"Every leader doubts their ability at times, and questions whether they have the skills and experience that their business needs. But when a crisis needs solving and lands at our door, it is surprising what can be achieved if we embrace it as an opportunity and give no airtime to doubt." Sarah Wren, Founder & CEO, HILS

Sarah Wren, the author of this blog, is Founder and CEO of HILS - a groundbreaking social enterprise, and the UK's largest provider of support to vulnerable people in their own homes. But Sarah's founder journey didn't start well - as founder and originally volunteer chair of the board, Sarah had to deal with a terrible double crisis just 2 years in.

Read Sarah's compelling founder story, learnings and advice - and do leave your thoughts in the comment box.

In the beginning…
I imagine that most social founder journeys begin with one of two things: a wicked problem or an
all-consuming passion.

Almost twenty years ago, where my own founder story begins, I was juggling a career as a lecturer, a family, a number of charity Chair roles, and was responsible for services as a Local Government Councillor in my area of England. One of those local services was 'meals on wheels' - the local government service providing prepared meals delivered to vulnerable people in their own homes. It was that which became the wicked problem that began my own founder journey.

Every business, social or otherwise, needs to tick a few unnegotiable financial boxes to be successful: a reliable income stream; a price point to cover its costs; sufficient surplus to fund investment and to weather the inevitable rainy days.

'Meals on wheels' in my area sadly ticked none of those boxes, but it ticked every social impact box imaginable! The need for the service was compelling and growing. Finding a financially sustainable way to meet that need was the problem, and I was sure that establishing a social enterprise was the
solution.

Getting underway…
So in 2007, the social enterprise ‘HILS’ was born (called Hertfordshire Community Meals – HCM, in its first incarnation). I relished the learning that comes with any new venture. As the founder and volunteer Chair, with help from a few other willing volunteers, we set up a 'Community Benefit Society', formed a Board, appointed a Chief Executive and six staff, leased two vans and a kitchen, and got underway.

Having the support of key people within local government Councils was crucial, as was their vital start-up investment, and their assurances to landlords and suppliers who were understandably reluctant to deal with an unproven new business.

Storms were brewing…
With a fair wind behind us, HILS got through its first year of trading with a loss of only £8,000. I loved my role as volunteer Chair, and felt confident in our inspirational CEO. In year two we grew, expanded further, and turnover increased by 300%.

But storms were brewing: year two closed £34,000 in the red, and painful leadership lessons were waiting just round the corner.

The things you never plan for

I remember the phone call to my home at 8am on 23rd December 2009 with shocking clarity. The police were at HILS’ site, and needed to speak with me urgently. Our CEO’s life had been violently taken, and a murder investigation was underway.

As Chair, I thought that we had planned for all potential crises, but we were woefully unprepared for this one. The staff were understandably devastated, but hundreds of people relied on HILS for their meals, so we had to carry on. Supporting grieving colleagues, reassuring stakeholders, gaining access to the bank account to pay suppliers and staff, were the immediate challenges, but it was a few weeks later when the most difficult leadership lessons began.

In every crisis is an opportunity…

Although HILS had been growing, the annual losses and model of invoicing clients for their meals in
arrears, were causing huge cash flow issues. By February 2010, two months after the tragic loss of our CEO, there was no money in the bank to make the payroll, and we were projecting a catastrophic £250,000 year-three deficit.

HILS did survive, against the odds, but only after some painful changes. Whilst still leading HILS as a volunteer and Chair, I redesigned the business model, renegotiated every employment contract, and secured social investment - and much-needed working capital. With the operation stabilised, we needed to appoint a new CEO. Helping HILS through the crisis had given me a renewed vision for what we could achieve together and the impact that HILS could make.

Despite the fact that I had never run a business operationally or managed a team, that my leadership experience was only non-executive and my business knowledge was academic, I was appointed as Chief Executive by the Board in June 2010, and have led HILS in that role ever since.

Every leader doubts their ability at times, and questions whether they have the skills and experience
that their business needs. But when a crisis needs solving and lands at our door, it is surprising what can be achieved if we embrace it as an opportunity and give no airtime to doubt.

Growing income and impact…

HILS is now a very different social business to the one that barely survived those faltering first years. As the business has developed, we have changed the operating name to reflect that: HCM
became ‘Hertfordshire Independent Living Service’, and is now, as we have widened our geographic reach, re-named as ‘Health & Independent Living Support’.

'Meals on wheels' is still our largest service, providing over a million hot meals, teas, and breakfasts, 365 days-a-year to thousands of people across three counties in England.

We have also developed innovative preventative services that help almost 20,000 older, frail, disabled, or vulnerable people remain happy, healthy, and independent in their homes each year. Operating from 12 sites, HILS provides purposeful employment for more than 430 people, and works closely with partners across the health, social care, and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, to plug gaps and help solve systemic problems.

Key to HILS’ growth has been the constant balancing of ‘social’ and ‘enterprise’ priorities, ensuring that there is sufficient income to create the social good that we exist to deliver.

Equally important has been the development of services with impact-measurement and evaluation at their heart. Not only should social enterprises be able to evidence their impact, but it is often crucial to developing sustainable income streams.

Most of HILS’ current £11million annual income comes from trading – clients contributing to the cost
of services, contract payments, and service delivery related grants. As a charitable business, HILS also benefits from donations and gifts, but there is both satisfaction and reassurance as social business leaders in knowing that we can ‘earn’ as well as ‘ask’, and find sustainable ways to fund our organisation’s impact and growth.

Lessons learned along the way…

There has not been a single day since HILS began, in which I have not learned – learned about leadership, about business, about social issues and about solutions. There has also rarely been a
month in which a new problem has not emerged, and a new resolution needed to be
found.

In the last year, for example, the UK Government’s decision to tax employment through increases in Employer’s National Insurance has had a profound economic impact on HILS. But we are finding a way through, and the experience gained in those early years has helped us build both organisational and individual resilience.

Like a muscle, I have learned that our founder resilience grows in response to challenges, that it is strengthened through resistance and adversity. Leading a social business will never be easy, but it will always be interesting!

Finally, in common with every founder and Chief Executive, I have learned that successful leadership depends on finding remarkable people who will share the journey, will help overcome the challenges,
and find joy in the impact that we can achieve together.

Final thoughts…

HILS’ crisis back in 2009 exposed the flaws in the business model. It revealed unsustainable costs, insecure income streams, knowledge and skill deficits, and more. But it also showed that the multitude of challenges that an ageing population presents can be tackled by social businesses like HILS, and by leaders like you and me.

I started my social founder journey wanting to solve a wicked problem. What has kept me on that journey, through the tough times and inevitable hurdles, is what that initial wicked problem became for me: an all-consuming passion to change lives for the better.

Be relentlessly positive fellow social business leaders – there is no more inspiring journey than the
one that we are on!

My lessons to share with you are:

• Lesson 1 – find a problem or a passion that compels you.
  
• Lesson 2 – find partners who will share the growing pains.
  
• Lesson 3 – turnover is one indicator; cash and surplus matter more.
  
• Lesson 4 – you can’t plan for every crisis, but you can use them to become more effective, efficient, and resilient.
  
• Lesson 5 – ‘social’ and ‘enterprise’ must regularly be reviewed and re-balanced.
  
• Lesson 6 – ‘earning’ is more sustainable than ‘asking’.
  
• Lesson 7 – find remarkable people to share the journey with.
  
• Lesson 8 – remain relentlessly positive –we’re changing the world!
  

Thank you, and I look forward to your comments on this blog,

Sarah.

Sarah Wren is Founder and CEO of HILS - a groundbreaking social enterprise, and the UK's largest provider of support to vulnerable people in their own homes. Sarah was guest speaker for Social Founders Talk in May 2025, interviewed by Ali Kakande, founder of CaribEats, and is a Social Founders mentor.

Health and Independent Living Support (HILS) is the operating name of Hertfordshire Community Meals Limited, a registered society number IP30206R under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and as a charity with HMRC registration number XT37228.

Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.