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Getting started with your side hustle

    Going in to business might feel like a leap into the unknown, but with a side hustle you can minimise the risk.

    Earning through a side hustle helps you earn extra an income while keeping paid employment and helps to maintain the cash flow as the new business establishes itself. With digital communities and marketplaces helping to fast track the route to market and allowing entrepreneurs to tap into a wider breadth of customers than ever before, more and more people are choosing to start side hustles, and seeing them grow.

    Vicki Broadbent has grown her blog, The Honest Mum, from a hobby and passion to her full-time commercial income. She is also the author of Mum Boss, which examines the opportunities you can unearth by unlocking spare time, often, while at home with a family.

    This session will explore the skills and support you will need to put your plans into action after Start-up Day, as well as practical tips on keeping up a side hustle while working the 9 to 5. If you have entrepreneurial ambition and a skill that can be monetised, join us and Vicki to hear about whether a side hustle start-up is the right option for you.

Speakers

Vicki Broadbent

Founder of Honest Mum

Lynne Robertson

Enterprise Education Lead and Sustainability Business Partner for Santander Business Banking

More Events

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.

Santander's Starting up on a shoestring

Join Santander to find out how to get your business off the ground when money is limited.

Starting a business is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do, and when faced with an endless to-do list, working out how to cover the cost of everything can feel overwhelming. But, by thinking differently about your start-up, you’ll discover there are lots of ways you can make your budget stretch further than you might think. From reaching your target market to managing cashflow, using digital tools to focusing your market research, there are ways to get your ideas off the ground on a shoestring.
In the session you'll be given some practical ideas to ensure you’re starting your business in as smart a way as possible. You’ll be guided by Andy Pendleton, one of Santander’s Business Banking Managers, who works with hundreds of businesses just like yours each year.

The Beat Goes On: Black Voices in the British Music Industry


In celebration of the British Library’s “Beyond the Bassline” exhibition, we’ve assembled some ground-breaking Black entrepreneurs who’ve transformed the British music industry to share the secrets of their success, including the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys.

At £2.5 billion, the UK is home to Europe's most valuable digital music economy (Statista, 2021, 2023). However, despite the undeniable contribution of Black music artists and entrepreneurs to these figures, 2021’s Black Lives in Music report found that among Black music professionals, 73% experienced direct or indirect racism and noted disparities in respondent’s earnings and ability to gain music funding.

As part of our Inspiring Entrepreneurs series, this event provides a unique chance to hear our panel discuss the challenges and realities of the industry and share their experiences leveraging their creative talent to drive positive change for other artists and innovators. So if you’re thinking about starting a business, or already running one, join us to gain insight into their journey – or simply be inspired!

On the day, you can expect to:

Examine how entrepreneurship has evolved in the music industry, focusing on the journey of Black music in Britain and how this has been impacted by trends and other cultural shiftsLearn how music artists and creatives are transforming wider popular culture and redefining BlacknessAnalyse diverse business models utilized in the industryDiscover new opportunities and potential pitfallsPut your specific questions to our expert panel.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Disruptors and Influencers


The world is ever-changing and is evolving especially in the UK, culturally, economically and politically. This inspiring event brings a ‘red table’ style discussion with change-makers, to discuss how they are not only shifting the image of women in business, but are also responding to change and breaking barriers against the odds in a post-pandemic world.

Topics of discussion will include:

The reality of starting a business and getting into entrepreneurship as a woman todayThe ways in which women are rising in recovery within a post-pandemic worldThe opportunities our speakers have found to break barriers, especially receiving funding as a woman, visibility in the press and being recognised by key stakeholders.The International Women’s Day 2023 of Embrace Equity, and how we can best embrace and encourage diversity and inclusion in business for colleagues and peers from marginalised communities.
Guests will hear insights into how to emerge from the unique difficulties of the past few years and still have your business remain in good shape even with increased costs and challenges.

How to put sustainability at the heart of your business


Join Ethstat Ethical Stationery, a CIC (Community Interest Cooperative), to hear how their values as a social enterprise have allowed them to put sustainability at the heart of everything they do. 100% of their profit is given away to social and environmental causes, the only social enterprise in the sector to do so.

By buying from Esthat, customers become members, and have a say in which causes are supported. Find out how they’ve managed to bring out the best in people and planet through their business, one pen at a time.

Michael Cashman

Speaker Position

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