In this episode, Heidi Fisher is joined by Johnathan Parsons, Managing Director and Consultant Clinical Scientist at Chime Social Enterprise. Chime is an NHS Audiology Service that utilised the Government Right to Request scheme to spin out as a not-for-profit Social Enterprise, having spun out 12 years ago under the "right to request" legislation.  Owned by its staff, the organisation has a direct contract with the ICB for audiology services in the region. Heidi and Johnathan discuss the challenges, benefits, and ongoing success of Chime Audiology's transition to a social enterprise wi ..read more

In this episode, Heidi Fisher sits down with Rhonda Lovell, founder of Wellington Counselling, to explore Rhonda's journey from her early career in gender studies to becoming a therapist and establishing a community-focused counselling centre. Highlights from the discussion include: Organic growth of Wellington Counselling Community support and collaboration Pandemic Challenges and the surge in demand for counselling services Online platforms for service delivery and adapting to the changing landscape of therapeutic support Balancing grant dependency and traded income Establishing a High Str ..read more

The Parenting Apart Programme is an early intervention that prevents long-term negative impacts on children’s emotional health and well-being when their parents separate or divorce. In this episode, Managing Director Claire Field and Parenting Apart Consultant Kam Kaur share their insights into their innovative approach with Heidi. From organisational development to logistics and challenges to positive outcomes, this conversation highlights the importance of bringing parents together to foster respectful post-separation relationships.  Dive into the emotional aspects of co-parenting, em ..read more

What's the sign of an organisation that wants to realise the best for patients? It's something Dr. Linda Harris, a GP and the founding CEO of Spectrum Community Health CIC sees in droves everyday. And if you want to magnify your impact, whether in health and wellbeing, in working with vulnerable communities or across the gamut of social enterprises' outcomes, this episode is a must-listen. Linda is candid about her biggest learnings since Spectrum launched over 12 years ago. Why is growth good? How do you balance impact and scaling up? What should a maturing organisation let go of – and wha ..read more

Paul Zelizer is a social entrepreneur coach and the co-host of the Awarepreneurs Podcast. He spent 15 years working in community mental health and tells Heidi about his journey from "burned-out, broke social worker" through a reinvention 16 years ago. Now he offers consultancy and coaching for impact-focused leaders. In this episode he covers: Using large organisations to lever impact. Securing work-life balance for a holistic life. The four questions every social entrepreneur needs to know. Why Paul is "impact agnostic" – and loves social enterprise. The power of podcasting to catalyse coll ..read more

Here's a rollicking, rip-roaring marketing 101 with Ayo Abbas. Ayo specialises in B2B (business to business) marketing for the built environment.  And she believes marketing shouldn't be a weird, mystical art. We hear: why you should always remember you're marketing to people the problem with customer avatars – "I hate them" says Ayo, and confusing funnels why Ayo finds marketing architecture, engineering and other built environment services so much more interesting (and more of a mental challenge) than consumer marketing the biggest barrier to people marketing confidently and what ..read more

Here's a horrifying statistic: 80% of toys are thrown away within two weeks, and they're packed with plastics and chemicals which damage the environment. Handmade wooden toys, so loved by so many, had been disappearing because of rapid industrialisation and the spread of cheap plastics. Arshad Khalid is the founder and director of Ethiqana, a social enterprise which works with toy producers – 'artisan heroes' – to create employment in India and around the world. Ethiqana's mission is to preserve traditional and, often, near-extinct art and craft forms – which are also sustainable and earth ..read more

Alessandra Alonso is the founder and managing director of Women in Travel CIC, a social enterprise which focuses on the economic empowerment of women through employability and entrepreneurship in travel, tourism and hospitality. It provides all women, but especially marginalised, vulnerable and under-represented women with visibility, confidence, access to training, mentoring and allyship programmes. Alessandra covers Women in Travel's history, how it continued to support people through the pandemic, and an exciting partnership with Google.  And she describes how it has secured funding ..read more

Remi Ray is a neurodivergent high-performance coach and the founder of The Diverse Creative CIC. She describes how she came to launch her social enterprise, which supports disabled entrepreneurs, and the multi-faceted approach she takes to coaching. After struggling through education because she had "shied away from discussing" her dyslexia until the age of 28, Remi realised she had not been honest about who she was (she received a diagnosis of dyslexia at the age of 19) – and felt a calling to help others. That set her on a journey navigating the challenges of funding and funders, heavy an ..read more

Doing good in the world? Then it is incumbent on you to build the foundations of a sustainable business, says Yinka Ewuola. Get those right and you can maximise your impact. This episode is about those foundations: cashflow and mindset. Plus Heidi is honest and open about common pricing mistakes and Yinka has ideas and solutions. And: Why "knowing your worth" can be the most damaging advice for an entrepreneur. How to maximise individual superpowers and create a "houseful of love." Why do we either celebrate  or demonise wealth and the rich? A perfect description of legacy. Heidi's birt ..read more