Celebrating Social Enterprise Day

If you know me well, you will know that I am passionate about business, its my job after all, but my greatest passion is business for a social purpose. I have had the honour of leading the BEC since before it was its own company, and therefore unashamedly am very proud of what we have achieved collectively, the staff, our Board, our community, and the fabulous businesses both commercial and social purpose that we support. 

We are now hurtling towards our 8^th Anniversary in February 2024; I would be fibbing if I said it has all been plain sailing it has been both challenging and rewarding in equal measure. I look back at the early days and wonder how we ever got this far, probably the recipe is tenacity, resilience, and the determination to support the business community locally and further afield. Of course, our success is attributed to the growth of Barking and Dagenham and our supporters in local government who have helped and supported on our journey and long may it continue.

We have had some interesting changes to our work in this last year, a notable increase in the number of people wanting to start a business for a social purpose. The closure of Everyone Everyday (Participatory City) and the distribution of the assets has led to several groups of residents wanting to continue their journey to delivering meanwhile services to their community. We are excited to see the future of these makers, sewers, and crafters and how this works, and of course will continue to support them on their journey to creating a Community Interest Company that sees all the assets from Everyone Every day put to good use.

We ourselves have teamed up with Make it Barking and are delighted to have been successful in the bid for the commercial kitchen which will be used to support both commercial food businesses, and community businesses alike. Hopefully from early next year.

However, in addition we lots of other people wanting to start social enterprises with ideas about bringing mental health services to the heart of the community, tackling obesity, and supporting people who have experienced domestic violence to name but a few. It is an exciting time and whilst we have seen a downturn in commercial business start ups (for obvious reasons) we have seen an expediential increase in the number of community-based businesses.

Diversity and inclusion are a hot topic these days, and the reality is that a Community Interest Company is far more likely to be led by people from BAME backgrounds than a commercial business. In the traditional commercial world only 10% of businesses are led by people from BAME backgrounds.

Another trailblazing initiative across the world of social enterprise is those businesses who are tackling the climate emergency. It may seem obvious but if your purpose is about helping people and creating social change then working in sustainability as a social business is booming.

This Thursday November 16^th is Social Enterprise Day, a chance to look at the world of business for a social purpose or change. So maybe you could find that not for profit coffee shop or purchase a Christmas gift from the range of independent not for profit retailers to support the commitment. 

Or maybe you want to join the movement and start a social enterprise and join the 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing £60 billion to the economy and employing 2 million people.

If you want to find out more about our mentoring and support for social businesses, an idea or  you already exist but need help then reach out to us at reception@barkingenterprisecentre.co.uk.

Years ago, a barista drew a smiley face on my coffee cup, and I’ve been loyal ever since.

I had walked into this quiet independent cafe with my partner. As is common for LGBTQ+ people, we were on guard for disapproving looks. The smiling cup was a gesture that said “we see you’re nervous, and you are welcome here”.

Actions like these are where ‘inclusion’ may start in your small business.

If you’ve worked in big companies, ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ (we’ll call it ‘inclusion’) might have looked like:

• Carefully designed hiring practices
• Company-wide religious celebrations
• Anti-racism training
• Disability champions
• Gender neutral dress codes
• Staff equality networks

Not all of these are relevant for our small businesses right now.

So is ‘inclusion’ relevant for our small businesses?

Yes.

Initiatives like the ones above don’t represent all inclusive business behaviours. Think of inclusion as your response to this challenge.

“In a community and economy with people of many ages, genders, ethnicities, sexualities, disabilities, nationalities, family types, faiths, languages, social classes and life experiences, a majority will experience unnecessary, unfair barriers as customers, colleagues and fellow citizens. In what ways will you give people a break from these, as they see and interact with your small business?”

Put like that, it makes sense to strive to be inclusive.

Great businesses always aspire to delight customers and eliminate their frictions - see: contactless payment, free delivery, birthday emails. As consumers opt for quicker, bigger, cheaper, closer, and newer things; many of our customers also opt for businesses that make them feel safe, valued, equal, good about themselves and optimistic about the world. We can take inclusive actions that help achieve that for customers.

Inclusivity matters in our business networks too. When a business owner made sexist jokes about his wife to break the ice at a recent networking event, it put me off working with him and recommending him. We as business people also flock to the people who make us feel safe, valued, equal, good about ourselves and optimistic about the world. We can build beautiful, diverse networks through our inclusivity.

Entrepreneurs may also have personal reasons to value inclusion.

Being excluded or undervalued as employees is a huge driver for people becoming their own bosses in the first place. For example, whilst disabled workers face high levels of discrimination, the number of disabled small business owners actually reflects the disabled population at large^[1]. Many of us want to break the negative cycles we’ve been involved in, and treat others better.

In many cases, our businesses are often an expression of who we are. Our products and services are our creative endeavours. We want them to be our legacies.

If that’s how you feel about your business, you should know that inclusive small businesses are helping to build the world we want to see. We don’t need to become charities to do that; we can pay attention to inclusivity in the things we do and the ways we operate. Any of us with personal experiences of racism and prejudice know that actions and gestures of support, from organisations large and small, can be meaningful.

Are there times when inclusion might be particularly relevant to us?

As we saw around the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, your inclusivity may be a lot more visible or powerful at times of heightened injustice, tension or fear. Right now, there is an upsurge of anti-gay violent crimes in London. LGBTQ+ people in Barking and Dagenham may feel especially vulnerable and unsure who has their back. Could it be you?

Tragedies and news cycles aside, people in minority and historically excluded groups have been around forever. That means there’s never a bad time to think about them.

But I find that most people interested in inclusion have personal moments or reasons why it became so relevant for them. One of mine was a time when I hadn’t really thought about how my new disabled colleague was going to join in a day of company-wide activities I had organised. What I felt from them was frustration, disappointment, embarrassment and the eye-roll of never being thought about enough. From then, I wanted to be proactive about including people, and never make someone feel like that again.

The inclusivity of our small businesses is always relevant. My tip is to find your reason to care about it. That will be your fuel.

I think I have mentioned this before but sometimes I struggle with blogs especially when the idea or theme does not flow. This happened with this one and then I thought about my impending holiday coming up and then had the lightbulb moment.

It is a busy time at the BEC with lots of exciting new projects about to start; I have been saying to my long-suffering work wife and my husband at home this is not the right time to go on holiday. However, on reflection there never is the right time for a holiday when you work or own a business or for some of you who do both!

However, in lockdown we all learnt the importance of work life balance if we didn’t understand it before! Which clearly some of us didn’t.

So here are some reminders I promise you will thank me.

Establish Boundaries and Prioritising Self-Care

Setting yourself clear boundaries is essential for maintaining work-life balance. From implementing technology boundaries…step away from the mobile, laptop, tablet. Learn to incorporate self-care rituals into your daily routine, small changes can have a profound impact on your ability to balance work and life.

Learn to manage your time.

Blah blah blah, but time management is a critical skill for business owners seeking work-life balance. From prioritising tasks and delegating responsibilities to leveraging technology tools for increased efficiency, learning how to optimise your time to achieve your professional goals while still making room for personal pursuits is key.

Delegating and Outsourcing for Freedom

As a business owner, it's important to recognize that you can't do it all alone. Delegating and outsourcing tasks is essential to regaining your freedom and maintaining work-life balance. Learning how to build a reliable team, whether through hiring employees, engaging freelancers, or partnering with virtual assistants is a skill you must master. Discover the benefits of entrusting others with specific responsibilities and how it can empower you to focus on your core strengths and passions.

Creating Systems and Processes for Efficiency

Efficiency is the foundations of work-life balance. Let’s explore the importance of creating systems and processes that streamline your business operations. Identifying areas where automation and standardisation can save you time and energy is essential. By implementing effective systems, you can enhance productivity, reduce stress, and create more space for personal pursuits.

Achieving work-life balance as a business owner is not a luxury; it's a necessity for your well-being and long-term success. By setting boundaries, prioritising self-care, mastering time management, delegating effectively, and implementing efficient systems, you can reclaim your sense of freedom and create a fulfilling and sustainable business.

Remember, work-life balance is an ongoing journey that requires regular reflection, adjustment, and self-care. Embrace the notion that success is not solely measured by business accomplishments but also by the quality of life you experience. Take the power to change to a business and a life that aligns with your values, aspirations, and desire for freedom.

Here's to regaining your freedom, balancing work, and life, and creating a business that allows you to truly enjoy the journey.

With that in mind I am taking a dose of my own medicine and I am off on holiday, leaving you with a great guest blog next week from our LGBT+ guest blogger Taz, and my work wife a handover the size of the yellow pages 😊

I’m not in control. I’m not perfect and over the last few weeks I have felt completely overwhelmed by the simplest of tasks… So maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I did feel a huge amount of disappointment, frustration, and guilt. Here’s what happened.

I came back from holiday with a nasty chest infection which really knocked me off my feet, instead of having a spring in my step like Tigger. I was in fact doubling up as Eeyore, slow and unresponsive and not seeing the joy in everyday things. Work was piling up post-holiday and there was a tender to write in a few days which had to take priority. I have been feeling guilty that I haven’t been blogging, not sure why as I don’t know if anyone reads them, but I find joy in writing them so will continue until someone tells me to stop!

 It felt horrible to feel that way, and I couldn’t shake the feeling for a couple of weeks, the guilt of not being at my best, and the frustration just kept rising, even after I had tried to move on. I know that feeling bad wasn’t going to fix anything, so I just needed to get over it. Eventually, I started getting frustrated that I couldn’t get over my frustration and then something clicked.

My light bulb moment - Focus on reality, not feelings.

I’ve always been told not to let myself be controlled by my emotions. The state of reality isn’t based on how we feel — in fact, it is often quite the opposite. For instance, even though I was not at my best, the BEC was still moving forward because I have an awesome Operations Director who always has my back and when I am struggling, which thankfully isn’t often she just takes over, and there are several good things happening here at the BEC.

But the problem is that when you feel bad you start being negative, and negativity can leave you feeling even worse.

I know there’s a few tactics to combat this cycle of behaviour, and I hope they help

• Acknowledge your mistakes and your frustration. Instead of trying to push through frustration by ignoring it, figure out why you are frustrated. Writing it down can help to clarify why you are so frustrated

• Figure out how not to make that mistake again. Sometimes it is more complicated, such as checking an angry reaction. In any case, a mistake can be valuable if it keeps you from making an even bigger mistake.

• Stop replaying the situation in your head. Find something else to focus on by changing activities or scenery. If this isn’t possible, then write out or tell someone what you keep replaying in your head, as this often helps differentiate reality from mental escalation. Replace the negative thinking with positive self-talk.

• Keep going, don’t let negative feelings keep you from doing what you’re supposed to be doing. It should be a rare thing that our frustration gets so out of hand that we become crippled. In some ways, this requires a “fake it until you make it” kind of mentality: You may not feel like you can work cheerfully for the rest of the day, but you can at least keep working and be as cheerful as you can, which often leads to genuine cheerfulness.

As the Summer holidays approach, it may be time to take a well-earned break, the BEC will still be here but we reign in on social media and posts as we want to encourage down time for businesses if they can do it. Also, my fab Operations Director disappears for most of August leaving me home alone 😊 so I need to be around to be reactive the challenges the team may be encountering. Touch wood things are normally quiet.  I like to use August to plan and review what we do.

I know the cost-of-living crisis is hitting businesses just like people but …If you can get away, take time off, or even just slow down for a few weeks please do! The BEC will still be here if you need support or advice. Have a fab summer folks!

I am working from home today, nothing unusual on a Friday it’s my catch-up day and planning time for the next week. It has taken me years to get in this discipline, but it works finally! I have to comment on the weather though I have literally watched all four seasons in about five hours from my office window. Brilliant sunshine next doors cherry tree is in blossom, torrential rain and wind now next doors blossoms are on my lawn!

This led me to think about the seasons in business, just like the weather we have to put up with in the UK our businesses also go through a season’s cycle. This cycle plays a huge part in how we make decisions for our marketing strategy and resources. The Seasons of Business is a natural analogy that can help us determine what aspect of the business we’re currently in and where we want to move forward. I’m going to share what the four seasons mean for business and how we, as business owners, can have that sense of productivity, fulfilment, and growth. This analogy will show you how all the work that we put in produces traction in our business and brings out the results that we desire.

Business like seasons is cyclical, each of the seasons represents an aspect of building a business and personal growth. There are a lot of examples of how the seasons relate to what we're doing on a day-to-day or even year-to-year. You may find your business in a season that you didn't quite anticipate that doesn’t fall in line with the weather season outside your windows.

This means that as business owners, we go through all seasons and stages. We may experience a specific season longer than others, but everything will eventually shift, and you start over to new projects.

Let’s look at the four seasons to help you better understand where you are right now and identify where the gaps are so that you can move your business forward.

1. Spring

Spring is all about potential and possibility, for your business is that spring is the time when you start planting seeds for new growth. Spring, the season for births not just babies but those cute lambs, chicks, and ducks. For business this is when you make new business plans, develop your marketing strategy, and thinking about budgets and cash flow for the new fiscal year. If you’re in this season of your business, you may be full of energy and ideas and maybe planning new services or products. For many businesses Spring is the time for a spring clean in whatever shape that works for you!

2. Summer

As summer progresses, things start to grow, and come alive. This is the time to nurture and tend to our growth but also time to manage the weeds.

A lot of this can be seen in the summer season of your business. If you’re in a summer phase, you must pay close attention to your operations to keep your business growing. You need to nurture your projects, continue to promote your services, tend to your relationships, and form new connections in your community. If you’re in this stage of your business, all that creativity and energy of spring will have calmed down, but you must get your projects closer to completion.

3. Autumn

This is when our business becomes mature. Autumn is the season of harvest, but only if you've put in the work in spring and summer. The same is true in your business. After consistently tending to your business, you will eventually see the results.

4. Winter

Both you and your business need time to rest. The winter season is the time for you to recover from the busy months of spring and summer. Winter often known as the season to rest. As humans we tend to socialise less, dash home in the cold and dark and for me often envious of animals who hibernate. If you’re in the winter season of your business, you’ll be in a phase of slowing down and taking a rest. Taking rest could be something that you want, or circumstances have forced this upon you due to a business downturn. Maybe you no longer have the same energy and drive that you had during the spring and summer seasons. Possibly, your creative ideas are not as impressive as in the past seasons. If you are in this season, remember to make time to reflect. Ask yourself whether what you’re offering works or not and where you want to take your business once spring comes.

So what season are you in? I think it’s useful to think of our season of business. Remember that whatever season you’re at, there are no winners or losers. Each season gives us something that we can use to our advantage to better our business. Whatever season you’re currently in, think about how you can make the most of this season and what you can do to shift to the next one.

I was so looking forward to February 2023 it felt as though I was emerging from the winter fog of post-Christmas blues and a remarkably busy January (unusually so for the BEC). I had lots of plans for February I was going to get back to blog writing, which I find both enjoy and find very therapeutic, big fail there that didn’t happen. In fact, it is now the middle of March, and I am just reviving my flow.

I was particularly looking forward to the Workspace Design Show, I was booked to speak on the panel on 27^th February which happened to be the BEC’s 7^th birthday but alas I came down with the flu and that put paid to that.

I was looking forward to being on the panel because I had not done something like that since before the pandemic so back in 2019. I managed the podcast the week before but was looking forward to hearing and learning from interesting peers in the field of workspace and hearing about their experiences. Alas it did not happen; I am assured there will be other opportunities and I am looking forward to them.

The coworking community is relatively new to us at the BEC and we have been on a learning journey that is for sure; we have found the whole community incredibly supportive and welcoming so that has been a great experience.

I was excited to write the blog about our 7^th birthday but that didn’t happen either because I felt so grotty for a week.  However, I still feel that this is something we need to shout about, as the myth about social enterprises still continues today. There is no legal format for a ‘social enterprise’ I spend a lot of time explaining to people it must be a something, either a Community Interest Company or another structure.

Here are the top five myths about social enterprise.

1. Social enterprises are not-for-profit.

WRONG! 'Not for profit' is a tricky phrase. Most social enterprises are ‘for profit’ but they dedicate their profits to achieving a good cause or supporting their business outcomes. Our small profits fund business support and mentoring.

2.  Social entrepreneurs can’t run a real business

WRONG! Most social entrepreneurs come from successful business backgrounds. Social entrepreneurs are just like other entrepreneurs - some will succeed, some will change track and some businesses will fail. Most social entrepreneurs we meet are acutely aware of the need for their business to succeed so they can tackle the social issue that they are enthusiastic about.

3.Social enterprises rely on grants

WRONG! The whole point of being a social enterprise is that you trade to achieve a compelling cause. This means selling goods, services and products. Many social enterprises do access grants to help with start-up or with certain projects. My advice is that a social enterprise should aim to use a grant as an investment with a view to developing an income generating idea once the grant runs out.

4. Social enterprises are automatically more sustainable

WRONG! Social enterprises will only succeed if they can sell their services and products to customers. Many charities have survived for decades by relying on grants. That said, being dependent on grants can be challenging and developing successful, socially enterprising income streams can improve sustainability. Social enterprise should not be seen as a panacea - you need a strong business model, excellent market insight and an ability to deliver what customers want and need. Much like a ‘standard’ business really.

5. Social enterprises are not scalable

WRONG! Social enterprises are no different to ‘standard’ businesses in this regard. If you have an excellent product or service, a talented team, the ambition, the drive, resolve and a clear plan for scaling there is no reason you cannot significantly scale your business.

Lastly it would be remiss not to talk about some of the BEC’s seven-year successes.

• From one building to three
• Supporting 498 start-ups in seven years
• 5215 hours of business mentoring with Industry Experts (free)
• 5863 hours of training and events for businesses all free!!
• 98% occupancy even during covid!
• London Living Wage accredited only one of 64 CICs in London!