Business Live: for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs

In  one of the worst-offending industries for landfill and modern slavery, Kalopsia proves you can make products more ethically and minimise environmental impact.

A batch manufacturer of textiles, apparel and accessories, Kalopsia is a social enterprise which started as an artistic collective and morphed into a textile producing community interest company.

It makes exciting products (including for brands you will have heard of), supports the textile industry and the people in it, minimises waste and environmental impact. And it demonstrates all of this is possible as a sustainable (in all ways) business.

Adam Robertson and Nina Falk join me on the programme in an interview I recorded and broadcast for both the Responsible Finance podcast and for Sheffield Live. They cover:

• Kalopsia’s journey from running galleries and exhibitions to batch manufacturer
• how Kalopsia has learned from other industries to develop highly efficient processes and systems
• what batch manufacturing means
• making the customer experience on the website as easy as possible
• the widespread misinformation about ethics and sustainability in fashion and textiles.

Also in this episode:

• 1:40 Final day to get involved in Sheffield City Council's big conversation survey
• 3:25 It's Our City campaign update
• 4:40 Reshuffle news and Jake Berry quites role as Northern Powerhouse Minister
• 5:59 Presenteeism is rife and affects productivity according to new survey of business leaders
• 8:15 Nina Falk and Adam Robertson, Kalopsia
• 30:15 Would you like £10,000? Apply (if you're eligible) for the Cambridge Social Innovation Award, open now.
• 33:01 Would you like £20,000? There are seven grants to this value available from NatWest Social and Community Capital.
• 35:00 Recap of last week's show.
• 38:30  It's Our City campaign update.
• 41:02 Percy Bishton, co-owner of Sheffield climbing wall, The Climbing Works, appointed chief routesetter for bouldering at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
• 42:24 wrapping up.

Mike Garner escaped a career as a translator when he got sick of translating clients' bad French.

He and his business, Branding with Words, help people put together messages which resonate with their ideal customers. In this interview Mike  explains:

• why you shouldn't be trying to sell to everybody
• how to build customer avatars and profiles (and why this means you can serve clients better and build a stronger business)
• the pitfalls of building a profile "so perfect it doesn't exist"
• where to start before you get to psychographics and demographics
• the power of "review mining" and how to do it
• a deep research and intelligence gathering process you can follow to gather insights into your ideal clients' and customers' problems
• how to create resonant messages
• copywriting horror stories
• where to get practical advice you can put to work in your business today, including Mike's free 6 day challenge

Crammed with value and Mike's generous, practical advice, this is a corker of an episode. Listen to it now and before you test any more marketing activity.

Smoke inhalation from cooking causes millions of deaths. Stirring cooking pots for hours and hours, and collecting firewood to cook with steals lives - preventing many people from going to school or achieving their potential.

But a simple invention, created in South Africa, is already changing this. The Wonderbag is an insulated drawstring container weighing about the same as a bag of sugar. Bring a pot of stew to the boil, pop it inside the Wonderbag and it finishes cooking all on its own. This drastically reduces the amount of wood (or kerosene!) needed to cook. Women have launched businesses, creating income in their communities, in the hours they have freed from stirring open pots. Girls can get an education instead of collecting wood.

Wonderbags are made from foam out of aeroplane seats which would otherwise have been burned. They've even been used to cook food while climbing Kilimanjaro, as my guest Ken Dunn explains in this episode.

Ken, a former geography teacher, visited Lesotho twenty years ago. He took a bunch of children from near Barnsley which ultimately catalysed a community development project and the launch of a charity, Africa's Gift. 

This isn't about patronage, "saviour" tropes, or telling people what's good for them, as Ken explains in this episode. It's about listening and working together to create positive solutions to problems that do – or will – affect everyone. Other projects are addressing soil erosion and generating community wealth.

Businesses, social enterprises and people working together are making huge contributions to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, says Ken - arguably much more than Governments. This is a fascinating interview which covers Ken's own journey from teacher to founder, community partner, social entrepreneur and wonderbag advocate

Another welcome return visit to the radio studio this morning.

Claire Moore is the founder of Believe and Achieve. Since her last appearance Claire's been featured in the Small Business 100, invited to the House of Lords, and accepted onto the Cambridge Social Innovation Incubator through which she is accessing 12 months of business support, mentoring and training.

Claire describes:

- her own return to fitness after a commute left her tired, unmotivated and unhealthy - and how Claire moved from teacher and civil servant to personal trainer and gym owner.
- the Believe and Achieve philosophy of building confidence, self-esteem and belief, through the combination of education with exercise to build positive mental and physical health.
- dealing with imposter syndrome as an entrepreneur.
- how Claire aims for her clients to gain understanding, knowledge, and new habits which mean they can embed fitness and health into their lives.
- the value Claire gains from her mentor - who's like a personal trainer for her business.
- creating new systems, processes, plans and procedures.
- small but effective habits which have a powerful impact on fitness and wellbeing.
- plans for the future
- how leaders can find the space to keep fit and healthy
- some of the most impactful books and sources of inspiration for Claire.

It's great to interview a return-visitor to the programme whose business is going from strength to strength (and I'm sorry for wearing that pun out).

A generous dollop of inspiration and practical tips in today's Business Live radio show.

Kisha Bradley was last on the programme in February 2018. So much has changed since then for her and for Bright Box Makerspace.

Bright Box creates "sneaky learning opportunities" for everyone.

Working in museums, libraries, schools, and with organisations such as Guides, Cubs, Scouts and many others, it creates playful spaces for people to explore technology, engineering and arts with the help of role models.

Since 2018 Bright Box has scaled up, moved into dedicated premises (Exchange Street, Castlegate), and taken on its first and further employees.

Kisha describes what's changed, and how, successes, biggest challenges - and how she's progressed as a leader too.

A recent, high profile national award has recognised Kisha's work, and she describes how this has unlocked opportunities and opened doors – including to The Cabinet Office

And we cover Girls with Drills - a twitter hashtag, a mission statement, and a range of clothing in which every purchase helps to make a pop-up Bright Box Makerspace happen.

Enjoy this episode which also addresses:

• a crucial piece of advice for founders of startups
• lessons learned about delegation, hiring and managing people
• doing what's right and in tune with your values even when its difficult
• you "can't be what you don't see" - the importance of visibility
• confidence, "presentation paralysis", perfectionism and imposter syndrome
• the impact of winning the "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" Award in the Precious Awards
• advice for startups and for businesses scaling up
• a quick guest appearance at the end of the show from Sheffield Live's Paul Gregory

Two leaders of values-driven businesses joined me in the radio studio on Friday 13th December:

Gareth Roberts of Regather, a cooperative launched in 2010 whose work building a more sustainable food system for Sheffield is creating numerous positive environmental, social and economic impacts. Regather has also started a hedge fund – with a difference. 

And Rob Cole's firm Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens designs and makes beautiful, bespoke kitchens with sustainability and ethics at their core.

The episode demonstrates  (again!) how businesses can make the world better, can be ethical and sustainable, with environmental and social responsibility at their core.

It includes reflections on dramatic changes: to conventional business and to social enterprises – and why businesses which don't adapt will be bankrupt or simply won't exist.

And both Gareth and Rob have some extremely important advice, plus lessons learned in Regather's decade and SSK's 12 years of operation.

Timings:

• 0-1 introduction.
• 1:15  Regather's trading activities include a fruit and vegetable delivery box scheme with over 300 customers; has taken on a 14 acre site for a market garden and farm; puts on events and operates a venue with a programme of live events, a microbrewery and commercial kitchen.
• 2:15 What is the Sheffield Hedge Fund?
• 3:20 Why Rob started Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens 12 years ago, and why he and others have launched the Sheffield Sustainability Network.
• 5:00 Last week Regather won the Sheffield Business Award for Corporate Social Responsibility. And last year, Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens won this award. Gareth's delighted to have won and will maximise the opportunities from this, as he describes, and (10:18) Rob tells us about the impact of winning last year.
• 12:15 Rob's ethos about sustainable business and community wealth creation.
• 13:55 The social enterprise 'sector' is changing and conventional business is changing. How so? What still needs to happen?
• 16:40 Why businesses which don't adapt will be bankrupt or simply won't exist.
• 17:30 Confronting an elephant in the room if asserting that public opinion is changing. And what can we learn from the election result?
• 21:10 Paul Polman (CEO, Unilever) has described the vacuum of political leadership on environment. Businesses and social enterprises are stepping in to address challenges which politicians aren't, can't or won't.
• 25:00 "Multi-value" businesses effecting change.
• 27:30 Cambridge Social Ventures' Cambridge Social Innovation Award was featured on the radio show earlier in 2019. Regather is one of four inaugural winners. What impact has this had?
• 33:00 How the Sheffield Sustainability Network will support businesses to reduce their carbon footprints and improve sustainability.
• 40:04 Recap and Gareth's pies for Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust.
• 42:45 Rob's firm is now 15-strong, with significant growth plans over the next year too. Social investment could unlock this for the 12-year-old firm, which has also moved beyond kitchens to bathrooms, bedrooms and home offices.
• 44:20 Advice for folk wanting to work in, launch or run businesses, social enterprises and cooperatives with a purpose - generating income, mitigating risks, and learning from your mistakes.
• 51:00 Getting in touch with Rob and Gareth.

Carl Konadu is the Co-founder and CEO of 2-3 Degrees, a personal development training company (and social enterprise) whose aim is to equip young people with practical skills for life beyond the classroom.

In Carl's second year of University, he and 2-3 Degrees co-founder Azzees Minott "began to realise that we did not have the soft skills needed to forge successful lives." But small positive actions "can be what helps you improve."

2-3 Degrees works with schools, colleges and Universities to support young people to make positive decisions through talks and workshops.

Carl told me about their work and impact in this episode of the Business Live radio show, broadcast on Sheffield Live 93.2FM on Friday 6 December and available as a podcast here.

He covers how 2-3 Degrees launched, where it works, how it supports young people, and the most important sources of support which got Carl and Azzees grounded in the "basics of business planning" - the Hatch Incubator programme, the School for Social Entrepreneurs, and the Young Foundation.

He takes my question about whether the personal development and motivation-building 'industry' just makes people feel a temporary high. Carl describes how 2-3 Degrees seeks to ensure its participants put the new skills (hard and soft) they learn into practice to effect change and development.

And he's open about 2-3 Degrees' impact, its biggest challenges faced so far, and has tips in terms of finding and working with a co-founder with complementary skills.

Joseph Palmer and Dan Bale create cinematic and stylish promotional marketing videos and short films and joined me in the radio studio this week to discuss their business, Open House Pictures.

Dan and Joe originally met on a performance course at Sheffield Hallam University and launched the business once they graduated when they realised there was a niche for creative video content production.

Their work has included a "love letter" to the Abbeydale Picture House; a beautifully-shot story for Tramlines, Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind, and Ticket Bank; promotional videos for Bhayani Law and The National Videogame Museum and more.

This episode includes:

• The gap in the video / film production market Joe and Dan decided to fill
• Clients and projects
• How the business got started and who they asked for help
• The Hallam Enterprise Awards
• Advice for people who want to commission a film: what to think about, how to create a brief, how to chose a videographer or production company
• The current and uncertain business climate: has this affected business' confidence in investing in marketing
• Reasons to create video content
• How Joe's and Dan's acting and performance backgrounds have fed into their work
• Biggest challenges faced in the first year of business
• A hilarious tale of filming in the crowd at Tramlines
• Ensuring work/life balance: and the systems they have learned to protect this
• Moving into an office at Hallam I-Labs
• Ambitions for the year ahead and how they plan to grow the business

Timings

o - 1 introduction
1 - 2:50 updates including the presents with a purpose gift guide from Social Enterprise UK
2:50 Joseph and Dan
43:30 The Federation of Small Businesses comments about political parties' election manifestos
49:40 Events: a brilliant event about the magic of maps at Sheffield Central Library; Nether Edge Farmers' Market; wrapping up

Mike Jones runs software consultancy Sheaf Digital. His new Sheffield Apprenticeships app looks set to help young people identify good quality apprenticeships. And twenty years ago, Mike made a big career switch, from schoolteacher to software developer. 

Mike tells me what Sheaf Digital does, why he launched the Sheffield Apprenticeships app as a "passion project" and how it works for users (and apprenticeship providers).

And he explains his career progression, from teacher, to employee in a large tech firm, to running his own software development business, Sheaf Digital.

This episode is packed with great advice about:

- developing side projects,
- building apps and getting them accepted in the Apple app and Google Play stores,
- learning new skills,
- identifying where you want to be in your career and a pathway to get there,
- gaining appropriate, transferable skills and experience,
- business management and development advice for anyone who runs their own business or is self-employed,
- how to become a software developer without a degree in computer science!

Elvis and Kresse is a remarkable business. Which is wonderful and sad at the same time.

This social enterprise, a certified B-Corp, rescues materials which would otherwise go to landfill, transforms them into beautiful new goods and donates 50% of profits to charity.

Since 2005 it has turned decommissioned and damaged firehouses into a range of luxury accessories: bags, belts, wallets, travel cases. I bought one as a prize for a listener earlier this year.

And its values inform every single business decision. Kresse is outraged that company law usually compels directors to increase shareholder value even when that means damaging the planet. But it doesn't have to be this way, as she explains during the interview.

She also covers:

- How the circular economy is embedded into Elvis and Kresse's business and all its processes and decisions.
- The firm's backwards design process: problem first, material first.
- Its apprenticeship programme and partnership with the Burberry Foundation.
- Why Elvis and Kresse has never taken on growth capital and how this has been "unbelievably liberating."
- A challenging period when a series of things went horribly wrong and she and co-founder Elvis could have abandoned the business - but how, instead, they "doubled down" on creating impact.
-  Her "crazy, new and revolutionary" idea: creating local, small-scale solar forges to recycle aluminium. This is a "beautiful, noble" material which continues to end up in landfill in huge volumes. This is an open-source public project with enormous potential. Kresse describes how to get involved.
- As someone who is "relatively uncompromising," has Kresse had to make any pragmatic compromises?

There's more, much more, in this episode which demonstrates that you can make a positive environmental and social impact, running a sustainable business, even in an industry whose pace, processes and material choices are "largely destructive and exploitative." We can and should do better.