London-based charity Tree Shepherd has launched the Employ Yourself Course; a free six-week course open to all Londoners to explore the idea of being an entrepreneur.
Over the last 20 years, the number of SME’s has rocketed by over 60% according to BEIS (2022). Whilst there has been a decrease in the overall number of SME’s over the last 2 years there is a continued growth in the number of micro businesses (1-9 employees). Airtasker have also guesstimated that the ‘side hustle’ economy is worth £346 billion, with Henley Business School Research demonstrate that 1 in 4 adults have a ‘side hustle’, earning them on average £274 extra a week.
“Being an entrepreneur has never been so accessible” says Sandra Ferguson, CEO of Tree Shepherd. “The rise of social media gives business owners access to a marketplace at the click of a button. Yet despite this, there are huge challenges to starting your own enterprise, especially amongst minority groups. At Tree Shepherd we are dedicated to changing this, and are excited to launch a new programme – Employ Yourself. Attendees will have access to mentoring and networking opportunities; we are also hosting a number of markets and pop-up shops across South London too to help our members to test their businesses too.”
The programme is open to anyone over 18 who is unemployed or economically inactive to shape their business ideas, access mentors and test the product. The course will be delivered in person and starts Friday 13th May and runs until 1st June 2022, with attendance needed on Wednesday’s and Friday’s from 10am – 4pm. The course takes places at Thrive Workspace, Tree Shepherd’s affordable low-cost work space in Surrey Quays, London ( SE16 7LW). To sign up please visit – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/tsempys
