BIPC Glasgow's Resources for business start-ups

This special Start-up Day workshop, delivered as part of BIPC Glasgow's PowerUp project, will explain how to make best use of free online resources at BIPC Glasgow to support your business start-up, expanding business, or develop your own digital business skills. Delivered by Kavan Stafford, Information Officer at BIPC Glasgow.

Speakers

Kavan Stafford

Information Officer at BIPC Glasgow

More Events

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.

How to write your value proposition

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.

Value propositions are incredibly valuable pieces of content, which allow you to communicate what your business is offering succinctly, and which can be used across marketing materials and pitches in the start-up stage of your business. Sarah Eschner, our SME Champion for Waltham Forest from the Start-ups in London Libraries programme will host this session where we will review how to incorporate all the important elements of your value proposition using a simple step-by-step process.

This masterclass will cover:
The purpose of a value propositionTools associated with a value proposition (value proposition canvas, business model canvas, profit model)The principles of a value propositionConcept of the ‘Core motivating value’An example scenario for how to write the statement.

Sources: Founders Institute, and L. Newey University of Queensland

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: The Changing Face of Fashion

The fashion industry has always been subject to rapid change and fast-evolving trends and the last few years have been no exception.

Faced with major disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, fashion offers many examples of innovation and exciting change in the face of difficult circumstances. Some of these changes stand to have a huge impact on the way we live our lives.

The current cost-of-living crisis is poised to shift attitudes once again, as some 48% of consumers say that rising prices are making them more aware of the importance of sustainable fashion and re-wearing their items.*

This year, the UK is set to become the first European nation where most clothing is bought online.** From this steep rise in online shopping to fashion shows powered by AI to a shift in attitudes to fast fashion, this is an exciting market to be a part of when you know its next direction.

This event will help you understand emergent trends in fashion and how to make them work for your business. At this event, you will:

Understand the reality of starting a fashion brand as an SME in today’s changing market and how the cost of living crisis is impacting brands’ supply chain, sales and growth
Learn how sustainability in the fashion industry has grown, changed and even evolved since 2020. What can we learn from manufacturers changing ways of working and sourcing in exchange for orders?
Understand why there is a greater need for transparency since the pandemic
Learn about new trends in fashion and how forecasting within the industry has been affected
Explore often unrecognised parts of the industry such as the rise of craft and how home-sewing has grown since the 2020 lockdown. Learn how to leverage the power of crafts to develop an online presence
Learn about the growth in interest in new fashion regions, such as the rise of African designers
Understand how the future of fashion with the rise of digital fashion or AI, VR and 3D printing.

About our panel:

You will hear from a panel of industry experts who will talk about their personal experiences and share their wealth of knowledge on the fashion industry and its future.

Orsola de Castro is an internationally recognised opinion leader in sustainable fashion, a mentor, curator and author. Her multi award-winning brand From Somewhere (1997 – 2014) was a pioneer in the field of upcycling and sold in some of the world’s best boutiques; her collaborations include collections for Tesco Clothing, Robe Di Kappa, Topshop and Speedo.

Priscillia Okpan is a Nigerian fashion designer and digital content creator based in London. After interning with established fashion brands to gather industry experience, she started her fashion YouTube channel, Kim Dave. She has amassed over 420k subscribers and 22 million views. She launched a ready-to-wear womenswear label in 2019 which celebrates her Nigerian roots.

Lora Nikolaeva (aka GENE) is the CEO and founder of Lora Gene, an accomplished fashion entrepreneur with international experience. Bulgarian born and raised, now based in London, she entered the fashion world to support her studies working as a model.

After several years on the road and across continents, she started a successful career as a make-up artist, founding the first make-up and hair agency in Eastern Europe. As the business grew it transformed into a clothing brand, which opened its first retail store in central Sofia in 2010. Lora Gene is recognised as one of the best sustainable and ethical fashion brands in the UK, with publications in Vogue, InStyle, The Stylist, the Independent, Guardian and many more.

Patrick McDowell is an independent, sustainable luxury brand founded in 2018 by designer Patrick McDowell. After graduating from the prestigious Central Saint Martins, McDowell has strived to reinvent the role of a fashion designer, as we know it today. Showcasing his debut collection at London Fashion Week in 2018, the designer has since captivated the industry whilst gaining the recognition of titans who share Patrick’s vision for redesigning and creating an accessible circular solution and system that creativity can flourish in.

Justin Duffy has worked in product design for 10+ years across highstreet (Next, River), sport (Puma), streetwear (Money Clothing) and outdoor categories (Rohan). Now working on the mindset team at WGSN – a trend forecasting company – Justin uses his understanding of the design process and a love for cutting edge creativity to explore new growth opportunities across fashion and lifestyle categories.

Fireside chat:

Patrick Grant has had a career in fashion spanning over a decade. In 2005, after leaving a career in Engineering, he took over as Director at Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons. In December 2010 he won the Menswear Designer of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards and in May 2015 he was awarded the BFC/ GQ Designer Menswear Fund for his work on menswear brand E. Tautz which he re-launched in 2009.

Frequently appearing in best dressed lists in the UK, he has been a regular fixture in GQ’s 50 Best Dressed Men and was also named in Esquire Magazine’s Most Stylish Men in the World. In 2016 he made the Business of Fashion 500 index of the most influential people in global fashion. Patrick is a regular on television and radio as a commentator on the British fashion, clothing and textile industries.

He has been a contributor to several major television documentaries including Savile Row, Harris Tweed, and The Perfect Suit, but is best known for his role in the popular BBC Series The Great British Sewing Bee, for which he was nominated for the 2017 National Television Awards.

He has written on diverse subjects for many titles including GQ, The Financial Times and The Times. His book ‘Original Man’ was published by Gestalten in 2014. He is a regular lecturer at schools and colleges across the UK.

Getting started with your sales strategy

Your idea becomes a business once you have those first customers and cash flow. It sounds simple, but in reality there are many complexities to defining how you will draw in customers, retain their loyalty and continue producing profit. In this session you can get to grips with the essential early decisions needed to set out how much it will cost to deliver your products and services, how to determine what price to charge and how to keep people coming back for more. And importantly, we will discuss how you can do all of this with heart and the social impact front and centre.

You will hear from the 2020 winner of The Small Awards’ Bricks and Clicks category, MODO Creative who have experimented and evolved an impressive multi-channel sales strategy.

MODO Creative also focus on the idea that a money-making business can also be community-forging and impactful. They will discuss how you might consider independent makers, designers and services to pass on sales further down the supply chain and keep them retained within the small business community.

Karen Campbell from The Small Awards will be on hand to outline some tips and best practice as well as moderating the interview.

Though you may be starting small at the beginning, join us to learn about some clever ways to cultivate a winning customer experience for your walk-in and online audience.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: Gaming for Business

In a world driven by innovation and customer engagement, businesses are constantly seeking fresh approaches to captivate their audience and elevate their performance. As an industry that has always harnessed the power of technology, the recent growth of tools such as artificial intelligence and increased online connectivity have contributed to the growing influence the gaming industry is having on the business world.

From the creative minds behind engineering, designing and developing games, to the gamification of business tools for customer acquisition and marketing, the integration of gaming with the business world has reached new heights of significance and legitimacy.

As online technologies continue to evolve, their ever-growing influence on society – particularly on the next generation of entrepreneurs – has become undeniable.

Join a panel of gaming and design industry experts, as they explore how the fusion of game mechanics, psychology, cutting-edge design and technology can breathe new life into traditional industries, invigorating employee engagement, customer loyalty and overall business success.

On the day, guests and attendees can expect to join an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion where they will:

Get into the spirit of gaming by joining us for a free gaming and chill session in the afternoon before the event. Gaming equipment including PlayStation 5’s, Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets and a variety of games to choose from will be available in the Knowledge Centre’s Eliot room from 14:00. Come along and get involved! All equipment will be provided by Bryght.Learn about the role that gaming is playing in today’s business landscapeGain a deeper understanding of the power of gaming influencers in marketing strategiesExplore the various business models within the gaming industryLearn about the platforms and resources connecting the gaming industry with the broader business realmUncover the strategies used by our panellists to navigate challenges in their workJoin discussions about the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the gaming world, and how these entrepreneurs actively engage with this.

Following this there will be a Q&A. For those joining us in person, the event will be followed by a networking reception with drinks meeting with other attendees, as well as the speakers.

For those joining us online, the event will run from 18.30 – 20.30