Plus testimonials (at foot of page)
I provide professional support to community enterprises, social enterprises and co-operatives - consultancy, business planning, choosing & registering legal structure, social impact, investment readiness, marketing development in addition to training, mentoring, business coaching. I've been a professional advisor to social enterprises of one form or another since 1998 and worked supporting the sector since 1997. During that time I have worked as- freelance social enterprise advisor & trainer
- member/Director of Co-op Culture
- Co-op development consultant & trainer/partner of Cooperantics LLP
- Specialist advisor to Plunkett Foundation (working on Making Local Woods Work and other rural co-op support programmes)
- Co-operative Development Advisor/Director at Olmec Co-operative CIC
- Social Enterprise Programmes Manager at Olmec
- Co-operative & Social Enterprise Development Worker/Director at Co-operative Assistance Network Limited (Worker Co-operative and Social Enterprise Development Body)
- Social Enterprise Development Worker (University of Southampton South East Coastal Communities Personalisation project) hosted by RISE Community Development Trust
- Co-operative Development Worker at Southampton Area Co-operative Development Agency
I have delivered one-to-one support, advice and training to hundreds of social enterprises (although back in the day they were called co-ops or community businesses!) and individuals wishing to establish them.
In addition to the cooperatives and social enterprises listed above, I have been a Director of Co-operatives South East, South East Co-operative Support Limited, London Co-operative Developments Ltd, member of a Housing Co-operative (which was also Registered Social Landlord: I was Treasurer among other posts), Credit Union (Secretary at the point of founding, time spent on Board and Supervisory Committee), several food co-ops and several music collectives. Years before I even knew what social enterprise was I ran a micro-social enterprise distributing music and underground press titles to generate profits to support campaign and activism organisations.
The one thing that underlines everything I do is a belief that ordinary people are capable of setting up and managing their own organisations and that professionalisation of OUR sector should mean enhancing people's understanding and capacity and not excluding people who don't have the right piece of paper, or wear the right clothes to impress the mainstream.
I work across the South East of England and in London from a base in Southampton.
I work across the South East of England and in London from a base in Southampton.
Testimonials
I will gradually start populating this space with some of the positive comments made by clients.
"You saved our shop!"
"Analysis of the situation was very clear and a tremendous aid to my thought process"
"Useful to hear a bit of the [marketing] theory and then have a bit of a free for all of questions as well. It was good for us to pick your brains on a few different things and hear your insights"
"excellent, practical, relevant advice"
"The policies and procedures workshop was very useful in helping our understanding of how we can improve our governance – and why we should."
"Nathan had taken the time to tailor the information he provided to the specific and unusual requirements of our project. He was able to take everyone with him even though the group came from very different starting points. His style was inclusive and he showed a genuine interest in the project. He made sense of what we wanted although in parts we were very unclear ourselves"
"Flexible content and thorough research in advance of meetings. Nathan tried hard to ensure his advice was specific and not generic.A useful service"
