British Library Logo

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Building the Black Economy


    Join our panel of experts to learn how Black entrepreneurs are building empires online by using their influence and creativity.

    You will hear from six inspiring entrepreneurs at various stages in their careers and across a range of industries, as our panel come together to discuss the considerations they took into account when building their businesses and the insights they have learnt along the way.

    Whether you are just thinking about starting a business, a business owner who wants to learn more, or perhaps you wish to establish a stronger network, you’ll leave this event feeling inspired and engaged.

    On the day, you can expect to:

    • Learn how the Black Lives Matter movement prompted the rise in Black enterprises and powered increased support for them
    • Understand the financial reality of starting a business in today’s changing market
    • Explore Black-owned businesses in theatre and the arts and the importance of representation on the stage
    • Recognise the power of the Black pound and how to convert this knowledge into assets for the Black economy
    • Learn about the importance of social media for building Black businesses.

      • Following this will be an engaging and thought-provoking Fireside Chat – a discussion on community building with Black Pound Day founder and So Solid Crew member, Swiss.

      About our panel

      • Rachael Twumasi-Corson, CEO and founder of Afrocenchix Ltd. At 19 Rachael co-founded Afrocenchix, an award-winning ethical start-up that creates safe, effective, vegan certified products for Afro & curly hair.
      • Emmanuel Asuquo, founder of The Eman Effect UK, is a renowned, financial adviser, media personality, wealth building entrepreneur and international speaker.
      • TJ Atkinson is a Property Investor, who specialises in transforming homes into beautiful, creative masterpieces. Alongside growing his portfolio, TJ supports people in his community with getting started in property.
      • Indie Gordon is Head of Program at Foundervine and founder of Halo safety app. She aims to empower today's and tomorrow's companies, ensuring they’re tech-enabled and can weather the storm of any social, economic or environmental change.
      • The panel will be moderated by Khai Shaw, co-founder of the theatre company Nuu Theatre. Khai has collaborated with the English Touring Theatre Company and the Bush Theatre.


      Fireside Chat

      • Swiss is the founder of Black Pound Day, the UK's biggest economic movement that supports Black-owned businesses. He is a cultural influencer, business leader, author, and highly acclaimed musician and member of So Solid Crew. Alongside his passion for music, Swiss founded the Black Pound Day movement to support awareness and growth of the Black businesses and economy in the UK and global diasporic communities. Recently, Swiss opened the first permanent retail store at Westfield London, Europe's biggest shopping centre, and continues to actively support hundreds of businesses across the country.
      • The chat will be moderated by Jacqueline Brown, BIPC Business Support Programming Manager, serial entrepreneur and founder of businesses Africa Fashion Guide, Wax and Wraps and M.O.R.Empire. Since 2011, Jacqueline has helped start-ups to build and launch sustainable fashion businesses from scratch with coaching, digital tools, community and connections.

Speakers

More Events

How to maintain a work/life balance as an entrepreneur


London libraries are transforming the way ideas grow into successful businesses. By partnering with ten London boroughs, we are developing a community of new and existing business owners, which is free to join and open to everyone. Whether you are just setting out, need advice on protecting your intellectual property, or simply have a brilliant idea you want to discuss, we're here to guide you. Since April 2020, we have offered all of our Start-ups in London Libraries' services online, including our core workshops and virtual one-to-ones with our borough Business Champions, many of whom will be hosting sessions during Start-up Day. To find out more about Start-ups in London Libraries and how to join our thriving business community, visit bl.uk/SiLL.

Running your own business can give you greater control over when you work and how you do things, but it’s not easy finding the right balance between work and personal commitments.

Join award-winning social entrepreneur, Dr. Yuliana Topazly, to hear about her story and learn some tips about how best to manage your work/life balance.

This session is particularly beneficial for parents with start-up businesses who are currently balancing responsibilities in multiple arenas during these challenging times.

Getting started with the right mentor

Starting your new business can feel lonely; but help is out there.

Help in finding a mentor is one of the most common queries we get at the Business & IP Centre, but how can you optimise your time with a mentor? How would you make sure you’re asking the right questions? And how do you know who you can trust?

In this session, advisors from the National Business Support Helpline will outline some of the funded schemes and initiatives which could give you the help you need right now and ensure you’re getting the right mentorship for you.

This session will help you:

determine exactly what knowledge and advice you need from a mentorlearn tips and techniques for how to succinctly convey your questions and get the most from your mentor.

We’ll also hear from founder of fashion brand The Cambridge Satchel Company, Julie Deane OBE, about the times she’s sought out help and how as a result, it’s changed the direction of her business.

At the end of this session, following both Julie’s and National Business Support Helpline’s advice, you’ll feel confident in knowing how to use external advisors to move your start-up forward.

Lunch and learn – swap skills for starting-up


Do you ever find it hard to ask for help? What if you could swap something you were good at in exchange for support in the subject you need it in most.

Just like swapping pre-loved clothes and goods, come along to swap and share your experiences and expertise. Set up in the early weeks of the initial lockdown last year, local entrepreneurs and friends, Rachel Hayward and Lee Marples, formed a not-for-profit to revive the fun and informality from the seventies show, The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop. The idea is simple – register online and get to meet other people looking to progress and learn in a peer-to-peer community.

From its beginnings in Derby, then to Nottingham and Leicester, the digital marketplace is now UK-wide and sees hundreds of new swaps posted monthly.

You might be looking for someone to help set up a new Instagram account for you and can offer up a monthly cake selection box from your baking business in return? Or even swap copy-writing for accounting?

Join us for this special, interactive session over lunchtime where we invite you to listen in and consider how to work with, and help, one another.

We’re looking to seal some deals and build up your support network.

How to build an engaging website

London libraries are transforming the way ideas grow into successful businesses. By partnering with ten London boroughs, we are developing a community of new and existing business owners, which is free to join and open to everyone. Whether you are just setting out, need advice on protecting your intellectual property, or simply have a brilliant idea you want to discuss, we're here to guide you. Since April 2020, we have offered all of our Start-ups in London Libraries' services online, including our core workshops and virtual one-to-ones with our borough Business Champions, many of whom will be hosting sessions during Start-up Day. To find out more about Start-ups in London Libraries and how to join our thriving business community, visit bl.uk/SiLL.

A website is a fundamental part of starting your business. And in this increasingly digital world, your website is more and more your store front, it has to reflect your brand.

This event is for individuals who would like to learn how to build a website for their business using a well-known website builder. You will learn where to start when building a website, how to plan your customer journey and how to fulfil the accessibility requirements. As well as creating a sleekly-functioning website, we will also share tips on how to make it look good.

Afterwards, there will be a discussion and Q&A led by Loretta Awuah (Greenwich Start-ups in London Libraries’ SME Champion) and Mark Berbeck (Lewisham Start-ups in London Libraries’ SME Champion) around other ways to build your business’ online presence, such as social media platforms, SEO, e-mail marketing, influencer marketing etc.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: High street heroes


High streets are the beating heart of our local communities. Having a presence on the high street gives businesses a unique opportunity to connect with their customers, and the responsibility to meet their needs as these change and evolve. What additional service could you offer to those who interact with your brand in person? What extra impact could you generate by sharing your spaces with neighbours and fellow makers?

We have brought together a panel of three loved and respected local businesses, our high street heroes. Their founders will share practical tips through their inspiring stories and tell us more about their individual journeys.

Mary Otumahana, award-winning musician and founder of The RecordShop; a grassroots independent organisation based in Wood Green, that focuses on making an impact with a multipurpose music space located on the high street. By providing access to a recording studio and music career training, Mary is leading a mission to educate, inform and inspire inner-city youths to connect to their community through music.Hellen Stirling-Baker, founder of children’s store, Small Stuff, has led her business from an experimental pop-up shop to a successful, eco-friendly bricks and clicks model at the heart of her high street in Crookes, Sheffield. A perfect example that being a small shop doesn’t mean you can’t have big values; Hellen is a local leader who champions ethical suppliers and supports other retailers, often sharing her shop for community-building events. Hellen is the deserved winner of this year’s High Street Hero for the Small Awards 2022.Carolynn Bain, founder of Afori Books, the first Black-owned bookshop in Brighton. Carolynn almost did the opposite of most during the pandemic; inspired to stock only Black authors in response to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, she started her business as an online shop. Demand was so high however, that Afrori Books was approached to open a physical bookshop in Lighthouse, a local Arts-based charity, with fit-out costs successfully crowdfunded.

We are running this event with the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) who are also champions of high street businesses and are here to help, all year round.

Michael Cashman

Speaker Position

Feedback

Ask Question