Social Enterprise
Above Image: Jamie Oliver at the March Fifteen Supper Club with his original graduates - Photography: Tom Howard
Rosemary adds: “Funding is an issue, but as the business grows and becomes more successful and profitable, we have others to deal with. We’ve outgrown the shop and need to separate the workshop from the retail side. If we don’t resolve that soon it will start to affect our growth and capacity, including the number of people, apprentices, and volunteers we can accommodate and the number of services that we can carry out.”
The advice to budding social entrepreneurs, as with any business start-up, is to have a plan with clear objectives, an understanding of the market and where there is a demand for services, and knowledge of the community in which the socent will operate. Research is key, and a lot of valuable information can be gleaned from other similar socents, explains Rosemary.
“Most are more than happy to talk to
you about your business and share their experiences, and there are plenty of resources on the internet. If you are a new start-up I would recommend using
Twitter, which
opens the door to a whole new world of socents, co operatives and businesses, and it is great for making new contacts, networking, and generally finding out what’s going on in your area and nationally.”
Access to funding is an ongoing issue for all business owners, including those of
social enterprises, so
resourcefulness is called for. Essential Social Enterprises’
Jill
Wood says: “Although we do seek out funding for some of our initiatives, our social enterprises are trading entities that are interlinked and help each other. For example, the Training Company provides training for young people and adults, some of whom need childcare support, which is provided by Essential Care4Chilcren;
our domiciliary
who employ and offer volunteering opportunities from our
social enterprise Training
Company and also training for our childcare social enterprise and into the wider community.”
Are there lessons that conventional businesses can learn from the success of the hardy social enterprises?
Mike Beardshall adds: “Business needs to make the transition from a business model founded on 20 year old concepts. The social enterprise movement represents a fresh start, with new ideas and new ways of thinking, and as a result it is much more agile.”
By Alison Coleman
49 entrepreneurcountry
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