News Reflections on ChangeEach quarter a member of the Your Own Place team is going to share an insight into their role at Your Own Place and what they have recently been up to as part of it. This quarter our Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jess Luce-Rackham shares about her experience of organisational and leadership change. Over the […] Partner Insights: Rebecca ClaydonEmily caught up with Rebecca Claydon, Customer Voice Lead at Freebridge Community Housing, to find out more about Rebecca’s background, top tips for championing customer voice and, what we really need to know, what weapon she’d use in a zombie apocalypse! “Rebecca meets with either me or Beth (facilitator at Your Own Place) on a […] Introducing Zoe, new CEO of Your Own Place“I’m a massive believer in homelessness prevention and a massive believer in early intervention. Insecure housing and homelessness creates trauma – trauma that prevention can avoid. If we invest in prevention, it pays dividends.” “If you treasure it, measure it”Emily is a full-time facilitator at Your Own Place. She joined the company in the post-Covid haze of April 2021. “This week it’s been confirmed for me that it isn’t all an elaborate prank. Rebecca White, CEO and Founder of Your Own Place CIC is moving on to pastures new. As a team we’ve grappled […] So that’s a wrapWaking up at 5am, my immovable exercise hour at 6am, probably a quality coffee in the sunshine (the past is always sunny) and then the usual day of team support, planning a workshop of some kind, signing off a report, doing some finance, troubleshooting and meeting a potential customer, likely after the fifth chasing email. […] Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwaterAn Election coming might be a time to rethink foodbanks. Many people have found their stride working or volunteering in foodbanks over the last few years. It’s a boom industry. In turn, (and we’re delighted to have played our part training Trussell Trust volunteers as well as visitors to foodbanks), people have got so much […] Experiencing the Train the Trainer workshopEmily is a full-time facilitator at Your Own Place. She’s currently working on a variety of projects, including facilitating flexible workshops at different Supported Housing Schemes in Colchester, and supporting individuals accessing Food Hubs in and around Norwich. Walking back into the training room at Emmaus Norfolk and Waveney, I am filled with joy. I […] Ever wanted to use our tried and tested Your Own Place techniques and content? Well now you can with Train the Trainer dates now available from July With our flexible Train the Trainer offer there is now the opportunity to embed the Your Own Place tenancy sustainment and money support approaches and knowledge in your organisation as well as have access to a vault of resources, workshop plans and […] Are you our next CEO?Throughout our ten years, Your Own Place has been driven by people, values and impact. The Board of Non-Executive Directors is now seeking to appoint a new CEO to lead this social business into its next decade. We know that CEO/founder shoes can feel like big shoes to fill, we also know that when people […] CEO moving onOn 31st August this year Rebecca, CEO and founder of Your Own Place CIC, will be leaving to pastures new, leaving behind an organisation that has impacted 1000s of lives in its quest to prevent homelessness – near and far. Working as a trading social enterprise, Your Own Place counts all sectors among its friends, customers and […] Why we’re also leaving XIt’s time. Your Own Place has made the not-so-difficult decision to leave X, formerly known as Twitter. Personally, when I started out in 2013, I enjoyed Twitter. It was a place of connection, learning, ideas and positive novelty. We even picked up customers and partners who interacted with our work. We have seen this be […] Are you our next Facilitator?We’re recruiting We’re seeking a new full-time Facilitator to join our dynamic, flexible and passionate small team. We all connect over building non-judgemental relationships and making a difference in communities – does this sound like you? In brief, you will facilitate 1-2-1 and group Money, Housing, Tenancy & Cost of Living sessions with trainees. These […] Landlords and Tenants just want the same thing, don’t they?Years ago, when designing and delivering our early prototype workshops, I devised an exercise where we drew someone and then cut them (the sheet of paper!), in half. One half was the landlord and the other half was the tenant. Participants were asked take the role of tenant or landlord. Together we snipped words out […] Financial inclusion partnershipYour Own Place CIC and The Trussell Trust’s Norwich food banks have forged a transformative financial inclusion partnership, weaving a safety net for vulnerable communities using food banks in Norwich. By combining Your Own Place’s expertise in financial inclusion workshops and support with the Trussell Trust’s extensive network and commitment to eradicating hunger, we’ve created […] Are you our next Office Manager?Your Own Place is recruiting. We’re seeking a new part-time (30 hours a week) Office Manager. You’ll be joining a dynamic and passionate team and playing a vital role in supporting them in their impactful work. Our office is based in Norwich, where we will expect to see you for around half the week. Otherwise, […] New Year, new boardWhen it comes to business, the right team is crucial. This is especially true for non-executive directors, who provide leadership and guidance to companies. Recently, Don Evans stepped down as chair, opening up the position for someone new. Hannah Harvey, already a member of the board, was chosen to fill the role due to her […] Improve your money managing arsenalWhat are these money workshops? We’re really proud to be taking our confidential and small group workshops to people in work in Greater Norwich. From January, we’re delivering 2-hour workshops in Norwich, where Your Own Place’s facilitators will create a confidential and safe environment to discuss money concerns, experiences and tips. There will be no more […] Coproduction and tenant engagement rolled into oneAfter three co-production workshops in early 2023 with team members from Colchester Borough Homes, Colchester YMCA, Emmaus Colchester, Peabody Colchester, and YES Colchester, we’re entering our next phase of the project. These workshops focussed on developing shared values with the organisations involved. Through these workshops, we explored strength- and asset-based approaches, open questions, incentives, and […] Why homelessness is not a lifestyle choiceAt Your Own Place we support all those individuals and charities appealing to the government not to criminalise rough sleeping in tents or the giving out of tents by charities and others. We acknowledge the issue is complex, as we have seen before and will again at Christmas, in discussions about whether to give cash […] Why we need more than just houses, this World Homeless DayThis World Homeless Day, as we at Your Own Place mark our tenth year in existence, we are needed more than ever. You could say we’ve failed. But I don’t think even our harshest critics would blame this appalling state of affairs in housing and the rise in homelessness, on us. I support Crisis, The […] Preventing homelessness for ten yearsWishing Your Own Place a very happy tenth birthday. ‘It’s inextricably linked to you’ is a phrase I’ve enjoyed hearing less and less over the last ten years. Founders create social businesses that reflect their values, their outlook, their experiences and their place in the world. I’m no exception. But this makes it harder to […] Welcome to our new Non-Executive DirectorThe key responsibility of non-executive directors at Your Own Place is to provide support, strategic oversight, challenge and scrutiny as well as oversee adherence to the company aims and due diligence. They provide general counsel – and a different perspective – on matters of concern to the CEO. We think of them as ‘critical friends’ to […] Skills for life, not life-skillsWhat is the best way to make a difference right now? If you’re anything like the members of the team at Your Own Place CIC, it can at times feel all but impossible to support people whose budgets simply don’t add up. Citizens Advice tells us that 47% of people they see are in negative […] Cost of Living Support Event 10am – 4:30pm onThursday 19th October 20231st Level Castle Quarter, Norwich Times are hard.You’re not alone. We welcomed anyone and everyone to Castle Quarter on Thursday 19th October 2023, 10am – 4:30pm, to a free event to address the cost of living crisis. We worked with our Advisory Board to co-produce and event aimed at […] Why Move-On SupportSome time ago we started to remove the word ‘independent’ from our brand Tenancy & Independent Living Skills (TILS). In social care and supported housing in particular, there is an obsession with ‘independence’. Whether this is wishful thinking around people no longer being dependent on their services is unclear. That ‘independence’ is neither desirable nor […] Tackling affordability to prevent homelessnessIt’s a week when Prince William shows a commitment to ending homelessness with ‘Homewards’. At Your Own Place we launch ‘Steps to a Successful Tenancy’, in partnership with Sovereign Housing Association. What the Prince recognised in his figure of 300,000 people, is that this includes people in supported accommodation and other temporary (and often pretty […] Pre-tenancy and back to our rootsAt Your Own Place we work with people of all ages and many backgrounds. What they have in common is a risk of homelessness. This can be as simple as having been homeless before, or something much more nuanced that doesn’t have a label and isn’t perceived or counted. If you’re familiar with Your Own […] Our Advisory Board and the Ladder of ParticipationYour Own Place Advisory Board (YOPAB) is a group of people who have experienced Your Own Place’s services – workshops, mentoring or employability support – and who provide lived experience perspectives to inform our work. The aim of YOPAB is to be mutually beneficial. YOPAB is all about co-production, shared influence, building experience and developing […] Welcome to our newest team memberLeah joins our team as Online and Co-Facilitator after playing a key part in our Advisory Board I’m Leah and I am joining Your Own Place as an online and co facilitator. I love dogs, dopamine dressing and being outside. Having been supported by Your Own Place in the past and felt the impact, I […] PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT Long term partners are the best partners. Which is why we’re thrilled to announce a third year of partnership with Saffron Housing Trust. Operating out of Diss and Harleston foodbanks, our latest support offer sees us taking our award-winning workshops into local communities. By working in foodbanks we can reach people who most need our […] Supporting our team to thriveIt’s Mental Health Awareness Week from 15th to 21st May, so our Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jess Luce-Rackham, has written about how Your Own Place strives to prioritise team wellbeing and to embed values-led team support. We embed our values into everything we do. From induction through to workshop delivery to partner relationships, our values […] Why work with Your Own Place?If you follow Your Own Place or me on social media, you may see and read lots of posts about the team. As a social enterprise preventing homelessness, isn’t the most important thing the work we do and the impact we have? Arguably, but let me tell you a little why they both matter and […] We’re recruitingWe’re recruiting Once again, Your Own Place is delighted to be recruiting. We wanted to share this post as you may have noticed, that since the job went live last week, something has changed. We had been in a position to recruit two people and this is now one person – an Online and Co-Facilitator. […] News from Your Own PlaceReview of our Vision and Mission In the autumn of 2022 Your Own Place undertook a thorough and robust strategic review. Working with partners past and present as well as those we exist fo support, such as the diligent members of YOPAB, we explored in a series of workshops where we are in the current […] Who needs yoga, when you work with Your Own Place?So said a team member of our small but mighty Your Own Place conglomerate (currently eight team members and counting). But what does yoga have to do with the housing sector and homelessness prevention? Yoga’s early branding, when it arrived in England and North America in the 1960s, was all about flexibility, and receiving teachings […] CEO in top Wise 100 Women listFor the third year, our CEO and founder, Rebecca White, is thrilled to be amongst the company of 99 other women making up the best of the social enterprise sector. The WISE100 recognises the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven business. Find out who is in Pioneers Post’s top […] Old skills – new partnership – Freebridge Community HousingWith all the usual fun, values-based, engaging and interactive delivery, this year takes us further into old as well as new territory. We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Freebridge Community Housing, who we have previously worked with during 2022. At the vanguard of good tenant engagement and ahead of the Tenant Satisfaction Measures […] Blue MondayUnhelpful negative messaging or is there hope in the dark? Blue Monday, we’re told, happens on the 16th January this year. According to Wikipedia, it is ‘the name given to a day in January (typically the third Monday of the month) said by a UK travel company, Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day […] Part 2 – identity as a young carerAgain, our Advisory Board (YOPAB) say it best. Two young carers, Jordan and Katie chat openly and vulnerably about their hopes and fears of being a young carer, the support they get (or not) and how their identify as a young carer plays on their mind as adulthood listen. A must-listen podcast if you care […] Good things come in threesThis article is written by Jess Marsh, Facilitator at Your Own Place. ‘Good things come in threes’. ‘Three is a magic number’. And my favourite… ‘First the worst, second the best, third the one with the hairy chest’ (apparently!). After celebrating my three year YOPiversary on 2nd December, you’ll be as disappointed as I was […] What goes around comes aroundYou know you’ve been around a while when the same idea that was a good one seven years ago is a good one again now, but this time for different reasons. Put simply, the obvious reason for awarding our trainees accreditation certificates back then was to help them get a job. At a time of […] Award Win For Your Own PlaceYour Own Place are thrilled to have won the Impact in Social Enterprise award on 13th October at the Sheraton Hotel, Park Lane, London. This award is in association with the School for Social Entrepreneurs. It is for our commitment to building public trust through open, fair and insightful reporting. With this award Your Own […] What’s a foodbank really like?It’s impossible not to have an opinion about foodbanks. Whether informed by the media or having visited one yourself, with so much coverage of the cost of living crisis, it’s unlikely you don’t have a view on their place in our world. As I write this, we’re no longer where I thought we were. Our […] How to help most during the cost of living crisisPractical tips for people working in housing In the face of the latest crisis, it is to be expected that we get into reactive advice and help mode. This feels better than preventing the crisis in the first place and to prevent it you have to spot it ‘upstream’ anyway. This might be why prevention […] A time of crisis is not the time to give up on preventionIf someone needs a life ring, I don’t want to see them drown. But once they’re out I also don’t want them to fall in again and again. This is a wasted opportunity and has no dignity. We’re in a cost of living crisis. As the summer rumbles on and many think of heading off […] Talk of engagement is an ineffective blame gameIn the volatile space of social media, social landlords are challenged on their commercial business models. The case for size and sustainability often conflicts with being person-centred, having authentic relationships and ensuring all voices are heard – or good ‘engagement’. It is these voices going unheard that has led to The Charter for Social Housing […] Listening to the voices of the people we work with gives us the insight we need into #mentalhealthawarenessOur Your Own Place (YOP) Advisory Board (AB) is a group of individuals who have experience of what we offer: they’ve joined us through mentoring, employabiliy, or TILS+ workshops. YOP + AB = YOPABThe involvement of those with lived experience is vital to our development and that of wider services. Our people are at the […] WHY WE HAVEN’T MADE MUCH PROGRESS TACKLING SOCIAL ISSUESWhat do you get out of conferences? Is it meeting people? Networking? Space to think? Hot topics? Or simply time away from your desk? Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves to network, connect and come away with new ideas. Having consciously removed all that pressure from myself, it felt good to have new […] Digital inclusion in a post-pandemic worldAfter two years of pandemic, The New Tech Economy, citing many of us as glancing at our smartphones upwards of 55 times a day, also finds increasing numbers of people wanting to move away from them. Before the pandemic most of us made use of digital devices in a range of ways to enhance, streamline […] What excites me most about this great big new partnershipYou’ll be aware that Your Own Place turned eight in October last year. Both a huge milestone and a source of great pride. What is often unseen beneath the veneer of glossy social media, is the knock backs, the failures, the disappointments and frustrations. I’m thrilled to say that very few of those relate to […] What we learned from our recent Blended Open DayBut for Covid19, we wouldn’t have made it blended for a start. But let me go back a bit. Over the years we’re run a few Open Days. We’ve planned as a team to showcase what we do and invite a few partners. In the early days they were often previous colleagues of mine or […] Resident engagement – in friendship termsEngagement. It’s a word our sector uses a lot and we all do it a lot. There is undoubtedly some very good practise in the housing sector and some really poor practise too. And then there’s those that pretend they’ve got good practise nailed and those that wonder why it doesn’t work. Here’s the thing. […] Why tenancy sustainment work is more important than everTenancy sustainment work has long been important for landlords not only wishing to ensure the rent is collected, but to support their tenants to thrive in their homes. In this piece Rebecca White explores why it matters now more than ever and shares her organisation’s empowering approach to achieving it. We’re all emerging into a […] Reflections on working in a new areaHow did you feel when you read about the cultural revelations at Brewdog? And if you’re a founder or leader, how did you feel? With plans to scale these stories hit hard. In recent times though, and not because of Covid19 (or Brewdog), I’ve come to the view that small(ish) is beautiful (the horizon is […] What people don’t dare say about working with people with ‘lived experience’You’ll be unsurprised to learn that Your Own Place hasn’t always gone to plan. As far as there has ever been a plan, a good deal has been jettisoned and I’ve not always even admitted it or had time to reflect. Thanks to the extraordinary (and mostly hugely positive) experience of leading a team in […] Good things come to those who waitIn the midst of a complicated schools project, recruiting 100 new volunteers and multiple commissions in new areas with new customers, 2021 hit us at full speed. When Jess, our Operational Manager, kept speaking of things we’d get done in ‘quieter times’ I didn’t have the heart to say that there probably wouldn’t be any. […] What’s the ‘PLUS’ in our Plus Employability offer?Even before Covid19, if you were remotely interested in your team, your income or the world around you, then employment was probably on your radar. If you’re lucky, unemployment may have been less so. We all started somewhere and when earlier this year we ran a social media campaign to ask people to describe their […] How Your Own Place can help trainees unlock their potentialOur mission is to prevent homelessness and we’re acutely aware of the fact it can affect anyone at any time. By helping trainees unlock their potential they can stay safe and secure in their tenancy with a greater understanding of the skills they need to thrive. We facilitate so much but there are still lots […] Why housing partners love working with Your Own PlaceAs well as delivering our own in-house training we work with partners across the country to facilitate workshops that work for tenants and housing teams. Here are just some of the reasons housing associations and authorities love working with us. We’re all about building confidence AND skills Our training not only covers everything trainees need […] Everything you need to know about Your Own PlacePeople often tell us that they didn’t realise we work with every age group, or we can travel anywhere, or we work with other organisations. There’s so much you might not know about Your Own Place and the work we do to prevent homelessness. We’re so much more than a young persons’ organisation, although we […] Our Covid19 roadmapWe’re pleased to share with you are own road map over the coming months. All being well, with a vaccinated team passionate about the difference we make face to face, we will be returning to face to face delivery, whilst remaining flexible with our blended offer. Covid19 updateWith cautious optimism and the team having their vaccines, like many businesses we are eager to return to time spent face to face. We are in the business of building relationships and with all due caution and safety measures in place, will be returning we hope in the following phased way: 12th April – maximum […] In the words of someone we support….How you’ll find you fit into Your Own Place and YOPAB no matter who you are!How you’ll find you fit into Your Own Place and YOPAB no matter who you are! My name is Chanel and I am going to take you down my journey through Your Own Place (YOP) and their Advisory Board (YOPAB). It all started when I was sitting down with my leaving care advisor and I […] Sometimes it can be scary to go publicWe’ve spoken before, haven’t we about my lack of a plan, my fear of failure and that if I go public, well, people will know about the failure? You’ll be pleased to know that this particular ailment is getting better – oddly thanks to the nightmare that was 2020. There’s somehow an equality of failure […] New Partnership Aims To Prevent Homelessness in East of EnglandYour Own Place CIC and Hopestead have joined up with a goal of preventing homelessness and helping people to keep their home Through their partnership, bespoke, fun, and engaging training will be offered to Flagship Group tenants from April The training has been designed collaboratively and will allow delegates to gain skills and feel empowered […] Involving people isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the only thing to doWhether you’re organising the family holiday (I wish), running the local choir, or in my case, a social enterprise, there’s simply no alternative. Doing so isn’t easy or quick. By definition, more people means more time. Additionally, many people in my situation are lone-wolves and it might not come naturally to us. We have an […] Our top tips for going digitalFollowing our commission in 2020 by The Carnegie UK Trust to complete five blogs and vlogs providing a learning insight into going digital during Covid19, we have now pulled it all together into a final report. This final report provides quick links to all the blogs and vlogs, an overview of each one, and most […] Recruiting for diversityLike many businesses, following the horrific events of 2020, we want to do more to recruit from a diverse pool of talent. Unlike many businesses, we work with people who have experienced homelessness. In short, black people are three times more likely to become homeless. However, in our own data, not only are they under-represented, […] We make a differenceThis isn’t really a blog, rather a proud, emotional and humbling moment. Anyone who works anywhere near our sector, knows that measuring the difference we make is incredibly hard. Wanting passionately to prove it statistically, it doesn’t mean that feedback from individuals isn’t worthy and of value. And when it’s this good it deserves to […] Will we return to face to face delivery?We absolutely will. Because it matters and it’s what we do. I’ve honestly little truck with those selling up their office space and saving money by shifting the costs to people working from home. The benefits to the planet are huge of course and flexible working done well can make a difference to people’s lives […] If we go digital will we still achieve our mission?Isn’t prevention a bit of luxury during a crisis? Even in the ‘good’ times prevention seems to be the poor relative, underinvested due to more immediate emergencies taking all the attention. During a pandemic, we have all become even more reactive and necessarily so. Every one of us changed our behaviour and so did our […] Why now is a great time to recruit volunteersCharities and the third-sector are undoubtedly key to ensuring the country emerges from this pandemic as unscathed as possible. Now is the perfect time to recruit volunteers – both due to increased demand for services and the general public’s very real willingness to support local initiatives. As demonstrated in Danny Kruger MP’s Levelling Up Our […] Keeping everyone safe when you move onlineWhat keeps YOU awake at night? I’m very lucky. Not much keeps me awake at night. Thanks to regular exercise, a cold house, early rising and no kids, I’m blessed with eight hours a night. This may seem a pretty odd thing to say, running a small social enterprise in the midst of a pandemic […] The impact of going digital on the teamEven before Covid19, a lot of our lives, passions and pastimes were online. In an increasingly virtual existence, many of our workplaces are now almost entirely online too. In teams of people with differing skills and motivations, moving business online can pose a significant person-shaped challenge. Small enterprises like ours, existing on a limited […] Going digital or going bustWe all have a role in dispelling the myths about young people being digital natives. We know from The Tech Partnership, that even prior to the pandemic, as many as 300,000 young people lack digital skills and as many as 750,000 may be digitally excluded. Just because you can upload a photo to Instagram doesn’t […] Busting the Your Own Place mythsIn a week when our new Board of six Non-Executive Directors are being fully inducted, it feels like a pertinent moment for some myth busting. When people misconceive what we do my first reaction is to take offence. My second is to assume I’ve done something wrong. Granted, we’re complex, accomplish a lot and not […] Five marketing lessons I have learnt as CEO and founder of a social businessAs I ventured into the unknown nearly seven years ago, marketing was something that fashionably dressed and overpaid young professionals did in cool offices with slides. I now understand some of that (perhaps not the slides!). Not only is marketing done by trendy types, it also commands vast sums of money, huge tracts of time, […] Why we make so little progress with the diversity and equality agenda in NorfolkOver the last few weeks I’ve found myself clicking on articles, posts and blogs. I’m searching for the answer, an answer, the silver bullet, the good advice and hope. What I find is a mixture of soul-searching, clickbait and unhelpful advice. It was only after an eye opening conversation with a someone I respect, that […] What happens when an eviction ban just ends?Like so much during this pandemic, we can’t be absolutely certain, as we’ve not been here before. The ban on evictions in the private rented sector was announced by government on 18th March. What seems like a lifetime ago, was a moment of reassurance for many that eviction by their private landlord was on hold […] When’s a good time for a new plan?No matter what you’re doing, you need a detailed plan to make things happen. Or so we often think. In a post Covid19 world it’s hard to imagine a worse time to make a plan for big changes to our lives. How can we possibly plan in this vacuum? Setting up Your Own Place in […] What makes good collaboration?The first thing I realised this week following a call with my learning programme and helping a friend with their new business, is that our sector doesn’t network. What’s that about? We’re told endlessly to work in partnership and collaborate, but this fundament of business simply hasn’t made it over to the third/social enterprise sector. […] What next for diversity?What can we do, with limited resources, limited budget, massive business challenges and right here in Norfolk? What is utterly clear to me that doing nothing isn’t an option. ‘It’s just Norfolk’, updating our Equality & Diversity Policy and gnashing my teeth really isn’t going to cut it. I’m pretty certain that there’s no evidence […] If you value something, how do you show it?So in the interests of this not being a rant, I thought I’d include a list of ways we show, in the professional sphere, how we value others. For clarity, people have intrinsic worth, whether we plan to do business with them, know them or like them and now more than ever, I believe it’s […] What a time for so much changeAs if major changes and challenges in your job weren’t enough during normal times. Sometime around late April Simone and I chatted about how we could develop our own highly regarded mentoring training online. It already seemed pretty clear that that we weren’t the only third sector organisation that didn’t want the safety and competence […] Why coaching is needed even more in a post Covid19 worldWhat I love about this real quote is that although it’s from a lifer that we have mentored, it could be any of us in any situation in our lives. We’re well known for being champions, ok, evangelical, about taking a coaching approach to moving people forward. So I’ll tell you a little story about […] Finding solutions is exhaustingAs a social enterprise that claims to be innovative and looking for solutions to homelessness, the last few months have been exhausting. We are that organisation and I aspire, at this time of all times, to be more so. In this sector nothing stands still for long. Needless rounds of short-term funding, short-term thinking, changing […] What I’ve learnt about BoardsI’ve learn’t a lot and you’ll be thrilled to know that like any parent, I’m about to make a whole new raft of mistakes as we recruit new Non-Executive Directors! But as the Cycle of Change goes, you have to know you have a problem before making change. It seems that there isn’t a company […] No longer in lockdownFifteen weeks and fifteen blogs in lockdown is finally over. Last week was ‘back to school’ for us at Your Own Place. For many, back to school has so many other resonances right now, and I can only imagine how this uncertainty feels for many. So what do you do when you’re welcoming a team […] Week fifteen of business lockdownIt’s been a funny old month… at Your Own Place. The team has been furloughed, I’ve had some time off and things have gone quiet. So of course that sounds like an easier month than usual – fewer interruptions, time to strategise, no personal crises and time to focus. Whether it’s the perversity of the […] Week fourteen of business lockdownAnd we’re seeking new skills We haven’t even finished our recruitment for an Operational Manager and we’re seeking yet more people with the skills we need. Against a backdrop of ongoing turmoil for many, it remains the case that we must strive to be decisive. This is not the same as being certain. Whilst decisions […] Week thirteen of business lockdownSo I’m back at work. I’ve had two weeks leave and skilfully managed to choose the two worst weeks of weather this summer! Seriously, I needed a break whilst the team break on furlough. Following twelve weeks of very full-on work, I’m not sure I had quite the holiday I needed. More time alone and […] Week twelve of business lockdownThis feels like a missed opportunity and disappointment, kind of blog this week. Did anyone else experience a curious moment of this? A moment of inspiration – an almost euphoric moment of possibility in amongst all the horror of the last three months? In the last few weeks I’ve used the word ‘mandate’ a lot. […] Week eleven of business lockdownThis one should be called furlough, but it’s not. Because after ten weeks of hard graft we enter this period of pause with huge expertise and knowledge under our belts. Now of course, everyone is a digital expert. We’re not. We’re experts at us, so that means finding the digital solutions that chime with our […] Volunteers and using them sparinglyThanks to a kind share of a Volunteers’ Week post on LinkedIn, I got to thinking about volunteering in the current crisis. There seems little doubt that there have been truly magnificent (don’t like the term ‘hero’) efforts by so many to support those in their time of need. Of course we work with people […] Week ten in business lockdownIt’s a much overused analogy, but boy, what a rollercoaster. Is this why it’s so exhausting? As a CEO founder entirely responsible for the continuity and wellbeing of a small enterprise, the lows have been very low indeed and the highs, well, not really high at all. They can’t be when there’s so much suffering. […] Some exciting funding newsWe’re thrilled to announce that Norwich Consolidated Charities have provided Your Own Place with funding to continue our community mentoring service. New funding means we can: 1. Continue to support all those existing mentors and mentees who are still meeting virtually at this vital time. 2. Continue with new referrals and make new face to […] Week nine of business lockdownFloating in the sea with nothing to cling to. That’s very much how it feels. I know I have to do something, but there’s nothing to grab, no-one to ask let alone knowing what the right questions are. At night in my dreams I am metaphorically calling in the middle of the ocean with little […] It’s Mental Health Awareness WeekWe talk so much now of mental health awareness it can almost feel like ‘job done’. Everyone’s an expert and yet there is so much more to be done. In the last two months at Your Own Place we have supported people right on the edge. One extraordinary volunteer mentor was an absolute life-line to […] Week seven of business lockdownAs surely as we have passed the peak of Covid19 and a slow return to the office beckons, we are faced with more decisions than ever. I for one would not wish to be part of the government team developing the Recovery Plan. This feels like the new unknown, much as this whole situation was […]