Having played a similar role in the BIG Lottery’s Village SOS scheme, I applaud the intentions of Business Connectors. The intervention of an outsider with a different perspective on how to address challenges, and a ‘can do’ attitude, with a network of connections to support them, is a good model in principle. However, it is not a panacea for resolving complex social problems: whilst the Business Connectors of the pilot scheme spoke of how this scheme had had a huge impact on their personal development (and therefore made them a great asset to their company at the end of their secondment), there was no-one from their host communities talking of their perception of the value added. As this was the pilot, there is also no evidence of the sustainability of the legacy.

I was at the event with a representative of the Federation of Small Businesses. His comment was that the intervention of business in the community was really nothing new. Across the country there are local groups, from Lions to Rotary, Chambers of Commerce and business/ education partnerships, all of which play an active role in supporting their wider community. At this time of austerity, some of the interventions they are able to make are being cut back through a lack of finance. There is a real cost to a small businessman taking time out of his/her business to attend regular meetings on working collaboratively with the public sector and third sector organisations. Therefore the small business community is often underrepresented in local government and voluntary sector led initiatives. Ironically, everyone acknowledges it has much to offer. As I recently pointed out at a debate on youth unemployment, with over 3.5 million one man bands in the UK, if one in three took on an apprentice, there would be no problem!

With the new Localism agenda, there has been much talk of ‘bottom up’ rather than ‘top down’ approaches to making the changes we want to see in our communities, and I would encourage the government to recognise the importance of creating long term support for local champions to make those changes sustainable, and to ensure that funding to create healthy, safe and stable communities is not merely cascaded down from large organisations. The Work Programme has shown that in many cases this cascade is no more than a trickle!

In my role as a local councillor, over the last nine years I have seen the absence of the voice of small business in the design of community projects to be a real challenge. I believe this is reflected in the struggle local authorities have to create innovation in the way we tackle some of our community’s most significant problems. Can we really afford not to engage with the most entrepreneurial section of our community? I think not.

Jo Gideon

Chairman, CWO Business

My first goal is to ensure that we work smart and we work collaboratively with other organisations already delivering in the women entrepreneurs’ /small business sector to see where we can add value. To that end, I welcome discussions with anyone looking to help deliver more equality of opportunity for professional women, encourage entrepreneurship and support women led enterprises. I also welcome input from anyone who has the time and enthusiasm to help us take this agenda forward. In particular, I would love to hear from people already doing good work and find out how we can share best practice and create a momentum for change.

In recent weeks I have attended a number of events where senior people in the corporate sector and the banking world have declared their commitment and determination to deliver better support to women entrepreneurs through both funding and mentoring. I would like to use our national network to help deliver this agenda, so please contact me if you would like to explore how we might achieve this.

As a Conservative organisation, C-WiSE has a mandate to help deliver real improvement to the gender imbalance in business and in the advice, guidance and support needed for more women to achieve to their full potential. Its intention is to help deliver this to all women, regardless of their politics, age, ethnicity or geographical location. An ambitious aspiration, but without a clear vision, we will not achieve anything.

I look forward to many interesting conversations in the coming months!

Jo Gideon

Chairman, C-WiSE

Carole Stone raised the importance of networking when a new business is started: “To build a successful business enterprise, networking is not an optional extra; it’s an essential you must make time for. Online social media offers great opportunities but you cannot run a business without face-to-face contact – in order to make judgements about each other and to close a deal.

“As with politics, business reputations are built by word of mouth. Nurture your contacts, remember that birthday or other special occasion, and be generous with sharing information. And above all deliver on your promises – to send that email or to make that introduction you offered. At the end of every day update your database with the people you have met and where you met them. Good networking is Making the Most of the People you Meet to Mutual Advantage. Running a small enterprise is hard work and it can be lonely – but it can also be great fun!”

In Loanna Morrison’s speech, she stressed the importance of Compassionate Conservatism in the Big Society and how women have been delivery it for years: “The co-operative business model is very flexible; it allows people to get together pool resources to own and run their own business. Like the village shop, it is a good model for local post offices, or pubs; freelancers could use this model too, form a co-operative and you never have to turn down work to pick up the children from school.

“Whether it is used for profit-making purposes or for purely altruistic reasons, the co-operative business model builds and strengthens community and friendship networks. It compels those involved to consider the needs of others in its operations.

“For women, working is no longer just about breaking the glass ceiling with our stilettos; it’s also about finding time to put our trainers on and feel the breeze. To do this we need to build a new type of economy – I have named it co-operative capitalism. With co-operative capitalism, we can take more control because co-operation is something women do inherently well, all day, every day”

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09-Oct-2010 – London: “Tackling the deficit is what we have to do… It will be the doers and the grafters, the inventors and the entrepreneurs who get our economy moving.

“Think of the woman who sits up late into the night trying to make the figures add up so she can pay her staff and go on with her business. I can’t tell you how much I admire people who leave the comfort of a regular wage to strike out on their own.

“We will deal with the deficit so interest rates stay low. We will slash red tape. We will cut the small business profits rate, corporation tax and national insurance contributions for new businesses…we are acting to build a more entrepreneurial economy.

“The big society needs you to give it life, so that business you always dreamt – start up.

“It takes two. It takes two to build that strong economy. We’ll balance the budget, we’ll boost enterprise, but you start those businesses that lead us to growth.

“It takes two. It takes two to build that strong economy. We’ll balance the budget, we’ll boost enterprise, but you start those businesses that lead us to growth.”

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05-Oct-2010 – East Anglia: Just to say that Im really look forward to getting involved on this site. We all need as much support as we can get, at the moment !
I am supplying all the table gifts for the Blue Ribbon ball, so look forward to meeting some of you there.
Should be grrrrrrrrrrrreat fun !
Best Wishes,
Mary Bird
www.carmasutra.com

01-Oct-2010 – 30 Millbank, London: The Conservative Women’s Organisation (CWO) has today launched C-WiSE (Conservative Women in Small Enterprises).

Part of the Conservative Women’s Forum, C-WISE has been setup to help professional and entrepreneurial women in small and micro-businesses an opportunity to engage with issues that impact their business lives.

The group will begin by looking at areas such as how to find finance; corporation tax; maternity & paternity leave; and flexible working – all important issues to the small and micro-business owner.

Charlotte Vere, Chairman of C-WiSE, said: “More and more small & micro-businesses are started by women, so it is vital that their voice is heard and every help is given to them.”

For more information, please contact Charlotte Vere at charlotte@c-wise.org.uk

Member Contact Details

C-WiSE
c/o CWO
CCHQ
30 Millbank
London
SW1P 4DP

Tel: 020 7984 8139
www.c-wise.org.uk
info@c-wise.org.uk

Region: London
Type of Business: Political and Public Affairs