Sophia Hub Redbridge: Update

Ros Southern writes:

'This coming week:

• MONDAY EVE: Wanstead Business Networking event - free, well attended, worth a try. Info here.
• ​​​​​​​TUESDAY BREAKFAST - Redbridge Chamber networking info here
• TUESDAY LUNCHTIME: Entrepreneur's club with Amanda Simpson on managing your incomings and outgoings in an easy way without getting in a pickle. Lunch time session - open to all start-ups, SMEs and community groups. Info here
• THURSDAY EVE: Enterprising Redbridge business seminar on the business canvas model for community groups and charities. Info here.
• SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Timebank trading floor/social market place at Ilford library. Exciting, cutting edge, useful, fun! 

Other fab info:

• Following weeks entrepreneur's club - with Aidan Ward - Tuesday lunchtime on managing your start-up with the business canvas model. Back by popular demand. Info here
• A new business/community partnership in Redbridge - Redbridge Green Fair and Mont Rose College, Info here
• Seven Kings business and community partnership - soft launch of the website, info here
• Learn to blog volunteer opportunity - at Sophia Hubs - we've got 2 volunteers practically booked but room for more! info here
• Follow up course for Sophia course graduates - Saturday 30th April - info here
• City Business Library fab seminars - these are ongoing - info here.
• Feedback on the Redbridge CVS launch of Enterprising Redbridge - see the pics and report here.

Thanks to

Our entrepreneur's club speaker last week Shahriar Hossain for a passionate and practical session on identifying and taking a next step, no messing! Follow up support offered and an expectation to have kept to the agreed actions!

Congratulations to

Hainault Start up Liam Martin-Lane for the well attended and great Google For Work seminar at Enterprising Redbridge this week.

What you can do

• Like our Facebook Page and share posts. 
• Get more people to sign up for this newsletter. 
• Send me news on business and community stuff.
• Write a blog about your start-up, or any business news with a community twist.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Ros Southern, Coordinator, Sophia Hubs Redbridge'

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Mavis Staples - Hard Times Come Again No More.

Update: Sophia Hub Seven Kings

Ros Southern writes:

'Enterprise club on Tuesday (tomorrow) is with Aidan and it's another session on the business canvas model which we think is extremely useful for start-ups as its flexible, simple and on one page. Please come, info here.

The 5th Sophia Course had a great first session last week, a full house, read an update here.

The Timebank skills swap last week was a success and another useful opportunity for start-ups and businesses plus community spirit. Pics and video here.

Announcing a brand new Redbridge start-up - Sam the cartoonist - and special offer to Sophia contacts! Read here

Thanks to Muhammad for the marketing session last week. For info click here. Powerpoint presentation available.

Advance notice - the enterprise club speaker (Tues 17 March) next week is Debbie Skeete of Early Years Play. She has a wide range of business knowledge and is part of many local networks.

Best wishes,

Ros

Ros Southern, Coordinator, Sophia Hubs Seven Kings
M: 07707 460309 T: 0208 590 2568
ros.southern@sophiahubs.com
T: @sophiahubs7k FB: Sophia Hubs Seven Kings blog: https://sophiahubs7k.wordpress.com/
c/o St Johns Church, St Johns Road, Seven Kings, IG2 7BB'

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Mumford & Sons - Believe.

Sophia Hub update

Ros Southern writes:

'Tomorrow at the Tuesday lunchtime enterprise club we have local business man Vic Norman of London Pub Tours and others, speaking on managing your business online. Vic is a business lecturer at Redbridge Institute. Come at 12.30 for prompt start at 12.45. More info here.

Our first Timebank community skills swap at the start-up cafe Flirt was a great success. The next one is Saturday morning 24 January 2015. This is a great opportunity to trade on the sharing economy by either giving or taking help from community members. A community event that can help your start-up. More info here.

Thanks to Aidan for the enterprise club session last week on the business canvas model. Info here.

Thanks to the Redbridge Chamber of Commerce for offering a year's free membership to start-ups. Find out about the breakfast networking events here. A great opportunity. Info here

Finally we want to establish a big team of people in business who can support start-ups through being on hand for advice at the enterprise club, helping us develop our services as well as taking on more formal mentoring roles. Know anyone? You're interested? Please make contact.'

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The Jam - Start.

Sophia Hub's first Anniversary celebrations

Tonight the first Anniversary of the Seven Kings and Newbury Park Sophia Hub was celebrated at St John's Seven Kings. The Bishop of Chelmsford, Bishop of Barking and Mayor of Redbridge were present to mark this momentous milestone, as were many of the staff, Directors, Steering Group members, volunteers, start-ups and Enterprise Club speakers who have supported the Sophia Hub in its development and achievements.

In its first year the Sophia Hub has worked with 23 business start-ups, many of which were present at the event and sharing news of their progress and ways in which the Seven Kings & Newbury Park Sophia Hub had supported them. This support has included our Sophia Course (which helps generate ideas for social enterprises), our weekly Enterprise Club (which provides input on key business topics and peer to peer networking), membership of our Timebank (which enables start-ups to receive volunteer support on a give and take basis), and use of Business Mentors (who accompany start-ups on the initial phase of their journey into business).

Olive Hamilton-Andrews spoke about her business (Hamiland Management Limited) which provides practical policies, projects and office organisation to other businesses in order to reduce workload, release time and get results. Aidan Ward, a Director of Sophia Hubs Limited, outlined the ethos of the Sophia Hub while I spoke about our many achievements in the year. Myra Whiskar and Ros Southern, our Project Co-ordinators, compered the evening and were thanked for their tremendous input in shaping and taking the project forward. The Mayor of Redbridge and the Bishop of Chelmsford then offered personal responses to all that they had seen and heard of the project.

Delegates enjoyed a hot vegetarian buffet provided by Fusion Foods, a start-up run by Manzoor Ahmed who has spoken at the Enterprise Club. The event concluded with use of the World Cafe method of structured conversations, where those who attended contributed their thoughts on the benefits of businesses engaging with their communities. Feedback centred on the significance of businesses building long-term relationships with local customers where trust and confidence are built through the delivery of personal but professional services.

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Dry The River - History Book.

Enterprise Club

Here is the latest on the Sophia Hub and its Enterprise Club. Ros Southern writes:

"Jeffery Nkrumah is our speaker on Tuesday 29th April from 2-3.15.  He has recently set up a Community Interest Company (CIC) called 'Inspired by Sports' working with young people in the area.  There is more information on the blog - please copy and paste this link: http://bit.ly/QG27ss.  It's worth the read!  It is best to arrive by 1.45 but please just come when you can.  Jeffery has to dash off to the Cricklefields stadium at 3.15 but we can continue to work on your business planning after he goes.

Last week we looked at a business canvas model that can work better for start-ups that the traditional business plan model. Thanks to Aidan Ward and all those that helped us work it out in a practical example.  It was great that Ash Ahmed was able to bring some young people from I Am Young and we hope to see you again this week.

Please put this date in your diaries - Sunday 25th May.  Sophia Hubs is going to run the first 'enterprise zone' at the Redbridge Green Fair and we think this will be a very good opportunity for all new start-ups and local businesses to get very practical and good marketing and promotion experience.  The Green Fair (of which I am chair!) is www.rgf.org.uk.  I have written in the blog with a bit more information about what we will be doing.  Copy and paste this link to read more: http://bit.ly/1tLumFe."

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Villagers - Ship Of Promises.

Enterprise Club

There were 15 of us last Tuesday at the Sophia Hub Enterprise Club and as numbers pick up we are able to build up our expertise in running a vibrant and useful support network for small and emerging businesses and community connections.

Please feel free to come along this coming Tuesday between 1 and 5.  This is the schedule:

1-1.45 refreshments and networking
1.45-2.00 Introductions
2.00-3.00 Speaker and group discussions:  This week the speaker is Aidan Ward and the topic is 'balancing the needs of your business'
3.00-4.00 more discussion and support
4.00-5.00 Networking

More info is on the St John's Church website and we hope that our website may be running by next week: http://stjohns7kings.org.uk/sophia-hub.

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Ed Kowalczyk - Grace.

Sophia Hub pilot update - October 2013

 

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Chagall Guevara - Monkey Grinder.

Launch of the Seven Kings & Newbury Park Sophia Hub pilot

The Seven Kings & Newbury Park Sophia Hub pilot was launched yesterday at St John's Seven Kings (http://stjohns7kings.org.uk/).

Sophia Hubs (http://stjohns7kings.org.uk/sophia-hub) are a network of local, wisdom-based incubators for new businesses and social enterprises, harnessing the wisdom and resources of the faith traditions, leading to sustainable social and economic development and change. The Seven Kings & Newbury Park Sophia Hub pilot is the first hub in the network.

Those attending the launch heard a range of perspectives on social enterprise, its community building capacities and its relevance to faith communities. Aidan Ward (Sophia Hubs) outlined the main facets of the services which the pilot will deliver in the local community (including incubation spaces, training, a timebank, and business connections) and its potential to enable new businesses with a community spirit which cover gaps in services and help people do more for each other.

Alvaro Adair (Teen Challenge) gave an example of a successful social enterprise by speaking about the genesis and running of the faith-based car mechanics enterprise he manages (Breakeryard.com), while Monica Abdala (Redbridge Street Pastors) explained the potential social enterprises have to assist women working the streets who wish to leave prostitution.

One strand of the pilot will involve exploring connections between wisdom and work through discussion and dialogue. A taster for this aspect of the pilot's work was included in the launch programme with input on faith and enterprise from Hindu (Jay Lakhani, Hindu Academy), Jewish (Steve Miller, Faith-based Regeneration Network) and Christian (Rev. Rosy Fairhurst, Sophia Hubs) perspectives.

Jay Lakhani suggested that projects like this pilot engage with participant's desires and dreams which are both deeply human and deeply spiritual. Steve Miller highlighted Jewish understandings of social enterprise as addressing issues of relationality and justice. While charity tends to be a one way relationship, supporting people into business involves a mutuality of investment and can deliver more sustainable outcomes. Rosy Fairhurst spoke about entrepreneurial activity as a reflection of a creative, risk-taking God and also explained that the name, Sophia Hubs, was deliberately taken from the Greek word for wisdom in order to highlight the intent to tap the wisdom of all communities, faith-based or otherwise.

Myra Whiskar, the newly appointed Project Coordinator and Developer for the Sophia Hub pilot, was introduced to those present. The Sophia Hub pilot will open for business in September, when Myra's work on the pilot will also commence.

A variety of forms of involvement with the pilot are possible including as: business mentors, incubation users, investors, management group members or timebank volunteers. An initial Sophia Course will aim to empower people in identifying and addressing issues of shared local concern with ideas for new social enterprises being generated as a result. Many of those present at the launch responded positively to the opportunity for involvement.         

Social enterprises are businesses with a social or environmental mission; businesses where society profits. Timebanking (http://www.timebanking.org/) is a means of exchange used to organise people and organisations around a purpose, where time is the principal currency. For every hour participants ‘deposit’ in a timebank, perhaps by giving practical help and support to others, they are able to ‘withdraw’ equivalent support in time when they themselves are in need.

Social enterprises have the potential to connect the private and not-for-profit sectors in ways which challenge and change both sectors. This launch event shared that vision, outlined the model to be used by the Sophia Hub pilot, generated responses from those attending, and began an ongoing debate about the connections between wisdom and work.

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Mahavishnu Orchestra - Meeting Of The Spirits.