This document discusses social enterprises and provides guidance for developing a social enterprise organization. It defines the social economy as straddling the formal and informal economies by structuring formally but utilizing volunteers and flexible work arrangements. A social entrepreneur is defined as someone who identifies practical solutions to social problems through innovation and resourcefulness. Key aspects of developing a successful social enterprise organization are establishing a social mission, undertaking partnership and stakeholder engagement, evidence-based management, and working with a board of directors. Building the right team with skills in areas like business, finance, marketing, and operations is also emphasized. The document stresses the importance of having a clear business plan, customers, and generating surpluses or profits to remain financially sustainable and continue the social

1. 1
Social Enterprise Module 1
Developing a
Social Enterprise Organisation
Geoff Boswell

2. 2
What is the Social Economy?

3. 3
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

4. 4
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

5. 5
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

6. 6
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

7. 7
Am I a Social Entrepreneur?

8. 8
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.

9. 9
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.

10. 10
What is a Social Enterprise?

11. 11
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

12. 12
The Importance of management
structure and decision making

13. 13
Team spirit

14. 14
Importance of the Board as part of
the ‘team’
• Leadership
• Management
• Strategy
• Finance
• Marketing
• Sector
• Business
• Risk takers

15. 15
Building the right team
Possible skills for your Social Enterprise
• Business development
• Financial management
• Marketing
• Sales
• Product/service development
• Operational management
• Human Resources (HR)

16. 16
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

17. 17
Don’t set up to fail

18. 18
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.

19. 19
Knowing where you are going to
• Like all businesses you need:
A short term action plan
A bank+
A business plan (inc. market research)+
Some money (capital)+
A skill, ability, service or product*
Support (family, friends, ex-colleagues)
Suppliers
Customers
Premises
Transport
Infrastructure

20. 20
Knowing what you want to do

21. 21
Knowing who does what

22. 22
Reaching out to customers

23. 23
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

24. 24
Just stay in business

25. 25
Thank You
glastonburyfayre@gmail.com
Geoff Boswell