Category Archives: Social Business Support

Timely survival skills for the entrepreneur…

Survival skills for social entrepreneurs - a guide - cover image
Download this useful guide here …pdf

Survival Skills for Social Entrepreneurs” is a practical handbook that provides guidance on the seven essential skills needed to thrive in social entrepreneurship. The focus of the handbook is on adaptable, enduring skills that will be useful no matter how roles or organisations change. The seven skills are not specific to any particular industry or sector, but rather are “no regret” skills that will be useful in any context.

The handbook includes expert guides and activities for each skill, including creativity, resilience, communication, leadership, financial management, networking, and self-care.

The authors of “Survival Skills for Social Entrepreneurs” are Kevin Dunne and Claire Wilson. The handbook was published by the Social Enterprise Academy and Pioneers Post in 2021-2022.

The seven skills that social entrepreneurs need to survive and thrive, as outlined in the handbook “Survival Skills for Social Entrepreneurs,” are:

1. Resilience
2. Communication
3. Creativity
4. Leadership
5. Financial management
6. Networking
7. Self-care

Each of these skills is essential for social entrepreneurs to succeed in their endeavors, and the handbook provides expert guidance and activities for developing each skill.

The handbook “Survival Skills for Social Entrepreneurs” provides guidance and activities for developing each of the seven essential skills needed to succeed in social entrepreneurship. Here are some general tips on how you can apply these skills to your own social enterprise:

1. Resilience: Develop a resilient mindset and attitude by learning how to cope with failure, setbacks, and disappointment.

2. Communication: Learn how to communicate effectively with stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and partners.

3. Creativity: Foster creativity by exploring new ideas and approaches to solving problems.

4. Leadership: Develop leadership skills by setting a clear vision for your organisation and inspiring others to follow it.

5. Financial management: Learn how to manage your finances effectively by creating a budget, tracking expenses, and seeking funding opportunities.

6. Networking: Build relationships with other social entrepreneurs, investors, and stakeholders in your industry or sector.

7. Self-care: Take care of yourself physically and mentally by practising self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, or spending time with loved ones.

By applying these skills to your own social enterprise, you can increase your chances of success and make a positive impact in your community or industry.

The handbook “Survival Skills for Social Entrepreneurs” includes several case studies and real-life examples of social entrepreneurs who have successfully applied the seven essential skills to their own enterprises. These case studies provide practical insights and inspiration for readers who are looking to develop their own social enterprises. Some of the case studies featured in the handbook include:

– The story of a social enterprise that provides affordable housing solutions for low-income families
– A case study on a social enterprise that uses technology to improve access to healthcare in rural areas
– The story of a social entrepreneur who started a business that provides job training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities
– A case study on a social enterprise that uses sustainable farming practices to promote food security and economic development in rural communities

These case studies demonstrate how social entrepreneurs can use the seven essential skills to create innovative solutions to complex social problems.

This copy was generated by AI – but ratified by a human before publication!

Driving through the socio-economic blizzard

At the end of another difficult year for many communities, hoping for a brighter, fruitful year in 2023 for all…being resilient, generous of spirit and offering support – beyond the Christmas break.

Happy seasonal holiday from the publishing team at MIning the SEEM

From the SmithMartin Partnership family of social businesses and community projects.

Forward to 2020

Looking for a bright future…

In our last post we reflected on time passed and have turned our attention to the future, thinking about organisational development in our social business for 2020.

We read a post on Medium recently, from an executive guru which decried, as a management technique, the announcing of your plans…lest you stumble and they all come to nought. (All business is risk, even a ‘social’ one!…Ed)

We have thought about this too, and have come to the decision, given the ubiquity of the internet and new media, that laying out plans, even those not fully ready for complex delivery yet, is a sound way to make contact with like-minded community actors and organisations. Our own motives and action plan are below…

Inspirational Beginnings

We have attended this year ((2019) a number of events organised by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), in both Liverpool and London. Designed to create awareness of, and engagement with, the Community Wealth Building (CWB) agenda. In this aim Neil McInroy and his highly skilled team, have been highly effective.

This engagement has started us thinking about how CWB can be energised to reach the micro and small community facing social businesses or organisations across our region.

It is clear from the recently published documents below, that this community mercantile sector is clearly woven into the multivariate practice, target segments and policy focus of the CWB change matrix.

Key Documents for Strategic Development

CLES have recently published both Community Wealth Building 2019 – theory practice and next steps, as well as a Manifesto for Local Economies.  you can view, print or download both these key documents below…

View, print or download

Community Wealth Building 2019 is a profoundly important document in contextualising local action, policy change and in illuminating the tried and tested, as well as emerging methodologies of change in CWB practice.

Whilst recognising that the new (CLES) Centre for Excellence, funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, has a primary focus on Local Authority/governmental policy issues for securing the largest change and development ‘hit’ possible, we think that the same concepts of CWB and the intellectual change mechanisms involved can equally be applied to the small marginalised communities and, importantly, rural England.

 

View, print or download…

The Manifesto for Local Economies contains the building blocks of an exciting new CWB landscape. We do not see any of its elements as revolutionary, but rather see the policy and delivery skein exposed in the document as a progressive, moral and inclusive agenda for the individual, the company/charity, the region and government to embrace.

What The Manifesto calls for is an inclusive, fair and ownership diverting programme of change. It does not decry or deny capital, the market or the organisation – it refocuses them to broad community benefit.

We subscribe to the vision.

The action plan – the micro-contribution

  • To maintain and continue to consolidate activity with our clients for SocEntEastMids in the six counties region of its published focus – free delivery of support, advice and resources for the creation of  socially useful enterprise.

 

    • A new brand and energy for change
  • To create a new brand/web site of focus and delivery mechanism, based in Cambridge UK, to engage with rural communities in England around some key elements of the CWB agenda.

 

  • To scope and deliver this rural enterprise support across The Midlands, East Anglia, Lincolnshire etc., where rural enterprise is, arguably, remote from the national policy debate and one to one encouragement is thinly spread.

 

  • To develop a programme of work, addressing community facing organisations – developing focused CWB agenda items to the unique, particular and social landscapes of our chosen geography.

 

  • To develop a cost recovery mechanism for external speakers and critical advice, event attendance etc., whilst still delivering our core elements of free advice, web and communication services – with any surplus created directed to support our sister delivery at SocEntEastMids, as is normal for our Partnership. To help maintain the sustainability of the programme.

 

  • To focus our Muntjac energy initially on a Enterprise Change Hub, development of Community Banking networks, and Employee Ownership advice and change support. This latter may well spill over into help in creating partnerships, employee owned businesses, co-operatives, measuring impacts for baseline and business plans etc.

 

  • To make Cambridge a ‘go to’ place for CWB in the rural environment. (We have large car parks…Ed).
Spiky, yet endearing …excuse the pun!

The Muntjac is a persistent, pervasive and spiky creature in the rural environment. We like them.

Our strategy and delivery for the CWB programme, although modest, will hopefully develop the same profile.

If you would like to be part of a new CWB initiative in the rural East, do use our site contact facilities and have an opening conversation with Tim.

Seasonal best wishes from all of us!

This is a great volume on Community Wealth Building, newly available from Polity Press. Inspired thinking – drivers for action.

Free delivery when you buy this book from SocEntEastMids…

Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill make the case that ‘…a new model of economic development is emerging in our cities and communities. Offering real, on the ground solutions to localities and regions battered by successive waves of disinvestment, de-industrialisation, displacement and dis-empowerment…(new) approaches capable of producing more sustainable, lasting and equitable economic outcomes’. (Source The Case for CWB, p.1)

Buy this book here

This book, and the work of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies in Manchester were inspirational in 2019. You can read our response to this development thinking, and our micro-business approach to change, here.

We still welcome all enquiries for our services and support in 2020. SocEntEastMids – free resources for the building of socially useful business.

 

Building a new SocEnt web

We are delighted to be supporting the launch of a new community web design, hosting and update service – blueQuarter.co – part of Broadway SocEnt in Burton on Trent.

blueQuarter logo - image and web link
Discover blueQuarter SocEnt services here…

Our Partnership support packages for SocEnt include free web provision, of course, and we are pleased to be developing in-house training and technical expertise for Broadway, as well as donating the core infrastructure to make this sustainability step a success for them.

As part of Broadway Social Enterprise, this new, fully managed service, is designed to respond to the needs of community groups, social enterprise, charity and education needs.

All the money spent by their clients, on  blueQuarter web services, goes directly to support their community projects at Broadway SocEnt and Muddy Boots in particular.

See more at http://www.bluequarter.co/

If you would like a Social Enterprise, with a local community at its heart, to help you deliver your next set of web pages, or to revise or modernise something you already have, then blueQuarter would be happy to help.

For an informal discussion to explore your next managed web presence, or just to find out more – contact tim (at) bluequarter.co

Always happy to help.

‘We build in WordPress, but are not anchored by geography for this service, only in our commitment to effect change where we live. Contact us from anywhere!’

………………

Editorial Notes:

blueQuarter.co is the managed web service of Broadway Social Enterprise Limited, a community enterprise based in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, UK.

The technical resources for our service have been donated and developed in partnership with Social Enterprise East Midlands and the SmithMartin Partnership in Cambridge UK.

A long time web and communications supplier, our team are developing their in-house expertise and providing their technical infrastructure.

John Birkett, Chair of Broadway SocEnt has said ‘…we are delighted with this new development for our SocEnt. Not only will we be able to sustainably provide professional and technical support to others in our sector, but will be able to transform the training and knowledge uplift of our existing, and new, SocEnt volunteers…’.

…………………

Other web-tech works in progress Broadway have to be completed:

In the Autumn Broadway hope to launch The Book Bobbler, our new resource for children’s books and arts activity. See http://www.bookbobbler.uk/

Finally to complete their SocEnt sustainability plan, they will be completing and launching the Broadway Broccoli service – an organic veg box service – working to deliver healthier diets and good food in their geographical area of distribution. See http://www.broadwaybroccoli.co/

SocEntEast Mids is a proud sponsor the work of Broadway SocEnt…

The  SocEntEast Mid Team


Community Business Trade Up Programme

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) have, this 2019 New Year, published details of new, free learning and development courses for the leaders of the community business sector in the UK.

Free learning at SSE...image and web link
Free learning at SSE…see more

“Applications are open for the Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change.

This programme helps the leaders of community businesses in England. It focuses on growing income from trading, to improve impact and sustainability. It offers:

  • A learning programme: 12 days spread over nine months
  • A Match Trading grant of up to £10,000
  • A community of people running organisations like yours

There is no cost to you at any point”.

If this learning and funding opportunity is of interest to you and your community business, you can see the guidance and application notes here.

SSE are offering taster sessions across the regions, so that you can explore the opportunity, and you can find a taster session booking form here.

This learning programme runs from June 2019 to March 2020. 

The deadline to apply is 1pm on 14th February 2019. Explore all the details at SSE here.


Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme - image and web link
Read more here…

Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme

This SSE Programme may also be of interest to our readers. You can discover the details of the learning and support on offer from the programme partners here.

  • A learning programme (14 days spread over a year)
  • A grant
  • Mentoring
  • A supportive community

You can register your interest, and be notified when this year’s applications (2019/2020) are open on this web page at SSE…

https://www.the-sse.org/lbsep/