Start-ups in London Libraries, Winter

Starting up? Start here

The SiLL blog brings you the latest business news, resources and support including our first sales and finance webinars, how to build a great website and a very special guest article from local author and photographer, Caleb Azumah Nelson

Start-ups in London Libraries (SiLL) is delivered by Lewisham Library and Information Service in partnership with the British Library and nine other London boroughs.

 

New SiLL Webinars on Finance and Sales

 

The range of online SiLL workshops has been expanded to bring you two new full day sessions. Get Ready for Business: Finance covers the financial essentials for start-ups including building your own profit and loss account, improving your cash flow, the basics of accounting systems, analysing performance, sources of funding and forecasting.

 

Get Ready for Business: Sales helps you develop your elevator pitch and tell your story to customers as well as converting leads to sales, profiling your ideal customer and setting prices. You will also find out what motivates a customer to buy and how to listen to potential customers and ask the right questions.

 

 

Upcoming SiLL Workshops

 

The above info-graphic is a refresher on how the SiLL programme works. If you've already registered, you can still complete your 12 hours and go on to do more if you wish.

 

The next Lewisham SiLL workshops are:

17th Feb Day 2 Workshop: Get Ready for Business

26th Feb Marketing Masterclass part 1

1st March Marketing Masterclass part 2

2nd March Day 1 Workshop: What Next for my Business Idea?

18th March Day 2 Workshop: Get Ready for Business

 

If these dates aren't suitable you can attend the webinars for any borough. Please find the full list and booking links here.

 

To join the SiLL programme, please follow the link to find out more.

 

Introducing local success story, Caleb Azumah Nelson

Caleb Azumah Nelson is an award winning British-Ghanaian writer and photographer who grew up in Lewisham and still lives in the borough. His much anticipated debut novel Open Water is to be published in February, and has received incredible reviews from The Guardian, Vogue, Stylist and authors Benjamin Zephaniah and Candice Carty-Williams to name but a few. Caleb has written a guest article for us about growing up in Lewisham and what inspired him along the way... 

Growing up, I often found myself consumed by storytelling in its various forms. I spent a lot of time with my nose to the page of a book, encouraging my parents to make yet another visit to the local bookstore, or to one of the libraries in Lewisham (the main library was larger but Catford Library was my favourite), or asking my school to set up a small library on premises, so that others could take part in something I knew brought me joy.

I was obsessed with film too, watching VHS tapes in my early years until they no longer played. Catford Mews is now my local cinema but previously, my mother and I would take weekly trips to ABC Cinema in Catford. We were happy to rewatch films if it meant participating in this moment of collective joy: sitting amongst strangers, having your disbelief suspended for a couple of hours, while engaging in the beautiful, the entertaining, sometimes, the heartbreaking. 

Alongside these forms, there was music. I played the violin for almost ten years, starting in primary school. But I was always consumed by whatever my Mum or Dad or older cousins were listening to. My Dad was a big garage fan and I still have vivid memories of long, soulful cuts on car journeys, music spilling too loud from the speakers, loud enough so that it was something which not just heard, but felt too. In these various ways, there’s much I owe to my parents about the way I see the world. 

As a storyteller, I’ve always been drawn towards people. My earliest short stories were plotless and character driven. From a trip to my family home, in Ghana, some shaky footage in which I follow various relatives around for a period of time. When I picked up a 35mm camera at 18, with the intention of making images, I tried landscapes but always found myself returning to portraits. At first, it was the idea of capturing people but then it became about providing a space where those I was making images of could bring themselves, wholly, honestly, if only for a moment. A space where they could free. The majority of those I make images of are black people and my work attempts to make photos which centre their narratives. 

All of my work is influenced by my work with images. When I sit down to write, or I’m holding my camera, or planning shots for a film, I ask myself two questions: What is it you see? What does it make you feel? I spent much of 2019, in libraries and workspaces, working on my debut novel, OPEN WATER, but really it was the culmination of a short lifetime of work, of making images, of immersion in narrative and storytelling, in trying to find expressions for the things and people I love. The release for the novel quickly approaches but I believe these interests are not short-term, but ideas and desires which will fill me for a lifetime.

Photo of Caleb by Stuart Simpson, other images by Caleb Azumah Nelson.

You can pre-order Caleb's debut novel Open Water here, and follow his Instagram account here. And check out our 'Lewisham Voices' interview with Caleb on YouTube or Facebook.

Catch Up With Start-up Day

Start-up day featured an incredible range of business talks brought to you by the 10 London SiLL boroughs, the National Network and the British Library's Business and IP Centre. The webinars are now available to view online. Subjects include finances, crowdfunding, market trends, sales strategies, knowing your numbers, social media, making a difference, and work life balance. There are also insightful interviews with successful entrepreneurs including Julie Deane OBE of The Cambridge Satchel Company and Louisa Ziane from Toast Ale. Please follow the link for access.

 

 

How to Create an Engaging Website

 

The Lewisham and Greenwich SiLL teams collaborated with sales and marketing expert and Creative Director of Set Design, Sian Ellis-Thomas to bring you a session on creating an engaging website for Start-up Day. Sian takes you through the process from getting started, planning your customer journey and creating a sleekly-functioning website which looks great and presents your business in the best possible light. The tips can be applied to any site building platform. Please follow the link to watch the video.

 

 

International Women's Day 2021

 

Following the success of our Black History Month programme of video interviews with local entrepreneurs, we'll be bringing you an International Women's Day series in March, featuring insights from successful local business women who have completed the SiLL programme. To keep up with Lewisham SiLL on social media please follow the library accounts:

 

Facebook  Instagram  Twitter  YouTube

 

 

Business News and Support

Sign Your Business up to the Lewisham Local Card

 

The Lewisham Local card is a community scheme where local businesses provide a discount to cardholders and promote their business to a much wider audience. The aim is to get people to shop locally and give back to their communities by volunteering in order to receive their card. You also get your own free Lewisham Local Card to access discounts on professional services. Find out more here.

NX Hub Business Support and Collaboration Programme

 

Goldsmiths University introduces The NX Hub, a new business support programme delivering a series of online workshops, events and other activities to help local entrepreneurs collaborate, learn and grow ideas. The focus is on creativity and innovation to help your business or social enterprise succeed. Follow the link to find out more.

 

Successful Mums Business Training

If you are a Mum and you meet the eligibility requirements, then this fully funded course could be for you. It combines business advice with digital learning and inspirational guest speakers as  well as providing a framework for starting a business including planning, marketing strategy, gaining customers, using social media, finance, pricing and much more. Please follow the link to find out more and register your interest. 

Step-by-step Guide to Starting a Business from HMRC

 

HMRC have produced a comprehensive guide to the basics of starting a business. You can click through the different sections and read the parts which are relevant to you. The guide covers business structures, tax, record keeping, expenses and making tax digital. Access the guide here.

 

Techniques for a Positive Mindset with the BIPC's Webinar Series

 

1st February, 9-11am

The first workshop in the BIPC's Reset. Restart series will teach you simple but powerful techniques to cultivate a positive and productive mental attitude which will equip you for setbacks in your business journey. The session is also an introduction to the whole webinar series which has been designed to help you transform, future-proof and grow your business. Sign up here.

 

The Lewisham Council Business Support Newsletter

 

Stay up to date with local and national business news and opportunities brought to you by Lewisham Council. Follow the link to sign up.

 

The Latest Support if Your Business is Affected by Covid

 

Follow the link to the dedicated page on Lewisham Council's website for the latest news about local and national financial support available for businesses.

 

Brought to you by the Lewisham SiLL team

Contact us SiLL@lewisham.gov.uk   

Web Lewisham SiLL

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