If you look at the broader reach of social entrepreneurs, you’ll see how they aim to address the basic building blocks of life that are absent at the bottom of the pyramid. Providing access to clean water, food, power, education, and healthcare are the essentials that many of us in the developed world take for granted.

Social enterprises buck a trend of traditional for-profits by placing their social causes above profit-seeking motives. They have the wild idea that a sustainable, growable combination of the two is possible. Yet, as we’ve discussed in the past, social enterprises cannot rely solely on the metrics developed and utilized by for-profits to define success. We have also written about the need to determine new metrics that are inclusive of the social impact that each dollar, product, and company provides.

But it’s so much bigger than that.

If social entrepreneurs are to be a success, they will have effectively removed the basic barriers to life for those at the bottom of the pyramid. Once the BoP no longer needs to spend their time working to find clean water or fighting basic diseases that are easily preventable, they can then spend their time on the next step of progress. This next step is growing the economy, partaking in politics, and taking an active role in the future of their country.

This is not to say that a social entrepreneur’s job is a success when he or she is no longer needed. Social missions will always exist and need trailblazers to lead the charge, yet rather than tie themselves down to revenue and profit metrics, social entrepreneurs need to view their work as a success when they are able to teach others to fish.

Involving locals in your organization, employing them in roles other than entry level positions, and actively engaging them to partake in the direction of your organization will fertilize the seeds that you’ve already planted.

- Chris

Much has been written about innovation in today’s ever evolving market. Apple’s newest groundbreaking product; Chevy and Nissan’s foray into (semi-) electric cars; medical advancements designed to reduce healing time; d.Light’s newest lantern that is more efficient and cheaper – notice a trend?

The types of innovation that are the ‘sexiest’ are the tangible and technical advancements that we can see in our latest products. There’s no doubt that these are also used as marketing hooks to attract and appease consumers and investors. Read more »

Who do you follow on Twitter? What do you ‘like’ on Facebook? What have you ‘plus one’d’ on Google+? RSS, DM, RT, Mention, Tag – Nowadays there are so many ways to share content on the web through social media that it might seem overwhelming.

With all of this personalization and customization, you, as a web user, have a lot more control over what content is shared with you. Pre-facebook and RSS feeds, you had to go out of your way to search for articles, and the online reputations of many sources had not yet been established. By controlling what content comes your way and what links you click on and read, you are skillfully navigating the ever-expanding internet to view and read what you are passionate about.

I, personally, tend to get paralyzed at times with the constant flow of articles that I never have the time to read. I have to further prioritize my already-prioritized list of articles/links to explore. Many people think the same, and only a subset of the overall information is consumed.

The issue begins here. Read more »

Do you remember the first time you heard about an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? What about the time your car dealer told you that your carburetor had a problem with it?

Unless you’re a mortgage broker or build cars in your spare time, you likely had only a small idea what you were being sold.

Then you found out the hard way ARMs turned out to be devastating when interest rates soared in combination with a failing economy. After spending thousands of dollars on a new car part, you take it elsewhere and find out that you just needed new spark plugs.

You wish someone told you. Read more »

I was that kid that adults cringe to talk with, because my response to most of their comments was the question, “why?” The innate curiosity that led me to decide to major in engineering turned out to be a plus when working to solve problems. It’s fun to learn more and more.

Now, oftentimes when I speak with others about one day starting a social business, the tables are turned, and I’m faced with the innocent response, “why”? It’s a legitimate question to which every (hopeful) entrepreneur needs to have a solid answer.

Every dream we follow should be rooted in a belief that what we are doing is providing some form of value. Whether that value is intrinsic and personal or tangible and selfless – our actions must have a driving motivation.

When you take a look at any Fortune 500 company’s Annual Report or website, you’ll see their mission statement. More than likely its filled with cliche vagueries that leave you pretty sure of what their drive is. Social enterprises have an opportunity to buck that trend.

Along the journey, social enterprises should never stop continuing to ask the question, “why?” Part of this concept ties back to the need to know your market – but its also larger than that. Organizations need to truly get to the root of why they are in operation.

Why are you operating in the countries where you are? Why are you willingly facing so much adversity and difficulty all for the sake of this business? Why do you care about your target demographic? What’s really driving you?

These tough questions should not be answered by the simple “I want to help people”. There are plenty of ways to help people in the world. Why through social enterprise? The complexities associated with operating a social enterprise are not for the faint of heart.

Internally having this discussion will shed light on the motivations of everyone and help to align the team’s actions. Whether you are working to understand why a certain product works better than the other in a specific market; how to circumnavigate non-existent supply chain routes; or understand why you’re in this…

Don’t stop asking “why?”

- Chris

I don’t consider myself to be a pessimistic thinker, persay, yet I’d describe it as practical. Many times the first words out of my mouth are, “prove it.”

In today’s digital and socially driven world, there is almost as much incorrect information available as true facts. As writers of a blog that (I hope) contributes to information distribution, Bryan and I take pride in ensuring that our points are rooted (and cited) in sources, and that those sources are reputable. Where opinion-based, we state so.

An increased call for transparency in the social enterprise industry, coupled with a strong sense of innovation has many organizations needing to do more than “prove it.” Read more »

Here in the US, today is Memorial Day, in which we commemorate the service and dedication of US Service Members. It is a day meant for people to reflect and honor the sacrifices made by those that came before us, in order to provide us with the freedoms that we share today.

The ultimate sacrifices of these men and women were made in order to promote freedoms throughout the world. It was their way to fighting for what we believe in, and to give others the opportunity for a better future. Read more »