A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

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It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading 1: Getting started 2: First steps 3: Business planning 4: Legal and governance 5: Funding and resourcing 6: Financial controls 7: Managing growth 8: Management and governance 9: Social enterprise 10: Sources of support • Last-chance measures: If a project or activity is a drain on the rest of the organisation you can shut it down immediately. Or you can give it a last chance with a survival plan which changes its structure, staffing arrangements, costings, priorities etc, and give it strict timetabled targets for proving itself. • Raising charges with fingers crossed: In some cases, perhaps a minority, charges can be introduced or raised. A common effect of this is a reduction in the use of a service which actually produces little or no extra income. Be careful – but if you’ve nothing to lose, try it anyway. • Contracts to close the income gap: When a service is under threat it is often because its outgoings are exceeding income by a relatively modest, but cumulatively unsustainable, amount. So it may be possible to find a contractor who will recognise the benefits of avoiding closure by injecting extra cash to top up what you receive in fees from users. This might be a social services department which buys places for high need users at a community-run day centre for the elderly, or a local business which contracts to buy a handful of places in a nursery project. You will need good negotiation and selling skills and perseverance to win the argument. Making better use of existing assets: Moderate-sized community projects and trading enterprises which offer a number of different services can usually find a few new ways to use their existing resources more profitably. Staff and trustees may need to work together to brainstorm ideas for generating extra income. Don’t limit your imaginations; think laterally about any possibilities and test anything that sounds promising, from the obvious to the completely-whacky-but-might-just-work. • new income from current activities: − a new market for your service you haven’t yet tried to exploit before: what about a new mailing list to target publicity for your luncheon club (or your mail order sales, or whatever) for different client or customers, or could you promote your book on local history to a lucrative North American market, or attract users for your bunkhouse accommodation from schools on the other side of the county or country? − new products or services which are a natural extension of what you are already doing – special sessions in your gym targeted at retired people, or sales of seasonal products or gifts at your weekly bingo sessions or day centre. 120
It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading 1: Getting started 2: First steps 3: Business planning 4: Legal and governance 5: Funding and resourcing 6: Financial controls 7: Managing growth 8: Management and governance 9: Social enterprise 10: Sources of support − creating fresh markets by bringing two existing activities together in interesting new ways – could your community café produce a range of ‘home made’ cakes and sweets for sale in your post office? Would more people sign up for training or education classes if you offer free tickets for films, plays or concerts in your village hall or theatre? Could the visitor centre or community farm offer pony and trap rides to neighbouring attractions? • totally new trading ideas which fit with your existing activities which can be piloted inexpensively and started quickly to test the market • generating extra income from buildings you occupy – this is one of the quickest and best ways for enterprises to earn money, for example by − rejigging the space you occupy to allow more things to happen or let to others − starting modest income-generating activities which will at least raise enough money to pay the rent for empty rooms − upgrading the accommodation so you can attract higher rents − converting unusable areas into lettable offices or workspaces − developing new partnerships which bring like-minded organisations into your building − introducing fresh licenses to tenants to make rental income more regular or more secure − rethinking letting policies to increase the range of potential tenants − using new ways to advertise the space. Planning new business activities: You may feel that while you are looking for economies and security it is not the best time to risk your future on new business activities. But there are reasons why identifying options and preparing plans for new income generating activities can make good sense: • on the launch pad: It can be extremely useful to have well worked out plans ready to put you at the head of the queue if a funder suddenly announces new funds for social enterprise development. • the early bird: If you can find a service or market which does reasonably well (or just ticks over) during a recession, there’s often a good chance that you will be the first to pick up the trading advantages when the economy improves. 121
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A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

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