Monday 10 December 2012

Half Term already?


Striking the right balance or at least trying to
I often comment about where the time has gone, not having done what I had wanted and regrets yes I have had a few! My time with Business in the Community (BITC) has been hectic and the last 4 weeks has been no different, but most definitely in a positive way. I continue to meet some great people who are working in quite difficult situations with ever decreasing amounts of money, but somehow they don’t appear to be downbeat.
As many of you will know I can be a little single minded at times and yes stubborn, but selfish? Over the past few months I have been lucky enough to be operating in a totally different environment and I have been allowed time to review what I did, how I did it and what I might change if my time machine invention ever comes to fruition!
At a recent event at Lloyds Bank’s offices at Lovell Park in Leeds, along with my BITC colleagues         Jo Crossley and Michael Harvey we were determined to try and increase the participation amongst the Lloyds teams there. We left with approaching 100 people having committed to some form of activity and many more at least having acknowledged that they will think about it.
That said there were a number who suggested a lack of time or their “day job” stopped them.  Most of us are so busy trying to keep up with the job and provide for our families that we don’t see it as selfish and I don’t know the circumstances of the people I met, but my question is how often have I used the same excuse, convinced myself that my current project or meeting is so much more important than what I could be doing? If you can find the time take a quick look at Umair Haque’s blog http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2012/10/making_the_choice_between_mone.html and let me know what you think.

Another day another great contact
Not sure how many people will be thinking of decorating the spare room or their football club or even your local school needs a lick of paint, but if that is you and you are in Leeds then you may want to look up Seagulls Reuse. This is a great little social enterprise run by two very dynamic ladies called Cat and Kate. They recycle paint from numerous Leeds City Council centres and sort the good stuff and then sell it on. There are numerous benefits, firstly they sell the paint from £1.50 per litre, secondly they have managed to employ a small but hearty band of people (freezing cold building by the way, only just thawed out!) and finally considerably less paint has to be disposed of. If you would like to know more then look them up on www.seagullsreuse.org.uk
If you are not in Leeds but like the idea of Local Paint resources then you can check via www.communityrepaint.org.uk  to see if there is a centre near you.


Imagine, it is 10.30 and you are feeling peckish, what next? 
A) Get a Mars bar from the vending machine (personal favourite!);
B) Start on your lunch early; or
 C) Contact Reds Larder.
The answer is C!
Why? Well Reds Larder (www.redslarder.com) is a new social enterprise I am working with who have been founded through a charity called Foundation. The people you will be helping by buying from Reds Larder are ex-homeless, ex-offenders or sometimes people who seem to have been left behind and are struggling to get back into any kind of job or training. Foundations programmes including Reds Larder are aimed at getting them to take ownership and to help with rebuilding their lives.
From only £3.69 you can enjoy some really healthy little snacks and if it is a sugar rush that is the order of the day after all then jelly babies and dolly mixtures are available! By the way some friends and I busily demolished the free sample provided.
Getting a Social Enterprise off the ground
How to get funding for any business is often the entrepreneur’s biggest challenge. Yes there are loads of great bankers out there only too willing to help, but how do you crystallise the idea, what will things costs and if you don’t have much money to start with, how do you get going?
Last week I attended a really interesting meeting by Unltd Ventures hosted by DLA in Leeds, discussing this very subject and there were also a number of entrepreneur’s that had made it and private equity houses solely dedicated to this marketplace. I have to say I didn’t know there was a market, but there is and it is alive and doing quite nicely.
If you want to know more look at www.unltd.org.uk
What next?
I have teamed up the collective skills and energy of Nic Greenan of LS14 trust and Kate Vaks at Fixers and so I am hoping they will make me a star! Failing this we are looking at getting some of the 16-24 age groups in Seacroft working together and sorting out their own problems. If it works then they may get an opportunity to be showcased on Local ITV news. No pressure Kate!
I am attending the next Leeds Chamber First Thursday meeting and would like to thank John Wells for his support. The PR piece is coming soon John!
And finally…
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently” Henry Ford
Thanks for reading.
Shaun

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