Entreprenerial Refuseniks and the Strategies of ‘Little Earners’ in Deprived Communities

The greater levels of inequality adversely affecting developed Western economies in recent years has largely burdened the underprivileged. Engaging in context-sensitive theorising and challenging the preference of dominant ideal entrepreneurial types, we investigate how entrepreneurship manifests within deprived social housing neighbourhoods in a developed nation context. We introduce the notion of ‘little earners’ as a distinct manifestation of enterprise undertaken by entrepreneurial refuseniks – individuals who ‘refuse what they are refused’ and whose everyday entrepreneurial activity may not follow the societal letter of the law – to ameliorate contextual constraints and financial hardship. Drawing attention to how this activity is firmly place-based, our study questions the relevance of ‘one size fits all’ micro-enterprise support and entrepreneurial policy, especially concerning the standardisation of welfare benefits.