Social Enterprise Works

This document offers a route map to help small voluntary organisations take full control of their future by developing a sustainable income base. 10 steps to earning responds to the funding reality facing many samll organisations. 10 steps will broaden your income base - including generating income from products and services alongside grant funding - and secure better control over your future.

10 Steps To Earning

10 steps refers to a number of tools to help this process. These can be found in the 10 Steps to Earning Toolbox along with a description of the tools and links if appropriate.

This tool helps to identify alternative growth strategies. By plotting existing and potential products and services in a matrix you can work out what to develop and how to do it. For example, do you need to simply market your existing products to existing customers more effectively or do you need to develop new products for new customers, or a combination of these options.

It is well worth considering this before launching into developing a new product/service.

Information about an Ansoff matrix can be seen at www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/ansoff/

Download a blank version of an Ansoff matrix to complete Blank Ansoff Matrix

Break even analysis helps you to set a price for the product and service based on the costs of producing or providing it, in order to break even.

This excel spreadsheet should help you to identify costs and identify what price to charge in order to break even.

Download the Break Even Analysis Calculator

A business plan is a picture of your longer-term objectives, estimates and forecasts. It should not be something that ties you down but rather something that helps you make decisions. Your forecasts and objectives are likely to change as things develop and your business plan is where you get down your best estimate given the current state of information.
Business Plan – Guidance Notes

The C3Perform Toolkit offers you a tailor made range of resources and downloadable tools, together with advice and tips, all designed to help third sector organisations assess performance, develop an action plan and improve. The toolkit was written by Social Enterprise Works staff as part of the C3 Partnership project. The toolkit contains 3 self assessment tools, C3Perform, C3Quick Perform and C3Perform Workshop, a range of Action Planning Tools and more

The C3Perform Toolkit on the C3 Partnership Website

The listing of consultants on this register implies no endorsement or recommendation by Social Enterprise Works.

Consultant Register October 2007

It is important to consider a Customer Care Policy as part of the marketing and promotion of an organisation. The way that organisations care for their customers effects their image and reputation and this reputation communicated through word of mouth between customers.
Customer Care - Guidance Notes

A key part of getting to know your market is getting to know your customers. It is helpful to know as much detail about them as possible. Not just their needs and how they use your service, but also information about how you can communicate with them, what they respond to etc.

This simple sheet helps you to concentrate on building up information about your customers that will help you provide a good service to them.

Customer Profiling Sheet

This Information Sheet relates to community enterprises that have been
registered as a company, usually “not for profit” or “not for private profit” and Limited by Guarantee. Company law sets out a range of duties and responsibilities that must be carried out by the directors of the company.
Duties of Company Director and Secretary

As an employer there are implicit responsibilities that may not be covered by employment legislation nor referred to in the contract of employment, but nevertheless are necessary to support the employee/employer relationship and ensure the “Welfare” of the employee.
Employee Welfare - Guidance Notes

Financial forecasting and planning is usually an essential part of the business plan, and would be done as part of setting up the organisation and obtaining funds.
Financial Forecasting & Planning - Guidance Notes

Financial Management includes two key areas of responsibility:
Accountability – having clear policies and procedures around the financial decisions of the organisation.
Financial Planning – analysing the financial requirements and resources needed
Financial Management and Accountability

This Information Sheet summarises the key steps involved in preparing Grievance and Disciplinary Policies and Procedures.
Grievances & Disciplinary Procedures - Guidance Notes

This information sheet, written by Social Enterprise Works will help you to improve the way you collect information from and about your customers and use the information to plan future improvements to your products and services or other aspects of your organisation.

The information sheet is structured on the basis of a number of simple questions that will help you plan how to collect information from and about your customers.

How to understand the needs of your customers

The job description needs to be written first as it defines the JOB, then it is possible to write the person specification, which defines the PERSON needed to carry out the JOB. The person specification is then used as the basis of shortlisting and interviewing.
Job Descriptions and Person Specifications

Marketing is a management process that identifies and anticipates target customers’ needs, wants and demands, and satisfies these with resources available to the organisation. The process involves every aspect of the organisation’s resources and management structures and systems.
Information Sheet: Marketing

A key part of market research involves seeking to identify who else has an impact on your market. Consider both competitors and collaborators and seek to understand their strategic development issues.

This simple table might help you to sketch out a profile.

Other Player Analysis Table

This information sheet looks at the way you promote your organisation, products and services, and considers what is involved in developing a promotion strategy.
Promoting your Organisation - Guidance Notes

This guide from Business Link outlines alternative legal forms for setting up a social enterprise.

You should note that it’s the business activities and what it does with its profits that determines whether it is a social enterprise, rather than its specific legal structure. However, it is worth considering the options carefully to ensure the chosen structure is the most suitable in terms of ownership, management style and image.

See the Businees Link website for this guide or email sam@socialenterpriseworks.org for a copy.

Working out your expected income and expenditure for future products and services is an essential part of business planning . This template should make things easier. Feel free to download (in excel) and use. The categories are given as examples so make sure that you amend the categories to make sense to your organisation.

Download template cash flow projection

This route map helps you to identify whether you meet the key characteristics of social enterprise; that you trade, have a clear social purpose, are owned by identifiable stakeholders and that you reinvest profits to further your social purpose.

Thinking of Social Enterprise - Decision Tree

An environmental policy sets out your intentions to improve your environmental performance.
Writing an environmental policy