There are many reasons why I have, for the time being, decided that I may not want to go into consulting straight out of undergrad. While those reasons are all valid and require just as much attention, I want to focus on one in particular: salary-level and financial gains.

It’s not a secret that those working in management consulting get paid a lot more than those who work at either a NGO or social enterprise. And while for the past 3 years of my life, though I had been setting my mind to working within the social enterprise field, I had not really and truly considered what it means to work for  a social enterprise, from a financial standpoint.

For me, part of what it boils down to is my background, upbringing, and financial stability which affects my career choices and how that would affect my lifestyle. I’ve talked about this more than once on this blog, but coming back to it — I’ve had a “fairly comfortable” (if not “overly comfortable”) life growing up… and partially I think this is also what made me realize that I need something more than “wealth” to be happy. And here, too, are multiple things going on: perhaps I think I’d be unhappy with “just wealth” because I lack the same sense of “personal achievement” that comes with wealth. And so who is to say that if I were to make something of myself in my future career and made a good amount of money, I wouldn’t be content enough with this? That’s something I cannot discount, because frankly I don’t know how I’d feel if I got to that point. But the point is that in my present state (or throughout my life) I never felt like pursuing a career that would bring in a lot of money would be enough for me, from a career standpoint.

So thus begins my pursuit of a career in social enterprise/social entrepreneurship, what I believe is a way for me to achieve that “something else” that I feel like I lack. But pursuing a career in this field means not making a lot of money, perhaps just enough for a “comfortable” lifestyle. And, to be honest, I think this is what scares me the most. The fact that I’ve grown up living a certain lifestyle, being provided for by my parents, and not having to worry about money is what makes me doubt my ability to learn how to want less and how to be content with a less “extravagant” lifestyle.

And while I can say this fear/doubt of mine can be attributed to my upbringing/growing up, it can just as well be attributed to social and peer pressure. Society — American society especially – breeds a culture of excess, consumption, and materialism. We are bombarded daily with new products or new “somethings,” and are constantly reminded of how awesome it must be to be rich and wealthy.

Let’s take my recent weekend trip to Las Vegas, for instance. Vegas is perhaps the epitomes of excess, consumption, and materialism. Table service at clubs costs thousands of dollars; suites or penthouse suites can cost up to $10,000 per night (can you believe that?!); lounging at the VIP section of a pool party can easily cost $3,000 for the afternoon. While it is not that hard to “crash” these VIP places, there is a sense of “coolness” and even “superiority” to be had when we are able to sit in these places or have the “VIP” treatment. We are conditioned to think that being VIP, having bottle service, or staying in a penthouse suite is what it means to be “baller”, “high rollers”, and just plain awesome. The implication behind all of these words is that: you have made it, you are wealthy, and that is something to be looked up to (in a sense). And being surrounded by that, and to see people’s reactions to this excess/consumption/materialism (myself included), only reminds me more of how much our society idolizes what it means to be wealthy and how that is the ultimate achievement.

While I am not discrediting wealth as achievement, I think there are other forms of achievement that are often downplayed. But when we are surrounded 24/7 by this excessive, materialistic, and consumption-focused culture, I think it is difficult to train ourselves — to re-condition ourselves, in a sense — to believe that there are, in fact, different forms of achievement, and that we don’t HAVE to buy into this wealth=achievement type of thinking (even though I am not saying people cannot have this type of thinking).

Peer pressure is another way we are conditioned to believe that achievement and wealth are synonymous. As an undergrad at a business school, I see a good percentage of my peers recruiting for investment banking, consulting, and accounting jobs. While I don’t believe this of all of those recruiting, a good amount of them want jobs in these industries because their end-goal is to make a lot of money. And to be honest, can I blame them? Is it really so wrong for those who: 1) grew up living a comfortable or extravagant lifestyle and want to sustain that for themselves in the future OR 2) did NOT grow up wealthy and thus want that kind of lifestyle — to pursue a career that will bring in a good amount of money? No, it’s really not so wrong.

For me, I think realizing all of these factors and being surrounded by this type of “philosophy” (if I may call that) only makes it harder for me to slowly accept the financial/lifestyle consequences of pursuing what I want to pursue. I need to learn how to be OK with living “modestly”; I need to, despite the fact that my sister is pursuing a career in the fashion industry (an industry that I also am interested in, as a hobby, but also an industry that thrives on excess and wealth), not participate alongside her desire to purchase expensive designer items, because that’s her future line of work, so it would be OK for her to want that, but it’s not mine. Most of all, I need to start thinking realistically what going into this field means financially and lifestyle-wise and start accepting this and being OK with it, despite the constant reminders that “more is better and wealth=achievement.” Otherwise, I am just kidding myself and will remain sitting here, thinking up some great scheme about how I am going to participate in poverty alleviation/changing the world, allthewhile still being supported by my parents and not having any financial burden at all, until I am thrown into it and hit by the reality of what it really means to want to work in the social enterprise space.

Related posts:

• Social Entrepreneurship
• Research Paper on Social Business
• In Defense of… Orange County?

So it has always been a dream of mine to live and work in NYC after I graduate. Honestly, I think it’s the fact that it’s a large city, and with large cities comes the romanticized view of what life is supposed to be like in a huge city. Anyhow, I hadn’t been back to NYC since fifth grade, which was the first time I visited the east coast. My sister and I went to New York during early January, which is supposedly one of the worst/coldest times to visit, apparently. It was freeeezing cold and I literally felt like I was in a refrigerator whenever I was outside. I wouldn’t say that my visit will deter me from searching for a job there post-graduation, but I think it isn’t a “priority” to find a job and live in NYC after I graduate. Perhaps it’s the freezing weather that is a bit scary for me (seeing as I am a West-Coaster, after all). But, after much reflection, it’s also the fact that NYC may not be the optimal place to find a job in the social entrepreneurship / social enterprise field. SF one of the major hubs for social ventures nowadays, and while I am sure NYC houses some great social enterprises as well, there are just more options in SF. But honestly, who really knows until I start looking for jobs (which will not be until next year anyways) whether or not NYC may or may not be a potential place after all?!

To speak of my future travel plans, I will actually be traveling with two of my best friends to Europe this summer! I am beyond ecstatic, as I have never had a chance to travel with friends (it has always been with family and family-friends, which has also been amazing to have the opportunity to have traveled with them). We will be going to London, Amsterdam, Athens, and Greek islands Ios, Mykonos, and Santorini. I will then be leaving the trip early, and my friends will be journeying onto Rome, which I am terribly jealous that I will be missing but am nevertheless happy beyond belief to have the chance to travel to Europe this summer!

If you have been to any of those places and would like to make suggestions as to what is fun, interesting, and amazing to do, please let me know!

Related posts:

• Social Entrepreneurship
• Beginning of the End
• Getting Back in the Swing

This blog post is part of Akhila’s “Be the change” series and is also posted on her website here. Much thanks to Akhila for hosting this awesome series – I suggest you check out all the other entries! All have great insight
——————————

I’ve been attempting to find time and contribute to this awesome blog series “Be the change” thanks to Akhila, and of course, I am writing this instead of working on a paper that’s due in a few days.

Prior to attending school at UC Berkeley, all I knew was that I was interested in “business” and “changing the world” (or more specifically, I used to say “starting a revolution”). Little did I know that individuals such as Muhammad Yunus were already doing so! My friend introduced me to the concept of “social business” and “social entrepreneurship” around second semester of my freshman year, and that was when it all began.

I embarked on a Google-ing, internet-searching quest to learn more about this concept, and ended up first reading Yunus’ book, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. From then on, I’d continue to read articles, books, and scour the Internet for more about social entrepreneurship and social business.

I often stop and reflect on why it is I seem to have this insatiable need and want to help others and improve the lives of the less fortunate. For the most part, I think it’s because I have grown up with so much opportunity laid in front of me, the privilege of living in a nice community and have the comfort and support of my parents. Maybe I was too comfortable that I became uncomfortable with my comfort. Does that make sense?

Perhaps it’s why I want to pursue a career in poverty alleviation through the power of social business and entrepreneurship. I happened to be born into a family that gave me the opportunity to obtain a good education. It was chance that I was born in Taiwan to parents who wanted to pursue a better life in the United States and brought my sister and I here. What about others who live in poverty and are not presented with the opportunity of obtaining an education, of living a privileged life? How is it their fault?

It’s not, and it’s a thought that resounds in me and propels me forward. I joined a student grassroots organization CalPIRG my freshman year, and by the second semester my friend and I started the Hunger and Homelessness Campaign, where we tried to tackle food insecurity in West Oakland. I then proceeded to help plan, in collaboration with two other student groups on campus, a conference on hunger and homelessness in the Bay Area. On the side, I worked with a local homeless shelter to establish and implement recycling and composting programs through another student organization BEACN. These experiences have helped me improve my skills and have provided me more insight in ways of addressing poverty. However, the models and methods of social business and social entrepreneurship are what really motivate me.

I’ve found it difficult to advance much in attempting to be more “in” the field (I am so inspired by social businesses such as the one I interned with this past summer World of Good, and projects such as the Allyu Initiative), because I often find myself constrained in my schoolwork and the fact that I am still in school. I’m often impatient in my demands, and too much of the time I’d rather be out there and immerse myself in a community and area to learn about the issues and critically evaluate ways to tackle them. I have to stop and remind myself that my getting an education is an important aspect: I need to focus on learning as much as I can in school so that I can apply it later on.

In the meantime, I have found the Twitterverse and the blogosphere to be of great company. It’s been absolutely inspiring and just plain awesome to be connected to other Gen Y-ers such as Akhila, Dwight, and Leslie and know that there are so many who are interested in similar topics and care about issues other than the best way to maximize profits and how to make the most money. So, I’d like to conclude by thanking Akhila once again for encouraging others to engage in social change and bringing together awesome individuals in this blog series!

Related posts:

• “Book studying” versus “Real world application”
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Research Paper on Social Business

Climate change and global warming are terms we are all familiar with and have heard a million times by now. While most of us know that climate change will affect all of us, what we don’t always talk about is how climate change will hit hardest those who are poorest.

The Millenium Development Goal #7 is addressing environmental sustainability, and makes a connection between global warming and poverty reduction:

Reducing poverty and achieving sustained development must be done in conjunction with a healthy planet. The Millennium Goals recognize that environmental sustainability is part of global economic and social well-being. Unfortunately exploitation of natural resources such as forests, land, water, and fisheries-often by the powerful few-have caused alarming changes in our natural world in recent decades, often harming the most vulnerable people in the world who depend on natural resources for their livelihood. [Source: End Poverty 2015]

It’s not surprising to me that climate change will affect the most those at the bottom of the pyramid. Not only will price increases (in the case of drought –> less grains / food –> increase in food prices, etc.) impact the most those with lower incomes, climate events such as droughts, heat waves, and storms will hit — literally — those who are the poorest. Those that live in areas that lack the infrastructure that could withstand severe weather conditions will undoubtedly face the impacts of storms and hurricanes. Farmers whose crops fail due to drought will have to find another way to sustain themselves and their families. The list goes on.

But instead of highlighting all the problems that climate change causes, it’s even more important to think about solutions — more specifically, the role social entrepreneurship could play in addressing global warming.  In reading C.K. Prahalad’s The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, I came across a case study about a company that does just that.

Prahalad sheds light on the work of a rural energy finance company E+C0. E+Co found the connection between energy and poverty: one reason people cannot escape poverty is due to the lack of access to modern energy (mostly electricity) that allows them to be more productive. E+Co conducted a study and realized that the demand for electricity at the bottom of the pyramid exists, and that there is “potential for widescale adoption of renewable energy technologies” because the majority of costs for renewable energy is up front, while “fuel” costs (wind, solar, etc.) are essentially free (Prahalad 140).

E+Co’s mission was:

the provision of clean, modern energy to the world’s poor via locally developed, market-based solutions

E+Co emphasizes “energy through enterprise”; they seek entrepreneurs in developing markets to develop products and services that will meet the energy needs in the local communities. E+Co invests in these entrepreneurs or companies, one of them being Tecnosol, a company that “sells and installs distributed solar PV, wind, and hydroelectric power systems to mostly rural unelectrified populations throughout [Nicaragua]” (Prahalad 144) and has installed over 3,500 PV systems, 20 wind systems, and also some hydroelectric systems (145).

Here, we see a pretty interesting partnership being forged between a company (E+Co) that is the investor and local entrepreneurs and companies that serve its communities and target a need (energy – clean energy).

Another example of a successful partnership working towards sustainability is one I’ve highlighted in my research paper on social entrepreneurship I wrote over the summer.

A successful three-way alliance between entrepreneurial BOP business WasteConcern, large fertilizer company Map Agro, and the Bangladeshi government solved a waste buildup problem in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In short, WasteConcern identified the market opportunity to convert the majority of the waste generated – food – into compost for rural agriculture businesses to use as organic fertilizer to produce more food, generating a mutually beneficial and sustainable cycle. In order to implement the project, Waste Concern approached Map Agro, the largest fertilizer company in Bangladesh that had the resources and capital to transform and produce the organic compost.

In both of these examples, we see a partnership being forged through a market-based approach that BOP businesses to address a particular need within the communities.

I am personally really excited by success stories such as these, and I think it’s really important to remember that while global warming statistics and the situation in general is dire and sometimes seems hopeless, that is just more reason we cannot give up. Taking a social entrepreneurial approach to climate change is one that I am particularly interested in, although it is most definitely not the only solution!

Personally, I often feel like I don’t do enough in attempting to address climate change. I have made adjustments in my lifestyle to be more sustainable, and am (and have been) involved in student organizations that work towards sustainability. But I never feel like it’s enough. And while it is true that “something is better than nothing,” that’s not good enough for me. We should all be looking to be more sustainable in our lives and be more aware of the impact we have on our planet. Wherever we are now in individual progress now, it’s awesome, but that should not be the stopping point. I am going to make more of an effort to be more environmentally-friendly in my lifestyle, and strive even more towards sustainability in whatever I do.

Today, I’m starting off by this Blog Action ’09 post on climate change. Tomorrow, it will be something else–OK, I’ll be on my way to LA for the weekend..but carpooling with two other friends!

What are you going to do to make your lifestyle more sustainable? How are you going to address global warming today? Comment and let’s share ideas!

Related posts:

• School..and hunger & homelessness!
• Berkeley Hunger & Homelessness Conference 2009
• Starting a revolution, in my own way

First off, I was reading an article: “What Microloans Miss” from The New Yorker from March 2008. In essence, the article explained a bit about the trend of microloans:

The innovation—​microfinance—​involves making small loans to poor entrepreneurs, usually in developing countries…Even ordinary Americans can now get in on the act, at sites like Kiva.org, where you can make a microloan yourself.

However, microloans do not always guarantee success, and they also do not necessarily improve the economic well-being of developing countries. As Surowiecki puts it,

The idealized view of microfinance is that budding entrepreneurs use the loans to start and grow businesses—expanding operations, boosting inventory, and so on. The reality is more complicated. Microloans are often used to “smooth consumption”—tiding a borrower over in times of crisis… It’s less common to find them used to fund major business expansions or to hire new employees. In part, this is because the loans can be very small—frequently as little as fifty or a hundred dollars—and generally come with very high interest rates, often above thirty or forty per cent. But it’s also because most microbusinesses aren’t looking to take on more workers. The vast majority have only one paid employee: the owner.

Furthermore, there is a conception out there that all individuals in developing countries can (and want to be, but lack the opportunity to) be an entrepreneur. While this is true for those seeking the microloans,this is not the case for all others:

[I]n any successful economy most people aren’t entrepreneurs—they make a living by working for someone else. Just fourteen per cent of Americans, for instance, are running (or trying to run) their own business. That percentage is much higher in developing countries—in Peru, it’s almost forty per cent. That’s not because Peruvians are more entrepreneurial. It’s because they don’t have other options.

The article continues to discuss the need for small-to-medium-sized businesses to find a source of funding and investments (versus microloans to microbusinesses) in developing countries. While this is also an important issue to discuss, I’d like to touch upon microloans the are ‘helping’ entrepreneurs.

A concern I have with all microlending institutions and websites (such as Kiva.org, etc.) is that it seems, based on my research, that there isn’t really any follow-up. What I mean by this is, are the entrepreneurs who have received these loans, paid them back, truly benefiting from these loans? We make the logical assumption that seeing as they have paid back their loans, that they are better off. But is that true? (Of course, user-based microlending sites’ main mission is to raise funds for microloans to entrepreneurs, and something such as the “follow-up” I am proposing may be out of the scope of these organizations’ mission.)

Microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in developing countries are often very focused — rightfully so — on very local endeavors, such as increasing the size of a shop, or finding funding to raise more farm animals. But there seems to be a lack of a medium that helps them expand and grow their businesses. The closest I’ve found to something like this is Endeavor.org that offers “high impact entrepreneurial consulting” to entrepreneurs in developing countries. The website includes much more detail on their selection criteria, but in essence it looks like Endeavor selects entrepreneurs based on:

• entrepreneurial initiative
• business innovation
• value and ethics
• role model potential
• development impact
• fit with Endeavor

But to get back to the entrepreneurs who have received microloans in the past (such as through Kiva.org, UnitedProsperity.org, Wokai.org, Microplace.com, etc.), is there a way to help those entrepreneurs to expand their businesses? Of course, several implications come with this, including whether or not it is “our” place to “help” them expand the businesses that they operate, regional conflicts, competition, etc. However, what about just creating an online platform that features these microfinance-d entrepreneurs with their products or services?

Some more details on my idea:

Like Craigslist, this online marketplace would be geographically specialized, and could connect either locals to different business’ products, or even those from abroad (i.e. in the US) to buy a local business’ products.

Of course, there would be tons of logistical details to work out, such as:

• Would the website provide the transaction, or just connect the two people?
• Would this be a nonprofit, or how could we make it a for-profit social business?
• How would we get these listings? An idea is to partner with microfinance organizations
• How would this website be differentiated from the microfinance organizations that already LIST their entrepreneurs they’re financing? My answer to this would be that THIS website would feature businesses that already got off the ground, VIA the microfinance loans that they’d already PAID OFF.
• How could we bridge the connection between someone from, i.e. the US, to the business in the developing country, via shipping?

From posting it online, I’ve received responses including one from Kevin, who commented:

I think this idea might work within a partnership framework meaning leveraging existing platforms whether it’s the two above, ebay, craigslist, local and global MFI’s, to create a unique value to these already proven entrepreneurs as well as these partnering institutions. I think connecting these proven entrepreneurs’ goods to the global marketplace is a valuable service but I think is not so much if you can create a unique tool or platform to do so, but whether or not you can find the right institutions that already exists to create a network that leverages each others partners strength.

Alastair also brought up a similar point in regards to partnerships:

As I understand it, this marketplace would have some sort of seal of approval – businesses listed on the site are recommended, on the basis that they must do what they say on the tin because they’ve paid back their financing. The question is how you build that brand, why do people trust you?

One approach would be to piggy back on the current work in the UK around social enterprise branding (see here: view link). Is there something similar in the USA?
Even if the enterprises you’re listing aren’t in the UK we could still hold them to similar standards.
Most of the MFIs won’t be recognised by most businesses so I perhaps think the real opportunity lies in partnering with a household name (like google).

Those have been insightful responses, but I’d love to get more discussion going on this topic. Please comment and let me know what you think!

Related posts:

• Social Entrepreneurship
• Research Paper on Social Business
• Starting a revolution, in my own way

Anyway, the main focus on my paper is –

While social entrepreneurship historically has been in practice, it has recently become an emerging field. In this paper, I am going to examine social entrepreneurship and the model and application of social business. More specifically, I will investigate the potential for poverty alleviation through social businesses serving the “bottom of the pyramid” (BOP) as a market.

In my paper, I evaluate the nonprofit vs. for-profit model, including discussion on the fundamental core values of what it means to be “nonprofit” vs. “for-profit.” I also discuss whether or not investors that invest in social businesses should get a return on their investment. Additionally, my paper examines the potential for partnerships between BOP communities and multinational corporations.

Anyway, the point of me posting it online is to get feedback on points made in my paper. Seeing as I am not a social entrepreneur, and I have no experience in social business, I’d really like some feedback on the different issues I discuss. I’m positive that there are many points I made that may have no basis in my argument, and can be refuted. I’d love to hear it — it will definitely be a learning experience for me. Furthermore, it’d be great to have some discussion about social business as a model and the potential for poverty alleviation.

View my paper here (PDF): Social Entrepreneurship and Social Business

Related posts:

• Social Entrepreneurship
• “Book studying” versus “Real world application”
• Starting a revolution, in my own way

“He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool.“ – Albert Camus

So this quote has been on my WordPress “drafts” for quite a while now, because every time I want to write about this, I lose motivation and decide to not. But every time I come back to this draft and re-read this quote, the more I identify with it – but in opposite ways.

Some days, I’ll be the “he who despairs,” and others, I’ll be the “he who has hope.” And another day, I’ll be neither – somewhere in the middle as I think Camus intended.

It’s funny, because just last night, as I was reading through the numerous articles for my research paper on social entrepreneurship, I came across an article “Social Entrepreneurs and Catalytic Change” by Sandra A. Waddock and James E. Post, in which it discusses who a “catalytic social entrepreneur” is:

“The activities of social entrepreneurs can thus be distinguished from those of other types of public entrepreneurs by 1) the fact that social entrepreneurs are private citizens, not public servants, 2) their focus on raising public awareness of an issue of general public concern, and 3) their hope that increased public attention will result in new solutions eventually emerging…It is this latter aspect that gives rise to the term “catalytic.”

And I guess that is the one problem I have with that description. That is is the hope that may (or may not) result in new solutions.

If there’s anything I’ve discovered in my twenty years, it’s that hope is never enough. Hope can get you through the day, hope can sometimes bring about change, but it never guarantees change. This may be too tied into my own personal beliefs and philosophies, but the way I see it, one can never rely on and hope for others to change. We can try to change people, to change their beliefs and actions, but we can never guarantee it. Again, hope is never enough.

My too-demanding nature often leads to disappointment, because in every way (both on a personal and more global) level, I want that “hope” directed into reality. And so in reading this article, I would conclude that I disagree. If anything, a catalytic social entrepreneur must not hope that public awareness will bring about change: they must guarantee it and be the ones to bring about this change.

Now, is that too much to ask? Am I, too, being too hopeful? Here we go, a classic case of Rosalind-contradicting-herself. I don’t know – you tell me.

More recently than probably the last two years, I’ve become more cynical, more pessimistic once again toward “human nature” or specifically toward politics and existing injustices. I can never reconcile in my mind the fact that injustices will always exist but the fact that they are, as term itself states, unjust. And it’s not enough for me to want to change these injustices (i.e. my desperate – ha – and determined drive to break into social entrepreneurship and somehow succeed) at my present state and time, while instead of learning actual stuff I wished I were learning, I am instead reading other material I find irrelevant. It definitely doesn’t help, either, to be once again reminded of the “politics IS money” perspective which I realized I’ve tried to ignore. It’s one thing to realize this, but it’s another to have to constantly confront it and be okay (or NOT okay, both lead to the same results) with it.

I do know that “little things” count, and that small grassroots movements add up to become huge revolutions. But I’m still waiting for that. And, in a way, I guess I gave up. I lost faith in the “public” grassroots-movement-model and instead am turning to another sector for answers. Am I just too impatient? Do I need to try and stick it through? Am I really just wasting my time?

God, what does it all mean anyway?? What’s the point of it all? I hate my brain sometimes.

Related posts:

• “Book studying” versus “Real world application”
• Excess, wealth, and materialism and how that fits into a career in social enterprise
• Social Entrepreneurship

It’s hard to motivate myself to study for certain subjects in school sometimes because it feels like the material I’m learning will hardly help me in the “real world.” I think that’s a problem most students face nowadays, and I wonder: is the disconnect between “book studies” and “real world application” actually there, or is it something us students make up?

I guess I’d say it’s both – for some material taught, it really is all “book studies” and yet for others it can be very applicable. I can see students (like myself too, sometimes) using the “it’s not even going to help me in real life” excuse to get out of studying, even though in the end it probably doesn’t affect anyone but themselves…

Or, I could view this “disconnect” another way: the lack of motivation for me to study for certain subjects/classes is manifested in me spending my time doing other things, such as participating in the #SocEntChat May 2009 that happened yesterday afternoon. Let’s digress for a second– What is #SocEntChat?!

#SocEntChats is a Twitter-based real-time discussion on social entrepreneurship themed around specific issues/areas/events each month. It is designed for current and aspiring social entrepreneurs, funders, media and supporters to share their ideas, discuss the state of the field, identify the latest innovations and pinpoint areas requiring more exploration… (more information is provided here)

I spent the next hour or so reading and particpating in some really great discussion about social entrepreneurship (see my previous blog entry on social entrepreneurship) at universities and also touched upon the very topic I just talked about – the disconnect, and whether or not school/education/grad-school prepares one for going into the field of social entrepreneurship.

After the chat, I spent one more hour just reading other articles/browsing Twitter/more web stuff on social entrepreneurship instead of studying..

It seems so paradoxical (not sure if this is the right word to use here…) that I’d rather engage in conversation about topics I’m actually interested in rather than spend my time studying for a class that seems like it’s not going to help me much. But people don’t go to school and get “an education” for no reason, so I’m sure one way or another it’s supposed to help me down the line, but it’s just hard to see how in the moment…

Anyway, at this point I think I’m just rambling, so I’m going to stop.

Meanwhile, feel free to share your thoughts on this!

Related posts:

• The Greek World
• Research Paper on Social Business
• Social Entrepreneurship

The article that I came across today just so happened to very concisely put together different aspects of a social enterprise, so I figured I’d share (for my own future reference as well) parts of the article.

What exactly is the difference between an entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur?

Social entrepreneurs differ from their traditional counterparts in the way they view the world. If your sole concern is to expand your own bank balance then the sector isn’t for you but if you want to make a difference beyond putting the odd pound in a charity box, setting up a social enterprise could be the perfect way to achieve your aims.

I remember the first time I was introduced to the concept of a “social business.” For the longest time, I knew I wanted to “use business to change the world”, as I used to say. I didn’t know that such a concept was already in place and in practice (this tends to happen quite a lot – humans are way smarter than I give them for..naive me!). I remember being thrilled by this realization.

So how does a social enterprise “provide a social benefit”?

How you decide to invest your profits is another key early stage decision. Some businesses give away their income, while others provide a product or service which directly benefits a social cause and reinvest the profits back in the business for staff and product or service development issues.

What I’ve always dreamed of is the latter part – using business itself as part of the solution, directly benefiting society in some way.

Lastly, the one aspect of starting and running a social business that both daunts and excites me is that not only does a social business provide a social benefit, it must — as all businesses must — be profitable. There are reasons why businesses are successful. And although I sometimes do not like to admit it (and sometimes do not support the most “profitable businesses”, since some businesses/corporations engage in exploitation, etc.), at the end of the day, money a one of the most key factors in a business. But this is why a social business makes perfect sense to me:

Cliff Prior, chief executive of social enterprise funding body UnLtd, believes persistence is key. “It’s tougher for social entrepreneurs because they’ve got to watch a double or even triple bottom line rather than solely cash and profit,” he explains. “They will face some obstacles and lack of understanding from potential investors or business partners so they must have an extra degree of resilience to tackle it.”

So, at the end of the day, the conclusion is the same one I arrived at last year, when I found and realized that starting a social business is my life calling – that not only do I have to be great, I have to be exceptional. Now the question is – do I have what it takes?

Sometimes I feel like I do, and most other times I feel completely inadequate. I always feel as if I have no experience, no knowledge of just what “social benefits” I’d want to target and provide. I see so many problems in the world — even just in the Bay Area or even back home in Orange County — but I don’t seem to know where I’d ever start to tackle the problems. I also feel as if me being in school doesn’t help much either, because although I’m living in a community where hunger and homelessness is a prevalent and serious issue, I don’t feel involved enough in attempting to alleviate the problem. My work with the hunger and homelessness campaign I co-ran last year, along with my experiences volunteering at a youth shelter, and even my participation in planning a hunger & homelessness conference don’t seem enough. I only feel as if I am just on the outskirts of fulling understanding the issue.

I think what I really need to do is get out there and allow myself to experience full immersion into a community, with the real locals, for me to even begin to understand the underlying problems of a greater issue, but I don’t think me being in school will really allow me to do that. Or am I just making excuses for myself? There is a time for “book learning” as they call it, and there is also a time for “real-world application,” and right now I’m only getting a small dab of each. I think I’m going to look into some programs or “travel scholarships” (read: The Fulbright Program) to further enrich my knowledge, so that I actually have a clue about what I’m talking about and then one day (hopefully not too far in the future) start a social business.

Related posts:

• Research Paper on Social Business
• Excess, wealth, and materialism and how that fits into a career in social enterprise
• A “Craigslist” for Microfinance-d Businesses?