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1. Social enterprises are not-for-profit.<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n More social enterprises generated a profit than standard SMEs (93% vs 76%). Most social enterprises we see are \u2018for profit\u2019 but they dedicate their profits to achieving a good cause. Social enterprises can, and do, pay market salaries and reasonable bonuses to staff and directors. Many social enterprises can also pay dividends to investors and shareholders: this is usually restricted so that a majority of profit is dedicated to social causes.<\/p>\n\n 2. Social enterprises don\u2019t pay salaries<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Social enterprises are more likely to pay fairly: 78% of social enterprises report paying the living wage to their employees. Social enterprises can pay market salaries. A social enterprise that turns over tens of millions of pounds would be justified in paying their CEO a salary commensurate with running such a business. Directors of many social enterprises – depending on the legal structure chosen – can also receive remuneration.<\/p>\n\n 3. Social entrepreneurs can\u2019t run a real business<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Many social entrepreneurs come from successful business backgrounds. Social entrepreneurs are just like other entrepreneurs – some will succeed, some will change track and some businesses will fail. Most social entrepreneurs we meet are acutely aware of the need for their business to succeed so they can tackle the social issue that they are passionate about. Social enterprises are more likely to innovate than standard SMEs \u2013 67% of social enterprises have introduced new products or services compared to 43% of SMEs.<\/p>\n\n 4. Social enterprises are just small businesses<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n There are many, many examples of large social enterprise businesses. Examples include large healthcare providers, big leisure trusts and universities. These are usually multi-million pound businesses with thousands of employees that have chosen social enterprise as their business model.<\/p>\n\n 5. Social enterprises rely on grants<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n The whole point of being a social enterprise is that you trade to achieve a good cause. This means selling goods, services and products. Many social enterprises do access grants to help with start-up or with certain projects. Our advice is that a social enterprise should aim to use a grant as an investment with a view to developing an income generating idea once the grant runs out.<\/p>\n\n 6. Social enterprises are automatically more sustainable<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Social enterprises will only succeed if they can sell their services and products to customers. Many charities have survived for decades by relying on grants. That said, relying on grants can be challenging and developing successful, socially enterprising income streams can improve sustainability. Social enterprise should not be seen as a panacea – you need a strong business model, excellent market insight and an ability to deliver what customers want and need. Much like a \u2018standard\u2019 business really.<\/p>\n\n 7. Social enterprises are more likely to fail<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Much research suggests that social enterprises are more resilient than their \u2018standard\u2019 private sector counterparts. We can speculate on the reasons for this including diverse income streams, social purpose and tenacity of social entrepreneurs. Research into longevity of the top 100 PLCs and top 100 social enterprises showed that, over the last 30 years, 41% of social enterprises have survived compared to 33% of PLCs.<\/p>\n\n 8. Social enterprises are not scalable<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Social enterprises are no different to \u2018standard\u2019 businesses in this regard. If you have a great product or service, a great team, the ambition, the drive and resolve and a clear plan for scaling there is no reason why you cannot significantly scale your business.<\/p>\n\n 9. Social entrepreneurs are only concerned about social impact<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Whilst most social entrepreneurs we meet are motivated by social or environmental issues they also understand that their business needs to be profitable to enable them to achieve their good cause goals. Focussing only on social impact without paying regard to finances, marketing, customers and all the standard business issues is a sure-fire path to trouble.<\/p>\n\n 10. Social enterprises only operate in health and social care<\/strong><\/p>\n WRONG!<\/p>\n Social enterprises operate in many sections of the economy. There are social enterprises in banking and finance, media, creative industries, business services, agriculture, tourism, fashion, education, entertainment, energy, heritage, housing, sports and more. Pretty much any business could be a social enterprise.<\/p>\n\n Blog post by Gareth Hart, co-founder of Iridescent Ideas<\/a>. Iridescent Ideas are one of six delivery partners providing business support to Social Entrepreneurs as part of the Enhance Social Enterprise Programme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1. Social enterprises are not-for-profit. WRONG! More social enterprises generated a profit than standard SMEs (93% vs 76%). Most social enterprises we see are \u2018for profit\u2019 but they dedicate their profits to achieving a good cause. Social enterprises can, and … Continue reading ![\"Enhance](\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/economy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/68\/2021\/02\/ESE-logo-300x132.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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