Social Enterprises Globally
There is a rich social enterprise culture present in the United Kingdom. With the 2010 election of Prime Minister David Cameron, a platform policy of the U.K. Conservative Party known as the “Big Society” has been launched and aims to empower local community entrepreneurs. One of the five main objectives is to support co-ops, mutuals, charities […]
Common Mistakes Made By Social Entrepreneurs
As with any entrepreneurial venture, a social enterprise is bound to encounter some challenges in the process of starting up and becoming established. Below are some examples of mistakes social entrepreneurs have made and how they have learned from these mistakes. Product: Zack Rosenberg, founder of DoGoodBuyUs, a website that sells products made by charitable […]
Scaling Your Social Enterprise
There are two ways to scale your social enterprise: through organizational growth or through other forms of increasing social impact beyond the organizational boundaries. Organizational growth is the internal changes made aimed at maximizing social impact, such as diversifying into other services or activities, serving more people by increasing employment number and hours, starting a […]
Social Enterprise: Competing With Non-Profits and For Profits
Part of the process of differentiating from a non-profit organization and a for profit business requires a social enterprise to understand how it competes with the business entities on each end of the business spectrum. For Profit: When it comes to competing with other entities, the most significant competitor for a social enterprise is a […]
Social Enterprise Marketing Strategy
A social enterprise faces a challenge when it comes to marketing. As a social entrepreneur is seeking to meet a demand or need in the market that is currently unmet, the availability of data is scarce. Unlike a for profit organization, a social enterprise is often entering a hybrid market that is un-established and cannot […]
Social Enterprise Performance Measures
Measuring the performance of a social enterprise is likely to be one of the biggest challenges an entrepreneur will face. Unlike a non-profit who can measure their performance based on their fulfillment of their mission, or a for profit who can measure their performance based on their profits, a social enterprise must seek to measure […]
Stages of Social Enterprise Capital
Survival or Establishment Stage: Once initial seed capital is drying up and no profit has yet been earned, the challenge for a social enterprise will be to expand the customer base and increase the market penetration while preserving capital. In order to increase access to more equity capital, social enterprises in an establishment stage can […]
Social Enterprise: Sourcing Initial Investments
Seeking initial investment for your social enterprise places you in the “seed stage” of financing your company. At this point, you must seek equity capital from sources that can afford to lose it all. The best sources for funding are friends, family, and your own pocket. It is a waste of your time to look […]