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
• Circulate an attendance list at the meeting to collect email,
phone and address details. Keep a simple database of contacts.
• Feed back notes of each meeting to everyone on your list,
including non-attenders.
The agenda for the first one or two meetings might include:
• appointing a chair for the meeting
• a short presentation on social enterprise
• a speaker from another trading project
• a discussion of why a project is needed and its hoped-for social
benefits (new organisations will later need to provide evidence
of the need for their enterprise)
• the help and funding you need
• next steps and the date of the a follow-up meeting.
Running the start up meetings
• Have a good chair – someone who can lead and manage the
open discussion. Brief someone in advance if at all possible.
(This is about good management, not who holds power).
• Try to establish common ground
− look for consensus, but recognise differences openly
− acknowledge, but don’t be thrown off course by negative
views (sceptics often disappear early on; but if they stay with
you they can help to keep it real).
• Be positive and upbeat, but be realistic: Successful trading
organisations can have an extraordinary impact. But this may
take years to achieve. Be open about this.
• Don’t try to decide too much: Share ideas and let people have
their say. But don’t make binding decisions – you will need more
information and much more planning later.
• Keep going: The only vital decision you need to make at the
first meeting is to meet again soon – in two or three weeks if
possible – to keep up the momentum.
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