Entrepreneurs take risks in order to make a profit. And that means they follow the money, they limit risk by locating themselves where the money already is. But that’s just an assumption. Entrepreneurs that move beyond this rational, economic role, where they only look out for the health of the numbers, can access additional benefits by viewing themselves and their business as part of a community. When entrepreneurs take on a social role, they drive a more positive local cycle, a more entrepreneurial environment that helps the many not just the few. As one of the business owners we met in our research said: “you have to cherish the place where you do business”.

Inishowen in County Donegal is the most northerly peninsula in Ireland. Once home of T-shirt manufacturer Fruit of the Loom who employed 3,000 people, the community has seen successive generations of young people emigrate in search of employment. While it makes economic sense to leave home and follow the more obvious opportunities, we spoke at length with entrepreneurs who have stayed or returned. We wanted to find out the personal stories, the detail of how and why entrepreneurs take on the greater risks of working to transform a struggling community and economy. When we asked this question we were told unanimously, “we are building a place for our children to come home to.” My deep local knowledge of Inishowen made it possible to get introductions to business owners and have the kinds of candid conversations needed to understand what was really happening. It also meant less formal interviews, and notes written up on the go in hallways, gardens, in the car or back in the hotel bedroom, and that didn’t just record what was said, but the attitudes, facial expressions and postures.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

We spoke with a mixed bag of entrepreneurs, manufacturers, builders, brewers, retailers and a developer running hotels. Very different enterprises and expertise, but together, they demonstrate how ‘social capital’ is used as the basis for building a wider community capital, a collective capacity to construct a stronger, more positive future.

At the root of their entrepreneurship was personal circumstances and local relationships. One group had been born into established family businesses. Des was a typical example. He’d been to university, spending his summers working in the family bakery, and returned to work in the business after graduation because a long-term employee had retired: “My father was sort of desperate, he didn’t even say, I’d seen he was stuck. I worked during the holidays so I knew what was what.” In the other group, people were introduced to the possibility of running their own business through the support of the local network. Working as apprentices with local builders, for example, which led to opportunities to take on local contracts as individuals and in partnership. “I was always jobbing or moonlighting,” said Eugene. “I had a small workshop at home. Then I went into partnership [with a fellow apprentice] doing subcontract joinery work.” Family members provided space for home workshops, contacts in the community, support and an understanding of how particular fields like construction and more physical industries worked.

We found a basis of cooperation. This was described as being the ‘secret’ of their viability as businesses; they knew they could rely on the custom and loyalty of others in their community, putting aside competition. “There is solidarity there,” according to Joe, “they grew up, went through school, maybe university together and they made their mark on their own town together.” Shops, bars, restaurants, all knew they’d have ongoing local support. Eugene explained that he and another builder had an ‘arrangement’ to share materials, meaning not having to wait for orders to come in and delays to work. “If the other hotels are short of something, a barrel of Guinness, they get it off us and we get it off them. We have a great working relationship. That is what keeps business [alive] in the area,” said Brian. “We would share technology if they were stuck for mechanics,” agreed John. “You are both manufacturers who share a lot of similar problems. There would be a lot of favours and good harmony locally.” Jobs go to known locals: “When we would find people coming to us for work you would look to see where they came from.... You might ring your counterpart and ask: will this leave you in the lurch?” said John. “I would say to my secretary, who could do that?” said Raymond. “She knew the area very well. She would say missus such and such's husband does that.”

Entrepreneurs have also returned to the community to make their mark. Paddy, a builder, worked in England for 10 years but made the decision to return ‘home’, renovating derelict buildings for housing and developing a new hotel, shopping arcade and sheltered housing complex. With the profits from selling a hotel, Brian built a self-catering holiday complex close to the town. He and a group of fellow golfers had recognised the golfing potential of a parcel of disused community dune land. A local meeting was arranged where it was decided to make a proposal to the County Council to support the building of Glashedy Links. Brian drove this by taking on a role with the local employability scheme. “We then had 10 men [to work on the course], five working one week and five working the next.” After the golf course was completed using local workers and new job opportunities had been created, attention turned to improving the physical infrastructure of the community including painting the houses of elderly residents and supporting them to stay in their homes.

Having a reasonably solid, established business encouraged entrepreneurs to take on wider community responsibilities, getting involved with local government and planning for the future. “[The community] has helped us in many ways and we should give a bit of that back,” said Raymond. “[As mayor] after the council meeting I bring all the officers into the Mayor's parlour for a drink. We have a good discussion and I get to know what is going on. That is much better than you would ever get at a formal meeting.” Paddy said: “We are now trying to come up with a vision for the future. We have to try and find work for the people.”

GOING PLACES

The shared community capital has meant a renewed flow of wealth and opportunities to re-build Inishowen as a working proposition for business. Young people have the chance of training, new levels of employability, and most importantly, real jobs at the end of it. Michael’s factory was grown “from the floor up based on local expertise.” “We employ a lot of locals; we have trained and employed thousands of people,” said Paddy of his new developments. Even if the job locally is temporary, it is a rite of passage in terms of experience; it is an important stepping-stone. “They can interview very well after they leave here,” said a local restauranteur. “It is great for social skills and confidence.” Similarly, Brian advised young recruits: “Go off to England, go through the ranks and then come back as a chef [with their own restaurant or B&B].”

An integration of networks, with businesspeople getting involved with community schemes and government planning, has led to new energy, impetus and confidence for the future, the entrepreneurial shove needed to enter a vigorously positive cycle. The place works better now, and provides the kind of environment and attitude needed for enterprise. In 2018, local chef Kieran won the world chowder making championships in America. After decades of decline, and despite its remote location, Glashedy Links hosted the 2018 Dubai Irish Open Golf tournament, with 100 thousand visitors and 200 million global viewers. The peninsula was also a location in the filming of a new Star Wars movie.

While the context in Inishowen was specific, there are important lessons from the study for all entrepreneurs. Working with a place, as part of the community, provides far more leverage than if a business sees itself as solely an economic unit, detached from what the place really is about, what people are trying to do. When entrepreneurs care, when they become part of the fabric of a community, the range of benefits becomes much greater. Shared growth is far more substantial and sustainable.

Dr Ed McKeever is a Management and Business Development Fellow in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy. He worked for almost a decade with Aberdeen City Council on city and regional economic development.

e.mckeever@lancaster.ac.uk