It's always great to discover something new especially when that something is making a real difference. Last night, I was introduced to Striding Out, the community interest company which supports young entrepreneurs.
The organisation has been around for a few years and I really wish I'd discovered them earlier! The people behind it are a truly inspiring bunch, no-one more so than Heather Wilkinson, the founder and managing director. I managed to grab a few words with Heather over a beer at London's new Club4Climate, Britain's first eco-nightclub.
Heather has been involved in social enterprise for eight years so is well qualified for all the services Striding Out provides. She has some interesting views on the sector and unfortunately we didn't get a chance to debate them in depth but it's something I hope to do in the future.
Heather works with many of the UK's social enterprise ambassadors and one of them, Liam Black, who founded Fifteen with Jamie Oliver, gives her a glowing reference: "Passionate. Sharp. Highly professional. We need more like her!" Here, here!
I met a couple of Striding Out's coaches who exude the same energy as the organisation's boss. I come across a lot of business advisors, coaches and mentors in my line of work - both from the public and private sector - but those I met last night appeared so much more committed, so much more passionate and so much more determined to boost enterprise in all its forms. It says something about traditional business support services I think. When entrepreneurs support entrepreneurs, the best results are achieved.
I've got my own ideas for businesses but I was disappointed to spot that at 32 I am too old to use Striding Out's services. Fortunately, Branching Out, a spin off group for us over 30s exists. I'll certainly be taking advantage of that one!
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Unrepresented? Become a social entrepreneur
Government and opposition ministers alike continually bark on about supporting unrepresented groups such as women and ethnic minorities in getting involved in enterprise but often their actions don't seem to back up their words. Alistair Darling for instance in his budget earlier this year focused on boosting female entrepreneurship - great - but announced the governnment is investing a paltry £10m to do it. A tiny amount in the scheme of things.
As a result, it seems these unrepresented groups are taking their backs on the authorities' limited efforts and doing it for themselves. Happily, given the subject of this blog, it's social entrepreneurship they are turning to.
New research from the excellent Social Enterprise Coalition shows black, Asian and minority ethnic communities have higher levels of social entrepreneurship than their white companies. In addition, while women are only half as likely as men to be mainstream entrepreneurs, they are equally or more likely than men to be social entrepreneurs, the report revealed.
The findings demonstrate the power of social enterprise and its ability to allow individuals who have struggled to get on the business ladder using traditional methods are able to do so by setting up a company which benefits society.
It is this which ministers should be focusing on. If they really want to promote entrepreneurship among all, boost the way social enterprise is supported and developed. As Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: "This data shows the prevalence of social entrepreneurship across the population and re-affirms that social enterprise is a sustainable business model essential not only for positive social change, but for the UK's economy."
As a result, it seems these unrepresented groups are taking their backs on the authorities' limited efforts and doing it for themselves. Happily, given the subject of this blog, it's social entrepreneurship they are turning to.
New research from the excellent Social Enterprise Coalition shows black, Asian and minority ethnic communities have higher levels of social entrepreneurship than their white companies. In addition, while women are only half as likely as men to be mainstream entrepreneurs, they are equally or more likely than men to be social entrepreneurs, the report revealed.
The findings demonstrate the power of social enterprise and its ability to allow individuals who have struggled to get on the business ladder using traditional methods are able to do so by setting up a company which benefits society.
It is this which ministers should be focusing on. If they really want to promote entrepreneurship among all, boost the way social enterprise is supported and developed. As Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: "This data shows the prevalence of social entrepreneurship across the population and re-affirms that social enterprise is a sustainable business model essential not only for positive social change, but for the UK's economy."
Saturday, 26 July 2008
A billion reasons to listen
Ok, I know this post is a couple of few months late but good things come to those who wait! Since my last blog, life in my day job running BusinessZone.co.uk has been pretty hectic. We got involved in the Bristol Design Festival and ended up running a hugely successful Dragons' Den-style competition called The Pitch. More about that another time.
In this post I fulfil my promise of outlining my experiences at Good Deals, the UK's first conference focusing on financial investment in social enterprises.
The highlight by far was the keynote address by entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter. It's not often I'm in the presence of someone who's worth £1.05bn so I made sure I paid attention!
Listening to his speech, I was struck that the 47-year-old Scot doesn't look like someone who's worth an amount of money I can't even imagine; he's wasn't dripping in bling, he didn't ooze arrogance and he wasn't tracked by a string of staff tending to his every need.
That's not saying he's not hugely confident and he must have a strong element of ruthlessness to reach the sort of heights that he has but despite all that his main passion in life is clear; he wants to give his money away.
He is already well on the way to doing it. Among the millions donated through the Hunter Foundation he set up with his wife in 1998 are £6m to Band Aid, £1m to Make Poverty History and £1m to Children in Need.
All very impressive but that's easy to do you may say for a man who founded the Sports Division chain and sold it on for £290m. However, entrepreneurs running businesses of all sizes have a lot to learn from Sir Tom.
He believes that those who make money have a duty to give something back. The words of Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and a trustee of the Hunter Foundation, were key in sparking him into action. "If you're lucky enough to amass a great wealth, to die with it is a great waste," he told him.
Philantrophy in some circles is a dirty word - it's seen as the super rich writing cheques which while they benefit the causes are really aimed at boosting the public profile of the donor.
Sir Tom is different. He views his giving like a business transaction.
"Treat every philantrophic investment as you would a business investment", he explains. In business you want a return on investment so why should the same not be true for charitable donations?
If your only contact with a cause, campaign or scheme is handing over a cheque how do you know whether it has done any good? How do you know whether the cash has been used wisely and invested where it should be?
Leverage your money, Sir Tom advises. He explains that he takes the flack if an initiative he sets up fails but if it works, it's up to local authorities to take it on. "We are no substitute to the taxpayer," he proclaims.
Sir Tom also believes that it's vitally important key performance indicators are set for any community giving an entrepreneur undertakes. If it's not working, stop, he stresses; there are plenty of other good places where your money could be going.
Finally, one of the billionaire's biggest bugbears is there is not enough collaboration going on. "In the third sector, there are lots of people doing the same thing. In the traditional business world, if that was happening, we'd consolidate it and make sure everyone who should be is benefiting."
A hugely inspirational speech from an hugely inspirational man. Yes, he can afford to say it, of course he can, but put that out of your mind. There are immense problems in local communities all around the UK that aren't being solved using traditional charitable or public sector techniques.
Entrepreneurs hold the answer by approaching the issues with a business-like attitude. Being ruthless enough to halt projects when they're not working, setting people difficult targets and investing money where it should be invested will go a long way to overcoming society's ills.
So next time you write a cheque for the local church appeal or to fund a Scout group's new minibus, think about how you could actually do more. How could you get involved directly so you know exactly where the money's going and who it's helping. If it's not finance you provide, what about giving your time, your contacts, your experience?
You may not have billions to give away like Sir Tom but if every entrepreneur gave something, the world would certainly be a better place.
In this post I fulfil my promise of outlining my experiences at Good Deals, the UK's first conference focusing on financial investment in social enterprises.
The highlight by far was the keynote address by entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter. It's not often I'm in the presence of someone who's worth £1.05bn so I made sure I paid attention!
Listening to his speech, I was struck that the 47-year-old Scot doesn't look like someone who's worth an amount of money I can't even imagine; he's wasn't dripping in bling, he didn't ooze arrogance and he wasn't tracked by a string of staff tending to his every need.
That's not saying he's not hugely confident and he must have a strong element of ruthlessness to reach the sort of heights that he has but despite all that his main passion in life is clear; he wants to give his money away.
He is already well on the way to doing it. Among the millions donated through the Hunter Foundation he set up with his wife in 1998 are £6m to Band Aid, £1m to Make Poverty History and £1m to Children in Need.
All very impressive but that's easy to do you may say for a man who founded the Sports Division chain and sold it on for £290m. However, entrepreneurs running businesses of all sizes have a lot to learn from Sir Tom.
He believes that those who make money have a duty to give something back. The words of Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and a trustee of the Hunter Foundation, were key in sparking him into action. "If you're lucky enough to amass a great wealth, to die with it is a great waste," he told him.
Philantrophy in some circles is a dirty word - it's seen as the super rich writing cheques which while they benefit the causes are really aimed at boosting the public profile of the donor.
Sir Tom is different. He views his giving like a business transaction.
"Treat every philantrophic investment as you would a business investment", he explains. In business you want a return on investment so why should the same not be true for charitable donations?
If your only contact with a cause, campaign or scheme is handing over a cheque how do you know whether it has done any good? How do you know whether the cash has been used wisely and invested where it should be?
Leverage your money, Sir Tom advises. He explains that he takes the flack if an initiative he sets up fails but if it works, it's up to local authorities to take it on. "We are no substitute to the taxpayer," he proclaims.
Sir Tom also believes that it's vitally important key performance indicators are set for any community giving an entrepreneur undertakes. If it's not working, stop, he stresses; there are plenty of other good places where your money could be going.
Finally, one of the billionaire's biggest bugbears is there is not enough collaboration going on. "In the third sector, there are lots of people doing the same thing. In the traditional business world, if that was happening, we'd consolidate it and make sure everyone who should be is benefiting."
A hugely inspirational speech from an hugely inspirational man. Yes, he can afford to say it, of course he can, but put that out of your mind. There are immense problems in local communities all around the UK that aren't being solved using traditional charitable or public sector techniques.
Entrepreneurs hold the answer by approaching the issues with a business-like attitude. Being ruthless enough to halt projects when they're not working, setting people difficult targets and investing money where it should be invested will go a long way to overcoming society's ills.
So next time you write a cheque for the local church appeal or to fund a Scout group's new minibus, think about how you could actually do more. How could you get involved directly so you know exactly where the money's going and who it's helping. If it's not finance you provide, what about giving your time, your contacts, your experience?
You may not have billions to give away like Sir Tom but if every entrepreneur gave something, the world would certainly be a better place.
Monday, 5 May 2008
Deals that make a difference
I'm off to Good Deals tomorrow. The conference, organised by the Office of the Third Sector in partnership with NESTA, is the first to focus on financial investment in social enterprise. About time too!
Like social entrepreneurs themselves who are using previously unexplored ways to solve social and environmental problems, investors are recognising that they too can make a difference by structuring investment platforms in such a way that society will benefit.
The event features some interesting speakers particularly Sir Tom Hunter, who will be giving the keynote address, and Liam Black, board advisor to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Foundation and the conference chair. Real life pitches are also planned with social entrepreneurs including Divine Chocolate's Sophie Tranchell set to face the 'dragons' live on stage.
The conference is set to show that the main ambition for thousands of entrepreneurs is not making millions to fund their retirement in the south of France; it's doing good to benefit local, national and global communities.
There have been several high profile social enterprise conferences over recent years which demonstrate the rising interest in the sector. But we need more to show these type of firms are the future of business. Good Deals goes a huge way to putting that right.
I'll post my experiences on the conference later in the week.
Like social entrepreneurs themselves who are using previously unexplored ways to solve social and environmental problems, investors are recognising that they too can make a difference by structuring investment platforms in such a way that society will benefit.
The event features some interesting speakers particularly Sir Tom Hunter, who will be giving the keynote address, and Liam Black, board advisor to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Foundation and the conference chair. Real life pitches are also planned with social entrepreneurs including Divine Chocolate's Sophie Tranchell set to face the 'dragons' live on stage.
The conference is set to show that the main ambition for thousands of entrepreneurs is not making millions to fund their retirement in the south of France; it's doing good to benefit local, national and global communities.
There have been several high profile social enterprise conferences over recent years which demonstrate the rising interest in the sector. But we need more to show these type of firms are the future of business. Good Deals goes a huge way to putting that right.
I'll post my experiences on the conference later in the week.
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Social enterprise: Serious business
This blog celebrates the UK's most exciting, dynamic and inspiring business sector: social enterprises.
Social enterprises are businesses which devote all or a large part of their profits to social or environmental causes.
And before you say it, they're not charities! They are businesses through and through; run by drven and ambitious entrepreneurs who are using business principles to make a difference.
As a small business journalist, I've met and interviewed many entrepreneurs but time and time again it's the social entrepreneurs that inspire me the most. So much so, that I'm currently planning my own social enterprise. I've been thinking about it for a while but what convinced me to actually turn my idea into reality was my attendance at Voice 08, the annual conference of the Social Enterprise Coalition in Liverpool earlier this year.
Around 1,000 delegates were at an event which oozed energy. "Nothing can hold us back", proclaimed the coalition's CEO Jonathan Bland as he wound up day one of the conference. "We are here to harness the power of the market to create the social and environmental change our world needs," he continued. An over the top statement from a tree hugging hippy you may think but I beg to differ.
They are not tree huggers, they are not even charities but what they are are businesses. Proper companies who care about making money, who want to make a profit. The difference is the revenue raised doesn't go to faceless shareholders; it benefits society. The UK is currently home to 55,000 social enterprises turning over a collective £27bn and employing 500,000 people. Think they're tree huggers now?
In the past, the call to bring about community and environmental change has been driven by the public demand for ethical products. But now it's businesses which are driving the revolution. Social enterprises aren't new; firms have been doing it successfully for years - The Big Issue, Cafe Direct and Divine Chocolate to name a few. That record looks set to continue. Can 1,000 people at a single conference in Liverpool be wrong?
You may accuse me of overstating the situation but I'm happy to argue my point. Social enterprises are reinventing the rules of business and competing in mature markets with corporates that have been playing the game for years. That trend combined with the public's ever increasing desire for ethics and transparency from the companies they deal with, means that far from being the exception, social enterprises are likely to one day become the norm.
Social enterprises are businesses which devote all or a large part of their profits to social or environmental causes.
And before you say it, they're not charities! They are businesses through and through; run by drven and ambitious entrepreneurs who are using business principles to make a difference.
As a small business journalist, I've met and interviewed many entrepreneurs but time and time again it's the social entrepreneurs that inspire me the most. So much so, that I'm currently planning my own social enterprise. I've been thinking about it for a while but what convinced me to actually turn my idea into reality was my attendance at Voice 08, the annual conference of the Social Enterprise Coalition in Liverpool earlier this year.
Around 1,000 delegates were at an event which oozed energy. "Nothing can hold us back", proclaimed the coalition's CEO Jonathan Bland as he wound up day one of the conference. "We are here to harness the power of the market to create the social and environmental change our world needs," he continued. An over the top statement from a tree hugging hippy you may think but I beg to differ.
They are not tree huggers, they are not even charities but what they are are businesses. Proper companies who care about making money, who want to make a profit. The difference is the revenue raised doesn't go to faceless shareholders; it benefits society. The UK is currently home to 55,000 social enterprises turning over a collective £27bn and employing 500,000 people. Think they're tree huggers now?
In the past, the call to bring about community and environmental change has been driven by the public demand for ethical products. But now it's businesses which are driving the revolution. Social enterprises aren't new; firms have been doing it successfully for years - The Big Issue, Cafe Direct and Divine Chocolate to name a few. That record looks set to continue. Can 1,000 people at a single conference in Liverpool be wrong?
You may accuse me of overstating the situation but I'm happy to argue my point. Social enterprises are reinventing the rules of business and competing in mature markets with corporates that have been playing the game for years. That trend combined with the public's ever increasing desire for ethics and transparency from the companies they deal with, means that far from being the exception, social enterprises are likely to one day become the norm.
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