events y being a host


people hosting events. We get a lot of self- employed folk and some remote workers too.” Cowork Crew events run regularly in London, Cambridge, Birmingham, Reading and Northampton. More are planned, including in Leeds. Angela Lyons, a graphic designer and founder of Lyons Creative, came up with an idea with a friend to run events after spotting an advert from a company that wanted to open up their space to diverse and underrepresented groups. She applied with co-founder Ayo Abbas, and started Creatives Like Us. Lyons says: “It’s for black and brown business owners/ freelancers to network and work on their business. Our first in-person event was in a design studio in Shoreditch, London, in February 2025. It was such a success – our keynote speaker, Vanessa Belleau, became part of our team. We hosted another event in June and then one in October. “Giving back to the community feels good. It also gives you visibility and gets eyes on what you do. Also, I can now add another skill – event planning and event host.”


Tip #2 “Consider venue costs – university


events are good as they have an events space factored in. Then consider what is unique about you and your job trajectory that might make a good event”


https://www.linkedin.com/company/ the-india-story-agency Sally Howard


Boost business One amazing result of Meet the Media is that it has really grown my business, with attendees recommending me for PR and copywriting work. Pickering has found something similar, saying: “I get more referrals because I run coworking events than I would otherwise. There’s goodwill associated with the events that gets passed to me, and folk trust me because of it.” Nand adds that getting out there and meeting people face to face is also incredibly energising. “You never know what collaborations


might come out of it – new clients, new stories or even new friendships,” she says. “A lot of journalists, photographers and writers come along, and have ended up joining me in the business. It’s a lovely mix of people who are creative but, also like me, have realised we have to become more business minded. “I’ve introduced over 100 people –


including fellow journalists – to the opportunity to earn from travel themselves. Some just using it for their own travel, some as a side hustle selling holidays to friends and family. And others, like me, who want to make it a big business. “Many of us were looking for ways to create extra income alongside journalism and the events have become a natural space to share ideas like that.”


OLIVIA BRABBS theJournalist | 11


Attendees at Meet the Media in York


Tip #3


“Start by selling to existing contacts, try online first, then market your


events where your customers are – whichever social channel that is.” www.harrietmeyer.com Harriet Meyer


JOANNA BRIERLEY


Linda Harrison (left) and Jo Leatham, who run Meet the Media events in Yorkshire


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