DOING GOOD AND DOING BUSINESS
LOVE TO HELP OTHERS AND MAKE A LIVING AT THE SAME TIME? ANNA MOORE HEARS HOW THESE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS MADE IT WORK
THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS WHO EARN A LIVING AND HELP OTHERS TOO
‘My job as a barista has given me a life’
Launching a social enterprise is like launching any other business. You’ll be juggling the endless challenges of any start-up – the name, the website, the legal issues, the finance, the marketing. The difference is the purpose and end result. If you’re running a social enterprise, you’re not driven solely by profits – there’s a social benefit at its heart too. So if you have an idea, or a fledgling business, the School for Social Entrepreneurs can help – here’s how…
How buying a coffee can help the homeless find work
CHANGEPLEASE.ORG IS A NOT-FORPROFIT ORGANISATION BACKED BY THE BIG ISSUE FOUNDATION. IT IS SERVING UP HOPE ALONG WITH DELICIOUS COFFEE BY TRAINING HOMELESS PEOPLE TO WORK AS BARISTAS ON MOBILE COFFEE CARTS, PAYING THEM A LIVING WAGE AND HELPING THEM FIND HOUSING. IT WAS CO-FOUNDED BY FORMER CITY WORKER CEMAL EZEL, 33, WHO IS A CURRENT STUDENT OF THE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS AND WHOSE PARTNER BUSINESS IS A SPECIALITY COFFEE SHOP CALLED OLD SPIKE ROASTERY IN SOUTH-EAST LONDON. HERE, CHANGE PLEASE’S FIRST EMPLOYEE, LUCY STANCIU, 53, TELLS HOW SHE AND CEMAL MET AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
I CAME TO THE UK FROM ROMANIA WITH MY HUSBAND MARIAN FIVE YEARS AGO. WE HAD THREE CHILDREN – THEN AGED 11, 13 AND 15 – BUT NO WORK. MARIAN AND I USED TO SELL FRUIT AND VEG IN A MARKET IN BUCHAREST, BUT THAT WAS CLOSED DOWN. IT WAS HOPELESS, THERE WERE NO JOBS, NO FUTURE. WE HAD TO FIND WORK AND LEFT THE CHILDREN WITH MY MUM AND CAME HERE WITH ALL OUR SAVINGS – £500 – TO TRY TO MAKE A LIFE FOR THEM.
THAT MONEY WAS GONE IN WEEKS. EVERYTHING WAS SO EXPENSIVE AND ALTHOUGH I APPLIED FOR JOBS – FOR ANY WORK AT ALL – I COULDN’T SPEAK ENGLISH AND NO ONE WANTED ME. MARIAN AND I SPENT A LOT OF NIGHTS SLEEPING AT VICTORIA STATION – WE HAD NO MONEY TO GO HOME, AND NO IDEA WHAT WE’D DO. THEN WE STARTED SELLING The Big Issue MAGAZINE AND MANAGED TO GET A ROOM IN A SHARED HOUSE.
CEMAL WAS A REGULAR CUSTOMER. HE WOULD SEE ME EVERY MORNING
AND SAY HELLO, BUT ONE DAY HE ASKED – USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE – IF I WANTED TO TRAIN AS A BARISTA
IN HIS NEW COMPANY. I TRAINED AT WEEKENDS – IT TOOK THREE OR FOUR MONTHS, AS THE COFFEE HAS TO BE REALLY GOOD.
NOW I RUN THE CART AT CANARY WHARF, STARTING AT 6.40AM AND FINISHING AT 3PM. I GET PAID A NORMAL SALARY AND I HAVE LOVELY CUSTOMERS
WHO ALL KNOW ME, AND CHAT EVERY DAY AND IMPROVE MY ENGLISH. ONE OF THEM HAS GIVEN ME AN ENGLISH BOOK AND HELPS ME PRACTISE SPEAKING. MARIAN ALSO WORKS FOR CHANGE PLEASE NOW. WE HAVE THREE ROOMS IN A HOUSE AND WE’RE ABLE TO SEND MONEY HOME TO THE CHILDREN EVERY WEEK. I SPEAK TO THEM EVERY SUNDAY AND, LAST JUNE, MARIAN AND I COULD AFFORD TO FLY BACK FOR THE FIRST TIME AND SEE THEM. WE’RE GOING AGAIN THIS SUMMER. I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I AM TO
DO THIS JOB – IT HAS GIVEN US A LIFE. IT HAS GIVEN US A CHANCE.
CHANGE PLEASE CO-FOUNDER CEMAL SAYS: THE DEMAND FOR COFFEE HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED SINCE 2010. WHY NOT
USE THAT TO EMPLOY HOMELESS PEOPLE? INSTEAD OF THEM ASKING PASSERS-BY
FOR MONEY, PASSERS-BY CAN ASK THEM FOR COFFEE. THAT INTERACTION CAN GIVE THEM THEIR PRIDE BACK.
THE ORIGINAL FINANCE CAME FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES. I GOT ASSET FINANCE – A LOAN FROM A PRIVATE COMPANY – AND A START-UP LOAN FROM VIRGIN. I ALSO USED SAVINGS AND BORROWED FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I WENT ON A SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS COURSE IN THE EARLY STAGES AND CHOSE LUCY AS MY FIRST EMPLOYEE.
I USED TO SEE HER SELLING The Big Issue AND SHE’S SUCH A WARM PERSON – HER SMILE, THE WAY SHE INTERACTED WITH EVERYONE, I KNEW SHE’D BE WONDERFUL! THERE’S NOW A PICTURE OF LUCY ON A BILLBOARD AT HEATHROW ALONGSIDE PICTURES OF BEEFEATERS
AND OTHER LONDON FACES, SAYING “WELCOME TO LONDON”. SHE HAS FACED SO MANY CHALLENGES, BUT SHE HAS A SMILE ON HER FACE ALL THE TIME. >>