Barefoot Business News from Robert Ashton
| October 2011
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Halloween Special
I'd always assumed that making a fuss about Halloween was something we'd imported from America. In fact I was wrong. We all know it has Christian origins, marking the start of a period when the faithful pray for the souls of those dead, but not yet in heaven. It was being celebrated in the British Isles centuries before America was colonised.
This quick piece of research prompts me to make two quite important points.
Firstly, we really are too quick to do ourselves down and fail to take the credit for what is rightly our invention. That's a national failing, as well as something that holds back the British from being optimistic about our lot. I heard the BBC's Evan Davies speak in Norwich recently. For an economist he was surprisingly bullish about our prospects. 'We're innovators', he said. 'The Chinese can make cheap bikes, but we make Brompton bikes which are an innovative, premium priced, engineered product.'
Secondly, if you work in the community and voluntary sector, you'll be wrestling with falling grant income and rising demand for your services. It's a tough place that perhaps at times feels as if you have died but not yet reached heaven. To stretch the metaphor, I'd say that social enterprise and the self sufficiency and control it brings, is the heaven to which many in limbo currently aspire!
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| Are you watching a pumpkin? | |
In Cinderella, the fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a carriage. At midnight it changed back again, creating a sense of urgency at the Ball.
So many of the enterprise opportunities facing us right now are like that. They have only recently appeared on the scene. And these opportunities are time limited, poised to turn into pumpkins if you don't grab them while you can.
It goes against the grain to be a pioneer or early adopter. But a number of projects I'm working on right now are proof that if you take a leap of faith, you'll be in the carriage and not stuck with a pumpkin. This Friday for example, I have a Government Minister visiting a project I'm developing. He's doing this because what we're doing is different, new and clear evidence that innovation and collaboration can make what was impossible a year ago, likely tomorrow.
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| Trick or treat? |
I've long been convinced that the corporate sector will grow to value social impact. It makes so much sense for a business to win customers because it makes a difference, as well as provides great products and services. Here are two quite different examples to illustrate what I mean:
Ethecol Merchant Services CIC makes it possible for organisations to accept chip & pin card payments. By giving away to good causes the margins its rivals keep for themselves it enables traders to raise money for charity with every transaction they make. Because this clearly makes sense, the company doesn't need a 'hard sell' sales force either. This means lower costs for the company and a competitive fee structure for its customers.
EOS Energy are part of a large construction company. Like many others, they offer free solar panels. You get free power and they get the feed in and generation tariffs. It's a good deal, but they go further. If you're raising cash for a community project, they'll contribute 4% of the capital cost of installations you introduce. For example if all your neighbours agree to have free solar power from EOS, you raise the cash you need to refurbish the play area everyone's kids use.
The biggest obstacle both of these companies face is suspicion. People think there's a trick, when actually it's nothing more than a treat. Why not take a look for yourself?
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Penny for the guy?
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Bonfire Night this year seems all the more significant. Just think about all those protesters camped outside St Pauls and elsewhere, many sporting Guy Fawkes masks. So I thought you'd be interested to learn about the fireworks party I'm helping organise this year. We won't be burning down Parliament but will have an MP (although he won't be burned either!)
I've recently agreed to chair the Norfolk Way. It's a brilliant initiative to provide inspiration, mentoring and the kind of internships money can't buy. Set up by George Freeman MP, it connects youngsters who've decided not to go to university with opportunities to meet, work with and be mentored by established Norfolk entrepreneurs. The bonfire and fireworks party, on 18th November will be both a fundraiser and great social event. Find out more and book your tickets here.
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| Sweet bites | |
Here are some good things that are happening for me right now. Some might be nice for you too!
- Baroness Wheatcroft recommended Government to pick up a couple of my ideas in a recent Lords debate. One was to make CITR as attractive as EIS and the other a solution to graduate unemployment. See here.
- If a publisher meeting goes well this afternoon, I'll be commissioned to write my 16th book. Right now I'm working on book 15 which is a revised second edition of one of my best sellers. Both need exciting case studies. If you've succeeded, or simply learned some tough business lessons, pop me an email and you might feature in one or even both of them.
- I've been working with Anglia Ruskin University on a very interesting trans-national entrepreneurship programme. In January, I'll be off to Bucharest to speak to students. I've already spoken at an event in Ethiopia and love speaking overseas. I hope more opportunities follow.
- I've been talking for ages about creating a one man business show for stage. The idea was prompted when Business Link banned me from continuing a series they were funding. The audiences loved it, but I did nudge a few political correctness boundaries. Business Link are now history and I'm still here, so soon you'll be invited to pay your money and hear me telling it like it is. It'll be funny, factual and at times even frank. I'm already terrified and need your encouragement please! If you'd like to recommend a venue, or want to get my show in front of your audience, let me know.
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Quote of the month
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'When I was born, world population was 2.7bn. Now it's 7bn so more than 2 times as many people. No wonder queues annoy me.'
Robert Ashton
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Diary date
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6th, 7th and 8th March 2012 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole
Chartered Institute of Housing South East Conference and Exhibition 2012
www.cihseconference.co.uk
Catch my session on Localism: Community assets at a local level.
Download more information here.
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Sincerely,
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