Competition

Competition in the market has been reported as the biggest obstacle to social enterprises achieving success. Ahead of red tape, staff recruitment and Brexit, more than 60% of social entrepreneurs canvassed in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Market Trends 2017 survey felt that competition was the biggest challenge to achieving growth plans.

One way to overcome this challenge is to take a fresh look at your business and honestly evaluate your offer, the price-point, how you position yourself compared with other providers and what makes you different. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely place so it’s also an idea to involve your existing customers, previous customers, suppliers and stakeholders to achieve a balanced view. Learning where your strengths and weaknesses are can make establishing your competitive edge much simpler.

For more funded support on how to gain competitive edge for your social enterprise, take a look at the Enhance Social Enterprise web pages http://devon.cc/ese

Blog post by Richard Snell, Heart of the South West Enhance Social Enterprise Programme Manager

European Regional Development Fund logo

The Heart of the South West Enhance Social Enterprise Programme is receiving funding from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.