Hi Sally, what are your main tips to Women Social Entrepreneurs in order for them to thrive?
- You have to be the educators in this market.
- Bring the discipline and the proof that your model makes a difference.
- You have got a chance of a lifetime and the opportunities to make a difference in this market place. Seize it.
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Angels find new businesses at pre-revenue stage very difficult so chase any small amount of money you can.
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As an entrepreneur, you need to be outstanding in putting your story across.
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Investors are not here to fund a lifestyle for you, it's about shared risks.
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Cornerstones invest if your business has a chance to attract angel investment.
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If you can go to a bank, get a cheaper loan!
- Get yourself a financially savvy mentor or a non-exec finance director for instance.
- You need to be able to challenge figures as the business grows. If it is not your specialty, have you envisaged attending a course in finances for non-financial managers?
- You found the business, and then you have to build a team. Failure happens inevitably when you think you can do everything!
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Be able to provide evidence of your social impact.
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Get a due diligence pack and tidy up the loose bits.
More on Sally Goodsell.
Sally is the CEO of the award-winning FSE Group, a not-for-profit organization which she grew from 1 to 35 employees with £45m funds under management, offering direct investment and professional support to early-stage businesses. Sally started her career in investment banking in the City, latterly at Guinness Mahon where she was a Director. While on a career break to raise her family, she started her own business which she later sold. She is a frequent speaker and has advised national and regional governments on SME finance and female entrepreneurship for which she won the “Prowess award” for Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Enterprise Development. In 2010 Sally established Incito Ventures, the UK’s first female business angel network / VC that is focused on women-led businesses.
2011 also saw the launch of The Social Impact Co-Investment Fund, the UK’s first business angel co-investment fund for social enterprises.
Sally is a Board member of the British Business Angels Association (BBAA) and the European Business Angel Network (EBAN). She studied Spanish and Portuguese at University College London and is authorised by the Financial Services Authority.
More about Sally Goodsell, the FSE Group and Incito Ventures here. |
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 Hi Kate, what would be the top 3 areas Local Authority staff need to think about when they envisage to take over a public service as a social enterprise?
The questions to ask are firstly around attitude of mind.
Are you ready to move into a world of risk where you have to manage your finances in a way you have never done before ie cash flow and profitability not managing against a budget?
Making sure you have enough money in the bank at the end of the month to pay the salaries really concentrates the mind.
Are you ready for the competition?
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Part I
1) Don't remind her she is a woman (but do your homework, social impact is NOT gender neutral, man…)
2) Remember she is a woman (she picks up a lot of things just by observing your body language and if you follow the tips below)
3) Never underestimate the busy bee, she might teach you a lesson or two.
4) Help her to focus (she has so many roles and tasks to go through in one day that it’s worthwhile bringing her back to earth).
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Written by Jennifer Sertl, President, Agility3R - Co-author Strategy Leadership and the Soul
"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act, but a habit."
— Aristotle
Personal leadership is about having an intention a clearly defined declaration of what you want to create in the world—and have every single thing we do geared toward that goal. If you want to be defined by excellence — then everything you do must resound with excellence. Not just the big important things, but the small invisible acts that no one sees or hears about.
Finally, for the first time ever, this year the goals I made are personal. Not about accomplishments but about enhancing my being. |
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Right folks, this is how to create your own beehive in the Big Society. Here's a set of ideas to kickstart it!
Simple...
1) Use the Beesmap template and write down your vision in one sentence, including measurable elements (who, where, what, how many, etc...)
2) Call/contact 20 other people who share a similar vision, the same job title, or background as you, and start a lobbying group, a think-do tank, or a learning group... to bring yourself closer to your vision. Connect with them at least 3 times in the year with most of them.
3) Start an almost-self-sufficient micro-economy of experts, with identical values, fair-trade supply chains and work ethos, in order to get better clients/investors/supporters. Map this set of connections/relationships and pin the chart on your wall in order to have a clear idea of what it looks like! |
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