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The event will take place across the borough in March 2019 and will feature more than 30 individual, mainly free events, designed to help local SMEs start or grow their business  It will be a month long from next year, attracting more businesses and providing more opportunities for startups and existing businesses.
Wandsworth Enterprise Month will feature staple events such as Start-up Wandsworth, Women’s Enterprise Day, Youth Enterprise and one-to-one advice clinics. Food enterprise, digital marketing, PR, finance, branding, mentoring and social media will also feature during the month. The programme will launch in November. Wandsworth Chamber blog will keep you posted on developments with this exciting and expanded event. Local businesses are being encouraged to celebrate the month of enterprise in the borough by hosting their own business event, or to create a special offer of their services/product for Wandsworth businesses, during the month of March. For further information on sponsorship and branding opportunities, and how your business can be involved in Wandsworth Enterprise Month contact Jenni Asiama on 020 8871 7807 or email open4business@wandsworth.gov.uk. See information from last year’s excellent event: http://wandsworthenterpriseweek.biz/ ** Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk
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Powerful speakers show that dyslexia can be a gift not a problem  The annual Aspire2inspire Dyslexia (A2i) evening is always worth waiting for. Wandsworth saw a remarkable line-up of inspirational dyslexic people who showed how being bullied or called “stupid” in school was not going to stop them achieving their ambitions. Elizabeth Kwarteng-Amaning, the founder and CEO of the non-profit organisation, said “Welcome to our third year of inspirational dyslexic speakers who will share their stories, and how their struggles resulted in inspiration. Some of these speakers changed my life completely.”
Downstairs at Caius House in SW11 there was an exhibition of organisations and equipment vendors who help dyslexics and people with other challenges. The team behind Irlen glasses – which assist people who have reading problems due to imperfect colour vision, and the C-pen which scans and reads information, were there. Tonisha Tagoe, a dyslexic lecturer, introduced the event, with the first speaker being Margaret Rooke, an author who is not dyslexic but has written several acclaimed books about dyslexia and has a dyslexic daughter: Creative, Successful, Dyslexic, interviewed various successful dyslexics; and the wryly-named Dyslexia is My Superpower (Most of the Time) takes a positive view of dyslexia in children and adults. Margaret advises “Focus on your strengths.” The next speaker was Jasmine “Jazzy” Hearts, a 13 year old dyslexic, bullied at school, who has become a speaker and ambassador for dyslexia. Many people in the audience identified with her struggles as schools can be very cruel places to anyone who seems a bit “different”. She uses her gift for speaking to help other people now. Councillor Ian Lewer, the Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth Council, who came out publicly as dyslexic at last year’s event, said he was lucky enough to be diagnosed early and got special schooling, and extra time in exams which enabled him to start on a successful career. After a food break the second session started with a non-dyslexic, Jannette Morgan, who supports people with dyslexia, who amazed the attendees by giving her speech in poetry. It was hard for anyone to follow that. Pennie Aston, the Founder of GroOops dyslexia charity and Gaby Holford a nutritionist and healer gave presentations on different aspects of having a positive lifestyle. Gershom J. Allen is a very forceful speaker who says “It is all about accepting who you are, before you can become” (that is, who you want to be). His journey took him from being beaten at school in Montserrat for not being able to read, to working his way up in a factory from sweeping the floor to supervisor. “Every person with dyslexia has a gift. There are special people that are meant to do great things.” He became a coach, and a motivational speaker, like his heroes such as Tony Robbins. Many of the speakers were quite candid about their struggles and the psychological pain of undiagnosed dyslexia, although it does seem that schools are getting better at spotting this early on and getting help to those who need it. Overall it showed that many dyslexics find a different path in life – using their artistic, verbal, intuitive or empathic skills to benefit themselves and wider society, and that dyslexia can be a “gift” rather than a handicap. www.a2idyslexia.org.uk Photo caption: Speakers at the event: (L-R) Tonisha Tagoe, Gershom J. Allen, Gaby Holford, Pennie Aston, Jannette Morgan; photo credit Julian Jackson Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk Wandsworth Oasis are holding a fashion event at their Clapham Old Town shop on Saturday 1st September 2018  Style Me in Seconds was created by the Charity Retail Association, and is an event aimed at creating a positive image of charity shops as fun and interesting places to shop for the younger generation.
Local charity Wandsworth Oasis, who support people living with HIV, are holding their version of a “Style Me in Seconds” event on Saturday 1st September from 12pm-5pm at their shop in the heart of Clapham Old Town. Entry is free. This is a unique way to have fun, create a new look, and help a charity at the same time. If you fancy being styled with a look of your choice then email alex@wandsworthoasis.org.uk with your name, age, contact details, desired time of appointment, type of look you wish to be styled in and your clothes and shoe size. Style Me in Seconds Saturday 1st September 2018 From 12:00 to 17:00 Venue: Wandsworth Oasis, 45 Old Town, Clapham, SW4 0JL “Style Me in Seconds" is a brand of the Charity Retail Association. Website: https://www.wandsworthoasis.org.uk/Event/style-me-in-seconds-at-wandsworth-oasis-clapham-old-town *** Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk Kingston, Merton and Wandsworth Chambers of Commerce joined together to host a summer networking event at the magnificent Warren House conference centre  For the first time three nearby Chambers: Kingston, Merton and Wandsworth jointly held an event together, at the 19th Century Grade II Listed Building Warren House, now turned into a quite beautiful conference centre, which made a lovely backdrop to the talk by Sundeep Sangha, Head of Economic Development at Heathrow Airport, about the progress and planning for Heathrow expansion, a topic of great interest to West London businesses.
Many members from all three chambers mingled, networked and drank wine and ate scrumptious food provided by Warren House. John Merriman, Chair of Merton Chamber opened proceedings. One of his insights was that “If the Chamber can be honest with each other and say, ‘this is what I am struggling with’, or ‘this is what I would like to celebrate’, then the future of Chambers is very good indeed.” Steve Pinto, CEO Wandsworth Chamber, estimated that London Local Chambers of Commerce represented over 25,000 businesses, which made them a powerful voice, and lobbying capability. “I always say to our members, treat it as corporate hospitality. Bring some of your businesses to an event, because you are showing them opportunities and they will be indebted to you.” President of Kingston, Forbes Low, told an anecdote about President Kennedy meeting a janitor at Cape Canaveral Space Centre in 1962. JFK asked him, “What are you doing?” The reply was, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” Forbes emphasised that this story showed teamwork was at the core of most things we do. His golden rules for Chamber Membership are: “Ask for help, we all need someone to give us a hand at times, Two tap into our social network, getting in front of people is better than posting on social media.” Quoting American author Zig Zagler (yes, that’s his real name), “If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.’ Finally, use group power, band together with a group of people to achieve your goals quicker than on your own.” Miguel Abellan van Kan, General Manager of Warren House, explained that the centre was a “Hidden gem,” that not so many people knew about. The building is available for all sizes of conference, from the small to the large and also caters for corporate and private social events, including weddings. Jerry Irving, CEO of Kingston Chamber, compèred the event with wit and panache. The main speaker was Sundeep Sangha, who despite struggling with a sore throat, managed to compress the main issues and future developments coming for Heathrow and the surrounding area into a concise briefing. Heathrow is one of the five most major airports around the world. It has a programme of outreach to schools and the community and is also open to local businesses and is working with apprentices. Sundeep outlined the Heathrow Sustainability plan which includes trying to ensure that people coming to the airport use an enhanced public transport system, that contractors are as green as they can be with various KPIs to be implemented, and consulting with the people and businesses located around the airport. Noise is one of the major isssues, she said, “We have a 10 point action plan to make the airport quieter.” They have a league table of airlines that are ranked on their noise performance. There were some points of the plans which are still under review so Sundeep was not able to be categorical about some issues. She did say that there would be no disruption to the M25 as the new runway was built, if the plan for a tunnel under the runway goes ahead: “The traffic flow would be switched over at night so there would be no interruption.” Asked about Brexit, she said that although that was a concern for airlines, the airport itself, as a major item of UK infrastructure, they expect it would not be greatly affected by it. Jerry Irving summed up, “Networking is not about selling, it’s about building relationships, about building understanding between groups of people, so they can help each other. We are a very powerful group in terms of business we do, and development we can achieve. It is imperative that the business community has an active voice in what happens in their areas, we have to collectively come together and speak as one voice, so we can influence everyone from local authorities up to national government. SMEs are key drivers of local economies, I feel. We need to be supported and cherished.” https://www.kingstonchamber.co.uk/ https://mertonchamber.co.uk/ https://www.wandsworthchamber.org/ Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk Once a month Wandsworth businesspeople get together in the Metro Bank in Clapham Junction to meet, network, socialise and exchange information With the combination of football, Wimbledon, and of course sunshine, the Metro Monday turnout was unusually low this week.  However that did meant that people were able to have long conversations and discussions, about tennis and the World Cup, as well as business. Various different local businesses participated including Banham’s Alarms, South West London TV, KSBC technology relocation, and various others. Steve Pinto, CEO of Wandsworth Chamber, delivered a short talk about the possibilities opening up because of the move of the US embassy to the area. He hoped that Chamber members would have an opportunity to visit the embassy in the near future. The Chamber wants to open up the embassy supply chain to local businesses. He showed the latest edition of Business Connexions – the Chamber magazine. “It’s a good idea when networking to invite some of the businesses you work with to come along, and make new contacts. Then you are all talking about each other.” Steve then talked about “Supporting Schools for the Lionheart Challenge,” on Wednesday 11th July. 11AM till 1PM St John Bosco College Parkham Street Battersea London SW11 3DQ The LionHeart Challenge, is a hands-on, demanding, exciting entrepreneurial business experience for pupils aged 14-16. The children are tasked to build a team out with their normal friendship or form groups and develop a viable commercial idea for an achievable product or project. Steve continued, “The Challenge is to get whole year groups schools working on community based projects. One of the ideas was: how do we help homeless people. The children put together boxes of what homeless people might need.” Businesses are invited to attend St John Bosco College from 11AM till 1PM 11th July to see the LionHeart Challenge in operation, to ask questions and to find out more about how they can become involved. Steve says, “The whole idea is to take them over what businesses go through: come up with a concept, involves team work, getting everyone involved, developing a business and marketing plan, with a financial case for it. Then present it to the judges, teachers and fellow pupils.” Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/supporting-schools-for-the-lionheart-challenge-tickets-47413126939 http://www.wandsworthchamber.org * Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk iPhone Film Making Masterclass for SMEs brings businesses and students together to learn low-cost ways of promoting yourselves using a smartphone.  On 24th May expert videomaker Peter Roach of Visual Monkeys came to enlighten Wandsworth Young Chamber members about video film-making using your smartphone. Surprisingly, he showed video that proved it was possible to get professional standard results using the tools available within the phone or free downloadable apps.
Steve Pinto, CEO of Wandsworth Chamber, introduced the event at the University of Roehampton, struggling on despite bouts of coughing from hay fever – he told the packed audience that success comes through “Dispelling fear factors and barriers.” This was the third event to bring Young Chamber members together with businesspeople to help them network and understand the world of business. Peter has had a long and distinguished career as a newsgatherer for BBC, Sky News, Channel 5 and corporate videos. He uses DSLRs and high-quality video cameras, but praises the smartphone for its simplicity. He says, “You can use one where you don’t want to attract attention, or let the subject know you are filming them.” He advised people to use their smartphone in Airplane mode – so the filming is not interrupted by texts or phone calls. Most of the expensive accessories you can get for a smartphone are not worth investing in, although he did show a small tripod he “got in Poundland for a quid.” which seems fantastic value. If there were two takeaways from this evening it would be get the sound right – bad sound is much more unappealing to the audience that wonky visuals; and take gaffer tape with you. It is easy to “Gaff” a smartphone to any available surface – or even a bicycle – to get interesting shots. Peter showed how to create a short story film using imaginative shooting of a bicycle accident, which flows together and is interesting visually. For editing, it is best to use a laptop or PC rather than your smartphone, because the screen is bigger. There are various editing apps which are free or at most £15, which can help you produce a good quality end result. It was enlightening how much technology is available at low cost or free for the smartphone. Peter even demonstrated a teleprompter app, so you could tape two smartphones together on your eyeline – one to scroll the script as you read it, one to record, so you would have your own virtual TV studio. Peter answered questions from the audience as he went along, making the session quite interactive. The event ended with some absolutely delicious canapes, and a networking session between attendees. www.visualmonkeys.com Written by Julian Jackson - Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk Wandsworth Council runs this event in July, with information on carers, local arts and culture, housing options and IT. Advice on finance, personal budgets and keeping healthy, fit and active.  The fair, which takes place on 3rd July at Wandsworth Civic Suite, will feature more than 30 stalls, will be interactive and informative with information on carers, local arts and culture, housing options and IT. Advice on finance, personal budgets and keeping healthy, fit and active will also be available and the day will give older residents the opportunity to socialise and have a free lunch.
The organisers of the event are planning to set up a pop up café offering snacks including cakes, hot drinks and savoury items and are looking for donations from local food businesses. Donors will receive publicity on our website (400,000 monthly visitors) and on social media pages with a combined following of 225k followers. If you are interested in donating to this event please contact Laura Stevenson on 020 8487 5388. Where and when Date: 3 July 2018 Time: 10.30am to 4pm Location: Civic Suite, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/100009/leisure_and_culture/2324/brighter_living_fair_2018 Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com www.brightgreenpr.co.uk www.bitcoin-consultancy.co.uk Enjoy lots of foodie events for all the family  London Seafood Festival arrives at Battersea Power Station this summer, offering an array of events including oyster shucking classes, chef collaborations and a selection of different pop-ups suitable for all the family.
The five-day-long festival will be taking place on the banks of the River Thames at Circus West Village, the first chapter in the regeneration of Battersea Power Station, which is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new food and drink destinations in London. Restaurants will be taking part and offering special menus, chef collaborations, ticketed dinners and seafood masterclasses from some of the leading seafood specialists in London throughout the festival, which takes place from Wednesday 20th to Sunday 24th June. There will also be plenty on offer for the little urchins, with mermaids on site, a giant bubble maker and workshops for the children to make shell necklaces and decorate biscuits. During the festival, The Luna Cinema will have an outside screen offering families a whale of a time with an array of sea related films next to The Thames. A special sing-a-long edition of “The Little Mermaid” will also feature as part of the line-up. Helen Carr, Leasing Director, F&B and Leisure at Battersea Power Station, said: “I cannot think of a better place to hold a seafood festival in London than at Battersea Power Station beside The Thames. With the growing number of restaurants, shops, cafes, bars and businesses opening at Circus West Village, the festival is yet another reason this area is quickly becoming one of London’s most exciting new destinations.” https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk Julian Jackson is Wandsworth Chamber’s blogger, whose interests encompass technology, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the environment, as well as photography and film. His portfolio is here: https://julianj.journoportfolio.com Our own arts festival kicks off with everything from magic to performance  It’s not all business at Wandsworth Chamber – we like to have fun too! The Wandsworth Arts Fringe is an annual two-week arts and culture festival, 4th to 20th May – over 170 events across 64 sites. All types of art-forms play out all across the borough. Now in its 9th year, the event organisers expect 17,000 people to engage with the Fringe’s programme, consisting of both free and ticketed events.
The Performances and Artists The programme covers everything from circuses, music to literary events, children’s shows, and a Big Art Picnic. There are too many to list individually but they are here on the website:www.wandsworthfringe.com. If you book five or more events at one time there is a discount. There is even a dance performance event (shown above) which, in collaboration with a live stream, video brings you to another city while you help to landscape Wandsworth Common railway station. Follow the dancers across the platforms to explore how the daily routines of commuters can be turned into a sequence of movement. Experience the transformation of an everyday space which you don’t normally pay attention to as it becomes a stage for artists, which certainly sounds innovative, and different to what you normally experience on a statio platform! The festival is sponsored by Wandsworth Council and a whole compendium of local and national organisations, including the Arts Council, Southside, and Time and Leisure Magazine. Wandsworth Arts Fringe 4th to 20th May Venues: all over the borough https://www.wandsworthfringe.com/ Mark your diaries for the 5th-10th March when the borough boosts business Wandsworth Enterprise Week 2018 will feature unmissable events such as Start up Wandsworth, Women’s Enterprise Day, Food Enterprise, Youth Enterprise, one-to-one advice clinics, the Business Forum and more.  “Wandsworth Enterprise Week provides a range of free support, advice and events to local businesses to help them flourish, develop and expand,” says Cllr Ravi Govindia, Leader of Wandsworth Council The fifth Wandsworth Enterprise Week takes place on 5-10th March 2018. The event aims to foster enterprise in Wandsworth, with a different theme each day. Visitors can take advantage of practical workshops, one-to-one advice sessions, inspiring seminars, panel discussions, motivational talks with leading entrepreneurs, and business guest speakers. Topics covered include: digital marketing, social enterprise, retail, women’s enterprise and food enterprise and the week kicks off with a series of events aimed at start-ups and those looking to grow their existing business. Most events are free, but numbers are limited so must be booked in advance and preferential treatment will be given to Wandsworth businesses and residents. To find out how your business can get involved with Wandsworth Enterprise Week contact Jenni Asiama jasiama@wandsworth.gov.uk. Wandsworth Cares About Our Borough's Businesses Wandsworth Enterprise Week is organised by Wandsworth Council's Economic Development Office (EDO), and fully supported by Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's CEO Steve Pinto will be compering the major event of the week: Wandsworth Business Forum, Thursday 8th March at the Clapham Grand. The EDO EDO works with partners including Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce (WCC), Town Centre Partnerships, the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership and other business organisations in the borough. Highlights of the Week 7th March: Womens' Enterprise Day, at Central London Golf Centre to coincide with International Womens' Day. A fascinating day of informative talks and motivational workshops to step up your game. Wandsworth Chamber Apprenticeship Breakfast: find out how apprenticeships can benefit your business whatever size your company is. Banham Academy 8th March Wandsworth Business Forum, Clapham Grand 9th March Creative Enterprise Day: market and pitch your businesses 10th March Young Enterprise Trade Fair: supporting young entrepreneurs at Southside. See the full programme here: http://wandsworthenterpriseweek.biz Steve Pinto of Wandsworth Chamber says, “We are supporting business enterprises, large and small and and fostering Wandsworth’s reputation as a business-friendly borough.” He continues, “Last year we launched Wandsworth Young Chamber, a new part of Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce, focusing on the business interests of Wandsworth's younger generation as they leave schools, colleges and universities, to help them move successfully into the world of business.” Wandsworth Council's Economic Development Office For an informal discussion about your business needs, please call 020 8871 6884 or email edo@wandsworth.gov.uk. Their Open4business e-newsletter provides you with regular updates and useful information to help your business succeed and thrive in Wandsworth. Sign up on their website. http://wandsworthenterpriseweek.biz Author: This article was written by Julian Jackson, Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce's resident blogger and copywriter - https://julianj.journoportfolio.com |
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