First off, what is social entrepreneurship?
It’s an enterprise that does more than just make profit, it’s a business that makes a tangible and positive impact on the society. Social entrepreneurship recognizes the need to make money but at the same time recognizes a responsibility to help solve social, economic and even environmental issues. According to an article by Tom McSherry for Entrepreneurs-Journey.com, each business should have a socially entrepreneurial aspect to it. He emphasizes the need to take care of our resources and give back even in small ways.
How do we go about starting a social enterprise?
Like all businesses, it starts with an idea. But not just any idea. It has to be a “viable idea.” It should be one that is potentially profitable and at the same time helpful to a bigger cause. Thus, social entrepreneurship requires tremendous amounts of creativity. If you have an existing business, you can team up with your entire staff and think of ways to make your business more socially entrepreneurial. And because we live in a social world, you also might want to bring in your Internet marketing service provider to think of ways to better spread your message and make the most impact. After all, Internet marketing services are not just about helping you market your product or service, it is also about helping you communicate better.
One of the easiest ways to do this is by letting your customers know that each time they purchase from you, a portion of that money goes to a charitable cause. While this is not social entrepreneurship in the strictest sense, it achieves the same effects. As a business owner, you can also choose to donate to microfinance groups, which helps other entrepreneurs like yourself (but with far less resources and opportunities).
The great thing about social entrepreneurship is that there is a market for it. More and more people want to make informed choices before purchasing and a lot of customers are becoming more socially conscious regarding their spending and shopping habits. If you can serve a need and help the environment in the process, people will want to help you do that. Of course, part of your socially entrepreneurial business plan should be to keep your market informed of the cause you are supporting and how they can be part of the solution. This is where Internet marketing services come in handy. An Internet marketing service provider can help you “package” your message so that it makes an impact on your audience and on your business as well.
Do you have any ideas on how to make your business more socially entrepreneurial? Share it with us!