I’m a Super Hero – I’m Going Social

Since I was child I have always had a desire to help others. I would help my parents clean the yard then cross the street and help my neighbors. Not too typical for a kid I must say. But there’s always been something that has motivated me to do well and be helpful. For some reason, as I grew older, I lost part of that drive to make a difference. But in the past years it came back and this year I decided to take action on this desire to help and make a difference. I’m going social. No, I’m not becoming a socialite striving for attention and hopping from parties to parties. The yet-to-be-revealed project I’ve been discussing on this blog is actually a Social Enterprise; but not just any social enterprise, a for profit social enterprise.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Social Enterprises are businesses with a social and environmental mission. This mission is at the core of their activities and is the purpose of their existence. My new enterprise will hold ethics, social implication, and environmental sustainability at its core. Not an easy task. In fact, successfully running a traditional business is quite a challenge by itself, making successfully running a for-profit Social Enterprise an incredible feat. As Doug Richard of School for Startups points out, a successful social entrepreneur is basically a super hero.

People who build a successful social enterprise are frequently great innovators, exceptional business strategists, amazing sales professionals, effective business managers and true philanthropists. If I have a definition of a business “Super Hero” that’s probably it.

So here I am finishing my MBA and embarking on a side project that requires super hero skills. But make no mistake, I will prevail. This project will see the light and will succeed.

I invite you to check out Doug Richard’s School for Startups article on social enterprises here http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/2009/12/26/this-is-a-test-post/

Have a great weekend everyone!