Developing community business income streams

Practical ways for community businesses to grow income from trading: choose a trading model, learn from real examples and plan a low-risk pilot.

Trading can make community businesses more resilient. In this webinar, you’ll look at community business trading models and a range of traded income streams - from products and services to memberships, events, space hire and partnerships. You’ll learn from real examples and what they have in common, like building on existing skills, facilities and local connections.

You’ll then focus on “the power of the pilot”: how to test an idea at small scale to check demand, pricing, delivery and risk.

What you learn:

• Different trading models and when to use them
• Common traded income models (products/services, memberships, licensing, events, partnerships and more)
• What successful community businesses build on
• How to design a pilot: who it’s for, what you’ll offer and how you’ll charge
• Basics of unit economics: costs, pricing and margins
• How to gather feedback and improve before scaling

Anyone is welcome to join. The following people will find this webinar especially useful:

• People leading or supporting a community business who want to grow income from trading
• Suitable whether you’re exploring a new idea or improving an existing offer
• No specialist finance knowledge required