Good Cycles: A Case Study of a Successful Social Enterprise

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Good Cycles, a social enterprise based in Melbourne, Australia. The company distinguishes itself through its commitment to social and environmental impact, channeling 100% of its profits from commercial operations, including a bicycle shop, Melbourne Bike Share operations, and maintenance courses, into community programs. Founded by Luke Wright and Loretta, Good Cycles aims to empower disadvantaged youth by providing training, employment opportunities, and support services. The report details various programs offered by Good Cycles, such as the Engagement Program, Pedal Empowerment Program (PEP), Supported Employment Program, Work Experience Program, and Community Bike Shades, highlighting their focus on vocational training, skill development, and community engagement. The analysis also includes insights into the company's impact, funding sources, and replication potential, emphasizing its role in addressing social and environmental issues. The report also touches upon the company's impact in the lives of the beneficiaries, including apprenticeships, women's only programs, and initiatives for disengaged school children, underscoring Good Cycles' innovative approach within the bicycling industry.

Good Cycles, a social enterprise, dedicated towards initiatives and community programs with
contribution of 100% profit from commercial operations that include the bicycling shop,
Melbourne Bike share operations as well as maintenance courses

Social and Environmental Good
Two Wheels of Ethics
Good Cycles is an innovative social enterprise that use bike as an instrument in order to
educate, find employment and also for the purpose of empowering the disadvantaged youth.
100% of the revenue earned by the company goes towards the support of the social programs
and community initiatives.
Luke Wright and Loretta
are two of the founders of
Good Cycles and the idea
of incorporating the
company emerged one fine
morning when they were
having a cup of tea. The
idea was developed with
lot of meetings that was
conducted between the two
and the concept that came
out has helped them to find
an organization that runs as
a nonprofit organization in
Melbourne City in
Australia.
Loretta Curtin who is the
joint founder of Good
Cycles along with Luke
Wright has stated that the
idea came into existence
while she was living in
London and the idea has
originated when she was
having a cup of tea in
Northcote lounge room
and Northcote Lounge
Room allows their bikers
to service their bikes with
the help of a mobile
mechanic team and that
visits offices and
workplaces in the city so
that they are able to fix up
the gears and breaks.
Good Cycles as per many
of the cycling lovers offers
services that saves the time
of the customers and also
help them by providing
practical services. There
are plenty of services that
are provided by the
organization that include
servicing the bikes while
the people are at
universities, offices and
also during the events.
Moreover, there are
mechanics of the company
who roams around the
cities in their cargo bikes
which carries tools for
repairing the bicycles on
the go and also workshops
are held for repairing the
bikes. Furthermore, there
are service centers and
Dockland bike shops from
where the people can buy
new bicycles and use it for
their purpose. The cyclists
are also taught that how
significant it is to maintain
their bikes. In addition to
this, the company also

provides community based
programs in partnership
with the organizations and
government.
But, behind all this, the
main motive behind
finding the company is to
lend a helping hand
towards the community
that is suffering form
getting jobs in other
organizations or are
suffering from
homelessness. Training are
provided to the employees
and also they are also
offered with support
directly to the individuals
who have suffered from
domestic violence, or are
suffering from disability,
homelessness and various
other conditions that can
lead an individual to
helplessness or distress.
The main motive behind
the foundation of the
company is to tackle the
issues which are related to
the environment and the
society which are believed
as two wheels of the cycle.
It is believed by the
company that people can
help this community who
are employed in the
organization by just getting
their bike serviced in their
Docklands Bike Center.
There are three use of the
revenue that is earned by
the company and the
revenue goes to maintain
the existing programs of
the organization, to
increase the capacity of the
organization and the scope
as well as support the
individuals who participate
in their social program.
The foremost objective
with which the
organization exists in the
environment is helping out
the vulnerable group of
individuals and the group
with which they works are
isolated as well as
disengaged adults and
youths, people who are
unemployed for a long
period of time, people
those whose educational
qualifications are low,
people whose housings are
unstable in nature as well
as the individuals with
health issues mental in
nature.
There are a variety of
programs that has been
undertaken by the
organization and some of
the programs include
engagement program. This
program helps in
connecting the brand
“Good Cycles” with that of
the vulnerable community
that is present in
Melbourne. This provide
the company to establish a
relation with that of
vulnerable community and

this helps in decreasing the
social isolation among the
employed persons when
they comes in contact with
others. Moreover, this also
helps in community
engagement and the
company works as a role
model in the life of the
participants. The
engagement program is
conducted with the help of
workplace programs and
vocational training process
that helps in maintaining
the connection and closes
the gaps between the
vulnerable communication
and Good Cycles. This is a
way the social enterprise is
working towards the
betterment of the
individuals and focusing
upon the development of
the community in
Melbourne working along
with the vulnerable
community.
There is also pedal
empowerment course that
is undertaken by the
employees of the
organization and this is
also a vocational training
course that is provided by
the organization to their
employees for the
development of their
employability skills as well
as mechanical skills. The
participants of this course
is taken for a tour through
the introductory course of
mechanic bicycle repairing
and also there are various
skills which are related to
employability are taught to
the participants and some
of them are resume
making, rights provided to
the employees in the
workplace, techniques of
interview as well as how to
increase the connection in
the industry to increase the
possibility of getting good
jobs. Moreover, practical
experience related to
bicycle repairing
opportunity is also
provided to the participants
when they volunteer at the
Community Bike Shades
of the organization.
When the PEP program or
Pedal Empowerment
Program is finished by the
participants, they have the
options to move on to
Supported Employment
Program where the
participants are provided

with an immediate joining
in repairing course for
bicycles and van also
receive personalized
services for preparing their
resume and skills related to
the interview from a HR
consultant. Further a
budget is set up by the
financial planner in this
supported employment
program.
There is also Work
Experience Program and
this can also be
participated after taking
the course at PEP and in
this program, the
participants are directly
invited to take part in
working at Good Cycles
for 3-6 months and the
participants went through a
design that is structured in
nature which prepares the
participants for gaining a
long term employment in
this particular industry.
Next is a drop in style
program that is also a part
of the social work that is
provided by Good Cycles
and the name of the
program is Community
Bike Shades. The activities
that are taught in this
program are to teach the
learners regarding how to
ride a bicycle and also how
to fix it. Currently, Good
Cycles is hosting North
Melbourne Community
Centre which is a part of
Community Bike Shades.
There are apprenticeship
teams under the
organization and they work
for 18 months under the
organization for the
completion of
apprenticeship course in
the bike industry. Kim
Murray is among one of
the first apprentice that
was hired by the company
and in her interview, she
has said that:
“I've been working on
bikes on an amateur basis
for a long time and about
half way through last year
I started volunteering at
CERES (Community
Environment Park) bike
shed with a view to making
it into the industry and
eventually this opportunity
came up and it was pretty
much exactly what I was
after”
He has also added that,
“I’d been unemployed for
more than a year and Luke
and Loretta were keen to
give me a chance to get
back into the workforce so
it was most welcome. Now
instead of doing grunt
work, I'm getting up in the

morning to do what I
love.”
Another apprentice from
Footscray who is of the
age of 38 years has said
that Good Cycles is doing
one of the best job in their
business and that is to
provide the people with
mobility and freedom
which is affecting the
existence of people in a
positive way. He has also
added that the charitable
aspect of Good Cycles has
also appealed him, which
is to provide help to the
disadvantaged youth and
adults from the society and
that, Good Cycles should
really be considered as one
of the top social enterprise
in this particular industry.
Mr. Wright believes that
pedal cycling is providing
the people with one of the
best way to avoid
congestion during the
traffic in Melbourne City.
During the first year of the
company when Mr. Wright
started the company with
two employees, he
expected that not much
employees join the
organization but he ended
up with 14 employees at
the end of the first year
which was a good sign for
the company. Brisbane and
Sydney Council have also
showcased their interest
towards replicating the
mode of the company.
As stated by Mr. Wright,
there are more than 15,000
cyclists that along with
their cycles comes to
Melbourne City for work
purposes but they do not
really care for repairing
their cycles in the short run
which is required to be
done due to the fact that it
can cause a lot more
money for them in the long
run. Moreover, he also
believes that it is also
unsafe to travel around in
an un-serviced bicycle
around the city. Mr.
Wright has also extended
his statement saying that
for the appreciates of the
organization it will not just
be only an employment
opportunity and training
but also individuals
servicing bicycles during
their work will also help
their employees to upgrade
their skills related to
bicycle repair.
There is also a women’s
only program that has been
introduced by the company
which provides an
opportunity to a women so
that they can bond with
another women and learn
how to bicycle in an
environment that is safe
and this program is

conducted once in every
month. Irrespective of age,
riding ability and
background of women, this
course is offered to women
that can develop women
sense to ride in a safe
environment.
There is one more course
that is offered to the school
children that are
disengaged in nature and in
this course, the school
children from Melbourne
is offered with teaching
related to fixing their own
bicycles and Good Cycles
is working with five
schools that the moment
which is present in the
greater Melbourne region.
Funding Network has also
funded the organization
and this has helped in
making the organization
more focused towards
making the life of the
disadvantaged youths and
adults better in Melbourne
City. Furthermore, there
were 114 disadvantaged
youths and adults that have
taken education from Good
Cycles and have also
participated in employment
pathway programs. Among
them 8 new people has got
employment in the
organization and it has
helped the organization to
double their revenue of
which, the full money was
donated towards the
charity and used for the
purpose of development of
the community.
Furthermore, being a social
enterprise, they have
delivered community
support that includes the
seekers for the asylum,
people from community
that are young and so on.
Good Cycles is also
helping in uplifting the
conditions of girl and
women in the society and
residents of public housing
and also the schools that
work with students form
low social and economic
background. This type of
social enterprise in the
bicycling industry is very
low in number and with
the help of innovation and
implementation of new
programs in the company,
Good Cycles; we believe
has a bright sustainable
future.

References:
www.goodcycles.org. (2018). Our Story. [online] Available at:
https://www.goodcycles.org/about-melbourne-bike-repair/our-story/ [Accessed 11 May 2018].
www.theage.com.au. (2018). Mobile mechanics a good cycle story. [online] Available at:
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/mobile-mechanics-a-good-cycle-story-20130508-
2j73z.html [Accessed 11 May 2018].
www.thefundingnetwork.com.au. (2018). Good Cycles. [online] Available at:
https://www.thefundingnetwork.com.au/impact/tfn-alumni/previously-funded-organisations/
good-cycles/ [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Interview with Jaison Hoernel:
Interviewee: Jaison Hoernel
Position: CEO
Company: Good Cycles
Industry: Bicycling/Social Enterprise
What does your organization offer for sustainability?
Sustainability is something which is regarded by us is being apparent regarding the business that
we are conducting. With the help of development of the products that we are offering to our
customers in an eco-friendly way and causing less pollution to the environment is what we
believe is providing our business a perfect sense of sustainable business.
What does sustainability mean for the business? Is it concerned with not harming the
environment or something else?
Definitely there are added measures that are taken by us for protection of the environment but
there are also some measures implemented in the business that exceeds we do not only take care
of the environment but also look forward towards the community by providing employment to
the people from disengaged community.
Is sustainability really that significant for the business?
Yes, definitely sustainability is significant for the business. In a world of rising pollution due to
globalization, sustainability is what provides the business with perfect sense.
Do you consider your business as ethical and sustainable?
Yes we definitely consider our business is sustainable and ethical due to the fact that we promote
bicycling which is healthy for individuals’ health and also as we employ disengaged workforce
in our business it gives a perfect sense of sustainability for our business.
Why do you consider your organization as a sustainable one?

Bicycling:
Bicycling causes less pollution to the environment and as we promote bicycling it provides our
business a perfect sense of sustainability. Moreover, bicycling also keeps individuals’ healthy for
a long period of time and thus our business can be said as a sustainable one.
Disadvantaged workforce:
We also provide employment to the disengaged workforce of the community and thus more
people from the community who are unemployed for a long period of time and living in
homelessness condition are provided employment with the help of our organization and thus we
believe we can help this people by providing them a place where they can engage with others
with focus upon betterment of their conditions. Thus, sustainability goes hand in hand with our
business as believed by us.
Moreover, we also focus upon reduction of the waste in our business which also makes us a
sustainable business in the Australian economy.
What are some organizations that provide support to your business?
There are many organizations that provide support for the business activities that we conduct and
some of them are Bank of Melbourne Neighborhood Fund, R.E. Ross Trust, PWC, Lord Mayor’s
Charitable Foundation, Medibank, and The Victorian Women’s Trust and so on.