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
Who is it for? Remember this is your plan. You need to establish a
sense of ownership over it.
• It will have little value if you feel that it is directed or controlled
by an outside body such as a local authority or a funder.
• If a consultant is involved, arrange regular meetings so that your
group can contribute.
• A plan which fails to incorporate the ideas of your group
members may miss out on useful practical ideas, constructive
criticism and collective approval. This is the best chance you will
get to involve members of your group comprehensively in the
planning process.
What if you get a steer from the funder? Sometimes you will get
helpful advice from a funder, either before you write the plan or
after you have submitted a draft, about what the business plan
should say. This can be very welcome. But make sure you properly
understand the message you are receiving, and think carefully
about how you should respond.
• Is the funder identifying a real defect in your proposal? this
could be useful information.
• Are you resisting sound advice because you are reluctant to give
up on idea that probably won’t work?
• Are you being told ‘your type of project does not match our
criteria’? If so do you fudge your plan to get your hands on
grant money or waste time on a bid that will fail?
• Are you being asked to exaggerate the prospects for your
project because the funder is keen for you to receive a grant?
• Are you being told you should not try to be profitable because
that would produce unfair competition with existing business?
This idea is usually so improbable for small community and
charity traders and so unhelpful for the prospective trading
organisation, that it is worth challenging.
Who does it?
• Business planning is a valuable skill to have at your disposal,
so even if there is no one with previous experience it’s useful
to cultivate it in-house if you can. As with fundraising, you get
better with practice.
• The usual approach is to delegate one person to write the plan
– a senior worker or manager if there are employed staff, or a
volunteer member of the organisation with business planning
experience if you can find one. But you should ensure that
everyone else is regularly consulted on the ideas which are
going into it.
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