Advanced Social Entrepreneur Courses

This course is available on a group purchase basis only. For individual courses refer to Social Entrepreneur Mentoring and Online Courses.

Suitable for: Social entrepreneurs developing a new or existing business; executives running social businesses or NGOs who are seeking to reshape or grow their organisation; individuals who wish to explore a new career in social entrepreneurship.

If you would like to book a course for your organisation or design one tailored to your specific needs, please e-mail: team@i-genius.org or call +44 (0)20 7690 8232

Content: the A-Z in developing a social business and becoming a successful social entrepreneur. This Advanced course is tailored to participant’s individual needs with an emphasis on personalised support and mentoring. With a strong focus on business development and securing income, i-genius will utilise its networks to support the development of partnerships for participants.

Each participant will benefit from the following:

  • A solid understanding of social entrepreneurship and businesses that provide high social or environmental impact
  • A fully tested business plan credible for presenting to investors and other financial providers
  • A strong brand identity with a sales, marketing and communication plan for growth
  • Individual support tailored to your own business needs
  • Participation in a series of challenging exercises designed to test leadership and enhance ability in key areas of running a social business
  • Awarded Certificate of Attendance and membership of the i-genius Academy Alumni

The Advanced course on social entrepreneurship is coached by highly experienced social entrepreneurs and experts in each of the specific areas covered. Guest speakers will be invited to complement the composition and interests of participants.

Course in detail:

Day 1 – social entrepreneurship in context and developing viable social business ideas

Provides an overview of social entrepreneurship and how to develop and test workable ideas for a successful social business

  • Initial assessment
  • What is social entrepreneurship?
  • Why the growth in social entrepreneurship?
  • The UK experience
  • Social entrepreneurship around the world
  • How to develop a viable social business idea
  • Ideas testing
  • Measuring social impact
  • Practical exercise: ‘Transforming a community’

Day 2 – Strategic planning, business plans and raising finance

Everything you need to know about how to raise finance. Each participant will be guided through to the completion of their own fully tested business plan

  • Strategic planning, business modelling and setting milestones
  • Business plans
  • Organisation development and legal entity
  • Financial management
  • SWOT analysis
  • Sources of finance
  • Seeking finance/investors – being ‘investor ready’
  • Practical Exercise: ‘Live pitching’

Day 3 – Business development, marketing and communications

A complete guide to developing a strong brand identity together with generating new customers through enhanced sales and marketing techniques:

  • Key stages in preparing to communicate
  • Developing a brand
  • How to promote yourself via traditional media
  • How to promote yourself via social media
  • Online marketing (including SEO and SEM)
  • Film making (with and without a budget)
  • Producing a marketing plan
  • Presentation skills
  • Networking
  • Selling
  • Trading with the UK and other countries
  • Producing a customer focused business development plan
  • Practical exercise: ‘Presenting a proposal to a potential partner’

Day 4 – Growth and leadership

A challenging day focusing on overcoming hurdles and developing rebust leadership skills:

  • Personalised Ëœhealth check” – testing strengths and weaknesses of current status/operations and plan to address each area where improvement is needed
  • Forum of shared experiences and problem solving
  • Individual mentoring and business development support
  • The challenges social entrepreneurs face
  • Scenario exercise: Responding to events affecting business success/failure (ideal for testing organisational strength and decision making)
  • Personal plans – short, medium, long term and next steps
  • Evening dinner

The course will be preceded by a personal assessment two weeks prior to the course start date and a post course follow-up assessment one month after completion.

Inquiries: team@i-genius.org

world’s largest international community of social entrepreneurs