7 lessons from starting a social enterprise

The key jammed in the lock. Of course, it did.

I stood outside my pop-up shop in the rain, the night before Christmas Eve, soaked and cold.  

Staring at my four big bags of unsold stock and preparing for the walk to the bus, I knew in my heart it was over. 

Heading off into the dreary night, I felt weighed down by the bags and a sense of failure.

I thought that would be my rock bottom. I was wrong. Rock bottom came a couple of weeks later sniffing a bottle of vinegar.

Now, after a bout of COVID 19 and two weeks of self-isolation, but with an exciting new chapter ahead, I feel ready to share my top learnings from a year of founding Good City Circle.

But first, I'll start with the beginning of the end...

Winding Down

We sold stock at the pop-up shop (approximately 60%) and on December 31st were able to donate ￡150 (50% of profits) to the Clock Tower Sanctuary, an organisation in Brighton supporting young homeless people with safety, stability, and security.

Eight other local social enterprises had joined us at the pop-up, and customers downloaded their apps and asked about their work. 

I believe I had the proof of concept Good City Circle worked on a small scale.

However, I couldn’t see scaling happening over the next six months. Not with the current situation.

Deciding to wind down Good City Circle, was disappointing, but also liberating.

Like ending a relationship you know isn’t working.

Although it’s sad and you still have feelings, it’s time to move on.

But before saying goodbye, I wanted to share the lessons I learned on the way in case they might be useful for you. They aren't a formula for success. Rather the reality of what it was like for me to take a chance on creating my own dream organisation. 

Even though it hasn’t worked out, the nightmare would have been to never give it a go in the first place...

Top Lessons

1. Timing is everything

I moved back to the UK on March 16th, 2020 to launch my social enterprise. 

The UK went into its first lockdown a week later. 

Our phone booth pop-up was all set for a sunny Saturday in November.

We went into lockdown 2.0 three days before and eventually did it on a damp December day.

After selling stock and turning a profit from our Christmas pop-up shop, I started thinking about plans for 2021.

You all know what happened at the start of 2021.

Timing in life is everything. 

You can have the greatest idea (and I still believe having one place where everything you consume is having a positive impact on people and the planet IS a great idea), yet sometimes the prevailing winds are moving in a different direction. 

Starting, scaling, or running a new start-up in retail is very hard right now.

Sure, I could keep going but there is something to be said for knowing when your time is up. 

Timing is everything. And my time is up.

2. Create an advisory board

Part of launching an organisation is convincing people your idea is going to work. That you can make it work. This ranges from co-founders to customers. Interns to suppliers.

You have to do this continuously - proving the value of people investing time/money/effort. 

People dropped in and out of Good City Circle. Co-founders, interns, board members.

There was nothing wrong with that, it’s normal, but there were five people who continuously provided support and stability. Who believed in me and Good City Circle.

One of the best things I did was to have an advisory board.

From strategy to product development, my board had a breadth of skills and experience, and every month we’d discuss what was going on and how to improve it. 

It was fun. Sometimes emotional. But mostly fun.

The team was super smart, kind, and had my back. I’m very grateful to my fab five - Kristina, Jindy, Peter, Laura and Tom (plus Kate over the last few months) - for being there.

If you are setting up your own thing I’d highly recommend creating your own advisory board. It’s the best thing I did.

3. Test. Test. Test.

Landing page. Brand name. Crowdfunding. 

Newsletter. Social Media. Website.  

Online shop. Pop up shop. Physical shop. 

I tested lots of ideas and activities and learned a lot.

For example, I’d never do crowdfunding without already having a big crowd (or select the all or nothing funding option).

I wouldn’t do an outdoor pop up in December. Nor run a shop by myself.

These tests gave me insights into customer behaviour but also helped me to realise my own limitations.

The most valuable thing I learned, or rather became aware of, is that I wasn’t the right person to create awareness of Good City Circle.

50% of our subscribers regularly read our newsletter. 65-70% of people coming into our shop, bought our products. Engagement and conversion were high.

But these were based on dozens of people, not thousands. 

Our core problem was not getting enough people to be aware of us and our products. 

To visit the website. To sign up for the newsletter. To come into the shop. 

I was not the right person to do this.

If I reignite Good City Circle in the future, the first thing I’ll do is to find someone skilled in creating awareness. Not realising that soon enough was one of my biggest failures.

And testing is not just about data. It's about testing your assumptions AND abilities.

4. Social Media didn’t really work for us

After my mass readathon in January - I believed to build a successful business you have to build a social media following. 

Why? Because it's the easiest way to reach your target market and scale. And maybe that's why we failed. But I don't think we should be spending more time on our phones/screens. We should be spending a LOT less.

After crowdfunding and the stress of daily posting/stories watching for followers/likes/comments, I developed a dislike for social media.  

And despite getting new followers/likes/comments, hardly anybody came into the shop via social media. Or bought our good gift boxes.

Social Media caused me the greatest grief and yet had the lowest return on investment. 

I’d opt for a different approach next time and get someone else to be worried about our number of 'followers'. Or go rogue and don't have social media at all.

5. Social enterprise support - don’t bank on it

I thought with a solid idea/plan, a background in social enterprise, and experience in fundraising, getting start-up funding for Good City Circle would be relatively easy.

Granted we were bootstrapping, looking for small amounts, and not selling equity, but I thought we’d be able to get more support from the social enterprise support sector.

However, with many of the big funders focused on supporting existing businesses through the pandemic and supporting founders with different backgrounds and profiles to me, support wasn’t readily available.

I wouldn’t count on this in the future.

6. Finding your purpose, products, and people

From supporting refugees access jobs through my daily cup of tea to using a reusable cup made from repurposing single-use cups, I found many products I loved and met a lot of fantastic people on the way.

Working in the charity,/social enterprise/circular economy space, people genuinely care about what they do.

I feel this is one of the biggest advantages of working in the purpose sector. People value the important things in life. Not simply profits and dividends. 

The tide will turn eventually when people realise how much trouble we are in as a species and profits don't give you a planet, so if you are thinking about making a change to a more meaningful career, I believe following your purpose will lead you to find your people. 

And your life will be better for it.

7. A little stability goes a long way 

I’ll run a purpose organisation again but I’d also like to be more settled in other areas of my life.

I think of life as being a bit like a stool (one you sit on rather than produce, though I understand why you might think the latter right now).

My life stool is made of four legs (and the seat).

Home. Relationships. Finance. Career. (Health). 

All my legs have been wobbling over the past year and it got too much.

Running your own thing takes a lot of energy and ideally, you should not be worrying about other big things at the same time. Wobbly legs are fun for nobody.

I’d want more stability in my life the next time I start my own organisation.

And maybe a cat.

The future

Unemployed, homeless, single, broke and a bit broken, things weren’t looking great at the end of 2020 but I started 2021 with optimism. 

Why not? Things couldn’t get any worse.

Then I couldn’t taste my brother-in-law's chocolate cake mixture. Maybe not the worst thing in the world but then I sniffed a bottle of vinegar and couldn’t smell a thing. 

And sure enough, the coughs and high temperature from my two-year-old niece resulted in a positive COVID test. My sister got it. I had it too. 

All my energy levels went, my body ached. The family weren't in good shape either.

If you have had COVID 19, even a mild form, you’ll know it can be horrible. 

Not being able to smell nappies a small consolation.

For the past two weeks, I’ve been isolating with my sister, brother-in-law, and my temperamental shadow (my lovely niece).

It hasn’t been easy, but I've been grateful to have support. You find out about people in a crisis and I am fortunate to have some fantastic family and friends.

Having COVID made me reflect on what I wanted to do. And what people with severe cases have to contend with. What life must be like for people without family and support.

I wanted to help people in a crisis. And as it so happens, I’ve found a job doing just that.

This week I start with the British Red Cross managing new partnerships with the private sector and their work supporting people through COVID amongst other crises in the UK and abroad.

Connecting human kindness with human crisis (their motto) is exactly where I feel I should be right now. 

So even if Good City Circle hasn’t worked out, I’ve learned a lot, and finding a job and my own space in Hove leaves me optimistic for the future.

Life has had a habit of throwing curveballs at us all, but I believe if we keep following our hearts and dreams, we will get where we need to be. Even if it isn’t where we thought we wanted to be.

Enjoy the smell of fresh air, the taste of chocolate, and gasping for air after a run.

Every day has its moments of paradise - we just need to remember they can come in the little things.

Take care and until next time,

Nick