Liam's got issues: June

My first social enterprise launch was 16 years ago. By the banks of the Mersey on a beautiful June day in 1994 we at FRC went to market with new initiative Furnished Homes.

With fingers crossed and a big overdraft facility, FRC began a tumultuous journey of furnishing the homes of many thousands of poor families, creating jobs and training for the unemployed and trying to do it all without any grants or subsidies. Remember, we were young and foolish!

The success of that business gave birth to others: Create, Bulky Bob’s, Revive and The Cat’s Pyjamas. Not everything worked. I still cringe at the time and money wasted on a Ben & Jerry’s franchise in Chester. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. My only happy memories were the Scouse flavours we invented: Cherry Cross the Mersey, John Lemon, Mango Starr.

After Liverpool, I teamed up with Jamie Oliver to grow Fifteen: a heady mix of entrepreneurialism, pasta, clashing egos, late nights and the bravery and talent of young people. Happy days.

Fast forward. I type this squib after a day mentoring half a dozen thirtysomething social enterprise leaders. The environment in which they operate is very different from the early and mid-1990s. They move in a global social enterprise ecosystem, seeking investment, being studied by bright shiny MBAs, being blogged about and tweeting up a storm. But all six are having a tough time coping with volatile markets, finding and funding management talent, making sense of the impact they are having – or think they are.

My advice to them is not to be lured on to the rocks by the siren calls of the intermediary bodies, politicians and ever-growing social enterprise spin industry. New government ministers are doing what they all do. Changing the names of things – third sector, out civil society in (stroke of genius that one!) – schlepping around the country to ooh and ahh at the work of social entrepreneurs as if they had just discovered it and trying to co-opt it all into their own agendas. T’was ever thus. Frank Field came to FRC on his first stint as Dr Unthinkable more than a decade ago. Better luck this time, Frank.

But some things really don’t change. So, whether you are part of the new in-crowd or your invite to Number 10 must have been lost in the post, if you are running a real social enterprise don’t be distracted. Stay focused on your customers, your cash and your colleagues. Anything else at this time is a risky indulgence.