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Social Enterprise Module 1

Developing a

Social Enterprise Organisation

Geoff Boswell

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What is the Social Economy?

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What is the Social Economy?

When people talk about ‘the economy’, they usually mean the formal economy:

• Public and Private sector companies and organisations• Local and central government spending• Most charities, not for profits, CICs etc• Business buying, selling, trading• The stock market, shares, bonds etc• Finance, insurance, pensions• Self employed and sole traders• Tax, inland revenue, capital gains, corporation tax etc• And all the jobs that come with them that pay tax and NI

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What is the Social Economy?

But there is also the informal economy:• Black market• Jobs for friends and family (moonlighting)• Cash in hand work (the lump)• Some not for profit community & voluntary organisations• Local economy/currency schemes (LETS etc)

• People working as small farmers, street vendors, hawkers, small traders, micro-entrepreneurs, home-based workers, cobblers, rag-pickers, porters, labourers,

artisans, etc…all belong to the Informal Sector • And most importantly, all the volunteers in the UK

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What is the Social Economy?

So, by and large, today's economy looks like this:• A large scale manufacturing sector• A large scale services sector• A large scale public sector

• A small scale local sector

• A small household/neighbourhood sector (paid)• A small household/neighbourhood sector (unpaid)

Formal in the first three, informal (generally) in the last three

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What is the Social Economy?

The social economy can straddle the two:

It does structure itself formally• Plays its part in paying taxes and insurances• Can generate profits, trades, shares, exports/imports

But

Can use volunteers, disabled and marginalised people, ad hoc workers, a range of external sub-contractors

• Is flexible• Possibly puts surpluses into community, social or

environmental activity

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Am I a Social Entrepreneur?

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What is a Social Entrepreneur?

A social entrepreneur identifies practical solutions to social problems by combining innovation, resourcefulness and opportunity.

Committed to producing social value, these entrepreneurs identify new processes, services and products, or unique ways of combining proven practice with innovation to address complex social problems. Whether the focus of their work is on enterprise development, health, education, environment, labour conditions or human rights, social entrepreneurs are people who seize on the problems created by change as opportunities to transform societies.

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What is a Social Entrepreneur?

Social entrepreneurs aren’t just founders of social enterprises. While some social enterprises are created by social entrepreneurs, not all of them are. The term social enterprise emerged recently with reference to non-profit organisations seeking new and different ways to generate the funds they need to operate.

Now social enterprises are being created by governments to catalyse community renewal and provide excluded groups with income-generating opportunities. The vast majority of social enterprises focus on the delivery of goods and services. Social transformation and system change are not their primary drivers, as with social entrepreneurs.

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What is a Social Enterprise?

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The Social Enterprise organisation and how it is different

The main features of a social enterprise organisation

different from a small or medium sized business (SME)

is an environment where the CEO needs to:• Work to a social mission and in some cases an

environmental mission • Usually undertake partnership and multi-agency working • Undertake evidence-based management • Undertake stakeholder engagement • Address governance issues  and working through/with a

board of directors

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The Importance of management structure and decision making

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Team spirit

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Importance of the Board as part of the ‘team’

• Leadership • Management  • Strategy • Finance • Marketing • Sector • Business • Risk takers 

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Building the right team

Possible skills for your Social Enterprise

• Business development • Financial management • Marketing • Sales • Product/service development • Operational management   • Human Resources (HR)

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Other team skills you want

• Belief in what you are doing! • Planning • Problem solving • Communication • Working as a team member  • Commitment  • Reliability • Service/product delivery • Strategic understanding • Stakeholder relationship building and maintenance   

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Don’t set up to fail

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Setting up to stay there

• You need to register with Companies House, so…• You need a Memorandum and Articles of Association, 

which:is a statement made by each subscriber confirming their intention to form a company and become a member of that company. If the company is to have a share capital on formation, each member also agrees to take at least one share. The form of memorandum is included in schedules 1 and 2 of The Companies (Registration) Regulations 2008 (SI 3014). You can download a pro-forma memorandum for a company limited by shares or guarantee from the Companies House forms online page.

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Knowing where you are going to

• Like all businesses you need:A short term action planA bank+A business plan (inc. market research)+Some money (capital)+A skill, ability, service or product*Support (family, friends, ex-colleagues)SuppliersCustomersPremisesTransportInfrastructure

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Knowing what you want to do

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Knowing who does what

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Reaching out to customers

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Staying in business

• Making money:• If you don’t like that ‘profit’ word, use ‘surpluses’. Either

way you must run at a plus figure in your account so that:• You can give money to good causes out of them• You put proceeds into another organisation(s)• You expand your business• You generate a reserve account• You can repair and maintain• You can employ the disadvantaged• You can continue to help change society for the better

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Just stay in business

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Thank You

glastonburyfayre@gmail.com

Geoff Boswell