Business Live: for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs

News matters to local communities. How can we generate the most possible resource available for local news and then produce the best possible local newspaper with that resource?

This is the starting point for Social Spider, which publishes five local newspapers. David Floyd, MD of the 2003-established social enterprise, joins us to explain Social Spider's purpose-driven, sustainable approach to “fill the gap left by the retreat and decline of corporate local news."

How? David explains, covering Social Spider's social, editorial and commercial models, its approach to quality journalism and revenue generation, how its newspapers are embedded within their communities – and why local news is a brilliant opportunity for social enterprises.

With a staff team of 17 Social Spider is increasing reader membership numbers, advertising income, and impact. Having fantastic, high-quality content is only one part of making the model work, he says. David's observations on journalism and the media today, building communities, commercial and social models and initiatives like the Local Democracy Service are well worth your time.

David's also a fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab which seeks new approaches to finance and investment which works for communities – his focus has been social investment. So I asked his view on how to encourage more or better social investment into social enterprises.

Also in today's show: new funding opportunities for businesses and social enterprises, upcoming events, some book recommendations, and a round-up of other episodes covering the media. Enjoy the show! Timings and links:

• 0 - 3:18 Introduction and some book recommendations: Iain Broome's A for Angelica, John Le Carré's Silverview.
• 3:18 Interview with David Floyd. More about Social Spider here (http://socialspider.com), find David on Twitter, and read his blog here https://startspreadingnews.medium.com
• 45:34 Reflections and summary of other episodes covering the media – eg interview with journalists Michelle Rawlins, Sam Walby and Bird Lovegod, Minreet Kaur, David Walsh. And another book recommendation, Rutger Bregman's Humankind.
• 49:49 Funding updates – details of grants for businesses and social enterprises including the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant, Low Carbon Business Support and Business Productivity Grants. More here. And the Cultural Recovery Fund.
• 51:38 Events: Sheffield Beer Week, Indie Beer Fest, Sheffield Adventure Film Festival. 'Meet the Locals', and 'Celestial Bodies', at Sheffield's Fronteer Gallery. Details and register for the Private View. Plus events from Business Sheffield and the Business & IP Centre.
  
  

Episode 356 of Business Live features Mike Lawrence, workplace health and wellbeing consultant. This interview was originally recorded on 17 December 2020 and is re-broadcast this week.

Working from home means many entrepreneurs and employees feel isolated; others experience overwhelm and burnout, or never stop working. Mike has strategies to protect and support you and your colleagues' health and wellbeing.

Mike "could talk for a week about some of the challenges I've had to overcome." As a young man he had to move to London to access employment opportunities: covert racism in Sheffield proved an enormous barrier. Has that changed? Mike now works with many corporate firms and large organisations, enabling them to address discrimination, bias and barriers to inclusivity. He describes initiatives and action, underway and needed, to create a level playing field for all.

Mike also describes how he found mentors, how he rebuilt his own confidence after a challenging period, the impact of Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning,  and gives realistic, practical advice for business leaders about listening, asking questions and building trust.

Find Mike Lawrence Health and Wellbeing online. And here's the book mentioned in the interview.

Manjit Sareen is CEO and co-founder of Natterhub and a serial entrepreneur. Since her co-founder Caroline Allams was on the show earlier this year the business, which teaches children to be safe and savvy online, has announced a high-impact collaboration with Microsoft.

Manjit explains how Natterhub offers an innovative, immersive and safe environment for children and how it has developed since launching last year.  Although Manjit and Caroline had been working on the product for several years the onset of the pandemic pushed them to launch earlier than originally planned in 2020 – she tells me why.

Natterhub was the first start-up company to join TwinklHive, which invested into the business too. It has won customers in more than 60 schools and is poised for explosive global growth thanks to a new integration with Microsoft means for Natterhub. Manjit describes how this came about.

For serial entrepreneur Manjit, developing, launching and growing Natterhub is an exciting and new chapter in an extraordinary business career. But the idea behind Natterhub had nearly been shelved just before she and co-founder Caroline became business partners. A serendipitously-overheard conversation led to their partnership and a world-leading business.

This week Natterhub scooped the Gold award in the Digital Education Awards, yet another accolade for the 9-person, lean firm named one of the top SaaS (software as a service) companies in the UK by TechRound earlier this year.

We also explore some of Manjit's earlier entrepreneurial experiences and she has advice for entrepreneurs on how to secure investment and the value of an experienced CFO to your team. And Manjit is running a new fundraise for the firm and always open to new partnerships; she tells folk what she's looking for and how to reach her.

Finally we return to some of Natterhub's functionality and recent initiatives such as a youth board and  its Rate My YouTuber web page, which reviews the content of popular YouTubers, to help parents make informed decisions about the content their children are viewing online.

Timings:

• 0 - 38:27 Introduction then interview with Manjit Sareen, Natterhub.
• 38:27 Funding updates: the overseas trade show fund from the UK Tradeshow Programme (UKTP) – uo to 40% / £4000 grants to exhibit at approved events; the British Design Fund – £100,000 to £200,000 investments into eligible businesses.
• 40:30 Upcoming online events from Sheffield Adventure Film Festival ShAff Online and wrapping up.

This is episode 355 of Business Live. Love the show? Please leave a rating or review on your podcast platform of choice – thank-you!

What holds people back from using their creativity in the workplace? Why have "closet creatives" stopped expressing their creative side in day-to-day life? And what are the impacts on health, wellbeing, problem solving and productivity when you rediscover your creative voice?

Emily Moncuit helps people find their creative voice through the art of sketching and drawing.

She's been working with global corporates, running lunchtime sessions for their employees with profound impacts on feeling good, building connections, productivity and the ability to apply their thinking to solve challenges, which we explore in this conversation.

And she's launched Emily's Notebook, her sketchbook community crammed with free resources to help people build a sketchbook habit and build their creative confidence. It also offers courses and Emily's " Sketch from Scratch Kits." 

Too often we've disconnected creativity from the workplace, and suppressed it in our day to day lives because of negative experiences. "Creativity has sometimes been linked to the thing that you do as the by-product of your life," says Emily – and we discuss whether it's really the "taboo" some people think.

Last time Emily was on Business Live she worked for the CBI, now she runs a startup. Whatever the size of your business or social enterprise, I think you'll find Emily's points about the psychology of creativity fascinating.

Also in the show today: FIVE funding and grant opportunities for businesses and social enterprises, and an upcoming event where you can meet a co-founder.

Timings and links:

• 0 - 2:15 introduction,
• 2:15 Interview with Emily Moncuit. Check out www.emilysnotebook.co.uk which is packed with free tips, and Emily’s Sketch from Scratch Kits – a wonderful gift to yourself or a loved one? We also discuss Sir Ken Robinson's famous Ted Talk.
• 25:51 Funding and grant opportunities:  New Low-Carbon Business Support Project | The Co-op Carbon Innovation Fund (for social enterprises and charities across the UK) | Grants of up to £24,999 in the South Yorkshire Business Productivity Programme | The Digital Innovation Grant programme for SMEs in South Yorkshire | The Social Enterprise Support Fund.
• 30:29 Startup Meetup next week – you can meet a co-founder.
• 31:30 What's coming up on the show, how to get in touch, and wrapping up.

Royal British Legion Industries is a charity supporting the Armed Forces and its veterans, people with disabilities and people who are unemployed.

Michelle Ferguson runs its two social enterprises, Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company and Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company.

The firms make road and rail signs, the RBLI's much-loved Tommy figures, and even offer ecommerce fulfilment services.

Michelle tells me more about what Britain’s and Scotland's Bravest Manufacturing Companies make, who their customers are, and how the social enterprises support injured veterans, and people with disabilities and health conditions.

We discuss why some veterans may struggle to find employment, or with other challenges;  and what more we can all do to support disadvantaged groups through positive business choices.

And Michelle has some essential advice for employers – if you want support to ex-service personnel, and you recruit via a process including interviews, you must be aware of this.

Also in the show today: a funding opportunity and an event for social entrepreneurs.

Timings:

• 0 - 35:25 Michelle Ferguson, Royal British Legion Industries' interim director of social enterprises
• 35:25 Social entrepreneurs in England, take a look at the new Social Enterprise Support Fund –£16.3m is available to help rebuild trading income
• 36:20 Details of The Time is Now! - A Social Enterprise Exchange / Sheffield Social Enterprise Network Conference on 18 November
• 37:35 Wrapping up

Social media is more than the platforms whose name changes are headline news. Sheffield Forum launched in 2002, and by last year received over 245,000 visitors per month.

People love to discuss local news, seek and give advice and recommendations, and engage in friendly or robust debate on Sheffield Forum. Some users have even met their life partner through the Forum; many have forged enduring friendships and relationships.

But when its founder announced in 2020 that, after 18 years, Sheffield Forum was for sale, many users feared the end was nigh for their much-loved community.

Chris Sellars and Beca Allsopp joined me today. The new stewards of Sheffield Forum after Chris' investment and joint venture vehicle, Bulldozer, acquired it last year, they've allayed users' fears while bringing new ideas. We discuss:

• why Bulldozer took ownership of a much-loved community and their plans,
• the first Sheffield Forum: Live – "bringing stories worth sharing to our Sheffield community and celebrate the talent in this city," it features talks covering music, science, art, faith, poetry and should be fascinating,
• Bulldozer's mission and aims as an investment and joint venture vehicle,
• practical tips for people seeking an investor or JV partner,
• Beca's Psychology Masters – which proved rather timely in its subject.

Enjoy today's episode, number 352 of the show, and check out Sheffield Forum, Bulldozer, and the Sheffield Forum:Live event.

What are NFTs – Non-Fungible Tokens – and how can creators, creatives and artists start to sell NFTs of their work?

Earlier this year Joe Horner, the award-winning Sheffield-based photographer, hit rock bottom in his business because of the impact of Covid. But a lack of bookings gave Joe the time to investigate the burgeoning world of NFTs. It has changed his life.

NFTs boomed in 2021: Christies sold an NFT of an artwork for over $60m earlier this year, but what are they? And how can artists and creatives make and sell NFTs of their work – and even enjoy future royalties when they are sold again?

Joe gives a huge amount of practical detail in this interview about what he's learned about minting and selling his work, how to value it, finding an audience, and the effect on the rest of his day-to-day career as a photographer and acclaimed artist.

It wasn't a get-rich quick scheme, and Joe's clearly committed to his work and his art, but it has been transformative: "It's been life-changing...it's quite insane...what I made in a year last year I made in a week."

He covers cryptowallets, platforms to trade NFTs, the best time of day to share new work for sale, the importance of a dedicated Twitter account and much more. If you're an artist or creator investigating NFTs, Joe's interview (which of course is NOT investment advice) is gold.

Timings:

• 0:00 Introduction and what are NFTs?
• 2:20 Joe Horner interview – find Joe's Instagram here, LinkedIn page here and Flowerblocks Twitter account here
• 39:20 Forthcoming events: The Business & IP Centre Sheffield's Start-up Day 2021 and Sheffield Forum's first Sheffield Forum: Live
• 43:10 This week's Budget and Spending Review
• 45:33 Sheffield named Greenest City in UK, wrapping up

Enjoyed the show and this interview? Please leave a review or rating on your podcast platform of choice so more people can discover it – thanks!

Fancy a career where your skills will be in huge demand? No, not driving a lorry – working in one of Yorkshire's oldest and rarest traditional crafts.

Stone masons, milliners and even boggart-makers are now sought-after more than ever. These and other heritage crafts offer health and wellbeing benefits and fantastic career opportunities, according to today's guest Richard Godley.

Richard wears several hats, including for the WEA (Workers' Educational Association) which is behind a free Heritage Skills Weekend at Sheffield’s Woodland Gallery. Richard tells us more about the weekend in this, episode 350 of Business Live. He also covers:

• why we should "conserve, not preserve" heritage,
• the WEA's activities and courses
• the National Emergency Services Museum
• what a boggart-maker actually does.

Timings:

• 0 - 2:16 Introduction
• 2:16 interview with Richard Godley
• 22:00 Key findings from the new State of Social Enterprise Survey 2021, available in full here
• 24:20 Launch of TEAM SY – Tech Ecosystem Accelereration and Market-making South Yorkshire, working to "join up" the tech ecosystem so that tech and digital entrepreneurs are embedded in a thriving environment
• 26:50 The SME Climate Commitment. More here.
• 27:27 £10,000 of match-funding available for community businesses which are crowdfunding, via Crowdfunder and Power to Change. More in their 22 October webinar.
• 29:07 Wrapping up, a few other updates and praise for the wonderful novel, Piranesi.

Element Society is a youth-led charity with an enterprise mindset, says CEO Chris Hill.

It has run over 200 projects since launching in 2013: "young people become role models to their peers and we train them to deliver projects." Over 5,000 young  people have changed their lives and their communities by working with Element.

People attending Specialist schools don't always get the same opportunities as people at other schools, so Element has been running a Learning through Nature programme. It has extensive benefits to participants, as Chris explains, and involves working with The National Trust – "they can add something pretty special to this programme" – and SEND schools.

Projects, trading, winning contracts, even selling pizza: it's all about bringing in unrestricted income and avoiding "mission drift." Has Element ever been in danger of diluting its mission to secure funding?  How does it measure its impact? How did it secure a city-centre base from Yorkshire Building Society? And what are its criteria for working with partners and building relationships? Chris explains in this, episode 349 of Business Live.

Chris would love to hear from listeners if you can offer employment placements or training opportunities. Check out Element Society here.

Also in this episode:

• 28:33 Create Sheffield launches online programme to discuss "Why Creativity Matters NOW" Details.
• 30:01 Yorkshire has fastest-growing digital industry in UK.
• 31:08 Previous guest Yasin El Ashrafi of music social enterprise HQ CAN named joint national winner in O2 Everyday Heroes Award.
• 32:29 Awards: The Sheffield Business Awards are open for entries. The deadline is 1 November. Enter here. Meanwhile the Star Small Business Award winners have been revealed 
• 34:20 Sheffield Women in Tech's next event, 19 October is "Mind the Gap: Negotiating Your Pay - the ShfWIT guide" – details.

What is a "micro-budget" film? Ben Wilkinson is the founder and director of the Spirit of Independence Film Festival, taking place on 2 October.

Now in its third year the festival celebrates films across genres from all over the world. It showcases talent, demonstrates excellence in film-making, entertains viewers, and is a brilliant industry get-together for grassroutes film making.

And Ben gives his definition of a micro-budget film: a maximum of £150,000 for a feature film, and £1,000 for a short. The festival will inspire others too: some incredible films are being screened this year as Ben describes.

Joe Palmer, who runs video production firm Open House Pictures, is helping to grow and publicise the festival. He tells us what he's most excited by and gives an update on how his business has developed since his last appearance on this programme.

The festival includes a talk: No Money? No Problem! How To Break Into The Industry When You Have No Money, and in this episode Ben and Joe both give their top tips and advice based on their experiences.

Also in the show: events, funding and more.

Timings:

• 0 - 28:35 Interview with Ben and Joe. Check out the Spirit of Independence Film Festival programme and book tickets. Take a look at Open House Pictures too.
• 28:35 Sheffield Business Awards are back! Entry deadline 29 October. Details here.
• 29:54 Update from the Business & IP Centre Sheffield.
• 31:18 Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards – £50,000 of funding. Details.
• 32:29 October is anti-slavery month and businesses are being asked to support the survivors of modern slavery in Sheffield. You can donate new items for care packages and purchase items from the online wish list, here .
• 34:00 Social Enterprises Futures, a month-long digital festival.
• 34:52 So called "environmental" companies outperform others – but I have a problem with a definition.
• 35:55 Business Sheffield's programme of free workshops, webinars and virtual one-to-one sessions.
• 37:05 Wrapping up.

Thanks for listening to the show – and thanks Ben and Joe for coming on air.