NEPTUNE SCOOPS—A Case Study
Coaching the Social Entrepreneurial Spirit in Rural Youth
Overview
Launch Pad Youth Activity and Technology Centre is a regional not-for-profit centre that promotes the positive skill development of youth aged 12-18 in the rural Hanover area. Launch Pad’s mission is to create opportunities for all youth to explore their curiosity, to discover their interests, and to enhance their skills through programs, partnerships and community engagement which Launch Pad believes will lead them to become active and contributing members of our communities.
Launch Pad has seen the social enterprise model generate revenue within non-profit and charitable organizations to offer more programs, create more impact and foster entrepreneurial skills. Launch Pad decided to explore the social enterprise model with a cohort of youth to showcase and instill Launch Pad’s values of innovation, empowerment, and inclusivity.
Scooping ice cream may be a simple thing, but through ice cream we can teach our youth the fundamentals of customer service, business planning and what it means to be an entrepreneur.
- Emily Morrison, Executive Director.
Problem
When the pandemic hit, Launch Pad chose to pivot and begin a new chapter that would offer even more opportunities for youth to find and develop the confidence to radiate their positivity within our rural communities. This chapter involved the development and launch of a summer pilot social enterprise ice cream truck called Neptune Scoops.
“It looks just like we envisioned. It’s amazing that it’s now here in real life because before it was all just kind of in our [heads], all in our ideas and our drawings. This has been so amazing, so fun to create. This is something I would never have experienced before if I didn’t apply for this job.”
Role
The EG team was hired to support Launch Pad through the development and launch of a youth-led social enterprise venture by providing coaching sessions throughout the process of a feasibility study and the development of a business plan for their ice cream truck to launch and move into ongoing operation for the summer pilot.
February - May 2021
Audience
Launch Pad is the leading facility of its kind within the region with a modern 6000 sq. ft. facility that includes a commercial kitchen, welding space, technology lab, a wood-working training facility, and conferencing areas. These spaces are also offered for rent to community members.
This pilot provided an opportunity for youth to explore the process of building an effective business plan, to discover roles and responsibilities that interest them, and to be empowered by the support of their community. In addition to the specific entrepreneurial / social entrepreneurial skills that will be explored, the pilot was also designed to develop transferable skills such as money management, teamwork, and customer service to improve their employability.
Process
When the government of Canada launched the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) executive director, Emily Morrison, saw an opportunity for Launch Pad to seek funding to build their capacity in the growing social finance market while also providing innovative, empowering and inclusive programming to youth through Neptune Scoops..
Process → Outcome
EG initially delivered interactive sessions online that coached a team of Launch Pad staff and executives along with representatives from the community through the unique process of performing a feasibility study for a social enterprise. Once a group of youth were hired to take part in the summer pilot, EG facilitated several working sessions with Launch Pad and the hired youth to support the youth to develop the business plan and to envision the brand for their ice cream truck, Neptune Scoops.
Developed and delivered coaching sessions on social enterprise feasibility →
This process involved coaching their team through personalized sessions that dove into structure and strategy, market research, social and employment models, operational activities, and financing - all with the ultimate goal of completing a feasibility study. EG was responsible for producing a final, edited and fully compiled version of the feasibility study for Launch Pad’s use.
Structure / Strategic Alignment: EG introduced resources such as the Social Enterprise Business Model Canvas to assess the fit of an ice cream truck business within their organization.
Market Research: EG supported the Launch Pad team to map out their beneficiary and customer segments as well as their partners and key stakeholders. The Launch Pad team explored the differences between their social value proposition and their customer value proposition.
Social / Employment models: The Launch Pad team was led through various activities including asset mapping that allowed them to create a development pathway to ensure youth receive the intended outcomes.
Operations: EG provided resources to dive deep into the day-to-day operations of the social enterprise. The Launch Pad team assessed whether their organization had the skills, resources and tools to run this social enterprise successfully.
Finances: Through group activities, Launch Pad looked at the potential of the ice cream truck idea to generate enough sales revenue to cover business costs by exploring the revenue / sales, costs, and profit / surplus.
Facilitated youth-focused working sessions on social enterprise business planning →
EG facilitated several working sessions with the hired youth andLaunch Pad staff, new concepts were introduced and tools provided to collaborate on their creative and innovative ideas. The goal of these sessions was to validate the assumptions in the feasibility study in order to confirm a solid business plan.
Marketing Strategy: Youth were introduced to the 4 P’s of Marketing: Product, Price, Place, Promotion. Through group activities they designed a site plan, collaborated on a creative brief, and developed a promotional strategy that included an ongoing punch-card loyalty program.
Operations Plan: Youth looked into start-up and on-going costs while differentiating between business and social costs. Youth were empowered to explore their own social, environment and cultural priorities in order to establish operational planning documents such as decision-making and risk matrices.
Sales Strategy: The youth hires and Launch Pad staff mapped out sales projections, expenses while considering the budget for the summer pilot. Through group activities, the youth finalized their menu prices to ensure that Neptune Scoops will break-even.
Evaluation Plan: EG led the youth to prioritize the social outcomes that had been identified in the feasibility study through an asset mapping activity. Through collaboration the youth agreed upon the stages of development that would lead them to the skills and benefits they feel are most important.
Neptune Scoops launches for the moon → Learn more at www.neptunescoops.com and follow their journey on Instagram @Neptune.Scoops / Facebook @NeptuneScoopsHanover.
