Business Live: for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs

It can  be unfair to quote a line from a writer's work out of context.  But the words 'Truths are unpopular. Lies are famous' capture the weird maelstrom of social media posturing, fake news, politicians who'll promise whatever it takes to get elected, and over-friendly corporate messaging we're bombarded by today. The lines come from Akeem Balogun's 'Nothing too...

All this talk about "slashing red tape" and a sudden zeal for deregulation as a magic bullet for growth made me climb aboard my soapbox. This episode starts with a rant and a reminder: regulation per se is no barrier to inclusive growth, and careless deregulation risks encouraging a race to the bottom in business and life. Do we want crappy, rubbish businesses exploiting people and plane...

Nearly 20 years ago Jon Barton created a mountain biking guide to the trails he loved to ride in the Peak District. Since then his firm Vertebrate Publishing has grown with its authors and the business scooping multiple accolades and awards, including Small Press of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards. It publishes beautiful and inspiring outdoor adventure books and guides. Jon joins me for a...

Today's guest says he's the "world's oldest" digital nomad – until proven otherwise. Malcolm McClean has always loved the work he does, and when he hit 65 years of age he sold everything he owns to embark on a new adventure. Malcolm is an author and consultant to a remarkable social enterprise, PossAbilities Community Interest Company , which has grown from 200 to 600 empl...

Always treat the customer as though they're your mum, says Stephen Tighe, CEO and co-founder of Allegro Opticians. Launched just a few years ago, Allegro now has customers from  America, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and many other parts of the world, after identifying and addressing a profound need for specialist optical care for musicians and performing artists. Stephen, who worked in...

Sarah Beaumont had held high-level management roles and worked all over the world. But when a chronic condition left her in constant pain she was told she'd never work again. Now she's launched and runs her own business helping other people, and tells her story in today's episode. Diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and Fibromyalgia – both long term chronic illnesses – Sarah becam...

What is 'ever-boarding' and why should you use it in your business? Why do over half of sales people not hit their targets, and what can you do to support them better, giving you a huge return on investment if you do it right? And what does Ash Ali mean when he talks about unfair advantages which people can identify and apply? Imagine you spent a long time and invested a lot of money to...

When Hellen Stirling-Baker launched Small Stuff in 2016, a mentor told her it would fail because she was so focussed on ethical business. Six years later she runs a thriving online and physical shop, has opened and expanded into larger retail premises, and survived the challenges of the pandemic. Turnover and profits are increasing, says Hellen – and she has not compromised her ethics and values....

It's a Sheffield institution, a fixture in the firmament of music-lovers. Record Collector opened in 1978 and sells vinyl albums and CDs from its double-fronted shop in Broomhill and worldwide from its online store. Vinyl is "back with a bang" says Mark Elliott. He's worked at the store since 1988 give or take a couple of breaks including a stint in New Zealand. UK  vinyl sales...

Diane Evans, whose father was Ukrainian, tracked down her relatives near Lviv in Western Ukraine just two-and-a-half years ago.  Since then she's met them for the first time and been in frequent contact. When Russian forces invaded Ukraine she wanted to help the Ukrainian people and refugees fleeing the war. Over just two days her business, Evans Lee, collected over £100,000-worth of donation...

It's crucial to prioritise when you launch a Minimum Viable Product. How? And how do you progress from MVP to uptake in more than 60 countries worldwide? Caroline Allams and Manjit Sareen launched Natterhub, an educational social media platform which prepares primary school children to thrive online, in April 2020. Their platform teaches children to be safe and kind digital citizens and is an...

Who are we talking with when we meet someone on a dating app or social media platform? A real person or a fantasy construct? How do we know a person's profile is genuine and what they're telling us is true? With romance fraud rocketing , scammers and criminals are using dating apps and social media platforms to reel in their victims. But a new, British dating app uses robust ID verificat...

Remember going to shops and popping your change into a charity collection box next to the till? The problem for charities is this has become a memory, not a habit, as we move to a cashless society. And it means an £80m shortfall in fundraising every year for charities which used to collect spare change. But Sean Donnelly's business Ripples, a social enterprise, wants to fix this and help smal...

There's a game Natalie Doherty likes to play when she meets young people on one of the Source Skills Academy's programmes. They have this image indoctrinated into them about the type of person who is a Director of Quality, Curriculum and Innovation, she says. And they're often shocked by her career journey from dance to director – but hearing it makes the idea of a senior job more a...

"We're not just hashtagging, we're actually doing something about it. I hope that gives anyone listening with a mental health problem strength: you don't have to be shut down, you don't have to be defined, you can take control." Kat Morley is the founder of Insight PR and Media. After studying journalism and winning awards for her coverage of wrestling, while living w...

News matters to local communities. How can we generate the most possible resource available for local news and then produce the best possible local newspaper with that resource? This is the starting point for Social Spider, which publishes five local newspapers. David Floyd, MD of the 2003-established social enterprise, joins us to explain Social Spider's purpose-driven, sustainable approach...

Episode 356 of Business Live features Mike Lawrence, workplace health and wellbeing consultant. This interview was originally recorded on 17 December 2020 and is re-broadcast this week. Working from home means many entrepreneurs and employees feel isolated; others experience overwhelm and burnout, or never stop working. Mike has strategies to protect and support you and your colleagues' healt...

Manjit Sareen is CEO and co-founder of Natterhub and a serial entrepreneur. Since her co-founder Caroline Allams was on the show earlier this year the business, which teaches children to be safe and savvy online, has announced a high-impact collaboration with Microsoft. Manjit explains how Natterhub offers an innovative, immersive and safe environment for children and how it has developed since la...

What holds people back from using their creativity in the workplace? Why have "closet creatives" stopped expressing their creative side in day-to-day life? And what are the impacts on health, wellbeing, problem solving and productivity when you rediscover your creative voice? Emily Moncuit helps people find their creative voice through the art of sketching and drawing. She's been wo...

Royal British Legion Industries is a charity supporting the Armed Forces and its veterans, people with disabilities and people who are unemployed. Michelle Ferguson runs its two social enterprises, Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company and Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company. The firms make road and rail signs, the RBLI's much-loved Tommy figures, and even offer ecommerce fulfilment se...

Social media is more than the platforms whose name changes are headline news. Sheffield Forum launched in 2002, and by last year received over 245,000 visitors per month. People love to discuss local news, seek and give advice and recommendations, and engage in friendly or robust debate on Sheffield Forum. Some users have even met their life partner through the Forum; many have forged enduring fri...

What are NFTs – Non-Fungible Tokens – and how can creators, creatives and artists start to sell NFTs of their work? Earlier this year Joe Horner, the award-winning Sheffield-based photographer, hit rock bottom in his business because of the impact of Covid. But a lack of bookings gave Joe the time to investigate the burgeoning world of NFTs. It has changed his life. NFTs boomed in 2021: Christies...

Fancy a career where your skills will be in huge demand? No, not driving a lorry – working in one of Yorkshire's oldest and rarest traditional crafts. Stone masons, milliners and even boggart-makers are now sought-after more than ever. These and other heritage crafts offer health and wellbeing benefits and fantastic career opportunities, according to today's guest Richard Godley. Richard...

Element Society is a youth-led charity with an enterprise mindset, says CEO Chris Hill. It has run over 200 projects since launching in 2013: "young people become role models to their peers and we train them to deliver projects." Over 5,000 young  people have changed their lives and their communities by working with Element. People attending Specialist schools don't always get the s...

What is a "micro-budget" film? Ben Wilkinson is the founder and director of the Spirit of Independence Film Festival, taking place on 2 October. Now in its third year the festival celebrates films across genres from all over the world. It showcases talent, demonstrates excellence in film-making, entertains viewers, and is a brilliant industry get-together for grassroutes film making. And...