Social enterprise without trading activity is merely charity, says Robert Ashton.

No, I’ve not lost the plot. But I have been listening to some fascinating feedback from the recent Festival of Social Enterprise. The event, of which I was co-organiser, took place a couple of weeks ago in Norwich. It was sponsored by two local authorities and set out to inform, inspire and introduce local social entrepreneurs to national speakers.

The conference session was great. Cliff Prior from UnLtd, Nigel Kershaw from Big Issue Invest, the amazing Michael Norton and CIC Regulator Sara Burgess, all came and stimulated some great debate. ‘Beanbags & Bullshit’ blogger David Floyd also spoke, presenting a warts-and-all account of the history of the Big Society.

But it was in the exhibition area that a startled rep from the local Chamber of Commerce was told by one attendee that his organisation had no right to be there. I’d invited the Chamber so they could mix with and perhaps recruit some social enterprises into membership. The benefits apply to any trading organisation. My view is that every social enterprise is a business and the more cross-sector fertilisation we can encourage, the better.

But the rant it seems was angry and loud. “I’m not a business, I’m a social enterprise,” was the chorus punctuating verse after verse of explanation as to why this person thought the Chamber was a cuckoo in the nest. It confused the Chamber folk and illustrated perfectly the problem I see facing social enterprises today.

You see, without profitable trading (business) activity, a social enterprise is surely a charity, albeit unregistered as such. Surely to be taken seriously social enterprises have to become serious about trading. It’s not simply a new way of accessing public sector funding. It’s about delivering clearly differentiated products and services that add value to the customer.

I do sometimes feel that those with the weakest grasp of reality often seem to be the ones who make the most noise! Do you find that too?