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Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Meet the Foodies


    This event brings together food business owners who have carved out their own unique spaces and are revolutionising the vibrant culinary world. From reimagining classic beans and crafting innovative ready meals, to blending diverse cultures through vegan Caribbean cuisine, West African snacks, and Mauritian restaurant experiences.

    From navigating a saturated market to promoting change, our panellists will share the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys, offering valuable insights and practical advice.

    On the day, you can expect to:

    • hear first-hand accounts of building a food business from the ground up, including overcoming obstacles and celebrating wins
    • learn how to creatively build a loyal and growing social media following and generate revenue
    • discuss the challenges and opportunities of operating a food business in today's market, including adapting to changing trends and consumer preferences
    • explore innovative approaches to scaling and sustaining a thriving food business
    • uncover the growing importance of health and wellness within the food industry
    • see how cultural backgrounds are transformed into valuable opportunities for new customer markets
    • connect with fellow food enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and our speakers
    • enjoy a delicious product tasting from one of our featured speakers.

Speakers

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From Start-up to Household Brand (with Q&A)


Part of Start-up Day 2024

Starting a business can be a roller-coaster journey. In this session you'll find out how to build a successful and sustainable brand from your kitchen table. Martha Keith, British Library BIPC Business Ambassador and founder of the Martha Brook stationery brand, will host a fireside chat with Charlie Bigham, founder of the eponymous food brand to delve into his story of building the fastest growing grocery brand in the UK. Together they'll shed light on the grit behind the glamour of entrepreneurship and arm you with all the facts you need to decide whether starting a business is right for you. You’ll also come away with the key strategies that can help you to stay focused on creating work that you love that fits in with your life goals and aligns with your purpose.

Getting started with sustainable photography


Every business needs to evaluate its environmental impact. Although the arrival of digital photography has reduced the impact on the environment that film photography had, there is still more that can be done.

This session will take you through some of the first steps to a greener business, covering everything from reducing and repurposing waste to buying from environmentally friendly suppliers, all the while helping you to become your best photographer.

Santander - The Business of Sustainability


Sustainability is no longer just a requirement for businesses; building a business that is more sustainable for its people, its investors, and our planet presents a huge opportunity.

Rather than treat sustainability as an afterthought or as a boost to brand image, our panellists will discuss how they have infused sustainability into their core businesses model from day one and share the inexpensive methods they used to help you do the same.

The session will be moderated by Lynne Robertson – Enterprise Education Lead and Sustainability Business Partner for Santander Business Banking.

Followed by Santander key note - Susan Davis

Community as a service: a model for enhancing sustainability in business


This talk looks at the need to connect with community and other business owners during difficult times. When things became challenging, the panel had to quickly learn to lean on their communities. This helped them build a network to sustain their businesses, but also share knowledge, skills and experience with their peers.

Each of the three speakers on this panel has a compelling story about how their community helped them pivot and build resilience through a network. Find out how communities generate value and how to build your own community-as-a-service network, whether you’re just starting or looking to grow your business's activity.

How to align passion, purpose and profit when starting a business

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.

During this session, we will explore ways to identify and develop the basic skills needed to start a successful business, including passion, leadership skills, understanding your competitors, and much more. The aim of exploring these fundamentals is to give your business a firm foundation to develop, grow and thrive.

During the workshop we will discuss:
How to identify your passionHow to discover what’s purposeful and meaningful to you personallyHow to draw attention to your values, principles and mission in lifeHow to explore the real reason why you want to start a businessHow to discover what it takes to make it happenAnd finally, how to show up authentically, unapologetically and on purpose.

Michael Cashman

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