Five things I've learned from running a social enterprise

Never a day or week goes by when it seems to be some sort of national celebration or mark of something or another. I’m told these hashtags can be a good PR opportunity. And some I regard with interest... National Volunteer Week, Pancake Day, World Book Day – yes. International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day? Not so much. (It’s February 23^rd in case you were wondering.)

But Mental Health Awareness Week makes me reflect because it was launched around the same time we began our New Start Highland journey. It makes me look back at why I launched our charity almost 25 years ago and what we have achieved since then. That now, this week dedicated to ensuring we are aware of our own and each others’ mental health has gained such traction is quite something. That is more than just a PR opportunity. That’s progress.

Looking back over the last two and a half decades these are the top five things I have learned about running a social enterprise that exists to support people who are struggling with mental health or who may be in crisis for another reason.

1. Relationships are everything. Without them we have nothing. Out of good relationships, we do better work. With our service users, our partners and our staff. This is why I set them as our core value when I launched New Start Highland.
2. The old adage ‘it’s ok not to be ok’ is so true. No matter how great your mental health, we all have days when we’re vulnerable, when we’re not ok and when we need support. We are all human. At New Start Highland support is here. It is our goal to help our community improve their economic prospects, mental health and well-being which are all being battered by increasing levels of poverty and deprivation. Over the last two years over 600 people have come to us for mental health advice and I’m sure that figure will grow, year on year.
3. Nothing stays static. Every day things pivot and change. We can never presume that something will stay the same. I wanted to create an agile social enterprise that can serve as a vehicle for people to “hop on and hop off” when they need us. Our supported placement programme works exactly in this way Right across our business from shops, to gardens, to workshops or warehouses, we have opportunities for people to learn key life skills and build friendships when they're feeling stuck, be it because of mental health issues, loneliness or social isolation. We’ve seen hundreds of people over the years go through these programmes then leave us to go on and pursue another challenge when they never thought it would be possible. Nothing makes me prouder.
4. If you believe in something, don’t accept no. I have lost count the number of times I’ve been told in my career ‘that won’t work, you can’t do that, that’s not possible.’ I had a vision to set up a holistic suite of services to help people in need and the more the years pass, the more services we see the need for. There is always a way, believe in your gut instinct and make it happen. The only time your gut instinct turns out to be wrong, is when you ignore it.
5. We can always do better. I’m a firm believer in striving for progress, not perfection. New Start Highland looks very different now to how it looked ten years ago. And I hope it looks different in another ten years. We have some really exciting plans on the horizon which I can’t wait to share.

I’m writing this from a sun drenched office and it’s time to get out and enjoy a walk in the sunshine. The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is movement after all. Now, where is the dog and those dog biscuits?