Our assumptions:

• Small enterprises support and help each other
• Network as a necessary method and strategy

Empowerment is based on:

• Self-organisation - from a grass-root level
• Competence - to take charge of and increase, to receive and offer
• Self-control - responsibility to oneself in both life and employment
• Self-confidence - trust oneself in both ability and competence
• Vision of the future - take the future in your own hands and plan for action change
• Prevention - prevent social and medical illness
• People act from their own intention and motivation, not from others decisions or orders.

There are different ways to work with change. We use the Empowerment-model and supplement it with emphatic communication, Nonviolent Communication.

• Focus on increasing the participants' self-confidence in control and management
• A strong believe in your own capability to influence the social structure and system as a whole
• Empowerment includes both process, objectives and structure.
• The subjects are to be generated from the needs of the participants, with a strong emphasis on developing powerful enterprises for the future.
• Each group is managed by a co-ordinator.

The emotional phase releases the energy that starts the change-process.

How can Empowerment-groups promote the future of small enterprises?

With the use of group-process and team-learning the participants gain:

• Stronger self-confidence
• Insight in the learning-process, using feedback as an important tool to develop self-knowledge.
• The experience of getting support, and using the team for help and comfort.
• Increased communication-skills and collaboration.
• Through experience in network-building, they widen their horizon and see the enterprise as one part in the society as a whole.
• Increased preparation for transition and change.

which results in a strong believe in your own capability.