Social Entrepreneurship and Some Ideas to Get You Thinking
Until few years ago, there was a clear distinction between the business that solely operated for the profit, and the businesses that were called as non-profit organizations. However, since the rise of the term entrepreneurship, people are moving away from the idea of traditional jobs and coming up with unique business ideas on their own. Many small businesses have sprouted up in the market because of the unlimited freedom in such business opportunity and a horizon to expand your business in any direction.
This change has more to do with the mindsets of the present age generation; they are naturally entrepreneurial. They want to do something on their own, something that will give them the feeling of completeness by seeing their projects in front of their eyes. This very mindset of today’s generation to do something, to make a difference and to fix what has been broken in the society for so long, has paved way for a new domain of entrepreneurship, called Social entrepreneurship, which has the betterment of the society as its core element. It is the process of finding a business opportunity that can be turned into a running system that generates profit and a positive return to the society.
Nowadays, you cannot separate the social element from any business. As the society is becoming aware of their state and all the things that need to be changed, it is becoming more and more important for business enterprises to give back to the society and contribute their role in making it better. Social entrepreneurship is a way to grow in terms of business and in terms of societal development. The idea that a business is separate from the social and cultural aspects has begun to fade. More and more people are looking for business opportunities that can help them make a positive change in the society on whole. It is about using the forces of the market, its resources and using it to create a positive impact on the society.
Now that we have laid down the base of this philosophy, here are some ways for you by which you can incorporate this philosophy in your business vision.
The real give and take – This way requires you to ask, influence and motivate one segment of the society to take care of the other segment. It revolves around the idea that one group pays for the product or the service, sometimes a higher price, and the profit is used for those who cannot afford all that on their own.
A social café – This is where you charge the regular customers in mid cities for the items for a little higher price, by letting them know about the cause. Anyone can come in and ask for anything being served there, and if they cannot afford to pay, well they do not have to pay.
A social mart – This is also being done in many places. You open a mart and provide people with groceries at very low price, and sometimes for free, by collecting food items from other supermarkets who will donate for your cause. It is all about interdependence here.
A social restaurant – This type of restaurant in mid cities open at night and it will serve cooked food to the needy. The restaurant would be exactly like those good fancy ones out there, and would not compromise on anything, from service to the quality of food. This will work with the collaboration of many other super markets and restaurants of course, who will provide the ingredients at very low cost or even free for the preparation of the meals to be served in your social restaurant.
Other than this, oftentimes restaurants have leftovers and the items that did not sell during the day and cannot be stored for the next day. These items can be collected and served in this restaurant at a very low price to those who have low incomes or no source of income at all.
A social consultancy firm – if we look around, we have thousands of brilliant minds around us with ideas that can change the world for good, but what they do not have is the platform to give life to their ideas and turn them into reality. You can provide them that platform by letting them share their ideas with your firm and you pitching that idea to venture capitalists out there that are willing to contribute in the social cause. You handle all the paper work for them; you help them make the business plan, prepare the budget and pitch them forward to investor firms offering small business loans. You will do all this by charging them a fee, of course.
A social book club – You can collaborate with kids belonging to wealthy families and other students who love to read, and with their help, you can open a book café where you set up a small library of books for those who want to read them free of cost or at minimum fee. The small fee that you charge will help you cover the maintenance expenses. Looking at your cause, many will be motivated to donate books to your café and help it grow.
These are only some ways for you to think about what we are talking here; these are only so you can start brainstorming and identify business opportunities in mid cities by only paying attention to the very basic needs of the society such as education, freedom, environment, and culture, and all other areas where you can find countless business opportunities and turn them into an enterprise that works for the betterment of society on whole. The only thing you need to understand is that there is not just one-way of looking at the definition of “business” – possibilities are endless!