall. This made me
think ‘I don’t want that lifestyle,’ and I pushed
myself to change. I wanted a better life.”
Taffy left college with a Level 2 diploma in
Business. He signed up to the London Youth
Support Trust (LYST) which assists young
people from deprived areas to help get them
on their feet in the business world through
mentoring, funding and providing affordable
office space. He credits much of his success
to the support of this organization.
Working hard on his business, Taffy
was awarded a £5000 grant from Southwark
Council at the age of 17 to further support
his entrepreneurial ideas. This gave him motivation
which pushed his business forward.
“I think everyone’s biggest obstacle is
themselves. Myself especially, but I overcame
and realised that if I’ve done it before then I
can overcome anything.”
Taffy aims to expand his business further
by hiring employees. “I want the printing
company to be able to run on its own. At
the moment, I’m doing a lot of things for the
business. I want to delegate responsibilities
to people to get things done so I can run the
business from the top and bring new ideas
in.”
As well as being a successful entrepreneur,
Taffy is also a life coach. He supports
and guides young people to reach their full
potential. Young people from low-income
backgrounds. Young people who, for some
reason or another, did not do well at school.
Young people in Taffy’s shoes five years ago.
“The main goal I have is helping people.
For young people, all they need is one opportunity
for them to get somewhere. I want to
be that opportunity. That’s what it’s all about,
empowering people.
“Sometimes when we want to start a
project or get into a new thing, we are afraid
because of what people may think of us, or
our circumstance or how things are at home.
When we choose to actually trust and believe
in ourselves and jump in the deep end, we
find out how far we can go. Sometimes when
we pull out our deepest fears, we are able to
see what we’re capable of.
“I’ll tell you now, I can’t swim by the way,
but I know if I was put in a situation where I
had to swim, I would learn instantly.”
As the clock’s hand hit 7pm, the Costa
manager politely told us we needed to
leave as the café was closing. At this point,
the table where we had been sitting for
the last hour was scattered with flimsy
pieces of paper. For the last thirty
minutes, Taffy had reversed the roles
and began asking me questions
about my career and every-day life.
Pen and paper to hand, he drew
me personalised diagrams, timetables
and graphs illustrating
how I can get to where I want
to be.
Even as the doors shut
on us, Taffy continued
talking passionately about
his life-coaching. Carrying
an uplifting tone, he
walked through the Peckham
streets, nodding at passers-by,
many of whom he
knew.
“I’ve actually lived my life.
I’ve never felt so sure of myself
and that’s the best feeling ever.
Knowing yourself and having
a clear conscience. I’m ready to
push boundaries and reach the
next level. I’m gonna grind so
hard!”
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5AM Magazine.indd 30 11/03/2019 13:59:29