It was an absolute pleasure to have Kate Welch OBE share her story of creating and running a wide variety of social enterprises over the past 13+ years. 

So much experience to draw from we might have to come back for part 2!

Kate Welch OBE is a serial social entrepreneur, with seemingly boundless energy and optimism for what is possible. With over 13+ years experience there is very little Kate doesn't know about the social enterprise sector. Which is why it was such a joy to listen to her journey, the numerous organisations she has set up and some of those she's supported. 

Kate and her team at Social Enterprise Acumen "have the T-shirts, we bear the scares, we've lived it, we've breathed it". They support early stage social entrepreneurs, existing organisations who want to be more entrepreneurial or help those who want to expand, as well as improve the eco-system of support. 

Their most recent initiative - the Social Enterprise festival - they've run for the past two years in Newcastle. Set up after recognising that many social enterprises don't know how to market and sell their products to the public, and the public knows very little about what social enterprises do and the impact they have. 

We also hear about how she manages her time, tackles procrastination and overcomes the things she doesn't really want to do, enabling her to fit so much in to days and achieve more.  She also highlights how it's not really work: "I love what I do and I do what I love".

Finally we discuss what is a social enterprise, the opportunities for the sector over the next 5 years, and why now is such an exciting time to be part of it. 

I know you'll get so much from listening to this, so grab a cup of tea and sit back and listen. 

Find out more about Social Enterprise Acumen here.