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If you are a small-scale provider of help or care in the community, we can support you.
Community care micro-providers have 8 or fewer full time paid or unpaid workers and are independent of any larger organisation. They support people to keep well, socialise and remain independent.
We are working with the social enterprises Community Catalysts and Help and Kindness to offer community care micro-providers free training and support.
The Dorset Micro-Providers Network is a programme we run in partnership with Community Catalysts and Help and Kindness.
You can join the network if you're interested in offering a service to help or care for people as a small local business.
You will get a very warm welcome and support, including:
- start-up surgeries to support you with setting up as a community care micro-provider, run by social enterprise Community Catalysts
- networking with other community care micro-providers to share good practice, get peer support and find out about business development and training opportunities, hosted by the local project Help and Kindness
- a listing on Help and Kindness' community directory, used by the public, professionals and support agencies to direct people to services
Register your interest in becoming a community care micro-provider on the Help and Kindness website.
The Help and Kindness community directory is used by people who need care and professionals and agencies to tell people about services.
Add your business to the Help and Kindness directory.
This will also give you access to free support including networking with other micro-providers hosted by Help and Kindness. You will get peer support, share good practices and find out about business development and training.
Our business support and advice pages have information from local organisations offering advice, coaching and mentoring for new and established businesses.
My Community
MyCommunity is a national website for people and organisations who are passionate about their communities. These resources have been written, designed or hand-picked by leading voluntary sector organisations who understand what communities need to survive and thrive.
Skills for Care
Skills for Care provide lots of information and listing of training materials for employers and trainers in social care.
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission's website has details about registering to provide care and what you need to do in order to successfully complete your application.
Small Good Stuff
Small Good Stuff links people who need care or support with local people who might help and helps small organisations that offer care or support. You will find information, publicity and access to a friendly network.
Disclosure and Barring Service
The DBS handles requests for criminal records checks and decides whether a person should be on a list barring them from working with vulnerable people. Check a criminal record.
The HMRC
Get HM Revenue & Customs' guidance on what you need to do for tax and national insurance purposes when you start up a business as a self-employed person, a partnership or a limited company. You will also find links to additional help and support HMRC offers new businesses.
Starting out as a community care micro-provider, you should:
- always begin with the end in mind
- know your market and understand your market
- make the most of any free advice and support
- network as much as possible
- recognise it is hard to get established – keep focused and it will come
- play to your strengths and ask for help with your weaknesses
- don’t run before you can walk
- know your business
- know your customers
- think like your customer
- engage with your customers – people buy into people
- make sure there is a need for what you offer
- remember it’s not always about the price, it’s about the service
- increase your income and decrease your outgoings
- don’t be afraid to ask questions
- always be planning and thinking, researching the market and keeping an eye on the market
- use social media which can increase traffic to your website by six times the number of visitors – once is not enough