In Bristol's Portland Square, daffodils in bloom and bright green buds are showing on the trees.

The seasons have changed, and spring has arrived. But there's also another sense of change in the square, where once-dilapidated Georgian buildings have been restored and are now home to a variety of businesses.

The new lease of life being enjoyed by this once unfashionable corner of Bristol is in contrast to the shock waves that have been going through the once seemingly indomitable commercial worlds of finance and property.

"You only have to look around, and it doesn't take long to realise that the old paradigms haven't been working for some time," muses June Burrough, who founded the Pierian Centre at number 27 Portland Square in 2002. "There seems to be a growing awareness that somehow people haven't been getting it right."

It appears that June – who played a key role in organising the planting of bulbs that now flourish each spring in Portland Square – is someone who has been getting it right.

While the credit crunch has brought hardship to many previously successful businesses, the Pierian Centre has been enjoying steady growth.

"We're a business that's trading and making money. But our focus isn't about making money for other people – it's about putting that money back into projects which make a positive social impact," June explains.

"I'm not saying social enterprise has all the answers, but recent events have shown that making business something that's all about money clearly isn't the way to do it."

The Pierian Centre was recently awarded a Social Enterprise Mark, an honour given to businesses with clear social aims which have profits and assets that support those aims.

The award was presented to June by Bristol West MP Stephen Williams, at an event attended by more than 160 people at the Holland House Hotel in Bristol.

"It was a fantastic occasion," says June. "It allowed everyone who has played a part in the success of The Pierian Centre to celebrate their involvement."

Social enterprise – or what is known as the third sector, because it does not come under public or private sector – may sound a bit soppy and hippyish to anyone used to conventional ways of doing business. But, in fact, June has an impressive corporate track-record. She used to work as a management consultant, specialising in business planning, redundancy, management, and team-building.

This included working with people who had been made redundant at major organisations, such as Westland Helicopters.

"Redundancy is hard for everyone," she says. "It's hard for those being made redundant, and it's hard for those having to make people redundant. The reality we found was that in a relatively short time – usually six months or so – people did get back into work.

"On one level, redundancy can be a marvellous opportunity for some people. But it's often difficult for someone to see that when they're feeling very angry and emotional. Until someone has got through that emotional response, it can be very difficult for them to find work. They have to process their feelings about what's happened before they can move on."

June believes there is a need for people to take a different approach to change.

"We need to accept that change is a fact of life," says June. "People no longer get a job at the age of, say, 20 and stay there until they're 65. We live in a very mobile world, which means people have to cope with a lot of change.

"One of the reasons why redundancy is so stressful is because it's usually a situation out of your control, in which someone else has decided to do something with your life. However, I know that as an employer I find it difficult when someone decides to leave us. Lack of control in any situation can be stressful, and it's not confined to redundancy.

"For many people their job is everything – it's how they define themselves, as well as how they make their living – and, in that context, redundancy can be empowering because a job can be very limiting. It may seem a surprising thing to say at a time when there's so much change and so many people are suffering, but a crisis can be wonderful because it can make people more inventive and open to change.

"The fact that there's a need to find other ways of doing things, brings out creativity in some people."

The Pierian Centre is an example of a new and creative approach to linking business and community through social enterprise. Its main source of income is renting out rooms for a variety of purposes – including celebrations, weddings, evening classes, meetings, conferences, workshops, film nights, faith healers, training sessions, and complementary therapists.

"The reason for the Pierian Centre's existence is to have a positive effect," says June. "Unlike conventional business, the focus in social enterprise is about putting profits back into projects which make a social impact."

June is dismissive of the derisive view that social enterprise companies are "grant grabbers".

"We've got very few grants and sponsorships," she says. "More than 50 per cent of earnings in social enterprise companies have to be from trading and business, and the figure for the Pierian Centre is significantly higher than that.

"There are a lot of different organisations in social enterprise, ranging from voluntary groups to charities, and to lump them all together in the third sector can be confusing. Some social enterprise businesses actually make a lot of money. But their focus isn't simply about making money – their primary aim is to make a difference."

The Pierian Centre is a community interest company limited by shares. However, the company's shares cannot be sold for 20 years, and people cannot sell them for any more than they paid for them.

"It's about making a long-term investment," explains June. "You can't buy and sell our shares to make money. I like the fact that this challenges the traditional stock market, where the emphasis is on buying shares one day and selling them the next to try to make lots of money. I'd like to see tax incentives for leaving money in a company for 10, 20 or 30 years, instead of the present emphasis on selling shares for profit, and practices such as short selling of shares."

The snowdrops, daffodils, and crocuses appearing in Portland Square are a result of June's belief in making a long-term investment – not just in companies, but also in communities.

After persuading Bristol City Council to unlock gates to Portland Square that had been closed following problems with street drinkers, she set about fundraising among local residents and business to buy bulbs to plant in the square.

The Pierian Centre is presently working with water landscape specialists Ebb and Flow to design a "peace garden" in the front courtyard, featuring a water sculpture for passers-by to enjoy.

"It's about saying: 'I can do that'," she said. "In the end, about 35 people got together and spent three hours planting 10,000 bulbs. But it wasn't just about planting bulbs, it was about building community."

June believes the traditional focus on profit as a crude measure of a company's success is something that puts undue pressure on some businesses.

She explains: "At the moment, a company's success is linked to a strong financial bottom line. But other things can make a company sustainable, such as having a community that believes in what you're doing."

For further information about the Pierian Centre, go to: www.pierian-centre.com