Rapid Enterprise Development (RED) started 2 years ago at the Healthy Living Precinct in Welland. The venue was chosen because of its relaxed feel where like-minded people can come together in a really versatile space.
The Healthy Living Precinct space is perfect for what RED needed. Casual co-working spaces, free wi-fi and workstations, as well as space for training and seminars. There’s even an intermediate podcasting and recording studio. It provided the perfect spot for the RED Cafe which was created in collaboration with the Rapid Enterprise Development (RED) team offering great coffee and health focused foods.
Today we met with one of the tenants on site, Arthur Mitsoulis (Strategic Alliances / Co Director of RED) to find out about the RED program and their recent accessible marketplace funded by the shoplocal program.
Tell us a little about Rapid Enterprise Development
Rapid Enterprise Development (RED) emerged in the UK from the work of founders Keith Bates and Dr Guy Turnbull. Their goal was to provide people with a lived experience of disability, the opportunity to set up their own micro-enterprise or get into self-employment.
Keith’s work developed from supporting people with learning disabilities to establish worker co-ops as a way of creating alternative routes in employment. This complimented Guy’s background who brought his international expertise in co-operatives and social enterprise business models through the Don Dunstan Foundation Thinker in Residence program in 2018. The two worked together to open up the world of entrepreneurship to a wider audience.
They initially focused on training for disabled people to set up their own enterprise. The two set up RED (Rapid Enterprise Development) workshops which offer an interactive space, support, and activities to help disabled people work out the basics of a business idea, feasibility, planning, and research.
How did Arthur get involved?
Arthur was a scientist by trade working in pharmaceuticals and reached the stage he wanted to do something different and apply his skills and knowledge to help people. Arthur was keen to take the work out of the hospital system and deliver it in the community when he met Guy as a Thinker in Residence. He has never looked back.
What is Rapid Enterprise Development?
Arthur tells us it’s all in the name.
The RED approach strips out the complexities of starting a business and focuses on bringing people in and giving them the skills so that they can quickly turn an idea or passion into an opportunity they can fly with.
After a three-hour workshop working through ideas, applicants leave with a business plan on a page, access to a coach or mentor every week and can attend training and workshops through the RED Academy . Support workers, carers and friends are also invited along.
RED want people to learn, be inspired to go out and actually make it happen. All it costs is their time.
Their belief is that entrepreneurship at whatever level can change someone’s life and through changing a person’s life you improve and change the community. Their goal is to change communities, one person at a time, one hour at a time.
Do you have some examples of businesses which have been created?
The great thing about the RED program is that something tangible can be set up quickly. Here is an example of two websites which sell online from our program participants.
The House of Needleworks is the business of Carol Robinson, who has a love of needlework. She now has a website where she can sell needlework supplies and handmade items online. A beautiful example of this is her table runner, which took 6 months to create.
Melissa Kirkman has created her own design brand – Kirkman by Melissa Kirkman.
She sells T-shirts with prints of her designs on her own website also.
Adam’s business is definitely self explanatory - a Bike Shop for bike repairs.
The RED Club
Arthur says that businesses typically struggle in two areas; administration and marketing to get their story out there, and it’s no different if you have a lived experience.
The RED team provide lots of support behind the scenes and have created the RED Club where people can come together at the Healthy Living Precinct. This monthly club enables people to tell their story, share what is working and work through some of the challenges with their coaches and mentors.
The space at the precinct together with the monthly meetings have created this great ecosystem where entrepreneurs with a lived experience can prosper and succeed.
The Accessible Marketplace
The Healthy Collective recently accessed City of Charles Sturt #shoplocal grant which supported RED's 'Accessible' Marketplace for Everyone as part of the Healthy Collective Day.
This event was a collaboration between Perfect Ingredient, the Healthy Living Precinct and Healthy Living Communications at the Healthy Living Precinct.
Opened by the Hon. David Pisoni MP, the marketplace provided an opportunity to showcase the RED Academy members products and services developed throughout their programs, as well as other great products from our local community. This was a really exciting day for all the participants who had the opportunity of interacting with people and generating revenue for the first time.
Arthur conveyed big thanks to Charles Sturt for helping to make this happen.
And since you're here reading - save the date for their next market day for Sunday, 23 May 2021.
What’s Next for RED?
RED have ten projects that have gone through the program and are trading, which is really exciting. There’s also been lots of interest from people wanting to participate and local authorities, voluntary sector organisations and others have quickly seen the benefits of the RED approach.
Arthur tells us they quickly learnt they needed to expand the RED offer to raise the capacity, skills, and aspirations of support workers, and so the RED training suite has expanded to include workshops around business innovation, assessment, and market research.
They are also looking at ways to take RED to another level which could include other advanced training programs within the community and on a broader national level.
And whilst the RED workshops remain part of a wider journey for people with learning disabilities and others interested in exploring self-employment and small business ownership, RED continues to engage with the wider policy and infrastructure debate to ensure that supported self-employment becomes a sustainable option for disabled people.
The Healthy Living Precinct
The site at Welland is part of a Healthy Collective community which is a network of health and social care providers coming together to improve a patient’s journey. Its quickly become a market incubator for businesses to help inform the care sector and foster good business almost like a mini-Lot 14 where people come together, lean on each other, and learn from one another.
Have a story to share? Get in touch with us.
Urszula Richards
Business Marketing Advisor - Urban Projects
E: urichards@charlessturt.sa.gov.au