This project ended in June 2019.
Portobello Business Centre presents the Paving The Way project funded by NatWest Skills and Opportunities Fund. The project will last until June 2019 and was designed to start rebuilding an informal business base and to regrow the essential people links by encouraging simple lean business starts within North Kensington community following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower.
To qualify for this project, the criteria is as follows.
- You must be a Pre-Start Business and
- Live in North Kensington (W10 or W11)
Informal businesses are where people are, right at the heart of every vibrant community. These include:
- Share services (babysitting, dog walking, hair dressing, etc.)
- Create gifts (gift cards, soaps candles, etc.)
- Barter (swap to help each other with no money involved)
- E-trade businesses (Shpock, eBay trading, etc.)
- Work in the gig economy (delivery services – on-demand working)
Portobello Business Centre will run a series of events designed as information pathways to enable the growth of this fledgling entrepreneurial activity.
The events will be designed to provide short sharp interventions which inform and provide insight into the routes to self-employment:
- Introduction to Enterprise
- Market trading (linking to Portobello Market)
- e-trading (typically through Facebook, eBay, Shpock, Instagram)
- Lean start-up trading models (keeping start-up costs to a minimum)
- Creative businesses (typically with a home-start structure)
- Gig economy businesses (delivery, Uber, retail, and other self-employment activity) and barter / home-based business trading models.
Portobello Business Centre will also run a financial workshop to cover topics such as:
- Maintaining a simple budget
- Understanding credit / debit card
- Loan offers & building positive credit history
- Money worries and how to ask for help
- Saving for an emergency
Other than the Introduction to Enterprise where we would look to work with larger groups, all the other events (like Business Courses) are being geared to provide support to groups of approximately 8 – 12 people.
All the events will be provided without charge – although we will ask for a small attendance deposit refundable after attending the event.