The Small Business Sessions
The Small Business Sessions is a weekly podcast from the Powering Local Businesses programme, created by Enterprise Nation and EDF Small Business in collaboration with Square.
This series explores the practical steps small businesses can take to grow and thrive – from improving energy efficiency and embracing sustainability to creating a lasting impact in their local communities.
The Powering Local Businesses hub supports small businesses, wherever they're based and however they sell, to grow sustainably. Access grants, pop-up shop opportunities, energy-saving guidance, expert workshops and a supportive community.
Find out more at enterprisenation.com/poweringlocalbusinesses
The Small Business Sessions
Charlie Duckworth on scaling a not-for-profit sauna movement
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Welcome to Small Business Sessions, brought to you by Enterprise Nation as part of Powering Local Businesses, our collaboration with EDF Small Business and Square.
In this series, we're speaking to founders and entrepreneurs about the real stories behind starting, growing and rebuilding small businesses.
Expect honest conversations, practical lessons and first-hand insight from people who have built businesses with purpose.
In this episode of the series, we're joined by Charlie Duckworth, founder of Community Sauna Baths, the not-for-profit social enterprise making sauna and cold plunge more affordable and accessible across London.
Charlie shares how the idea came together after the pandemic, why he wanted to create a regular, community-focused sauna experience outside of expensive gyms and spas, and how the business grew from a low-cost garden site into a five-site operation.
He also talks about operating as a community interest company, working with local authorities, funding outreach sessions and building a wider movement through the Community Sauna Network.
Topics discussed in the episode:
- Why Charlie wanted to create a regular sauna experience that focused on heat, cold and social connection
- Setting up as a community interest company and why the not-for-profit model mattered from the start
- Finding a landlord willing to take a chance on the idea and starting in a low-fi garden space
- Funding new sites through pre-sale tickets, discounted sessions, small loans and reinvested income
- How Community Sauna Baths uses paid tickets to fund outreach, free sessions and local community work
- Working with the NHS through social prescribing and bringing people into sauna through GP referrals
- Charlie's ambition to bring community sauna facilities to every London borough by 2030
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Powering Local Businesses
We're helping small businesses thrive on the high street – through expert support, smart energy advice and practical tools to grow sustainably.
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