THERE was plenty of advice on hand for those contemplating going into business for themselves at The Entrepreneur Roadshow.

Pleased with the event, Mike Peates, from organiser Yes You Can Events, said “I wanted to offer a different kind of business exhibition showing a different perspective of what can be achieved by those who want to start their own business.

“It was designed to help and inform people who want to make that leap from being employed to managing their own business and those who already have.”

He described Basingstoke as a hotbed of entrepreneurs and said that the borough has a large number of micro-businesses, Among those who gave presentations was Linda Cheung, chief executive officer of social media start-up CubeSocial.

She spoke of the time she gave up the life of being a “City girl” working as European chief operating officer at Morgan Stanley to take the plunge in setting up her own award-winning business with partner Mark Bower in Basingstoke.

Basingstoke poet and comedian Jan Jack gave a humorous talk on why, after working 32 years as a secretary, she decided to enter the world of stand-up comedy.

She now runs the hugely popular Jan Jack’s Laughter House comedy club, which is held once a month at The Red Lion Hotel in Basingstoke. She also provides bespoke verse through her Perfect Verse business and does workshops on how to add humour to presentations.

Exhibitors at the event, held at service office provider Business Environment’s ViewPoint building on Basing View, included Carlie Cohen, from CopyWorks Communications, and Maxine Hart, from Wote St Employment Bureau.

Carlie said: “It’s been a productive day as I have had a couple of business leads. I find events like this are a good way of starting a business relationship.”

Maxine said: “It’s always good for us to attend events like this because it offers a chance to talk to local businesses people.”

She was offering her services for anyone starting their own business, but initially required part-time work to keep them afloat.