How to manage risk and impact as a social enterprise
How does a social business deal with uncertainty? And after that, how do you know what impact you are making? In our third film and podcast in this series on running a fit social business, social entrepreneur Louisa Ziane and advisor Eddie Finch call for honesty, transparency and imagination.
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We explore what 'risk' means for a social business in this latest film from our conversation between expert social business advisor Eddie Finch, craft beer social entrepreneur Louisa Ziane and Pioneers Post founding editor Tim West.
We look at the different kinds of risk that exist and the practical ways in which one can prepare for them – such as creating 'risk registers' – even when, like a global pandemic, they seem highly unpredictable.
Managing risk is about understanding the issues that might cause the most negative impact for a business, says Eddie Finch of Buzzacott accountants, whether that means losing money, losing staff or – perhaps most importantly – failing to achieve the social or environmental outcomes you have been set up to deliver.
But once you've navigated those risks, how do you really know you are achieving a positive impact? And what must you do to ensure that you are always working to be better – better as a business and better at achieving your social environmental goals?
"With any kind of social or environmental good, there are things you can count that really say, This is doing good because this is important, or this will happen," says Eddie Finch. "But there are other things where we just have to use our imaginations to see where the benefit is."
"For me the impact report is telling the story of the work that we've been doing," says Toast Ale's Louisa Ziane. "And it has to be authentic and honest and transparent about the challenges we face as well as the positive change that we are having."
Watch our video or listen to the podcast above to explore how these lessons on risk and impact could apply to your social enterprise.
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