Do you need a small loan to help you start your business?

Women's Business Centre and Street Cred are giving you the opportunity to join a new Micro-loan Group starting this June.

The group will meet for five sessions during which you will receive business support and training necessary to progress your business idea and to get you ready to apply for a loan.

On the 6th session you will make a presentation of your business idea and completed loan application to the group and Women's Business Centre/Street Cred panel - a bit like Dragons' Den, only less scary!

Women's Business Centre will then offer you six months of post-loan support (one session per month)

The loan is up to £500, repayable over a year. No collateral needed. If you borrow £500 and repay it monthly over a year, the total amount payable back is £552.96(19% APR)

Street Cred is a micro-credit charity project that's been supporting women into self-employment since 1999.

Sessions will take place at the Women's Business Centre, 6pm - 8pm on the following Mondays: June 9th, June 16th, June 23rd, June 30th, July 7th and July 14th (presentation)

Please note

• Joining the Micro-Loan Group does not guarantee you will get a loan
• Attendance of all sessions is required

If you are interested in joining the group, but the time or day in the week doesn't suit you, please let us know and we will take that into consideration for future groups.

If you would like to join this group or find out more, please contact Lana Hersak-Mullins (Street Cred) on lanahersakmullins@qsa.org.uk or phone 020 7729 9267

Little Black Dress at the Fashion and Textile Museum

From 20th June

The Fashion and Textile Museum will soon be celebrating an icon of modern dressing with its brand new exhibition Little Black Dress, which launches on 19th June. The exhibition traces the advent of the little black dress from its inception in the 1920s to today's cutting edge creations.

The show features the personal collection of LBDs from Andrew Fionda, of Pearce Fionda fame, as well as dresses chosen by top designers, including a show-stopping gown by Julien McDonald worn by Victoria Beckham in 'That Extra Half Inch'. Other highlights include designs by John Galliano, Amanda Wakeley, Giles Deacon, Zandra Rhodes and Betty Jackson.

For further details, visit the website at www.ftmlondon.org

Events and workshops

Little Black Hat Workshop - Saturday 28th June
Crown your LBD with an LBH at this practical workshop with one of the country's leading milliners.

M.A.C Masterclass: Iconic makeup through the ages - Thursday 10th July
Terry Barber of M.A.C explores and demonstrates the black lined eye and its many incarnations through the ages.

Further details and a timetable of events at the FTM are available at www.ftmlondon.org/events

Women Into Non-Traditional Occupations Open Day

Thursday 19th June, 10am–1pm (Free, but book in advance)
LSE Roseberry Hall, Roseberry Avenue, EC1R 4TY

Are you looking for training or a career change?

Find out about training and employment opportunities in non-traditional industries such as construction, security, IT, commercial driving, motor vehicles or the emergency services.

Companies represented on the day include:

Construction
• Home Jane - work experience and careers
• John Laing Training – construction training centre
• Alpha Building Services and Engineering Training – construction training centre
• CONEL – construction courses

Security
• COI Freelance – Free door supervisor courses
• Sucasa Recruitment – careers in security for women

IT
• HBC Academy – IT courses
• Newham College – Free IT training for women

Emergency Services
• City of London Police
• The British Army
• The London Fire Brigade

Motor Vehicle Industry
• North London Garages – Apprenticeships in mechanics
• The Institute of Motor Industry

Commercial Driving
• Hackney Community Transport – Bus Driver training and work experience
• Kennedy Scott – Taxi Driver training

This is part of a new government-funded programme called Women into Non Traditional Occupations (WINTO) designed to help women move into occupations where they are largely under-represented.

To book your place, or for more information, please contact Michelle Harvey on 020 8275 4230 or michelle.harvey@kistraining.co.uk or see www.winto.org/events

New ban on unfair trade practices

A number of sales practices regarded as unfair have been made illegal for the first time under the new Consumer Protection Regulations. Practices banned include use of scare tactics, fake closing down sales, 'special offers' on items that do not exist and the presenting of legally enshrined consumer rights as special features of the trader's offer. The new legislation should be beneficial for consumers and well as for scrupulous traders who may have lost out from competitors less ethical than themselves.

Companies meet blogosphere head-on

Companies are increasingly using blogs to communicate with their customers. By offering short 'diary entry' type pieces on the inner workings of the business and developments within the industry, companies are able to communicate their expertise and convey their personalities. At the same time, the blogs can develop into communities as users leave comments under the stories. Because they are so direct, and sometimes participatory, businesses get to connect more directly with the public, become more transparent and find out what their customers are thinking.

If you are a large firm, it is likely that other people are blogging about you, anyway. The BBC reported some time ago the negative attention PC firm Dell was receiving in the 'blogosphere' - Dell reportedly responded by monitoring the blogs in question in order to contact disgruntled customers directly.

iGoogle

Do you log on to separate sites every morning to check your webmail, appointments calendar, Facebook and news headlines? iGoogle lets you view all these on one page, along with any number of useful utilities including To Do lists, alarm clocks and search functions for various sites. What's more, your personalised page is accessible anywhere, meaning you can work from home, office or the coffee shop and never be far from the stuff you need.

www.google.co.uk/ig