A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading
What if you don’t quite fit? There is no point in
being contentious about it. There are exceptions to
this definition, and if you fall outside it, that’s not a
reason why you can’t succeed. Good luck.
Trading
This guide is about trading by third sector organisations in the
widest sense. Customers may be public or private organisations,
the users or beneficiaries of charitable projects, or the general
public. The business activities themselves can be extremely varied.
This list is not exhaustive, and there are more examples in Section
2.1, but this gives a flavour:
• running shops selling second hand goods
• running visitor attractions and gifts shops associated with them
• charging entrance fees to regular entertainment events
• delivering contract services for public bodies – for elderly
or disabled people, for example
• charging users for services such as nursery school places
or training courses
• consultancy work
• letting offices, warehouse space or residential accommodation
• production, repair or recycling workshops and factories
• selling goods at markets or on the internet.
What’s special about the third sector?
Producing a trading guide intended ‘only’ for voluntary
organisations (which embrace everything from new steering
groups for a development trust with a turnover of zero, to national
charities which spend millions of pounds a year) seems rather
narrow-minded and partisan on the face of it. There are plenty of
people involved in the world of private sector business who will
tell you it’s just wrong-headed.
• The ‘Business is business’ argument: Many business advisors
and experts, economic development officers, public sector
websites and real entrepreneurs will tell you bluntly that
‘business is business’. It makes no difference whether it’s the
third sector or the private sector – there’s only one way to do
it. If you want to be treated as special, they will say, you’re
probably doing it wrong. Listening to their wisdom and nothing
else, can undermine your confidence and leave you wondering
why developing a business is so difficult.
• Doing business on the moon: The reality is that doing business is
the same, but the environment is utterly different. The rules of golf
don’t change whether you play it on Earth or on the Moon, but
you need to make some adjustments to play successfully in one
fifth gravity and zero atmosphere.
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