Newham’s star soprano talks business
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Newham’s very own soprano star, Sovra Newman, is no stranger to the challenges being in the entertainment industry. Both of her parents were in show business and she learned the challenges of the industry early in life
Sovra, who attended a performing arts school as a child, is a trained soprano and has enjoyed an acting career playing roles such as Sandy in Grease and Peter Pan, but admits that singing has always been her ‘thing’.
Sovra first came to East London Small Business Centre in 2005 as she needed advice on training courses she was delivering to kids in Newham. She was given advice on how to structure a sustainable payment plan for her workshops. While Sovra knew her business model was going to be based on her entertainment career, she was not certain on how to formulate a clear business venture that had financial sustainability.
Then in 2010, Sovra came back to East London Small Business Centre for further support. She had already started running a business providing opera singers called The Food of Love, but needed capital to produce a promotional video for her business.
“I came back to East London Small Business Centre as I needed guidance on running the company and support in funding. No one in my family, that is alive, runs a business. The only relative that I can think of was my grandfather in Wales who had 2 taxis! So I had to be taught to think in a business way, write a business plan and put together profit & loss accounts. All quite painful, but very interesting,” recalls Sovra.
After working with her business advisor in preparing a viable business plan and a loan application, Sovra was successful in raising the £4,000 needed from ELSBC’s independent loan fund panel.
As well as running The Food of Love, Sovra is an active member of her community and is currently involved in several musical projects for Newham Council for the 2012 Olympics.
