Enterprise, the Economy and Society - An Enterprise Manifesto from NFEA

Enterprise, the Economy and Society; NFEA, the national enterprise network have produced a manifesto focussing on enterprise in Britain following the recession.

The manifesto states that enterprise has had a huge influence on the economy’s exit from recession where individuals, families, communities and the reduction of unemployment are concerned. The increase in enterprise however is not solely a reaction to the downturn but due to the society as a whole becoming more enterprising, adapting to new situations quicker and more effectively than before and being comfortable taking risks and responsibility from an early age.

With the concept of life long employment with large corporations increasingly a thing of the past, the manifesto claims that entrepreneurialism encompasses the attributes a society of the twenty first century needs.

It goes on to say that small business drive the economy by employing many unemployed people, creating comparatively more new jobs than larger companies, employing females, disabled and older staff as well offering more flexible employment.

Further to championing the idea of self employment and small to medium enterprises NFEA goes on to dispel popular myths about business start ups including statistics such as one in three new business fail within the first three years of trading and enterprise support agencies can pick ‘winners’ at the start up stage of any business.

The manifesto continues to explain the importance of enterprise support, in particular the NFEA’s part in developing and promoting the role of an enterprise coach with emphasis on the importance of personalised, tailored support for individuals from individuals. It is with this in mind that they propose a comprehensive package they have called the ‘Enterprise Escalator’.

The Enterprise Escalator is a start up package that benefits from the knowledge of successful practice of contemporary enterprise coach models. Taking tried and trusted methods and approaches to the promotion of enterprise, the package is consistent with the Governments solutions for business and is modular in nature, allowing for variations in local and regional priorities and budgets.

This is combined with a comprehensive customer journey comprising of;

• The continuation of outreach to under represented groups in order to raise awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities.
• Pre start advice for those who are interested in self employment but don’t know what the next step is; this can be delivered through a process of evaluating an individuals skills and hobbies to ensure whether or not they are consistent with a successful start up.
• One to one business support from a professional business adviser who can advise the best way to access the finance a start up may need, as well as mentoring for a determined period in the early stages of trading.  

To conclude NFEA believe that a successful enterprise economy means both a faster growing economy and a fairer, more diverse, more cohesive society and to achieve this we need to adopt this logical ‘Enterprise Escalator’ of support, which people can step on or off from at different points and a government which provides a supportive business environment.

To access the manifesto please click here: http://www.nfea.com/news/nfea-enterprise-manifesto.html or for more information on NFEA visit www.nfea.com