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Bus Lane Bonanza
Let me start with a shocking revelation My 40th birthday present to myself was bus driving lessons. Once I’d sneaked out for a trial run in a delicious 25 year old Ford coach I was hooked. I had to take my test and drive these things for real. As is always the case with these things, time and career have eroded that early passion and it’s now several years since I navigated my way through the traffic to Victoria Coach Station from behind the wheel of a 40ft long Volvo coach.
What has remained though is a secret interest in buses of all kinds. I cannot pass one without noticing the make, model and any interesting features. Whilst to the coach driver I am overtaking I may seem just like any other car driver, I am in reality ready to pounce into his seat and whisk his passengers away on a journey of my own design. All he has to do is get distracted and I’ll be there, foot down, lights full on giving a reassuring narrative over the tannoy system to the 50 or so people sitting behind me.
What's this got to do with Social Enterprise? Now imagine that your social enterprise is a bus. You are taking people you want to help on a journey. It’s probably not an actual transport journey; more likely the trip is more philosophical or behavioural. If it were a real bus, you’d have bus lanes to drive in are protected by law from cars and trucks. The path you tread as a social enterprise affords you no such protection.
Your progress can be impeded by the for profit sector that surrounds you. They can overtake you, cut in front and even, horror of horrors, pull over at the next bus stop and offer your next group of passengers a lift in their shiny new cars.
“How dare they?” I hear you scream. “We’re making huge sacrifices here to change the world and it’s simply not fair that others can come and trade on our patch.” How wrong can you be?
Social Conscience is not exclusive The corporate world is fast waking up to social conscience. Corporate Social Responsibility is poised to grow. No longer will it be merely a sop to investors wishing to keep people happy whilst focusing on profit. It’s about to move into the marketing department where there’s a lot more money to spend.
You see every successful business knows the importance of a healthy relationship with each and every customer. Today’s consumer, and certainly tomorrow’s, has become aware of the huge injustices that exist in the world. They are finding it harder to ignore the beggar in the street or the profoundly disabled children in their local special school. They want to see more done, but not if it means paying more income tax. ‘Something has to be done,’ they shout in voices sharpened by indignation.
Now I’m no economist, but to my way of seeing things there are only two places money can come from to fund social change. It’s either funded by the Government through the taxes they collect, or by traders of all flavours investing some of their margins in doing good. It’s what all social enterprises do, but now everyone’s about to jump on board and queer your pitch.
Fair Trade, Free Range, Organic, Recycled and many more words are being used by the for profit sector to reassure their marketplace. The motive is always to show the customer that by buying here, some of the profit is invested in achieving some social purpose. This also spills over into employment policy. You might employ disadvantaged people because you love them. Businesses will hire, train and retain them because their customers love them.
The $64,000 question that everyone running a social enterprise has to answer is this: Which of these two models is truly sustainable and capable of growth?
Robert Ashton is an author, entrepreneur and social activist. He helps charities and social enterprises build win:win partnerships with commercial concerns.
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