Growing Homeless Entrepreneurs - from practice to theory and back again

8/8/2019 Growing Homeless Entrepreneurs - from practice to theory and back again

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Growing homelessentrepreneursFrom practice to theory

and back again

CrisisEthical Enterpriseand Employment(3xE) Network



2 Growing homeless entrepreneurs - From practice to theory and back again

Contents

Denitions ....................................................................................................... 4

Dierent models .............................................................................................. 5

Benets o incubators ..................................................................................... 5

Key development issues ................................................................................ 6

Common problems ........................................................................................ 6Relevance o incubators or homeless entrepreneurs ....................................... 7

Case studies .................................................................................................. 8

Further resources ........................................................................................ 11



3

The Ethical Enterprise and Employment

(3xE) Network is run by Crisis to bring

together organisations using social enterprise

and supported employment models, and

organisations working with unemployed people who are homeless. 3xE works in partnership

with social enterprise inrastructure organisations

throughout England to improve take up o their

services by homelessness sector organisations.

3xE also unds a variety o support services

specially tailored to the needs o homelessness

sector organisations to enable them to start or

urther develop social enterprises or supported

employment schemes. The 3xE Network is

unded by the Big Lottery Basis programme.

Inosheet

This is the rst in a series o inosheets that

3xE is producing to capture and disseminate

learning rom the Network. ‘Growing homeless

entrepreneurs’ is based on the learning andexperience gained rom a series o visits to best

practice incubators and a seminar held by 3xE.

The overview has been produced by Adrian

Ashton, an expert on business incubators.

Many homelessness sector organisations have

grappled with clients’ diculties in getting back to

work: setting up their own business is a fexible

option, but will they have the skills, condence

and staying power needed? A business incubator

with support can provide just that.

3xE Network: helping the homeless sectorestablish social enterprises to help homelesspeople access work and skills




Growing homeless entrepreneursFrom practice to theory and back again

This overview o business incubators is based on a presentation by Adrian Ashton

(www.adrianashton.co.uk) at the EcoHub in Southend-on-Sea in July 2010 or 3xE.

DefnitionsIncubators or enterprises are dened by UKBI, the national trade association or

business incubators as:

“providing SMEs and start-ups with the ideal location todevelop and grow their businesses, oering everythingrom virtual support, rent-a-desk through to state o the art laboratories and everything in between. They provide direct access to hands-on intensive business support, access tofnance and expertise and to other entrepreneurs and suppliersto really help businesses and entrepreneurs to grow – aster.”

They can thereore be seen to take many orms, but ultimately an incubator oers

a physical space and acilities rom which an enterprise may begin to trade, and

non-physical support services to increase the success o the start-up enterprise:

advice, training and signposting. Through these non-physical services, incubators

oten also support a number o additional enterprises which are not physically

housed within them.



5

Dierent modelsIn the main, incubators are modeled in one o

our ways:

1. ‘Hub and spoke’ - a central building exists which

oers all the core services available to tenants and

other enterprises using their non-physical services,

and is linked to a number o ‘satellite’ buildings.

These satellites will usually be unserviced, oer

smaller rooms, but share an IT network withthe ‘hub’ through internet, phone and possibly

video connections. They are most common in

remote, rural areas where it is impractical to oer

a ully-serviced acility in all conurbations due to

insucient demand in each locality.

2. ‘Hybrid’ - incubators tend to be ocused on

supporting a particular type o thematic enterprise,

or example young people or digital technologies.

A hybrid model deliberately sets out to ensure

a mixture o tenants and users o its services

to encourage the wider business community to

benet rom its services, rather than ocusing

support on stimulating a single type o business

within it.

3. Integrated housing - while incubators have

traditionally ocused on housing new enterprises

only, newer models are being created that oer

housing or workers as well (although Emmaus

communities have been oering work and

accommodation or many years). In recognising

that the distinction between work and home is

becoming blurred or many liestyle entrepreneurs,

this model seeks to support entrepreneurs in a

‘whole person’ way through also supporting their

personal need or accommodation

4. ‘Piggy back’ - given the costs associated with

the development o incubator acilities, some are

developed within larger acilities. Such instances

include universities who, through reurbishment obuildings, have begun to oer incubation to their

graduate entrepreneurs.

Benefts o incubatorsIncubator acilities oer benets to two main

groups – the individual entrepreneurs, and the

wider local economy:

For the individual entrepreneur, they gain access

to a supportive peer group o like minded people,

and become part o a community that oers them

access to various types o support. And research

shows that through this supportive environment,

their businesses are three times more likely to

succeed than they might have otherwise.

For the wider local economy, incubators have

been ound to directly support an average o 30

enterprises, with a urther 150 being supported

through their associated services, and that

through the support to these businesses 167

ull-time jobs are created and sustained.

Above left: Social Enterprise Coalition, image:

Steve Forrest

Above right: Farming For All




Key development issuesIn developing incubator acilities, a number o

approaches can be taken depending on the type

o model being adopted. Regardless o model

though, there are two key issues to consider:

1) Ensuring that there will be a sustained interest

and demand or acilities and services being

oered into the uture – this means understanding

not just the current needs o local businesses,but their uture needs and those o aspiring

entrepreneurs who are yet to develop and launch

their enterprises;

2) That there is sucient interest and support

able to be oered by other agencies and

providers to the uture tenants and users around

business support services.

Common problems There are a number o challenges and problems

that incubators experience and it is useul to

know what these are beore developing a new

acility to ensure that they can be accounted or

rom the outset:

• Financing - not just raising the nance required

or the initial start-up costs o the acility, but

also supporting its cash-fow during periods where tenancy rates (and thereore rental

incomes) may be low, to allow or discounts to

be oered to incoming enterprises, to support

salary and maintenance costs and so on;

• ‘Move on’ - the premise o any incubator is

that it supports an enterprise to orm, grow,

but that the enterprise then ultimately ‘moves

on’ having been nurtured and able to support

itsel, so that others may benet rom the

acility. However, due to the supportive culture

and environment o incubators, many tenants

are reluctant to move out;

• Common areas - incubators have a number

o shared acilities including kitchen space

and it is usually around how dierent tenants

use (and leave) these acilities that causes the

most problems; and,

• Access and inrastructure - it should be borne in

mind that not all entrepreneurs will be able, or want

to, drive. There should thereore be adequateaccess to public transport links as well as parking

acilities or those that do wish to.



7

Relevance o incubators or

homeless entrepreneursGiven the above, incubator acilities can be seen

to potentially oer a number o signicant benets

to homeless entrepreneurs:

• A dedicated space to ocus the mind - hostels

and other temporary accommodation are

usually ull o distractions and oer limited

storage acilities that may be needed by astart-up enterprise.

• Flexible terms and support all in one place -

homeless support agencies are usually

ragmented by location and dicult to access

outside o pre-arranged times: having business

support services available on-site through the

incubator encourages entrepreneurs by their

having access to help ‘on tap’.

• Supportive peer network - rom like minded

entrepreneurs who all wish to see each other

succeed and not be satised with simply

maintaining the ‘status quo’ o their lie and

situation.

• Challenge perceptions about homeless

entrepreneurs through having a mix o

tenants - there is oten a great stigma attached

to being homeless and oering a publicspace that allows homeless entrepreneurs

to showcase themselves to the wider

business community (ellow tenants and

other users o services) will go a long way

to challenge others’ perceptions about the

abilities o people who are homeless.

Opposite left: Manchester Ceramics;opposite right: Open Cinema

Above left: Create Leeds, image: Mark Skeet;

above right: Emmaus




Case StudiesSt Mungos

St Mungo’s oers a range o services to homeless

people, including advice on setting up and running

a business. However, the organisation recognised

that once back in the hostel or at home there was

little support to help people build their business. They were missing opportunities to network with

other businesses and were restricted by a lack o

storage space or room to be creative.

One solution was to develop a space which

people could work out o to build an enterprise.

St Mungo’s had un-used space in its basement,

which with the help o volunteers was transormed

into a suitable workspace.

The rst residents were Squeaky Chains, a social

enterprise set up in October 2009 to repair old

bikes to sell. The space is provided ree o charge,

and in return Squeaky Chains provide one day o

training to clients each week. St Mungo’s provides

business support when requested, but the project

leader is given independence to pursue his ideas

and establish rules or his volunteers and trainees.

For St Mungo’s this is an important part o what the

business incubator oers: to demonstrate trust in

individuals and encourage independence.

Other groups have since set up within the space,on a ull or part-time basis dependent on their

needs. The centre aims to provide an opportunity

or anybody tackling homelessness and to

encourage a mix o individuals, projects and skills

so that people can learn rom each other.

There are undeniably challenges. The cost o

renting in London is high and the more successul

the centre is the more space will be needed. The

centre is only open on weekdays, which limitsaccess to workshops and storage.

However, the space oers a secure, supportive

and productive working environment. In its

rst year o operation Squeaky Chains trained

in bike maintenance ten people aected by

homelessness, many o who had no interest

in bikes beore. Two have gone into related

employment, three have achieved City and Guild

qualications and others continue to volunteer in

the workshop training new recruits.

The aim is to continue to build the centre to oer

space to more businesses and social enterprises.

Contact details

Colin Vint,Business Start-Up Coach.

Tel 020 7902 7951

Email [email protected]



9

Pop-up Business Incubator: Aspirations

In 2004, Aspire Support UK was launched to

support the network o social enterprises working

under the Aspire name. It became a registered

charity in 2006 and is now exploring and

developing new opportunities or spreading and

embedding the core Aspire model o transorminglives through enterprise and employment. Aspire

Support UK became Aspire Foundation in 2008.

The charity hopes to help homeless and

disadvantaged people start their own successul

businesses. Working with a network o the

capital’s homeless charities, Aspire Foundation

runs a series o courses in business development

around London.

Successul entrepreneurs with real lie experience

o starting and running a business present six

day-workshops on: researching your market,

raising money to start your business, where to

run your business rom, starting up legally (red

tape), who to ask or help, inormation, nance

and support, business planning, sales and

marketing alongside managing the risks.

The pilot programme has attracted over 20

people, 17 o whom have graduated the course,

keen to carry on with their business idea. They

will continue to receive mentoring rom Aspire’s

Business Development Manager. The Pop-up

Business Incubator will be repeated as and

where needed.

Contact details

Paul Funnell

Business Development Manager

Tel: 0207 921 4448

Email: [email protected]

Opposite: Squeaky Chains workshop

at St Mungo’s

Above: Aspire Foundation




Wandsworth Youth Enterprise

Since 1988 Wandsworth Youth Enterprise

Centre (WYEC), based in Tooting, London, has

been supporting young people aged 17-30

to develop business ideas and start up their

own businesses. Their mission is ‘to increase

economic activity and promote entrepreneurial

behaviour among young people within

disadvantaged communities’.

WYEC’s is a our step model which begins with the Business Launchpad, an outreach

project that uses a range o methods to engage

young people onto their business training and

counselling programme. The next stage is or

those who are interested in setting up a business

to attend an interactive, introductory workshop.

At step three those who have decided to stay on

to explore setting up a business, become clients

and receive one-to-one assessment.

WYEC then oers a programme or young

entrepreneurs to support them in the rst two

years o running and establishing a new business,

including a business counselling service, skills

workshops, training courses and managed

workspaces. The centre has developed a £2.7

million business centre in Tooting to provide

income or the charity’s work and to provide

move-on space or young people moving rom

WYEC’s incubator space.

Since being established WYEC has supported

over 5,000 young people and seen more than

500 businesses started. The centre has a high

survival rate o young businesses with 85-90

per cent trading ater two years.

Contact details

Wandsworth Youth Enterprise Centre

Trident Business Centre

89 Bickersteth Road

London, SW17 9SH

Toyin Dania,

Business Counselling and Training Manager

Tel: 020 8516 7700

Email: [email protected] Website: www.wyec.org.uk



11

Further resourceswww.crisis.org.uk/3xE

• Find details o how to apply or FREE 3xE

Membership and FREE 3xE services

• Find 3xE Members’ Directory

• Read case studies o homeless social

enterprises and learn the lessons o their

experience

• Find policy documents about social enterprise

•

Find business planning guidance and tools• Add your product or service to the supply-

chain pages

• Find links to other helpul sites

Other

• CAN Guide: How to Mezzanine

• Cluster Policy: Issues or Social Enterprise,

Bob Allan

• Benchmarking Framework or Business

Incubation, 2003, UKBI

• Feasibility study or a regional fagship

incubator in Cambridge or Co-operative and

Social Enterprises, 2003, Adrian Ashton

• Research report on establishing a dedicated

Community Enterprise incubator in

Cambridgeshire, 2003, Adrian Ashton

• Mosques on stilts, rhubarb plantations,

and time share printing presses – Future

opportunities and needs or workspace in

Burnley, 2007, Adrian Ashton

• Workhubs – smart work spaces or a low

carbon economy, 2010, Workhubs Network

Online

• UKBI - www.ukbi.co.uk

• Development Trusts Association -

www.dta.org.uk

• Asset Transer Unit - www.atu.org.uk

• Workhubs Network - www.workhubs.com

Find help in your region rom regional

social enterprise inrastructure bodies:• North East www.nesep.co.uk

• South East www.se2partnership.co.uk

• West Midlands www.socialenterprisewm.org.uk

• East o England www.seee.co.uk

• East Midlands www.seem.uk.net

• South West www.rise-sw.co.uk

• Yorkshire & Humberside www.seyh.org.uk

• North West www.sen.org.uk/about-sen/senw

• London www.sel.org.uk



For urther copies o this

document, contact:

3xE Network

Crisis

66 Commercial Street

London, E1 6LT

Tel 020 7426 8500Email [email protected]

www.crisis.org.uk/3xe

Registered Charity Numbers:

E&W1082947, SC040094.

Documents

Growing Homeless Entrepreneurs - from practice to theory and back again