Phil Ashford and Benna McCartney, our directors at Enterprise Exchange, joined Matt Smith from the Centre for Entrepreneurs, serial founder Oli Barrett MBE, actor and investigative journalist Ross Kemp and the Governor of for a Dragon's Den style pitching day at the prison.  ​
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This was filmed as part of an ITV documentary looking at how inmates at Belmarsh are offered the chance to rehabilitate, through business and entrepreneurship education. 
 
Enterprise Exchange are a specialist agency focusing on helping people with additional barriers, such as prisoners or ex-offenders into self-employment. Research by the Centre for Entrepreneurs has shown that prisoners often possess an entrepreneurial mindset, and self-employment is an ideal route for their rehabilitation.  

We are very happy and proud to share that we are #Overtoyou Employer Registered. 

We have joined a powerful movement of forward-thinking and responsible businesses and organisations committed to making the workplace safer for everyone! 

Our director has been on a management training course, we have a policy set up in place and shared with the team, it  basically sets a high standards of care, respect and empowerment. 

More about Survivors Network
Looking to turn the #MeToo movement into further palpable change, Survivors’ Network has created a Kitemark for local businesses and organisations to demonstrate the active work they are undertaking to challenge sexual harassment and violence in the workplace.

While the kitemark does not guarantee no sexual harassment will take place, it ensures better safeguards will be in place and, hopefully, that staff will be better prepared to believe and support survivors.

Hooray for all the support that is in place.

Enterprise Exchange specialises in helping people with additional barriers become self-employed or start a business to transform their lives. One of our current projects is Restart in which (alongside our colleagues at Beating Time and Enterprise Inspiration), we provide business support to offenders approaching release and help develop plans for self-employment. Beating Time also offers offenders the chance to improve their self-confidence and self-belief through joining a choir and using the power of singing.
 
Over 80,000 people come out of UK prisons each year. Around half re-offend. 

With Restart, we help reduce the cycle of re-offending by supporting offenders to develop the skills they need to start their own small businesses or find work on release.  
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However, for many ex-offenders it’s a long journey of re-building lives, self-confidence and trust. 

The following organisations all offer help and support in various areas: 
 
Nacro offers a wide range of services to equip young people and adults with the skills, advice and support to move on. There is information on the website, or a resettlement helpline - 0300 123 1999. Calls are free for those with inclusive call minutes, otherwise the call is charged at a local rate. 
 
Turn 2 Us is an organisation offering financial support for people (including prisoners) when times get tough. 
 
Apex Trust is a local specialist charity based in the North West of England which supports offenders into employment, training, education and voluntary work. 
 
Women in Prison provides support and advice in prison, through-the-gate on the day of release, and continued support in the community. 
 
St Giles Trust works in prisons to help serving prisoners successfully rehabilitate and pursue crime free lives. 
 
Unlock is a charity that provides a voice and support for people with convictions who are facing stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record, often long after they have served their sentence. 
 
Working Chance works with some of the UK’s biggest private and public sector companies, finding jobs and with real career prospects for hundreds of women ex-offenders and young care leavers.  
 
Working Links is a leading provider of tailored services to help people from all backgrounds maximise their potential. In particular, the organisation has rehabilitation services in Wales and the South West for offenders. 
 
Shelter can offer vital advice if an ex-offender has nowhere to live on release. 
 
If a person with convictions has worked in the construction industry, been self-employed, been in the armed forces or wishes to become self-employed, RIFT social enterprise can help resolve tax issues, and provide guidance around the financial issues to do with self-employment. 
 
Catch 22 provides support in prison through to release and resettlement into the community to reduce the risk of re-offending.
 
BehindBras offers support for women both in prison and on release into meaningful employment in the fashion, retail and creative industries.  
 
 
Please share this blog post with anyone you feel would benefit from these resources. 

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become something of a buzz word in business over the past few years. Such initiatives take organisations beyond their legal duties and can see them contributing to projects which make a difference to society. 

“88% of consumers said they were more likely to buy from a company that supports and engages in activities to improve society.” * 

In short, CSR is good for business and it’s good for the world around us. 

It can be difficult though to see how to build on corporate social responsibility and keep the business on track too, especially if you are running a small business. But CSR has been shown to increase employee retention and job satisfaction, so it’s worth looking at ways to incorporate it into a business plan. 

Here are five simple tips to use CSR: 

1. Let your employees choose or lead on your CSR involvement 
It’s empowering to be asked your opinion. It’s also rewarding to know that you are helping causes you care about. Employees may already be involved in charities and causes outside of work and will value the chance to continue this support. It also offers team leaders an insight into employees outside interests. 

2. Think local, instead of global 
There’s a lot to be said for supporting a local cause. Your team is likely to be more motivated to know the organisation is supporting something where they can see the difference, rather than going into a bigger pot. It also means that you’re more likely to find something which is close to the hearts of many more employees as they can really identify with the issues and see the end results.  

 3. Make sure that senior team members are visible 
CSR programmes that are entered half-heartedly don’t work and risk the possibility of clients and customers thinking that the initiative is simply a marketing ploy. By showing that every single member of the team is involved demonstrates commitment. This message is also important to staff as well; seeing senior staff contributing too will show that it’s a level playing field. 

 4. Shout about it! 
The success of a CSR project is something to be proud of, so make sure you share your news far and wide. This pride in the initiative will pass to employees too and they will be encouraged to spread the word in turn. Naturally, it’s also great for the causes you’re supporting. 

5. Communicate the impact internally 
You will want to make a difference; that’s why your business is taking prioritising corporate social responsibility in the first place. Ensure that you have some strong markers in place to show the impact of the work so that progress can be shared with employees. A CSR initiative should never be just a tick box exercise so consider regular updates which can be used as an incentive when an extra boost is needed. 
 
At Enterprise Exchange, we also have a management development programme where we train managers to become mentors to individuals in the local community who need support, advice and encouragement to start their own business. These individuals include offenders, ex-offenders, long term unemployed, people with mental health issues, people with disabilities and lone parents. More details  can be found here, or please contact info@enterpriseexchange.org.uk to start the conversation.
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Sources: Simply CSR, Forbes, The Borgen Project 
 
 

Enterprise Exchange Directors Phil Ashford and Benna McCartney recently celebrated a work anniversary. The occasion helped them reflect on what brought them together in the first place, and what drives them to continue to reach out to people they can support.

Phil and Benna met ten years ago while in working in Newhaven, East Sussex. Phil was working with Business Link and Benna Chichester College SEED Project. They were working with a similar client group but it was a link made by someone else which brought them together and helped them see each other’s qualities.
 
John Orr was the Resettlement Partnership Manager at HMP Lewes (now retired) and asked Phil and Benna independently to work there. John had identified that self-employment was often the only option for most people once through the gate, and was keen to provide training.
 
Although this was a short-term project, the seeds of a partnership had been sown and redundancy offered Phil and Benna the opportunity to start a business together and build on their new understanding of each other’s skills.
 
The next step was to organise focus groups in HMP Lewes and HMP Ford to ask what support the men felt they needed if they were to set up their own businesses. This feedback helped Phil and Benna get  funding through Serco and run a successful 18 month programme, working with 89 men, of which 40% ended up in self-employment or employment afterwards.
 
Over the past nine years, Enterprise Exchange has grown into a substantial business offering self-employment support to those on the edges of society.
 
The main drive for Benna to begin this work was due to previous challenging life experiences. She has had eight businesses since the age of 18, so understands the additional challenges that women in business face, which gave her empathy for other groups who have additional barriers to enterprise and a passion for helping people overcome them.
 
As a qualified business advisor running the East Sussex Enterprise Gateway (a programme to enable hard to reach people access start-up business support), Phil found his vocation by linking his specialist skills with a desire to increase opportunities for those with challenges.
 
Enterprise Exchange now has nine staff members working across the UK and has established a reputation as being the pioneer of self-employment support for those for whom mainstream business support is not fit-for-purpose.

It’s not often you see those three elements in a blog title – so what have Ed Sheeran, jerk chicken and choral singing in common? Add in residents from HMP Birmingham, entrepreneurship, mentors, business pitches and hope for the future and you get an electrifying mix.

What you get is the Restart programme.

On Tuesday 30 April, families, friends, mentors, supporters and staff from businesses involved in Restart, gathered at HMP Birmingham to celebrate the completion of the programme for some of the residents, and a chance to hear their ideas for the businesses they plan on release.

But Restart – and what the men had achieved – is so much more than that. Restart brings together the charity Beating Time, Enterprise Inspiration (a community interest company providing training advice for offenders and ex-prisoners to move into self-employment) and us too, here at Enterprise Exchange. 

The figures are stark. About 85,000 people come out of UK prisons each year – most of them do not find work. Around half re-offend.

Restart works to readdress that balance.

Our part in the programme is to provide business advice to those residents who are approaching release, alongside Enterprise Inspiration. Our Directors, Phil and Benna work with the prisoners on business plans, pitches and cashflow as well as supporting and developing life skills. Mentors from KPMG also work with the prisoners spending time with individuals honing their plans and looking to how the ideas can become reality on release.

Restart is also able to give grants to ex-offenders giving that valuable financial boost that every start-up values.

However, all this business advice and support would come to nothing if the people we work with had no self-belief or vision about just what they may achieve.

This is where choral singing fits in.

Restart runs in prisons for 15 weeks and the business support runs alongside choir practices. Being part of a choir provides the participants with a community and a goal to work towards. Singing unlocks creativity, helping the feelings of self-worth grow and an understanding that it’s possible to rely on other people to support you.

The concert on 30 April was a celebration of what the current cohort at HMP Birmingham had achieved. After just weeks of rehearsal, the choir – led by musical director Pete Churchill from Beating Time – stepped onto the stage in the newly refurbished recreation space to perform. They had chosen a range of popular songs, with several men stepping forward to sing on their own.

None of these residents had sung with a choir before. But the results were uplifting and moving.

At one point, one of the choir members had a solo in the Ed Sheeran song, Perfect. For one small moment it looked like the occasion was just a bit overwhelming. So much was a stake here, not ‘just’ stepping forward to sing a line or two.

A gentle touch of a hand on the small of his back from a fellow choir member was all he needed. Support, friendship, guidance all there in a single gesture.

But there was more to this event. Interspersed between songs four men also pitched their business ideas – a plan for retro sweets sold in shops and online, a barber shop and tattoo parlour embedded in a local community, a recruitment agency for ex-offenders and Jamaican street food for the heart of Birmingham.

Each of the business pitches were of the highest standard and presenting in such an environment asked a lot of each entrepreneur. But everyone stepped up to the mark.

After the concert, we were invited to sample some of the amazing jerk chicken, curries and wraps from the Jamaican street food range. It was also a real pleasure to see the resident behind this initiative receive a cheque for £5,000 towards start-up costs when he leaves HMP Birmingham soon.

The power of this programme is such that Enterprise Exchange Directors, Phil and Benna, decided that their core team should take time out from their busy work schedules to attend the concert. To say everyone was all blown away by the singing, pitches and positivity is an understatement.

We are very proud to be part of the Restart programme and continue to be inspire by the courage, determination and ambition of the residents we work with.

The third in our team profiles is of our Senior Project Coordinator, Magali Lewis

Change can be a double-edged tool. It can be invigorating, dynamic and exciting. Or any change can present a challenge, a threat or a huge hurdle to overcome.

So, just how do you deal with change – and how can you make a transition easier?

Becoming self-employed will be one of the biggest changes many of us make. Gone is a regular wage, fixed hours, set routine and a network of colleagues. Self-employment is often called a roller coaster of emotions – the wins and the ‘aha’ moments can be huge, but the lows and worries can be massive and constant too.

On top of this, we live in a world where changes happen constantly and often without warning.

Here are eight tips to help you deal with change, particularly if you are new to self-employment.

1. Create a routine. This may have you running for the hills but stay with us! Becoming your own boss may have been part of a process to leave the world of routine behind – ditching the 9-to-5. But without some kind of routine, your working day will simply drift along. A morning routine can be especially beneficial because no matter how the rest of the day goes, you will have started well, and know the tasks you want to complete that day. For some more motivation, check out the start of the day ideas from some successful people here.

2. Create some boundaries between home and work. This is a particularly difficult one if you are working from home, as well as starting a new business. Especially in the early days, building the business is all-consuming but if you don’t make time to switch off, you will – quite simply – burn out. You may well alienate those close to you too. Make an agreement with yourself that you will stop working at a certain time and set a timer on your phone to stop the scrolling through social media during the evening.

3. Ensure that people around you know your boundaries too – and that you can’t suddenly look after their children/have tea/take in parcels during your working time.

4. Create your own home working space - no matter how small. Part of this is respecting your business and yourself as a business owner. Pinterest is brilliant for inspiration for your space or you may get some ideas on this blog too.

5. Make sure you build a network of supporters - this is so important. Becoming self employed is such a change to anyone’s life and it’s vital that you surround yourself with people who understand your situation. Often family and friends may be caring and supportive but may simply just not get the challenges you face. You can network in real life or online – in the early days your support system may be made up of people you have met on courses as you will all be at a similar stage.

6. Here’s a real challenge. Try to keep calm - try meditation, boxing, walking around the corner, screaming into a pillow. Exercise and stress-busting solutions become particularly important during periods of change, so it is worth finding time during your day or week to build in something which helps.

7. Be patient - this is easier said than done but businesses take time to build. The internet is a wonderful source of information when you are changing things up. But it’s also where we can disappear down rabbit holes of envy. Don’t be fooled by the people who claim to have built a six-figure business in 12 months – or less. There is always much, much more to stories like this and businesses take time and effort to establish.

8. Don’t forget to have some fun. Becoming self-employed is time consuming and all encompassing at times. For lots of people the very reason they want their own business is to get some freedom but they end working more hours than ever. So, take time out – the jobs will still be there when you get back but the world won’t have stopped turning. Have fun. Smell that coffee.

At Enterprise Exchange, we specialise in helping people with additional barriers become self-employed or start a business to transform their lives. Please do follow us on Twitter to keep up-to-date with our news and resources. 

In another in our series about our team members, we had a chat to our administrator-extraordinaire, Kara Schmieder. ​

February may be the shortest month of the year, but with some planning and forethought, we can still make  it a successful time. 
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The start of a new year always brings with it some pressure to plan out your perfect year! Social media is awash with mini-courses to help you organise your life and plan for
                                                                                                                              success.
​Resolutions abound – new year, new you and all that! 

But, research shows that by mid-February 80% of these resolutions will have failed. 

January may also just not be ‘your’ time so don’t feel like you have missed the boat completely if you didn’t work out a 12-month plan, perfectly colour coded. The start of the year can be a challenge after the holiday period, and it can take work life some weeks to get fully back to normal. 

Many businesses also have seasons and January just may not be a good time. 

People have seasons too. And for many, January is a time of ‘hibernating’ and boosting batteries.

If you are thinking of using the second month of the year to kickstart some planning then, here are some ideas we have gathered from around the team which may inspire you: 

• Start of by getting all your ideas down onto a white board, white wall or a big piece of paper. 

• Then see if you can group the various ideas and tasks together. 
• There will also be regular jobs throughout the year which you have to do so make sure these go into the mix. 
• Now start to prioritise. Look at those jobs which you can see need to be done quickly. 
• There will always be some things which you will put off – we all have them! But, getting those done as a priority will get them out of the way and you’ll feel better immediately. (For more on this kind of approach try 'Eat that Frog!'.
• Split the rest of the jobs into batches and you will start to see a plan coming together. 

• If you like nice pens and notebooks as we do, now is the time to indulge yourself! 
• When you have done your first draft, give yourself a pat on the back and have a break. Your plan will evolve and grow but getting this first draft down on paper is a good step to making this a successful month. 

If you do decide to do some planning this month, we wish the best of luck.  

​Enterprise Exchange regularly shares business support and advice via social media too so please do follow us on Twitter and connect on LinkedIn

Over the next few months, we're going to be interview all our team members so that our clients and colleagues get to know us better.

First up is one of our Directors, Benna McCartney.

​Could you give us a quick overview of your role at Enterprise Exchange?

Director - overseeing the back end of the business, managing freelance staff, business development and participant one to one support.

What experience do you have which led you to set up/work with Enterprise Exchange?

I am a qualified life and business coach and met my business partner Phil through different work we were doing with the same client group. We were both invited into Lewes Prison and asked to support the guys to set up their own businesses, since this is very often the only option for offenders and ex-offenders. We were not able to help at the time as we had such high workloads, but were randomly made redundant at the same time, so I had the idea of setting up the business together to initially support the men in prison. We managed to gain funding through Serco and the rest, as they say, is history!

Which aspect of your work do you enjoy most?

All of it! Sometimes I struggle with the admin side when there is too much to do and I feel my time would be much better spent supporting staff, participants and having more time to grow the business effectively, but I have lots of tools in place through my training, that enables me to organise myself effectively.
What do you do when you're not supporting EE?

I don’t seem to have time for much else at the moment, but when I do, I love spending time with family and friends, travelling, exercising, watching films and singing.

Tea or coffee and how do you take it?

Both but I prefer a good coffee – non dairy cappuccino (with one shot) is my ‘signature’ drink and tea with non dairy milk. I am also really into non dairy matcha lattes at the moment, which I am very happy to say seem to be more widely available in the last few weeks.

Thanks so much. How can people best contact you?

You are so welcome and please feel free to email me at benna@enterpriseexchange.org.uk.