Purpose

To help and encourage the business community to generate well paid employment for the population of Croydon using a model that is self sustainable in the medium term.

Opportunities and Threats

The Charter represents a golden opportunity for a number of different groups to gain benefit.  It also has the potential to be a white elephant.  For it to succeed will require a number of “sells” which will engage the business community to engage.  Identifying what would be in it for them should be in the forefront of our minds as it would be very easy to be viewed as the Council preaching from the pulpit that business owners should simply pay more attention to their staff.  In this eventuality the Charter will fail.

The Charter can be viewed as helping local business do better.  I view the key areas as being:

• Providing Income (using Council Conferences)
• Providing Education ( ensuring they gain skills to run their business better)
• Facilitating access to finance.

I believe the expertise available should allow progress to be made in all three areas, however I do have a concern that the Council has a number of credibility issues that it will need to accept if we are to achieve a positive outcome.

Income Stream

• Council grants,  (This is the only funding at the moment: we need to know what the budget is)
• Sponsorship,  (Whether it be of individual events or of the Charter in general)  
• Event attendance fees, (If people see a benefit, they will pay)
• Training fee,  (My paper on a link up with the IOD refers)
• Tendering assistance fees,  (If you gain training on how to win and  deliver tenders, then you could charter a fee based on tender value as recompense)
• Group Purchasing savings  (You have my paper on this already)
• Dispute resolution service, ( You are aware of my views and conflicts in this area)
• Membership fees,
• Fines, (For those who are shown to not comply with the Charter’s aims and still wish to be members.)
• Financing fees. (If Charter members gain finance utilising a charter introduction then a introductory fee would be payable.

Expenditure Lines

• General administration labour costs,
• Property costs,
• Marketing spend,
• Event costs,
• IT/ office costs,
• Third party licencing fees/ commissions,

Stepping Stones

To achieve a self-sustainable model will require a number of interim steps and associations.  I have mentioned the IOD as a potential partner to provide credible training programmes etc.  Networking events (whether they breakfast clubs or other) will need to be an income stream in the future, however it is accepted that a number groups will, as a gesture of good will assist in the short term.