So Tuesday night,
off we trot with some friends to Anton Chernikov's fantastic event "How to
be a social entrepreneur," organised by the very brilliant Michael Norton
you know, Buzzbnk, CIVA all that good stuff. Michael has an idea based on the
talents in the Bible: he gives us £20. We have to repay £30 having made a profit in a social
enterprise in 6 weeks.
We have to team up
with people we don't know in real life. Way outside my comfort zone, then. I
"win" Ben Ramsden the genius behind ethical underwearness company
Pants to Poverty, the original pantrepreneur who says "we're Facebook
friends. That doesn't count."
Our *brilliant* idea
is BFF or Best Foot Forward. With Michael's generous start up cash (repayable,
Ts and Cs apply but we've signed up, anyway,) we're going to buy £20 of secret
ingredients to make an entirely organic and eco friendly shoe cleaner. We want
to shine your shoes. You know how *great* you feel when you step out in a new
pair of shoes? That's the feeling we want to recreate for you, and in the
process we want to rebuild fragmented social bonds and get excluded people
involved, too.
Vulnerable women we work with, homeless women,
young kids outside of mainstream education, those who have been excluded from
society, will get paid to shine your shoes before that Christmas party, the all
important board meeting, a really hot date so you can put your Best Foot
Forward. They also get to work on a week long enterprise project with MyBnk and sell their social enterprise in a
box, to start their own enterprise empires.
Here’s what they get
from it:
○ Increased confidence
○ A week's enterprise training with MyBnk and an enterprise in a box
○ Experience of being in a workplace
○ An understanding of delivering a service rather than constantly receiving and being beneficiaries
○ A week's enterprise training with MyBnk and an enterprise in a box
○ Experience of being in a workplace
○ An understanding of delivering a service rather than constantly receiving and being beneficiaries
○ Paid to do this
○ Access to places they may never normally go, because they don't think they are "allowed"
○ Team building skills
○Humility (me too)
○Increased capacity in existing skills and being service oriented and customer facing
○ Access to places they may never normally go, because they don't think they are "allowed"
○ Team building skills
○Humility (me too)
○Increased capacity in existing skills and being service oriented and customer facing
○ building small but
credible pathways back into mainstream society by being seen as connectors
○Selling their enterprise to the recipients of the shoe shine (a seed bomb, very sweet, compacted seeds you throw to plant surprise trees and wildflowers in an urban environment).
○Selling their enterprise to the recipients of the shoe shine (a seed bomb, very sweet, compacted seeds you throw to plant surprise trees and wildflowers in an urban environment).
It's by
donation (minimum £5 per shoe shine) and we're looking for a minimum of 10
pairs of shoes to buff up in a location so if you and your colleagues fancy a
special treat to put a spring in your step, Facebook us, call us, Tweet at us
and watch this space as this becomes a million shoe march towards empowerment
and shiny shoes!
@KazuriHomes
@Pantstopoverty
Featuring exclusive ethical products,
this is a step-by-step guide to setting up a social enterprise. Workshops take
participants on the journey of making a profit whilst helping people and the planet.
Session 1:
Participants are introduced to the concept
of social enterprise and explore the stories behind their ethical products.
They split into groups, receive their Enterprise-in-a-Box and create their
business plan. Teams prepare to sell over the coming weeks.
Session 2:
Teams present back their experiences.
Presentations are scored and teams are judged on their creativity and hard
work.
What will they learn?
The practical experience of running their
own social enterprise, working as a
team, conducting market research, identifying
their target audience advertising, pricing, customer service, cash flow
monitoring and planning ahead.
We have AM or PM time slots available
on 16 December and 17 December, please contact us for more information
info@kazuri.org.uk
@KazuriHomes
@Pantstopoverty
Here are
2 pairs of shoes. Can you guess. ..
Farah Damji & Ben Ramsden