An average day in the life of....

A social enterprise CEO...

Woke up with man flu....decided to work from home to avoid infecting others...

But that doesn’t mean a day off....in actual fact I’ve got more done this way than had a been in the office.

With the Work Programme bidders announced, today has been a frenzy of preparing to approach the Prime’s to ensure Social Enterprise is not forgotten and is core to their offering.

With programmes like Cornwall Works for Social Enterprise having been so successful I really hope the prime’s recognise that and look to work with us all, to ensure that the innovative approach we have all brought to training is maintained.

Then there’s the Cornwall Waste Contract. Due for tender next year the contract will finally unify all the districts under one collection regime, which has got to be sensible, as long as reuse is prioritised.

Weather seems to occupy much of our time at the moment, and following conversations with Cornwall Community Foundation yesterday we have been helping them to push their http://www.justgiving.com/CornwallFloodFund nationally, to try and swell the donation fund which has so far been poorly supported. We’re hoping that a national press release we sent out on their behalf might get picked up by the tabloids and get a bit of press....fingers crossed.

With weather warnings out for serious snow disruption, we have to think seriously about our emergency procedures, so keeping in constant contact and dusting off the old voicemail announcements from last year is a must. With 30 + staff to think of, this is a serious issue, we also have to keep a busy retail centre open to ensure the income comes in. As a social enterprise that trades for much of its income, weather has a massive impact on us...if it’s sunny everyone goes to the beach rather than shops for a washing machine and if there’s snow on the ground that too stops the masses! That’s why a true Social Enterprise is different and has to manage itself more like a commercial business....profit margins, turnover, cashflow are all things we talk about on a daily basis....if we get that bit right then we’re here to stay which means the environment and people continue to benefit...get it wrong and nobody benefits. (as I write this the weather in Bodmin has worsened and our emergency plan kicks in!)

As a social enterprise we never stand still and this week’s ideas have been around forests for reuse!, food waste in Clay Country, Green Apprenticeships and bike recycling for staff to travel between sites!

Next week we’re going to start a Cornish space race with a shuttle made out of old fridge doors....

Jon Rolls

Chief Executive