A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

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
− open events to show off the organisation’s work to members
of the public
− networking for local groups in the area
− consultation or planning events, workshops and seminars to
get feedback on development plans
− community fun days
− business launch events and celebrations of key successes,
which can help to create valuable links with local authority
representatives, fellow traders, business leaders and enterprise
development staff etc.
Recruiting directors: This is a perennial challenge for the sector as
a whole.
• Ongoing efforts: All the members of the board need to be
perpetually on the lookout for potential new directors to
strengthen the team. It can be a good idea to have board
recruitment as a regular agenda item for meetings.
• Skills audits: An informal skills audit among board members
can help to illuminate strengths and weaknesses and focus more
directly on the type of people you need to recruit.
• User involvement: Enterprises which do not have a clear
community focus may need to consider ongoing efforts to
recruit directors who are users of their services (though Charity
Commission rules that directors do not personally benefit
financially must be adhered to).
• A proper job: You will not retain directors if their role is to
rubber stamp the decisions of the manager or the chair.
• An understandable job: Third sector trading is a weird world
for people who only know the worlds of conventional trading or
charity work. Induction and support at the recruitment stage is
crucial.
• Making up losses: It is disheartening to lose directors, and
some organisations tend to give up recruiting if directors keep
leaving. But some level of turnover is inevitable, and trading for
community benefit is not attractive to everyone. So it is always
worth persevering.
Community investments: Giving local residents a financial stake
in the enterprise may occasionally produce stunning results. See
section 5.4 on sales of shares and bonds.
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