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Traci Lewis

But Where do I get the Money?

November 29, 2020 by Traci Lewis Leave a Comment

Sources of Finance for Female Social Entrepreneurs

It’s all very well having big ideas to save the world but where do we get the money from to help us?

In the context of this ‘new covid normal’. I’ve just spent the last few weeks filling in grant funding applications which I think we are unlikely to get (not covid specific or disadvantaged enough); searching for speculative Trust funding opportunities (bit of a long shot) and scoping out social investment options (looks promising but my Board not keen to borrow money).  Alongside marketing and delivering new online packages for my services, as a way to pivot from place-based freelance contracts.

I’m not alone in finding finance a challenge right now.

As access to finance is one of the main barriers to finance for female social entrepreneurs, and although there has been progress the gap remains, partly due to a lack of diversity among investors.

A third of businesses globally are now owned by women – a figure that is only growing. But frustratingly, despite performing equally alongside male entrepreneurs, female-led businesses continue to receive less funding than those headed by men at every stage. 

“In the UK, only one in three entrepreneurs is female – and they receive less than 1% of venture capital. Why, and what can be done?” said NatWest CEO Alison Rose said during the recent Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, updating us on recommendations and progress from the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship.

From their detailed research they believe the biggest opportunities to help female entrepreneurs fall in three areas: 
  • Increasing the funding directed towards them; 
  • Greater family care support; and, 
  • Making entrepreneurship more accessible for women and increasing support locally, through relatable and accessible mentors and networks.

As the Here & Now Report states, up to £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as UK men. Even if the UK were to achieve the same average share of women entrepreneurs as best-in-class peer countries, this would add £200 billion of new value to the UK economy.  

Women have been hardest hit by covid job losses and the increased childcare responsibilities which have come with it.  So can entrepreneurship be an answer to this ‘new normal’ for many?

Unless we provide proper support, which includes easy access to finance, it’s going to continue being a struggle. With women restricted to running micro and small businesses, which don’t require capital investment.

Liverpool Council recently came up with an enlightened plan to help address this: ‘Policy Actions to Build Back Better for Women’s Enterprise.’ Proposals to address the gaps in COVID19 enterprise support for women in business, include;  Allocation of Grants, Loans & Investment, by: Ensuring Small Business Grant Funds reflect the nature of women-led purpose driven businesses, such as those working from home premises. As well as ensuring rigorous monitoring to negate the impact of gender bias.

However in the absence of easy to find investment, here is my advice for things you can do right now.

My 6 top tips for finding finance for female social entrepreneurs

  1. Create and manage a good Budget to understand what you really need. A good cash flow forecast will provide you with a clear picture about your actual financial situation. What you definitely need and which areas are more flexible.  It is good practice to operate as leanly as possible, while still investing in the structures and development which you need in order to deliver your vision. I can recommend two excellent books, which both advocate for this; The Company of One; Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing and The Lean Start-up.

2. Keep up to date with the Grant Funding opportunities available Grants are non-repayable funds – or ‘free money’ – disbursed or given by one party, often a government department, corporation, foundation or trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. They are a great way to run pilot projects and get your social business off the ground. Check via search engines and register for alerts to your inbox Grants online, Funding Central

3. Join an entrepreneur network These networks support social entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions to social problems through courses and workshops. They have a strong focus on peer-support and inspirational input from social enterprise experts.  Their programmes often also come with grant funding too. eg. School for Social Entrepreneurs, UNLTD, Entrepreneurial Spark

4. Check out Social Investment opportunities. These are loans, however may come with a blended mix of grant too. Social investment is the use of repayable finance to help an organisation achieve a social purpose. Charities and social enterprise can use it to help them increase their impact on society, for example by growing their business, providing working capital for contract delivery, or buying assets.​ Check out Good finance.

5. Try a crowdfunder This is a great way to get your business or new product off the ground. Crowdfunding is a different way to raise money for good ideas. People are increasingly bypassing more traditional funding routes such as bank loans or grants and turning instead to the people around them and in their community to support their venture. Check out the purpose-built platforms and businesses which are set up specifically to host them. e.g.  Crowdfunder   Kickstarter  Justgiving 

Another thing to consider is getting the business support you need to help you stay focussed and available to all opportunities.

Alison Rose, chief executive, NatWest Group, said: “One of the most striking findings from the Rose Review was that women are less likely than men to know other entrepreneurs or to have access to sponsors, mentors, or professional supporter networks. For female entrepreneurs, and the UK economy to truly prosper, this balance must be reset.“

So my final tip is to get a coach or a mentor. A business mentor who can help guide you and give you confidence to scope and get investment for your business. Currently there are few free programmes set up to match you with a mentor, although perhaps you can just ask around your network or ask someone you admire?  

Good luck and remember to stay focussed on your big vision, as well as developing a detailed action plan, to help you get there.

Also believe in your ability to deliver it and find the resources you need, when you need them.

If you would like some support developing your business idea would you like a free copy of my ebook ‘Top 50 Tips for Female Social Entrepreneurs’ DOWNLOAD HERE.

Also there is still time to join my next start-up course – ‘Set up your own Successful Sustainable Business’ – 3rd – 18th December.  BOOK HERE or email me if you would like to find out about upcoming courses next year  [email protected]  @TraciLewis79

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: female social entrepreneurs, funding, social investment

The day I listened to an oak tree

November 1, 2020 by Traci Lewis Leave a Comment

Square image of Traci smiling to the camera wearing a green blazer

My journey as a woman just trying to save the world.  

I was 43 and my worst fears had been realised.

I was divorced, homeless, no savings, in debt and a single parent.

It seemed that every strategy I’d ever employed to avoid each of those things, let alone altogether, had eventually just only taken me to this point.  

To add to the mix, I’d just been told by an oak tree to change my career in sustainable food to help and empower girls and women instead. 

I had such a huge vision and optimism for my life and what it should be.  However I suddenly felt stupid and disillusioned. I’d been working hard on personal development; visualising a soulmate and dream home and projecting confidence about what I was going to achieve.

Yet here I was. Over £30K in debt. I couldn’t get credit to start my new business as I wasn’t a homeowner. The 2 houses I’d once ‘owned’ with my ex-husband now seemed like a distant dream.

The idea of now being able to own my own home again, on my modest charity manager salary, would take a miracle.  Also I’d recently decided to work for myself, as it felt like it was now or never.

However I literally had no assets or savings and was at the start of a long road to build the track record and capital I needed to own my home again.

In addition I’d just been given this life-changing message from an oak tree.

It was my birthday and as a present I’d been to see a shamanic healer. After a wonderful healing, with lots of support and insights for my life journey, the shaman gave me a final spirit message to go and ask an oak tree how I can also help others. To find out what I should be giving back to the world.

This obviously sounds completely bizarre, I get it, and I don’t normally talk to trees, or it wasn’t a regular activity at that point in my life.

So what got me here and what on earth was I doing exactly?

So what did I have going for me? 

Kira holding a drink and wearing a yellow top
  • I have a beautiful daughter and we have a great relationship.
  • I have a great friends who are fun, fabulous and loyal.
  • A loving, supportive family.
  • I’m healthy, well and strong.
  • I’ve had a successful purpose-led career with lots of transferable skills.
  • Great work colleagues and networks I’ve built over the years.
Oak tree

Who am I?

My name is Traci Lewis. I live in Bristol in the UK with my teenage daughter. I am 49 years old.

I am a social entrepreneur.  I run a social enterprise called Catalyse Change CIC which inspires, empowers and skills girls and young women as sustainability leaders and change makers.

I also now help other women who want to set-up and lead their own purpose-led businesses. My purpose is to empower women to take control of their destiny and live their best possible life.

Traci with arms in the air in front of Bristol Harbour

What led me to this point?

One of the first women I truly admired, past pop stars like Debbie Harry and Madonna, was Anita Roddick. In the 1980’s she was a rock star to me. 

She was a business woman, activist and campaigner.  She founded the Body Shop – a chain of beauty shops which pioneered ethical consumerism – changing the face of bodycare and retailing.

Traci as a teenager with three friends

As a teenager we used to take the train from Stratford-on-Avon to Birmingham, spending hours trying out their hair and body oils and creams, perfumes and make-up, all with exotic beautiful ingredients we’d never heard of before.

What was different about it were the stories about the products and people who made them and the shocking campaigns against animal testing and social justice. Massive posters of the women and children who made the products and their ingredients. This was a business with purpose. I wasn’t just buying a pot of jojoba body butter. I was empowering women to create their own livelihoods, to be in control of their own destiny.

It was the first time I’d even realised it was something I should be worried about. People around the world living in poverty while making the clothes and products we buy in UK High Streets. This was the first social enterprise I had ever heard of and I loved it, it fired up my passion for social justice and creating a better world for our people and planet.

This was a powerful realisation in the middle of my teenage years, as a passionate young woman growing up in the middle of the UK, doing my own mini rock star turn with sex, drugs, vintage clothes & Body Shop lipstick. I was vegetarian, I was pretty angry about ‘issues’ such as animal cruelty and corporate pollution, informed by Greenpeace campaigns and going to Glastonbury festival. However I was more concerned about my friends, parties and unsuitable boys who – in my head – all looked like my latest favourite rock star, think John Taylor, Bono and Ian McCulloch.

As soon as A-Levels were done, I worked until I bought a round the world ticket, I was off to explore and have the adventures I craved.

Kangaroo on a beach with ocean in the background at sunset

It was in Australia that I started to become more environmentally aware. I learnt about the mass deforestation of virgin rainforest and witnessed it first hand. 

I lived in the desert and on tropical islands, which both had no drinking water, it had to be shipped in or sucked up from ancient reserves which weren’t being replenished any time soon.

In Asia I saw rivers clogged with plastic, which was used to sell everything, replacing the banana leaves used only years before. I saw whole mountains dug away in order to build new highrises and the resulting topsoil runoff clogging up and polluting the rivers.  

I experienced air pollution so thick that you couldn’t see in front of you, they were wearing masks in Asia long before the coronavirus pandemic.

Discovering Permaculture

I studied Permaculture design in Australia with its founder and guru Bill Mollison to try and make sense of the environmental destruction and to try and find solutions for reversing it. Permaculture is a philosophy and design system which mimics nature to find the most sustainable ways of living. Organic gardening and farming are core activities, but it goes much further than that, into how communities are designed too.

I lived and worked on organic and biodynamic farms to learn more. Also to get a free bed and board in order to continue my travelling odyssey a bit longer. It all made me realise that the university place waiting for me at Swansea to study History wasn’t going to light my fire, in fact at that time in my life it would have been a bad thing. I would have mainly spent my time raving in the early 90’s. Much better to be exploring new parts of the world experiencing a totally new way of living and looking at the world.

Also I found my purpose, as it made me realise that I wanted to work in organic food and farming. As I realised that it provides hugely positive solutions to the massive problems facing our people and planet.

So when I returned to the UK and happily discovered my beloved Bristol. I asked the Soil Association – who are based here – for a job. It was 1997 and I started working for their social business – after 5 years travelling and working in Australia, NZ and Asia – which was a great fit for me as I knew that organic and sustainable food and farming was one of the best solutions around to help save the world.  We helped farmers and food businesses to get the organic stamp of approval, growing quickly in size and impact the start of the new century, when all the supermarkets were clamouring to bring in organic product lines.  

I always knew I would like to work for myself one day and it was interesting watching and helping so many different amazing new organic businesses. I remember dealing with the initial enquiry and application for Pukka Herbs which initially ran out of their founders home in Bristol, now a global brand owned by Unilever.  

Also I worked with lots of farms and food businesses who also did great work but who didn’t manage to survive. 

All of this time I was wondering how I could start my own social business but although I had many excellent skills and contacts I didn’t any capital and wasn’t totally sure of what I wanted to do.  I was by then living in beautiful Totnes in Devon but had been given a strong intuitive steer to go back to Bristol, which I was currently debating…

Traci's shadow on an Oak Tree

Message from an Oak Tree

Then out of the blue I find myself talking to an oak tree.  Who told me I needed to help and empower girls and women.  I didn’t have a clue how but it came from a deep inner knowing and wasn’t something I could ignore.

From there I started to inform myself on the issues and gave money to women’s rights charities. However I had never been involved in this work before. Until now I’d been working with organic food producers, communities and the local Council etc. to grow sustainable food systems.

Four girls wearing hijabs

Empowering Girls & Young Women

So when I moved back to Bristol, I became a Trustee of youth-led charity Integrate UK, who campaign on gender rights issues. I also became a voluntary business advisor for a youth organisation.

However my interest and networks were all around sustainability and I remember one day thinking about Catalyse Change – for which I’d alredy registered the domain name and set up as a limited company – and realised that it needed to focus on empowering girls and young women as change agents for sustainable development.

I had already been talking to other women in my circles about this and I was delighted when three of these brilliant women; Jenna, Julie and Rhian, straight away said yes to helping me make the dream a reality. 

Traci with three women in front of Catalyse Change pull up banner

We changed Catalyse Change to a CIC status and the four of us started to develop a vision and plan for what we were going to create.  Today, five years later, we’ve now worked with over 500 young women and 100 mentors who are all excited about what we do and we are only just beginning, the possibilities for the impact we can have is limitless, I’m excited and full of hope for what we can achieve.

So I know it’s easy to laugh at things we don’t understand – it’s a natural reaction – but don’t underestimate the power of trusting your intuition.

And if you pass an oak one day, why not just sit down and have a chat? Who knows where it might lead 🙂

Traci Lewis, [email protected]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Fear of Being Visible

October 29, 2020 by Traci Lewis Leave a Comment

+ 10 Top Tips from delivering my first online programme  

I am really proud to have delivered my first online programme ‘Set up your own Successful Social Business.’

However – despite having delivered learning programmes for the past 15 years – I found it really hard to do it under my own name.

I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable to be so visible and self promoting.

In order to deliver online programmes I had created my own brand and website. To help these succeed I need to be really visible on social media, however this was more challenging than I’d realised. 

My name has always been prominent when marketing my work but usually it has been on behalf of another business or organisation.  

So why do I find it so difficult to be really visible? To promote myself and to tell my personal story? 

Is it the fear of the judgement which being visible can create? 

Why is it so hard to be visible?

It’s made me consider my own feelings when I look at other women who are in the limelight. I may feel admiration, perhaps be a bit envious, sometimes negative judgements come up; too fat? too angry? too full of herself?

I realise that these are valuable learning tools, as judegements are actually just reflections of our own fears about ourself.

Fears which we project as judgements onto someone else and then experience reflected back at us. 

These negative thoughts are draining and self-sabotaging. 

My life changed the day I realised that my judgements were actually really about myself. As it meant that I had control over them and could choose to change them. Even though I still have to remind myself of this most days!

So running my first online course has been an invaluable learning experience for me as well as – hopefully – the other women who joined me.  Fifteen women all at their start of exciting but daunting journeys to create their own successful social businesses.

Over four weeks we explored their purpose, customers, money, along with loads of other practical tips and strategies for running a business.

I will share here some of my other key learning from delivering it.

My Top 10 Tips – key learning from delivering my first online course.

  1. Give more time for networking  – In the feedback everyone requested more time to meet the other participants at the beginning and throughout. It is such an important part of the journey yet I squeezed this aspect because I wanted to include so much content.
  2. 1-2 weeks is enough for marketing – I would normally have a longer lead time than this. However I have been taught recently that a short selling window is the most effective way to market an online programme. Although it is easier if you have a large and engaged email list, which I don’t have yet. However I have good social media networks, especially Linkedin, so I was able to market the event through these.
  3. Keep it simple – For the marketing and delivery I used software which I am already familiar with e.g. eventbrite, zoom and google drive. This all worked really well and was sufficient for the size of this group and course objectives. I would like to use other more sophisticated software for my online courses in future, but I can develop these as I grow.
  4. Set up a communication group – I created a Facebook group, which was useful for communication during the course. It was useful however only about half the group actively used it and it does take time to keep people engaged in this way. I might try a Linkedin group next time to see if it works better.
  5. Take them on a journey – It’s really important to enable people to go on a learning journey with their business idea and personal development. So create a programme which allows this to develop, with time to reflect on the process and learning individually and as a group.
  6. Less is more – In order to give value I always include lots of information. However on reflection I think I probably included too much. As people can only take on board so much and will only actually use a fraction of it. So next time I will aim to streamline the content and give the extra time for group networking and discussion.
  7. Give some surprises – Don’t publicise the details of all the content upfront, as it’s always good to keep back some surprises eg. I included a section on wealth consciousness, in the money module, which provided something unexpected and new to most of the group.
  8. Don’t sweat the small stuff – If some people fall by the wayside, or if some elements don’t really work, then don’t waste time worrying about it. Just make sure you try to get feedback and take it on board for next time. But don’t let it get you stressed and drain your energy this time.
  9. Keep Learning – The whole process is a learning journey for everyone.  So keep assessing what worked well and what didn’t. Ask for feedback at the end of each session and also do a proper quick survey at the end of the course (google forms or survey monkey work well). As this means you have proper data for your own benchmarking, development, social impact measurement and hopefully to help with your marketing too.
  10. Get Testimonials – From the survey ensure you ask questions which provide quotes you can use on your website and future marketing.  It is a rich resource so don’t miss the opportunity. Also the feedback is always more authentic and enthusiastic if you capture it straight away, so have the survey form ready to use at the last session.

I really enjoyed the experience of running my first online programme. It was a significant and successful first step for me, in my move away from freelancing. Providing me with an exciting opportunity to create my own income online doing something I love. 

It actually made me feel really empowered to create my livelihood in this way. So I will be running it again soon (3rd – 18th December in fact).

Go For It!

So, if you are hesitating about putting something out under your own name, I highly recommend you just go for it.

Push your comfort zone a little. Also remember you have to start somewhere.

So just make a start and don’t let perfection be the enemy of good enough.

If you would like to join my email list for updates about my latest courses and events then please get in touch [email protected]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: confidence, fear, online programme

Ethical Freelancer, Solo or Social Entrepreneur?

September 15, 2020 by Traci Lewis Leave a Comment

Traci sat wearing a green blazer with laptop peaking in from the bottom of the image

Which model to choose when working for yourself.

Job security is no longer guaranteed, and a result, many more people are opting to take control of their future and start their own businesses. Additionally, technology has made it so much easier to do this, with just a quick online search you now have access to unlimited resources, funding, software, market research, and networking opportunities from around the world.

Being one’s own boss can be both exhilarating and rewarding but it isn’t for everyone. 

Statistically speaking most new ventures fail, only around half survive the first 5 years.

Yet despite its challenges working for yourself offers a wonderful and unique opportunity to live life on your own terms, to make money doing what you love and to choose where and how you want to live and work. 

In fact, never before in the history of the world has there been such an opportunity – as there is right now – for you to make an impact while working for yourself. 

Yet it can be confusing with so many different ways of doing it. Which one do you choose?

My Journey as a Social Entrepreneur

During my career journey I have tried many different ways of working, often without realising the model at the time, and also supported hundreds of the other businesses to succeed in theirs. e.g.

  • While working as a charity manager my role was often that of an intraprenuer i.e. a manager within a company who promotes innovative product development and marketing.
  • As a project manager I have both helped develop & advise many social & community businesses.
  • I am now a Director of my own Ltd company, working as a freelancer and consultant.
  • I am also co-founder of a social enterprise which has a Board of Directors, Advisory Board and volunteers – it is set up as a CIC with it’s social purpose written into its governing documents.
  • I could also now be classed as a solopreneur, as I move away from freelancing, to develop and deliver my own online programmes & courses.

So what are the different models of working for yourself and which might you want to use yourself?

Traci and client looking at a laptop

Ethical freelancer:

A freelancer offers services, often working on several jobs for multiple clients at one time. It refers to the type of work being carried, it isn’t a legal status such as a sole trader or limited company (a freelancer can have either). Freelancers usually earn money on a per-job basis, charging hourly or daily rates for their work and the work is usually short-term.  To be an ethical freelancer you must ensure that how you run your business and those you work with embed the triple bottom line ‘people, planet, profit.’.

Social entrepreneur:

A social entrepreneur works to solve a social or environmental problem through a business, normally using money (preferably someone else’s) to build a business bigger than themselves. Entrepreneurs focus on growth and on scaling the systems that they build. If you want to take risks, change the world, and have a diverse skill-set, entrepreneurship might be the better option for you. However it is hard work, especially during the early years, and requires a lot of self-promotion and networking, so to succeed it is really something you need to feel deeply driven to do.

Is there another way? The rise of the online solopreneur

A solopreneur sets up and runs a business on their own. This could be seen as a middle way between being a freelancer and social entrepreneur. It is increasingly attractive to those of us who want to work for ourselves from home, with a good quality of life and without the stresses which come with pursuing business growth and managing a team. You might choose to work with other freelancers or contractors, yet you have the full responsibility for the running of the business. The work can be delivered in a range of ways eg. freelancing, consulting or e-commerce. The main route to scaling it is through delivering digital products online.

In reality, at least at the beginning, your work may be a mix of the above e.g. I am currently transitioning my freelancing to working as a solopreneur through delivering online courses, while I am also a social entrepreneur working as part of a team.  

If you are a woman working for yourself, or are just starting out, you might want to join our Women In Sustainability (WINS) meetings for freelancers and entrepreneurs.

To explore hot topics with other women in sustainability, who are already working for themselves, or seriously thinking about it. So come ready to explore your challenges, hopes and fears around how to successfully work for yourself. There are no stupid questions, so come armed with yours! 

For more information and if you would like to receive a free copy of my ‘50 Top Tips for Female Social Entrepreneurs’ then please do get in touch [email protected]  Traci Lewis  @TraciLewis79 Linkedin;  Co-founder & Director, Catalyse Change CIC Women In Sustainability Bristol hub.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Top 10 Social Entrepreneurship Ideas

September 15, 2020 by Traci Lewis Leave a Comment

Traci and Jenna posing for a photo in front of the Catalyse Change logo

To help Freelancers & Social Entrepreneurs stay in business.

Working for yourself right now is challenging. The coronavirus pandemic has become a global crisis, with freelancers and small businesses particularly feeling the strain of government regulations forcing all but a handful to close their doors during the nationwide lockdowns. The lockdown has inevitably led to declining sales, cancelled bookings and possible job losses, leaving many small business owners anxious about what the future holds. Here I explore 10 social entrepreneurship ideas for helping you keep your social enterprise afloat until we’ve managed to weather the worst of this storm?

I am a sole director of a limited company, Sustain-Live Consulting Ltd and also one of three directors of social enterprise, Catalyse Change CIC, which is also legally classed as a private limited company. In many ways we are in a good position, as we are agile and don’t have large overheads, however our normal income streams and activities have all been hit by COVID-19.

So we have been exploring all the options open to us, which I’m going to share with you here.

Are you eligible for Government Support?

Firstly – before we look at social entrepreneurship ideas – have you checked what government support could be available? My accountants TaxAssist are providing useful advice, Other clear, current sources of information are: Enterprise Nation and Martin Lewis.

However if this won’t help you – or not quickly enough – and if you don’t have savings or generous wealthy friends or family ready to help. What are your next steps?

Traci wearing turquoise dress leading a workshop

Here are my 10 top social entrepreneurship ideas to try now:

1. Contact Your Customers

Get in touch with all of your current customers, this includes sponsors and funders. As if they have furloughed and/or lost income – which is more than likely – then it’s probably going to affect existing contracts and jobs. So contact them now to discuss options and negotiate any changes to project timelines and payments. Clearly you want to maintain good relationships with them, so be kind and empathise with their situation, remember that everyone is in the same boat right now. Try and negotiate a new arrangement if current work can’t go ahead e.g. a payment plan or a new timeframe. Communicate any new agreements clearly in writing.

2. Get Your Products Online!

Okay, so this is the obvious next move, how can you now deliver your key products and services online? What sort of digital offering can you now create. My sister, who is a yoga teacher for studios and corporates, lost all her income overnight. So she set up a Facebook group for her clients and has now started delivering her classes via zoom.

At Catalyse Change we have created an online programme to replace our summer sustainability camp. This is also a new business opportunity which will provide us with a new product for a much a wider audience. You might be thinking ‘that’s all very well but it wouldn’t work for me’ however you might be surprised at what’s possible. I recommend joining Janet Murray’s ‘Build your online audience’ membership club. Janet runs clear, engaging masterclasses on how to create passive income in your business e.g. online courses, memberships, Ebooks etc.

3. Innovate & Pivot!

As a social enterprise you exist to help solve specific social and environmental problems. So in a time of crisis how can you best serve your community? How can you help them whilst also keeping your business afloat? “Pivot” is a popular term in the start-up world whereby if an initial idea doesn’t work as planned, entrepreneurs pursue a Plan B.

A social enterprise in Milan has opened up a residence for children whose parents have been hospitalised. What problem can now you turn your skills and resources to solving? Many restaurants and cafes are pivoting into food takeaways & deliveries. A great social entrepreneurship idea is the Food Union where chefs collaborate to feed NHS staff.

4. Grant funding?

There may be grants available to help your business deliver charitable services, especially if you are serving those most affected by COVID-19. Unfortunately a lot of normal grant funds have now been closed to new applicants. However there are new emergency funds available, especially if you are working with certain vulnerable groups, such as children, elderly or homeless people. There are also regional and local funds becoming available, so do sign up to funding bulletins. Check out Grants online and Funding Central.

5. Crowdfunding

Have you considered a crowdfunder to help you? It’s a great way to build your community and market your business, as well as to raise money for a new project or product. It could be an effective way to help you pivot and do something more community-minded. Check out the crowdfunding websites to find out how to do it and get ideas. We used Crowdfunder to launch Catalyse Change CIC, other good ones are Fundsurfer and GoFundMe who don’t charge a platform fee.

Also we use Local Giving as an effective way for a social enterprise to fundraise, as you benefit from gift aid. Another idea for independent businesses are ‘pay it forward’ vouchers, so your customers provide cashflow now, to use it when you open for business again eg. Wiggle  PayitForward.

6. Have you heard of Patreon?

It’s a website for creatives and entrepreneurs with a subscription-style payment model. Fans pay their favorite creators a monthly amount of their choice, starting from $1, in exchange for exclusive access or extra content. I just heard about this from Bex Band, The Ordinary Adventurer, as it is helping her to stay afloat now she’s just lost her main income from live events. Have a look around the site and see what people are offering. It could even become a core part of your business going forward. I also recommend Bex’s webinar if you are looking to grow your own brand and business.

7. Skill swap

Get creative. You don’t actually need money to get what you want. As many people now have more time on their hands, even if they have less money. So it’s an opportunity think about what you have to offer and what you need. Why not contact people in your network to find out how they are and explore the opportunity to skill swap e.g. web design, bookkeeping, how to run online events or develop a communication strategy. It’s an ideal time to put your house in order and look at some creative ways of doing it. You could also try established skills exchanges like Timebanks LETS or TimebankUK

8. Partnerships & Collaboration

Now’s a good time to have a think about your Big Hairy Audacious Goals and how to achieve them. Who would your dream partners or clients be? Who are those great people you would love to get to know better? Well now is the time to reach out and strike up a conversation. Have you got an idea you’d love their opinion on? Have you got an new project or event you’d love to collaborate on?

So while now is not the time to ask for money, it’s a time to lay the groundwork and grow relationships. There are currently lot of people sitting at home who would normally be difficult to get a meeting with. So why not use this as an opportunity to connect with them through Linkedin (do send a message with your invite if you aren’t already connected) and see what happens!

Mailchimp logo in different versions and colours

9. Newsletter & email list

Do you have a quality email list, of your customers and wider network, with whom you regularly communicate? Well if not, then now is the time to create one. Or if you do have one, now is a good time to use it and grow it. As an email list is an asset which you own. It’s not like your social media community where you don’t have any control over the algorithms or platform. We use Mailchimp for our monthly newsletter, as it’s easy to use whether for simple emails or to different target audiences.

Image of Seth Godin's book 'This is marketing'

I get a daily email from my marketing guru Seth Godin. His daily blog is always insightful and interesting. As a result, I’ve bought a number of courses and books from him. Don’t try a daily one for now though! But do make sure that whatever you do is consistent, even if it’s only monthly or every 6-8 weeks.

Traci in a field surrounded by nature

10. Put your house in order

Use this time to reflect, to dream, strategise and plan. Use it to put those admin, finance and project management systems in place. Perhaps finally sort out your website SEO and Google Analytics?  And don’t just do it but also use them to think about how to work smarter.

How about your newsletter sign-up system, can you think of ways to improve that? Perhaps add a new email footer, write an ebook or set up an automated email sequence for new subscribers. So, when this pandemic ends you’re ready to launch that new product or event and hit the ground running. As you’ve done all the research, the preparation and other backroom jobs which we usually push to the bottom of our to-do list. Also do consider doing an online learning course – many are currently free or reduced – as a way to increase your knowledge and to help you develop your business.

Also how about using this enforced PAUSE to stop and reflect for a bit?

To dream about the ANSWERS to the BIG PROBLEMS which you want to help solve?

As a social entrepreneur you should be always thinking about what problem needs solving for the community you are here to serve. There are a lot of problems right now and so it’s a good time to think about how we can help solve them.

Our economic system is at a crossroads. We’re not only dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the single most impactful event of a generation, but also the increasing impacts of climate change and social inequality, and they’re not going away, are they? We’ve now got to think a lot harder and work a lot smarter.

We’ve got to dream, to create and to collaborate in order to deliver social entrepreneurship ideas and solutions to help fix society’s biggest problems. So let’s leave the master of innovation Albert Einstein to have the last word here.

“We can’t solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

– Albert Einstein

Do you have more ideas to add which have worked for you?

Good luck with it all, do let me know how you get on. I’d love to hear from you.

Traci Lewis, director, catalyst & consultant, Catalyse Change CIC & Sustain-Live Consulting Ltd, [email protected] @TraciLewis79

Filed Under: Uncategorized

How to Run a Great Zoom Meeting

September 15, 2020 by Traci Lewis Leave a Comment

Women standing in a room dancing

Have you ever been in a meeting online which wasn’t actually that great? How often has it just been a convenient but poor substitute for the real thing? This needs to change and fast!

Now more than ever we need to ensure that we DO run great virtual meetings  -  here are 10 top team meeting ideas to help you be the person who does.

We are in the grip of a pandemic. Most people who can are now working from home. Many of us are fortunate to have laptops and internet so that we can do this and stay connected with our colleagues, clients and networks. But how do we ensure that we maintain the quality of conversations and connections which we get when we meet-up in person?

As how many times have you had a meeting online which wasn’t actually that great? Perhaps the tech failed, perhaps we felt invisible and unheard, or perhaps we didn’t really show-up, as we were actually thinking about or doing something else at the same time. However to ensure that we don’t get left behind or isolated during this difficult time we now need to ensure that we DO run great virtual meetings. Make your zoom meetings as good as your physical ones!

women sat around a table laughing together

Here are 10 team meeting ideas to ensure everyone thinks your next online zoom meeting is great:

  1. Send a Good Invite. Send an agenda and clear joining instructions by email, in good time, with date, time and zoom link. So everyone knows what the meeting is all about, what to expect and how to join it. Send these by calendar invite as well as by email, so they are easy to find and access when needed. 

  2. Send Reminders. So everyone remembers and actually shows up. Consider also sending reminders via FB messenger or Whatsapp or other social messaging platform the attendees might use. As the reason most people don’t show up is because they forget or double book.

  3. Be Prepared. For people who aren’t used to using video calls then it might be useful to also provide some practical tips with the invite and also to go through these at the beginning of the call. Seth Godin suggests this simple 9 point checklist.

  4. Be On Time. Make sure you are already there at least 5 minutes before everyone else arrives, to ensure everyone else can get in ok and to welcome them. Just like you don’t want to be the last one to arrive an offline meeting - well the same rules apply!

  5. Start with a Check in. Invite everyone to share how they’re feeling, to make sure everyone is ok and feels supported. I always do this but it’s especially important now while people are feeling stressed and anxious. I like this article from Bethan Harris of Collectively where she shares useful virtual meeting tips as well as other ‘coping strategies’ for working from home and looking after your mental health: Loneliness and Homeworking 

  6. Make it Fun. Consider using an icebreaker as well as a check-in. This is useful for a larger group or one where people don’t already know each other well. 5 Icebreakers for Distributed Team Meetings.

  7. Have a Conversation. People hate meetings but they don’t hate conversations. I love Seth Godin’s daily blog, which always inspires me to see things differently. Here is his recent one: Let’s have a conversation instead* on how to make a virtual or zoom meeting, less about the meeting and more about the conversation.

    “A conversation involves listening and talking. A conversation involves a perception of openness and access and humanity on both sides.If you’re trapped in a room of fifty people and the organizer says, “let’s go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves,” you know you’re in for an hour of unhappiness. That’s because no one is listening and everyone is nervously waiting for their turn to talk. But if you’re in a conversation, you have to listen to the other person. Because if you don’t, you won’t know what to say when it’s your turn to talk.”

  8. Use Breakout Rooms. This zoom function can help you to facilitate these conversations. The video Breakout Rooms allow the Zoom meeting host to create smaller groups within a larger meeting or training session.

    As the host you could speak for two minutes or ten minutes to establish the agenda and the mutual understanding, and then press a button to take everyone to break out rooms.They can have a conversation with one another about the topic at hand. Not wasted small talk, but detailed, guided, focused interaction based on the prompt you just gave them. 8 minutes later, the organizer can press a button and summon everyone back together.*

  9. Get Feedback. Bring everyone back into the main meeting and get feedback from the groups to everyone else, just like you might in a larger physical meeting, but use the chat function to do this. Consider designing your agenda so you alternate this group feedback with more smaller break out conversations.

  10. Allow Final Reflections. It is important to allow time for everyone to have an opportunity to reflect and also to agree on any actions and next steps. For small meetings ensure time for everyone to be heard or for larger meetings again do this via the breakout rooms.
Women standing in a room chatting

Oh and one final top tip!

Only have a meeting if you actually need one! Would a memo or email be sufficient right now? As ever I’m with Seth Godin on this one,

“Only have a real-time meeting if it deserves to be a meeting. If you need people to read a memo, send a memo. If you need students to do a set of problems, send the problems. If you want people to watch a speech or talk, then record it and email it to them. Meetings and real-time engagements that are worthy of conversations are rare and magical.”Again I’ll leave it to the master Seth to have the final word here;

“If you want to do a lecture, do a lecture, but that’s prize-based education, not real learning. If people simply wanted to learn what you were teaching, they wouldn’t have had to wait for your lecture (or pay for it). They could have looked it up online.

But if you want to create transformative online learning, then allow people to learn together with each other. Connect them. Create conversations.”

– Seth Godin

I hope you find these tips useful, let me know how you get on and let me know about any others which you think should be there. [email protected]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Traci Lewis is a social entrepreneur, trainer, facilitator and catalyst. She is co-founder and director of Catalyse Change CIC and also leads the Women in Sustainability Bristol hub.

She lives in the beautiful city of Bristol in the UK. She is also often found on the south west beaches and moors. Read More…

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