Enterprise is a dangerous thing.<\/p>\n
In the wrong hands it can re-distribute wealth from the wealthy and put it in the hands of the poor. \u00a0If this happens of course vast swathes of public services could be cut back. \u00a0Job Centres could be closed down,\u00a0demand\u00a0for health services might plummet and swathes of middle class ‘helping’ professionals could be laid off. \u00a0So, ensuring that enterprise culture remains depressed and marginalised \u00a0in some of our poorer communities is essential to social progress and economic recovery.<\/p>\n
Here is your quick guide on how to do it…<\/p>\n
Counter\u00a0intuitive\u00a0I know. \u00a0But if it just looks like a government\/council\/housing association led initiative it may lack credibility. \u00a0Getting a few (even one) local\u00a0business\u00a0person on board will really increase credibility and increase the chances of winning investment. \u00a0Be very careful though. \u00a0Private\u00a0sector people\u00a0will\u00a0actually\u00a0want\u00a0to see enterprise encouraged. \u00a0As soon as they see the real effects of the programme they are\u00a0likely\u00a0to flee like proverbial\u00a0rats on a sinking ship.<\/p>\n
People are inherently enterprising. \u00a0They show all sorts of creative and innovative ways to make life better or at least more bearable. \u00a0Fortunately for us\u00a0many\u00a0of these (in fact the vast majority) don’t show up in our measures of enterprise so we simply deny them and state that communities with low start-up and VAT registration rates are ‘lacking in enterprise’. However, the point remains, people are inherently enterprising and if we wish to discourage enterprise it can be expensive. \u00a0A few million should do it to sustain a 2 or 3 year campaign.<\/p>\n
I know this seems counter-intuitive. \u00a0If we\u00a0want\u00a0to discourage enterprise, then surely we shouldn’t be promoting it? \u00a0But bear with me – this works. \u00a0If we can get a message out there that says<\/p>\n
‘You can be your own boss, running your dream business: All it takes is a bright idea and the\u00a0determination\u00a0to succeed’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
…our battle is practically won. \u00a0Leaflets, posters, websites, adverts on commercial radio stations and buses. \u00a0Just flood the target areas of deprivation with marketing collateral. \u00a0Ideally also recruit some enterprise champions to attend local community centres and summer fairs handing out leaflets and letting everyone know just how much support is available to the would be entrepreneur. \u00a0And if you\u00a0want\u00a0to blow a few tens of thousands on a website too – well it will do no harm.<\/p>\n
People will come forward in reasonable numbers especially if we help them out with bus fares, offer free lunches,\u00a0cr\u00e8ches\u00a0and hint at the possibility of funding to listen to our messages. \u00a0Enterprise for all, Anyone can do it, All it takes is hard work, You don’t even need a bright idea – we can give you one of those…<\/p>\n
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- Procure Your Own MBA Enterprise (Lite)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now all we need to do is feed them into an Enterprise MBA (anorexically) Lite. \u00a0Perhaps three half day workshops with a decent consultant who can make it all seem so very simple. \u00a0Half a day to work up the idea, half a day to develop a marketing plan and half a day to look at financials should do it. \u00a0Perhaps supported by a week-end\u00a0Enterprise\u00a0Show that offers ‘All you need to know about business in one day’.<\/p>\n
Whatever you do please do not encourage team based start ups. \u00a0These are far too\u00a0likely\u00a0to succeed. \u00a0Encourage the myth of the ‘lone entrepreneur’ at every opportunity.<\/p>\n
Now we can just sit back and wait.<\/p>\n
If we work really hard at this within a year or two we can have perhaps 1000 bright shiny new businesses – most of them run by the gullible who really\u00a0believe\u00a0that with all the support available this should be easy. \u00a0And the magic starts. \u00a0They suddenly find that\u00a0this\u00a0is hard work, and it is relentless. \u00a0The business becomes like a cuckoo, requiring constant attention, dragging them away from family and friends, requiring time, money and lots of hard work.<\/p>\n
NB be very careful not to provide any form of ‘relationship’ with your wannabe entrepreneurs other than the\u00a0poorly\u00a0transactional\/technical. \u00a0You must never employ competent coaches who might help them to balance these tensions and maintain their motivation\u00a0to\u00a0succeed. \u00a0Instead employ\u00a0people\u00a0who have never run a business nor have been trained as coaches and use them as recruitment sergeants for the MBA Lite. \u00a0You can <\/span>call them Enterprise Coaches. \u00a0Just make sure that their enterprise experience is limited and their room to coach negligible. \u00a0As our wannabe entrepreneurs start to feel and show the strain of running their own businesses we can start to blame their struggles on them. \u00a0‘Perhaps you are just not cut out to be an entrepreneur’. Again avoid telling them the true stories of many successful\u00a0entrepreneurs\u00a0who often cut their teeth in failing businesses before finally finding a recipe for success. \u00a0Luckily there is a whole industry of motivational speakers and ex Apprentices who will help you to re-tell and re-enforce the Enterprise Fairy tale. \u00a0(NB don’t\u00a0underestimate\u00a0the budget you will need to procure their services. \u00a0This seems to be one area where the vast supply available has not resulted in driving down prices…)<\/p>\n
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- Run a ‘Modest’ Grants and Loans Programme<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Lending people money or even giving small\u00a0grants\u00a0to get their businesses started provides a wonderful mechanism to ensure that painful lessons about enterprise have a long-lasting and practical impact. \u00a0It also helps us to short-cut the most commonly raised objection to starting a business which is ‘I don’t have the cash’. \u00a0This is a vital step. \u00a0In its absence they may go and speak to lenders who will explain to them that their business is\u00a0unlikely\u00a0to work and that they will not be able to pay for any investment they seek. \u00a0THIS IS DISASTER! \u00a0We should do all we can to avoid exposing our wannabe entrepreneurs to such doses of reality.<\/p>\n
By running our own grants and loan schemes we also help to lay the seeds for decades of resentment in the community. \u00a0Firstly\u00a0we\u00a0will\u00a0have the chance to refuse many who apply for loans. \u00a0This really ticks them off, wastes their time, puts them off the\u00a0enterprise\u00a0process and makes them deeply\u00a0suspicious\u00a0of anyone who offers to invest in entrepreneurs. \u00a0And for those that we do make loans there is a good chance they will default – but even if they don’t they will see us as money lenders – and no-one really likes their lenders, do they? \u00a0And if we give them a grant, because no one else will lend them money – well we are almost certainly setting them up to fail. \u00a0If their\u00a0business\u00a0idea was inherently profitable they would not need to come to us for a grant.<\/p>\n
NB actually setting up a grant or loan service can be hard. \u00a0Instead, do a deal with a\u00a0local\u00a0credit union and get them to work ‘under your brand’. \u00a0 This way you get all of the upsides without having to actually do any of the dirty work. \u00a0Never signpost people to\u00a0independent\u00a0sources of finance and investment. \u00a0This risks your\u00a0client\u00a0seeing you as the good guys and them, the evil moneylenders, as the bad guys. \u00a0Of course if your long-term goal of depressing enterprise culture is to be achieved then you need to be\u00a0perceived\u00a0as the bad guys – so bring the finance guys under your brand.<\/p>\n
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- Now be patient<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
That’s it. \u00a0Now sit back and watch the results of your labour come to fruition. \u00a0You have encouraged perhaps a thousand people to start businesses. \u00a0Of course, some of these would have started their businesses anyway. \u00a0And some will expect to work all hours to get\u00a0things\u00a0working well. \u00a0But many, if we are lucky a majority, will be\u00a0anticipating\u00a0some sort of cake walk to entrepreneurial success.<\/p>\n
And so the magic starts.<\/p>\n
The demand for many hours of hard work kicks in. \u00a0The money flows out, and our trap is sprung. \u00a0We may have had to put up with a short-term spike in the start-up rates (it is\u00a0unlikely\u00a0that many VAT registrations will occur as a result of our MBA Lite) but now we can expect the start-up rate to quickly fall away again.<\/p>\n
We now have a small army of failed and failing entrepreneurs in our community, with neighbours and friends talking about their latest\u00a0entrepreneurial\u00a0failure, trying to service their debts and walk away from their ‘dream business’ turned nightmare. \u00a0If you have done your work well perhaps loan default rates could be significantly above 50%. \u00a0We do not need to promote these failures. \u00a0Indeed we can be portraying them as successes to ensure that we recruit another tranche to our MBA. \u00a0The\u00a0entrepreneurs\u00a0will collude with us in portraying their success – but the community will recognise and spread the truth. \u00a0That enterprise is hard and inherently risky, and that in\u00a0spite\u00a0of all the support available the decks are stacked and success often remains elusive.<\/p>\n
But what, I hear you say, of those that ‘succeed’. \u00a0Aren’t they walking adverts for the entrepreneurial dream? \u00a0Well, actually, No. \u00a0Most of them will be in the ‘working like a dog for not much money’ phase. \u00a0Even those on the road to entrepreneurial success (typically by way of a start-up failure or two) will be like\u00a0government\u00a0sponsored health warnings against the dangers of an entrepreneurial life style.<\/p>\n
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- Commission a Mid Term Evaluation<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It must be glossy and full of warm words and smiling faces. \u00a0Don’t worry, even your most miserable and hate filled entrepreneurs will be prepared to smile for your cameras as you explain to them that many potential customers will read this report. \u00a0If possible get an\u00a0evaluator\u00a0with a double\u00a0barrelled\u00a0name and a decent reputation to undertake the\u00a0evaluation. \u00a0They will understand the politics of the situation and can be relied upon to be sympathetic.<\/p>\n
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- Avoid producing lists of the entrepreneurs you have helped and the businesses you have started<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Such lists\u00a0can\u00a0be problematic. \u00a0People who are interested in enterprise in their communities might ring up some of your\u00a0clients\u00a0and find out whether they are living the dream or not. \u00a0If you are wise each of the\u00a0clients\u00a0will have been helped by several of your partners and will have been counted more than once. \u00a0Such double counting can easily be hidden away in a database. \u00a0Indeed we can blame it on the IT system. \u00a0A published list is much less forgiving.<\/p>\n
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- Get Out Early<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ideally after a 2-4 year campaign such as this you should now withdraw your sources of advice and support. \u00a0If you are lucky you will be able to\u00a0blame\u00a0this on\u00a0central\u00a0government cuts and ‘The Recession’. \u00a0Don’t worry the long-standing enterprise support organisations such as the Enterprise Agencies or Business Link won’t be able to pick up the slack – they are already stacked out.<\/p>\n
FAQs<\/strong><\/p>\n
Q:<\/strong> We have spent several millions refurbishing old buildings in deprived areas as ‘enterprise centres’ and have helped establish Development Trusts and CICs to run them. \u00a0Is there any danger that these might serve to\u00a0promote\u00a0enterprise in areas of deprivation?<\/p>\n
A: <\/strong>Relax! \u00a0It is true that you have spent millions that you could have held onto – but it is unlikely\u00a0that you will have done any real harm to our mission of depressing enterprise in deprived areas. \u00a0 As long as you have built in lots of overheads (Victorian listed buildings that are\u00a0inherently\u00a0energy inefficient, combined with generous staffing and ‘architectural’ use of atria and ‘overpriced shared working space’ should suffice). \u00a0Unless you make the mistake of offering really competitive prices for decent office space with easy terms you are not going to fill up with local sustainable businesses\u00a0capable\u00a0of paying their rents consistently. \u00a0This mistake is almost impossible to make as if you should, no doubt unwittingly, provide any\u00a0meaningful\u00a0competition\u00a0to the private sector there will be howls of complaints about anti-competitiveness.<\/p>\n
NB leave the buildings with a legacy investment so that\u00a0they\u00a0can sustain themselves for a year or two after you have gone. \u00a0This way you may avoid some of the\u00a0blame\u00a0for commissioning a white elephant.<\/p>\n
As the poor CIC or Development Trust pursues ‘break even’ it will have to forget its social mission and, at worst, the car park will fill up with BMWs, Audis and 4x4s as entrepreneurs from \u00a0out of town recognise that their are deals to be done on some sexy workspaces. \u00a0 Or they may shift their focus from ‘enterprise centre’ to ‘conference centre’. \u00a0Or the car parks (and bicycle sheds) will remain stubbornly empty and after many months or years of support the centre will die a long and lingering death. \u00a0In most of our\u00a0communities\u00a0this trajectory can still be seen playing out in\u00a0versions of ‘enterprise centres’ from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.<\/p>\n
You may find that some claim the Enterprise Centre gives local\u00a0people something to aspire too and that this will somehow lead to an entrepreneurial revolution. \u00a0Again Relax. \u00a0Go and\u00a0talk\u00a0to the operations manager in any of the\u00a0older\u00a0incarnations of the enterprise centres. \u00a0They, their low occupancy rates, and their key tenants running\u00a0government\u00a0programmes, will testify that no such\u00a0enterprise\u00a0revolution is\u00a0likely\u00a0to occur.<\/p>\n
Q: <\/strong>We have executed the plan perfectly. \u00a0Does this mean that we can take the foot of the gas?<\/p>\n
A: <\/strong>No! \u00a0People are inherently enterprising. \u00a0As soon as you stop, the recovery starts. \u00a0They start to make progress again. \u00a0Luckily it tends to be slow and pain staking but it happens. \u00a0You must be prepared to re-brand and relaunch the whole project again at least every 10 years.<\/p>\n
Q: <\/strong>Hang on a minute! \u00a0We have done some or all of the above in the name of\u00a0encouraging <\/span><\/strong>enterprise in deprived communities. \u00a0Are you saying that we have got it wrong?<\/p>\n
A:<\/strong>…Well of course only time will tell. \u00a0But in short, Yes.<\/p>\n