news Archive 11/2009

It’s Official! Christmas Open Studios at The Chocolate Factory N16 is 28th-29th November. One weekend only!
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

The Chocolate Factory
Farleigh Place
Stoke Newington
N16 7SX

020 7503 5839

It’s Open Studios time again!

Artists and designer makers at the Chocolate Factory N16 will be exhibiting and selling their work.

Discovery time!
Come and browse…..come and buy!
Cash and Cheques only please.

As the regional inward investment agency for the London Thames Gateway region, listening to the views and opinions of all types of companies and industries is a key part of Gateway to London’s work.

The London Thames Gateway region incorporates the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, City of London, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets.

The Gateway to London Business Survey has quickly established itself as an important way of finding out what businesses in the area think about London Thames Gateway and their views on the priorities for the people responsible for developing the region’s potential as an unrivalled location for businesses.

The survey will only take a few minutes to fill in and the information that you give will be treated in strictest confidence.

This survey is your chance to influence how London Thames Gateway develops in the future.

Have your say and complete the survey here

A full day workshop on 2 December 2009 Organised by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations:

Traded products and services are important sources of income for many voluntary organisations.  Understanding and harnessing the potential of trading can help you achieve your mission, meet the needs of beneficiaries and generate new income streams.

This course is for voluntary and community organisations that have a trading idea and want to take it to the next level.  It is designed for managers, staff, trustees and volunteers who want to develop sustainable income from enterprise activities.  If that sounds like you then this is the right course!

For full details of times, venue and costs please go to www.ncvo-vol.org.uk
The course has been designed by NCVO’s Sustainable Funding Project together with the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at CASS Business School, City University London.

You can find the latest 2012 business opportunities listed below:

Among the many varied opportunities this week, West Ham United are looking for a marquee supplier, LOCOG are looking for a company to supply and install 200 plus workstations for an integration lab and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is looking for a suitably qualified contractor to prepare and serve high quality hot meals to between 150 and 170 pupils and staff with the potential of 200 per day.

Lake a look through - there could be something for you.

If you have not already registered on CompeteFor, remember any business can register. It’s easy, free of charge, and only needs to be done once to access thousands of contract opportunities. Click here for a link to the site.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH HACKNEY ENTERPRISE NETWORK

The gateway to enterprise support in Hackney - Hackney Enterprise Network - is coming soon. This will be THE local place for:-

  * Networking Events

  * Business Skills Workshops

  * Advice on Enterprise Growth

  * Help to explore and access New Markets

  * Loans and small grants

  * Business turn-around advice (for businesses affected by the recession)

  * The latest information on government support for Enterprise

  * More services and benefits under development

Want to know more?

Register your interest in joining online here, and we will contact you.

Or, call the hotline on 020 7241 8087, email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or call in at HBV Enterprise Centre. They’re waiting to hear from you!

A FREE package of expert led workshops to help your social enterprise win more contracts
Part 1–  Wednesday 2nd December – 10am-16:30pm The Novas Centre, Southwark
Part 2 – Wednesday 9th December   – 10am-16:30pm The Novas Centre

With the economy struggling and public spending being reduced, winning contracts is becoming even more competitive. If you are thinking of bidding for private sector contracts, then this FREE training package will provide you with essential support and information.
These sessions are being organised by Social Enterprise London and are open to all social enterprises, not just SEL members.

Session 1
The Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, 73-81 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 0NQ

Session one delves into the meaning of tendering, aiming to break down the barriers to bidding. Topics include:
• an overview of the tendering process
• the skills you will need to manage the process
• information on key portals such as Supply2Gov and CompleteFor
• the documents and policies you should have in place before bidding
• writing a tailored environmental policy for your organisation
• how you can use your resources more effective and thereby cut costs and turn green into gold!
• a summary of the ongoing support we can offer you in successfully winning contracts
Session 2
The Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, 73-81 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 0NQ

Part 2 develops on the themes from the first session, helping you think about the process of bidding in relation to your business.
Topics include:
• focussing on your budgets, showing you how to present them coherently in tenders and bid documents.
• how to write a tailored health and safety policy for your organisation
• the importance of quality assurance in your work practices and specifically helping you write a quality policy
• enabling you to demonstrate your commitment to equality and diversity by ensuring your policy complies with current legislation.
When you have completed part 2, we can offer you a 1-to-1 session with a member of SEL’s business support team where we will look at your tender document prior to submission and give you some valuable feedback.

To register use the booking form here, (you can also register for SEL membership here) or if you have any queries then please call Angela Heap on 020 7022 1926, or email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 

Does your organisation need extra business support?
CAN Engage matches the skills of corporate executives with the business needs of third sector organisations.
Projects can range from between three to six months on topics like:

• New product development
• Pricing strategies
• Logistics review / quality assurance
• Customer segmentation & Competitor analysis
• Marketing and Sales planning

The project support is free to third sector organisations but participants must commit to providing feedback and taking part in events with CAN and their corporate partners.

Is your organisation?

•      Business-like
•      Ambitious for growth
•      Trading or decreasing grant dependence
•      Have a clear social or environmental mission
•      Open to challenge and change
•      Has finite business project

If you are interested, please provide CAN with more information about your organisation and your business needs by completing this online form.

CAN Engage only works with the most talented corporate teams to bring real business benefit to third sector organisations.

Previous charities and social enterprises who have received business project support say:

“The project really worked for us. The team was a breath of fresh air. They came here with objectivity.”
Peter Holbrook, CEO Sunlight CIC

“The team was enthusiastic, consistent and confident. Their work is really valuable to us and we have learnt to be more business-like.”
Kathryn Llewellyn, International Director, Pump Aid

CAN Engage is run by the social enterprise CAN. Our mission is to help third sector organisations scale up and maximise their social impact. For more information visit www.can-online.org.uk

Do you have a big idea that could help you make your mark and change the lives of thousands?

The One Big Idea competition is your chance to design the next One product. The competition will focus on the 3Ps – People, Planet and Profit, and will provide a practical opportunity for teachers and learners to be engaged in social enterprise activity.

Young people will be asked to identify a problem in Malawi using resources provided and come up with a product that can be developed and sold. The winning idea will be produced and sold in selected Co-operative stores and 100% of Global Ethics’ profits from its sale will be donated to helping those most at need in Malawi.

The One Big Idea judges include BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den Duncan Bannatyne and Doug Richard; Peter Marks Group Chief Executive of The Co-operative; award winning social entrepreneur Duncan Goose, founder of One Water and Lindsey McMurray Head of Equity Finance Royal Bank of Scotland.

You can start thinking now! The competition will be launched on Social Enterprise Day (19 November) and you are encouraged to run a launch activity in your school or college to celebrate.
The deadline for entries is 12th February 2010.

Anyone with a good idea can enter and there are also three categories for schools and colleges:

  * Primary School -  11 or under
  * Secondary School - 19 years or under
  * Further Education Colleges - 19 years or under
  * Non-education groups such youth clubs/organisations, scouts - 19 years or under
  * Anyone over 19 years old e.g. individuals, companies, other organisations

Register your interest and find out more please visit www.onebigidea.org.uk

Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 - 22 November 2009) has arrived, along with a host of interesting research and policy news. More information about the week, and the thousands of events taking place in the UK, can be found at www.gew.org.uk

There you will also find details of a competition to win free office space for a year. If you’re fed up of working from the kitchen table or finding it hard to grow your business from home then take control today by entering our competition to win free office space for a whole year in one of four regional locations; Birmingham, Bristol, London and Manchester.
Complete the online application form and tell Enterprise UK how having office space or virtual office space will help grow your business. It’s that simple.

Time is running out for ethical entrepreneurs to prove they put sustainability on an equal footing to making a profit – and win a £5,000 prize package in the process.

Entries to this year’s Ethical Business Advantage Awards have to be made by 11 December.

The competition is sponsored by brand consultants Creatively Minded Design and run as part of the Pledging For Change initiative - a community interest company looking to promote sustainable business practices.

One lucky winner will receive bespoke development support worth £5,000 to help their firm grow and succeed. The prize includes specialist advice in areas such as marketing, website development, rebranding and creating a clear business message.

The awards are open to entries from owners of businesses that:

  * Operate on an ethical or sustainable basis.
  * Are members of the Pledging For Change community (this is free for businesses that are not yet registered).
  * Are members of the Pledging For Change Business Image Advantage Group.

The £5,000 prize package will be given to the business that can show they will benefit the most and provide the most ethical product or service. In addition, the entrant’s drive, ambition and enthusiasm will be taken into account.

Urging ethical entrepreneurs to enter before the 11 December deadline, Jay Loftus, project director at awards sponsors Creatively Minded Design, said:

“I will ensure that our team of business image experts helps you to achieve the results you want. We will give you the individual attention and development solutions that will be of most benefit to help you achieve your business goals.”

For further information about the Ethical Business Advantage Award and to enter online, visit the Pledging for Change website

If you are looking to build your customer base, this event may be for you.
In March next year the City of London will be holding a “Meet the Buyers” event featuring more than 30 City businesses who are actively seeking new sources of supply. The procurement teams attending will be there solely to meet new and innovative suppliers – so potentially saving you days of research, frustrating cold calling and wasted marketing budget.

Meet the Buyers is a guaranteed foot in the door. Before confirming your booking we will send you a buyers catalogue which will highlight all attending buyers and specifically what they are interested in purchasing. From this list you can highlight which buyers are interested in your business sector and request meetings with them. Register your interest now as spaces really are limited.

Thanks to the significant support from The City of London Corporation, the price to attend for “City fringe” organisations which includes businesses based in Hackney, has been reduced from £350 to just £50+VAT. This charge is to cover the cost of the event and will guarantee, provided you are relevant to the buyers requirements, no less than six meetings with buyers of your choice, with ample chance to make more appointments on the day of the event.

Places are limited so to register your interest please email Shiraz - (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) stating “City of London Meet the Buyers” in the subject field. You will receive monthly updates on how the event is progressing and finally a buyers catalogue where you can list which buyers you’d like to meet the event.

If you would like to speak about the event in more detail please call Shiraz on 020 7700 0008.