Safeguarding a micro enterprise for the future

In this presentation, Helen Neale, Project Lead for the Discover Micro Enterprise project at the Community Living Project in South Australia, makes the case that a micro enterprise isn’t just employment – it’s one of our most powerful safeguards for people with disability.

Drawing on her experience as Tom’s mother – whose lawn business, Ground Control by Major Tom, has run for seven and a half years – Helen explains why micro enterprise works and how to protect it. The centrepiece is the Enterprise Management Group: a small team of trusted people who share responsibility for sustaining and growing the business, so its future doesn’t rest on any one person.

About Helen Neale

Helen Neale works for the Community Living Project (CLP) in South Australia as the Project Lead of “Discover Micro Enterprise: Exploring Possibilities” – a four-year ILC grant project. She is passionate about raising expectations of what people with disability can achieve through meaningful, community-embedded careers.

Helen is inspired by her son Tom, who has had his own micro enterprise – Ground Control by Major Tom, a lawn and garden business – for seven and a half years. Tom holds many valued roles in his life: business owner, homeowner, godfather and skydiver.

Transcript

Please note that the transcript provided may contain occasional errors.

Helen Neale

Thank you, everybody, for joining us in room three. I know it’s always hard when there are sessions at the same time and you have to decide. So I’m hoping that this will still a really worthwhile amount of time that you spend with us today.

Something I’m super passionate about – micro enterprise. And if you don’t know me, as Erosha said, I work for Community Living Project, and for the last four years, I’ve been the project lead of this IOC grant project, which is ‘Discover Micro Enterprise: Exploring Possibilities’.

Yeah, so micro enterprise. So down the bottom, as I said, that’s the project that I’ve been leading. And unfortunately, all good things come to an end. And this project itself will be finishing on 30 June as well. Having said that, very fortunate in South Australia that Community Living Project actually operates the micro enterprise project anyway, which will continue. That’s a paid service.

What hopefully will happen is that the work that we’ve done over the last four years, we’ve built some resources. We’ve built a lot of videos, 12 videos, one I’m about to show you, which is very exciting because it’s just been released. So there will be a lasting legacy from the project.

But the reason I’m also very passionate about this is that you might know that my son Tom, who’s 26, has a micro enterprise himself, has for seven and a half years. And to say it’s changed his and our life is an understatement. So it’s something that I get really excited about. The worst thing you can do to me socially is ask me about micro enterprise, because once I get started… there’s no stopping.

It was great when I spoke to Jan, and she said that employment was going to be, you know, part of this conference as safeguarding, because I believe it plays a very large role in keeping people safe, having meaningful work embedded in community. So we’ve called this ‘Micro enterprise as a safeguard for a person with disability that needs to be safeguarded.” So there’s going to be two points, sort of really, about why it’s a safeguard and then how we keep it safe.

Now, I’m assuming if you’re here, you’re probably already a little bit on the way to knowing about micro enterprise. You might have current involvement or thinking about it, but just to make sure that we’re all on that same page, this is really our definition of micro enterprise.

So it’s a small business of a service or product which is created based around a person’s interests, gifts and talents, and available resources. It’s a form of Customised Employment, and it starts with the person first. Then a job role is crafted, not the other way around.

And I believe the key to success with Customised Employment. It’s the fact that we’re starting always with that person first, one person at a time, getting to deeply discover what their skills, interests and passions are and then crafting a role around that.

You know, as we know, they say if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. So, when micro-enterprise is right, when Discovery has been done well, and there’s good safeguards and supports around the person, then it is a really successful and meaningful form of employment that leads to many other good things.

What I’m going to do next, just to get us in that mood of how wonderful micro enterprise is, I’m going to show us our brand new and final video that we formed, and that makes number 12 from the grant project, which will live on the Community Living Project website. I have got a couple of pages, and one is the page of the 12 resources. A great part of my project has been working with actually about ten enterprise owners. We invited seven people originally, and a few more have come on, and they’ve told their story, and there’s nothing more powerful than someone telling their own story. And the videos capture that.

But this final video is about benefits. We really wanted one that sort of highlighted what we saw as some of the benefits of micro enterprise.

With no further ado, let’s hope this works.

[Video plays]

Helen Neale 

Something we know is that people with disability are often given a lot of time-filling activities, but not necessarily things that are utilising the person’s skills or interests and not really giving them opportunities to build relationships and community.

So a micro enterprise actually helps a person develop relationships. Time takes care of itself when you have valued roles. Their days are meaningful. The person with an enterprise has a routine and a purpose, and a clear sort of goal of what they want to achieve. The beauty of this form of Customised Employment is that it is very, very genuinely person-centred. The person decides when they want to work, where they want to work, who they want to work with, what they want to do. So it really is very much about that person, and the role is built around them.

Nonni, Bailey’s Mum

My name is Nonni, and I have a son, Bailey, who has autism. Bailey benefits from having a micro enterprise by having routine in his week. He knows which days he’s going to be at work.

He’s happy. We’ve just noticed this last year. He’s just had a really happy year. Just getting into this, getting up in the morning… It’s not, we’re not dragging him out of bed. He’s getting ready, knowing that his business – he’s really excited about it. It’s stuff that he loves doing. He’s been developing a lot of skills with some animation programs that are quite complicated programs.

He’s also learning skills like being in a workplace around others. As a family, seeing him also come home from work happy and having enjoyed his day, being able to ask him about his day is just really lovely. That interaction we get with him about something, that’s all his. Being able to hold his head high and tell others what he’s doing and feel like what he does is valuable. He’s got skills that other people can see him using. He really feels when he succeeded and you can just see him, oh, he feels really good about it.

Erin Skull

Hi, my name is Erin Skull, and my micro enterprise is based on photography and positive quotes. So in my business, I love taking the photos, and I love seeing people’s reactions to it. The benefits: definitely being able to talk to people in the community. A lot of independence has come out of it as well.

So when I go to Paint Central, I feel really proud as a business owner. It’s been very successful there. They made an order within a week of them selling out. It was really, really nice to see.

Helen, Erin’s Mum

Erin now believes in herself a lot more. She will step up and do things rather than wait to be asked. Erin’s working life is her working life. I don’t have much to do with it because Erin’s so independent now. When people say, ” What do you do?” now, and Erin says, “I run my own business,” they’re like, “Really? Tell me about it.” They’re interested. They want to know about it.

You know, Erin’s worked in supported employment, but it wasn’t fulfilling at all. She just turned up. And now she’s so fulfilled and happy and proud of herself. And that reflects across all areas of her life. The benefits Erin’s getting are endless. It’s confidence, it’s belief, it’s self-worth, it’s life skills.

Erin

Yes, so I definitely do feel successful because I’m doing what I love to do, and I’m making a difference in not only my life but other people’s lives, and that’s great. It’s definitely made a big difference from when I didn’t have a business; I was working longer hours, and I wasn’t really getting out in the community. It really is life changing.

Prue, Circle of Support, Dried Fruit by Jocelynne

Jocelynne has had a pretty rough start to her life, but she now owns her own home. She’s got a great Circle of Support around her, and she’s got her own business that she’s operated for ten years.

I think one of the main roles of a micro enterprise in safeguarding the person is about the depth of relationships that are built with people who aren’t paid to be in their lives. And so the micro enterprise offers the opportunities for people to be out in community, developing those relationships, and also to have others around them who also are giving their time because they want to. They care about the person. They want the best possible life for that person.

If there’s an issue in their life around health or around emotional support, there’s other people looking out for them and willing to raise their voice when things don’t look right.

Judy Forbes, Ex-cafe owner, customer, and member of the Dried Fruit by Jocelynne Enterprise Management Group

So my name is Judy Forbes, and I was previously owner of Once and Again Book Cafe. Jocelynne and Kate brought in a box for us to have a look at and decide whether or not we would sell the Dried Fruit by Jocelynne, and we loved it straight away.

We used to go through it quite regularly, and people would say, “Oh, this is great for my children’s lunch boxes”, and I’d have others say, ” Oh, we pop it out with our gin and tonic.”

As a business and as an individual, this has been a real opportunity over a period of ten years to support Jocelynne as a micro enterprise. It’s also given me an opportunity to refer Jocelynne to other cafes. Seeing quite a lot more, I suppose, equity in considering Jocelynne a businesswoman in her own right.

Prue

I think one of the most important things is often the work of people with disabilities do can be quite tokenistic, and the expectations of society are pretty low. Whereas what I’ve seen with every micro enterprise that’s been developed is the level of quality of the finished product or service that’s delivered.

Eric, member of the Dried Fruit by Jocelynne Enterprise Management Group

My involvement with the micro-enterprises is being on the management group for Jocelynne. It’s great to see various businesses out in the community actually selling a product that Jocelynne has actually produced. And to see the pride that is instilled in Joss every time she goes into that store or that cafe, I feel that micro enterprise is a great way to showcase the abilities of somebody that has otherwise barriers placed against them.

Helen Neale

The beauty of the framework that can be developed is that it’s not reliant only on the family to make sure that the enterprise continues, so other people are brought in and invited in to be part of the Enterprise Owners Support network, and that means it can operate beyond the family themselves.

So often people with disability stay where they initially go post-school, so they might be in a job that’s not necessarily giving them fulfilment, but it’s almost seen as that’s where you’ll stay. Whereas in a micro enterprise, there’s all sorts of opportunity for continued learning and growth.

[End of video]

Helen Neale

Thinking about a micro enterprise and how can it be a safeguard in itself? These are some of the points that we really want to talk about.

So being genuinely embedded in local community as a consumer, a contributor, and a member: I think that message is just going to come through over and over again through the next two days. You know, not just to be seen. Often, people with disability are out, and they’re seen, but if you’re not actually playing a role, having a valued role and contributing, then no one’s really going to miss you if you’re not there.

But building up relationships in your local community is so important, and that’s one thing we really encourage when you’re looking at a micro enterprise, why we encourage you to stay as local as possible. You really want to work, live, and play in the same sort of area if you can.

Some businesses, if I think about Tom’s, for example, the lawn business, obviously, there’s different areas to go, but as his business has got stronger and he’s more well known, and in fact, his books are full, he can actually bring that geographic area closer and closer in so that he’s seen regularly. He’s got a regular routine that, you know, he’s probably in the same street every three weeks. People see him. People come… because he’s turning up over and over again, new people come and say, “Actually, could you come and give me a quote on my lawn?” He’s starting to be seen as a regular contributor, as a business owner.

And that’s so important because then when he goes around the corner to the woodyard to buy soil or to the local Mitre 10 to go and get his products, he’s also been seen in the street as someone, and now he’s a consumer and building up that regular routine of buying his products from the same people. He goes to the same newsagent to buy his invoice books. And if he goes in his work clothes, he’s then likely to be asked, “Oh, so you do lawns?” You know, it’s a conversation starter.

So these sorts of little subtle things that we know are so important to be in your local community as a consumer. It’s as someone that’s, you know, if we’re going to use NDIS language, someone that’s actually paying a social and economic role in their community as well.

It also helps people become members. So by being embedded, and you know, if he goes to the newsagent and goes in his uniform and buys an invoice book, and the guy behind the counter says, “Oh, lawns… So, you know, what’s your tip? I’m really into lawns.” And they start talking about the same product. Before you know it, shared interests start to come out. And this is another level to go beyond the hello. So starting to actually be recognised as someone who is capable and contributing is a really important role to play.

And having a valued role, you know, like I said, when you’re valued, you’re valued when you’re missed.

I remember the first time that happened for Tom. We were overseas, and it was pretty early days, so we were still finding our feet on how to do some of these things. And I don’t think he’d let maybe his customers know. And he got a message, and I can remember where I was standing because it came through on his phone, and it said, ” Oh, Tom, I hope you’re back soon because we really miss you.” And I remember just thinking, bingo, you know, like that’s a really important thing, that you’re missed because it’s a safeguard in itself.

If you are regularly turning up to something and suddenly you’re not, somebody might ask questions. Somebody might, or in fact, I’m pretty sure they will. Just like if you’re regularly turning up and you’re suddenly turning up and you’ve lost a lot of weight or your clothes are really dirty, you know. If you’re having a regular role and you’re valued, people are going to start looking out for you.

But being missed is a big thing. You know, we know people keep people safe. And so, someone being visible and having a valued role in community is such a safeguard in itself.

The health and well-being part too… When Tom left school, he was, without my knowledge, assessed to go to a day option program and I knew that was not only what we didn’t want but I knew for a lot of reasons how problematic that was going to be, because what I’d seen of the day programs going on near us was that there were regular day trips off to places of interest. There’s only only so many places you can visit in Adelaide, I can tell you, you know, and if you’re going to have to go on an excursion every week, you’re going to cover that pretty quickly.

But they also involved a lot of visits to McDonald’s and bowling and junk food. And that was really going to be a big issue for Tom, because he’s absolutely food-obsessed. And so having something where he was going to be sedentary, eating the wrong food was really, really problematic.

So if I look at him now, I mean, I looked at that when he was in that initial, that video and that was quite early days. He doesn’t quite look like that now. I think outdoor work does age you a bit. He’s looking a bit haggard, and he’s certainly discovered beer, so he’s got a bit of a beer belly. But apart from that, he walks a lot of steps and his health and wellbeing, but his mental health – I cannot tell you the difference it has made.

I mean, he struggled with sleep issues until he was 22 (he’s nearly 27), and I never got him to school on time because he was up all night, and he was very resistant to school anyway. And now I’ve got someone, when he’s at our house, that’s up at six and dressed ready for work. So, you know, there are some pretty strong signs…

We talk a lot about looking and listening with people and communication, and he communicates every single day how important his work is for him and for his mental health and wellbeing. And that rolls onto us, I’ve got to say.

And the opportunities to showcase skills and interests. This is such a great thing.

I think about Jak. Jak has a business called Jak’s Gems, and he’s someone who has a jewellery business, a gem business that he turns into jewellery, and every year he goes to a Gemboree somewhere in Australia. Now he’s a really active member of his gem and minerals club, and he’s seen for his skills and what he can offer, not for his disability in those environments.

And when he goes to the Gemboree, you know, all people from Australia come around with that shared passion, and they can stay in touch. So, you know, his micro enterprise, his love and his skills for the work he does really shows him as capable. And that brings new opportunities as well.

When you’re seen as capable, more good things come your way.

I will refer to Tom a bit in this; normally, I don’t, but I know initially Jan did say, you know, talk about Tom as well. And it’s pretty easy. I don’t have to do too much thinking, but it’s also very exciting. And that’s why, as I said, I get so passionate.

He’s recently moving… he’s transitioning into his own home, and we knew how important it was for him to be known as, you know, the kind, caring, fun person he is. We didn’t want him known as that person down there that’s got autism and whatever. That was irrelevant.

So we’ve done a lot of things to connect him into his apartment building. But one of the things that has really, really helped him connect and become known and respected in his apartment is that he owns his own business.

So he has his trailer downstairs in the garage with this thing. So people straight away are thinking, oh, hang on, if he’s got his own business, then there’s a certain, you know, that he must be okay at this. And recently on the floor that he lives, there’s a big common garden, and it was a real mess. And the head of the committee of the group came and asked whether he would go on a small working group committee to provide ideas for redesigning this whole new business.

Now, I’m really confident that if he’d gone in there without an identity as a business owner, he might not have been asked that. But he’s there and has come up with some great ideas, and he’s helped take away with… He’s a strong boy, and he’s taken loads and loads of soil away. They’re planning a herb garden and citrus trees, which he suggested. But you know, he is really now already, after a year, seen as someone that is a really contributing, valued member of his apartment. And I’m really confident it stems from him being a business owner.

There was a little section, as well, in the video about Jocelynne. Jocelynne with her business. She’s just celebrated ten years of her Dried fruits by Jocelynne. But all I want to say briefly then, is that Jocelynne delivering her products to Judy, who was on the video… Judy was so intrigued about this woman who would come in and sign, and, you know, is blind, so she started to ask questions. And Judy’s now closed her cafe, but she asked to go on to Jocelynne’s Enterprise Management Group. By having relationships, by being seen as capable, it does allow others to see people for their skills and strengths.

Inviting people in, involving others in, is key to safeguarding people. I know families, some families actually go the other way. I can think of one in particular where they virtually lock the front gates, and they’re keeping their daughter in. That is just risky, really dangerous in my mind.

For the first four years of Tom’s enterprise, I was resistant. We had an Enterprise Management Group, which I’m going to talk about, but I was still doing too much. I was still, and I don’t know, that co-dependency thing. We have to be so mindful of that as parents. You can care, but I still thought, “Oh, it’s easier for me to do this. I can still make the bookings. I know this, it’s better.”

And then I woke up one morning, and it was literally that slap, you know, fish in your face thing. And I thought, gosh, if I hadn’t woken up this morning, Tom wouldn’t be able to go to work. And that was so selfish of me. So wrong and so selfish, because I know more than anything, work is the most important thing in Tom’s life. So I thought, okay, it’s time. And it really took me… even though we had a consultant, we had an Enterprise Management Group who had tactfully but constantly saying to me, ” Can you hand over more? Can you do more?”, I was really resistant.

So I’m going to encourage you more than anything to start bringing others in, invite others in, people who care, who you know, that care about the person or you, and you know, are solid people, people that might want to be interested.

What I’ve learned through this is that people do want to help. People like to be asked; we’re not good, often, as family at asking, and if you can’t do it, then get someone else to do it. There’s a dad I’ve been working with recently, and he doesn’t want to go to family and to close friends to ask, so he’s asked his brother-in-law to take on that role for a while, to literally explain to them what they’re trying to do by forming their own sort of Enterprise Management Group, and to share some of the roles and responsibilities.

Because if we get fatigue, parents get fatigue, you know, and it’s actually often a barrier for someone starting a micro enterprise. By the time you’ve got out of school, people are so worn down with the system, often they just think, ” What? Now I’ve got to create a business for my son and daughter? It’s too much.”

But it doesn’t have to be our job. We can always be involved. And if, you know, I’m still involved, but my role has changed enormously. And I know that if I didn’t wake up tonight or tomorrow, Tom’s business is safe. And that is so important to me and to him.

So some of the things are: keeping it simple. Don’t overcomplicate it. With all good intent, I see people get really, really complicated with this stuff, and they write huge business plans and huge sorts of policies and whatever. Bring it back to the key essential. You can build from there, and you can have other things. But really, you know, what does a day look like? What are the key elements? Those sorts of things are really, really important. And write it down and record it and have those systems in place, but don’t make… Again, it might be for a while. This is still something you do or with somebody else you bring on. But go back to being a parent as much as you can.

I’m not trying to tell you what to do. It’s your life. It’s your son or daughter’s life. But I really have seen that people who are able to do this and remain parent, it is so much better for their relationship, for a start. There’s less tension, often, in houses. Other people have other ideas, and it’s just about safeguarding, and this is something that should be safeguarded.

So I’m talking about an Enterprise Management Group. And certainly within CLP, that’s what we have. Someone has a paid PA who is someone who works alongside the enterprise owner in the job. There’s a consultant often as well.

But this group, the Enterprise Management Group, is a group of people, a small group of people who are invited to assist a person in creating and sustaining a micro enterprise.

They’re trusted people who freely give their time and are intentionally selected to bring skills relevant to the micro enterprise, and who believe in the possibility of career for the enterprise owner.

So again, you know, take no prisoners. Only bring people who share the vision. That can be the role that you can remain, is making sure people see potential and believe in this.

But bring those people in with really clear roles as well. So… and what I’m going to do is quickly go through some of the things that the Enterprise Management Group might help the enterprise owner and the family with.

In the early days, the Enterprise Management Group or this group of people that you form – and you can call it whatever you want, it’s just a small working group, really. In the early days, they’re often meeting around every four weeks, and there’s a lot to be done. But it’s really exciting stuff. You know, when someone’s gone through Discovery and says, ” Yep, I want to have bottle recycling business”, or “I want to have a flower business,” once that sort of really… at that stage, this is when you invite those people in and say, ” Okay, we’re all going to delegate and share some of this responsibility.”

So, establishing the aim of the enterprise and monitoring and advising. So that’s when you might, if you’ve got someone who’s going to do small flower arrangements, it might be good to bring someone into an Enterprise Management Group that’s actually got some… either some small business skills or some floristry skills to be that overseeing advice. Or you might just occasionally want to invite someone in to give that.

But these are some of the things. So the business focus, as I said, keep it simple. That’s my advice when starting, and even continuing: Go slow. This is not a race. Keep it simple. Keep that product… it’s got to be high-quality… a high-quality product or service and something that the person is able to do every step of.

We’ve noticed the minute that people start doing things for the other person, if they can’t do it alongside, a lot of people will lose interest at that point. So keep it small and keep it something that is manageable for the person.

The branding logo and name, that’s – the Enterprise Management Groups love being involved in that. I know Michael said that his business is called Greens to you, and he put it to his group and said, ” Okay, come up with a logo.” And he really likes the band U2, and he grows leafy green vegetables. So his business is ‘Greens to you’. And they came up with the logo. He made it a competition and gave them a prize. That’s fun stuff.

I got to say, I used to think in business names weren’t important until Tom had “Ground control by Major Tom.” And I tell you what, that name has been such a success. It’s a talking point in itself. People will say to Tom, “Oh, so do you like music? Do you like David Bowie?” And it goes from there.

Be careful, though, with your branding and your names or imagery. You know, keep it, keep it relevant and typical. Stay away from anything childlike. You saw that image of Cathy’s door with the kitten and the doll on it, and I just, you know, like, really? So be careful with naming of your brand and logo. Keep it so that it says something about the business, but it’s high quality.

The financial matters. That’s a great one. I’m an Aquarian. I hate numbers, so I don’t want to know anything to do with the business side of the numbers. But my cousin, who’s actually on Tom’s Enterprise Management Group, he’s worked in government and numbers, and he got his teeth into that. So for the first couple of years, he had his spreadsheets and everything. And he was revelling. His role was to manage all of that and to give us a bit of a financial report.

The group down the track decided it was too manual and too dependent on someone, so they decided as a group, why not invest in Xero? So, you know, this is the sort of thing, if you’d asked me, I would have said, oh, I don’t know.

So, pricing of the product or service. Again, don’t undersell. Don’t be tempted to think we’re not worth it. Aim high. It’s a quality product or service.

People get suspicious if things are too cheap. So, they will assume then, you know, this is not tokenism. This is not about charity. This is about something that should stand alone. But get the Enterprise Management Group or get the, you know, your son or daughter with their PA out there scouting around.

You know, we did a lot of asking through Facebook, through friends, “What do you pay to have a lawn mowed? What do you pay for a bunch of flowers?” you know, those sorts of things. So use your networks. Use that.

People get excited about doing this, but it’s not… as long as they don’t feel like they’re going to be running the whole business. If they’ve got defined roles, you will get people on board. And again, you know, bringing someone in who’s worked in small business or knows about marketing and promotions, that sort of stuff is great.

One thing I’m always mindful of, and I know a lot of products are the sort of products that are great to sell at markets, but my advice with markets, again, is just be mindful that markets are often on weekends. If they’re being supported, that can come at a cost, a higher cost for a support. They’re often long. So think about the fatigue of somebody. Can they go all day sitting out there? And will they see those people again? If it’s a regular market that is attended by local people, all well and good, but think about other ways to also sell your product.

So, setting the practice standards. That’s just a couple of years ago, showing Tom’s Enterprise Management Group… the different roles. So he’s coming up to eight years, and they’re still on his Enterprise Management Group.

These days, touch wood, well we don’t meet that often at the moment. It’s more of a celebration and a touch in. And it’s important to people keep people still feeling like they belong and part of it. So even if everything’s going well, still get people to connect and be part of that celebration.

If, however, Tom’s PA suddenly said, “I’m leaving,” I know that this group would get back into action.

And that is one of the really things that has helped me more than anything is having other people involved for recruitment. I’m a real soft touch, so if I’m interviewing people and I feel sorry because that person has lost his job and he’s got three kids, and you know, it would help him out, I’d be probably saying, ” Oh, you’ve got the job,” even if it wasn’t the best for Tom. So getting others involved in recruitment, getting them to sieve through all the applications you’ll get, and you will get lots: Trust me, you’ll get lots. Helping them be part of the short list and then the final interview panel. But these are the sort of things that you can really benefit from inviting other people in.

Other people will come with expertise; again, you know, you might have someone that’s really into policies and procedures that might want to draft something up. So think about who you invite in.

But do do it. That’s all I can say. As much as you can, think about if you didn’t wake up. Could this go forward? How important is it, and how much is it, because I need this rather than what that person needs from me?