The other day, I read a report about social entrepreneurs on BBC’s website. As a social entrepreneur myself, I was intrigued about how the concept was viewed by people in more conventional lines. As I read through the article, I couldn’t help but feel an affinity to the people who shared the same values as I did – how to make a living by directly contributing to the betterment of society.
A Social Entrepreneur is someone who starts a business that contributes positively to society or the environment. Of course, one can argue that all businesses contribute to society by creating jobs, generating economic growth, etc. But whereas conventional business models focus on profit first with any social benefit being incidental, the focus of the social enterprise is entirely different.
The social enterprise is first and foremost set up with the primary objective to contribute to society and (if possible) make a profit. You can identify a social enterprise by a few characteristics.
1) Its business objective is to help society of the environment
2) Its profit margins are usually very slim
3) Its business decisions are primarily based on social/environmental objectives and not profits
It was an inspiring piece. And it made me remember once again why I do what I do, despite not making much money out of it.
A few years back I had a phase where I desperately wanted to be rich and famous. So I embarked on a venture that had good potential. It kept me very busy, very stressed but in the end I got very little out of the years I put into it. Worst of all, it kept me away from the things that were most important to me – my family, my students, my passions.
Until a family crisis forced me to re-think my priorities. During those many months, I had no time for pursuing riches. I was just too busy trying to keep it all together, juggling the various family concerns, trying to supporting everybody and just trying to survive through it all. It was such an emotionally draining period but WHAT a blessing in disguise it was!
The time I was forced to spend at home with my family made me realise what I was missing. As I rediscovered myself, I also began to get a clearer picture of the pot of gold I was chasing.
In these days of economic uncertainty, where we see Wall Street collapsing and threatening to take the whole world down with it, one must wonder – are profits the be all and end all in a capitalist society? Is the pursuit of material gain a worthy objective in our material world? Are those the values we really want our children to absorb?
The Bible says “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” When profits and not people are the focus, people are neglected. When the bottom line is more important than positive values, values are eroded. It took a family crisis to finally make me realise the truth. I had convinced myself that all my busy-ness was because I wanted to build a better future for my family. But I was unconscious to the effect it had on myself and those around me.
We need a new kind of thinking in the business world. One that is driven by passion and a vision to make this world a better place. Social entrepreneurship is an expression of this positive mentality. Social entrepreneur giants like Prof Yunus of Grameen Bank are leading the charge in trying to convince the world that we can make a difference and make a living at the same time.
Of course, we can’t all become social entrepreneurs. But we can all make an effort to be conscious of our motivations and priorities.
As I’m writing this, I reminded again of one of my favourite movies, Jerry Maguire. What I love about the movie most was its message of “Fewer clients. Less dancing. More truth. We must crack open the tightly clenched fist of commerce and give a little back for the greater good.” It still resonates deeply within me, even though the movie was released way back in 1996.
Sure, as a social entrepreneur I don’t make much money. But the importance of what I do and seeing kids develop their potential beyond anyone’s expectations more than make up for it! To me, that’s more important than money.
So what if I have to make do with less? We are the architects of the world that our children will inherit. If I can leave our world better off for our children, wouldn’t that be worth it?
I’ll leave you with another quote from the movie Jerry Maguire:
“Hey, I don’t have all the answers, in life, to be honest, I’ve failed as much as I’ve succeeded, but I love my wife, I love my life, and I wish you my kind of success.”
Blessings to you…
Chee Seng
(P.S. You can read Jerry Maguire’s inspiring Mission Statement HERE.)
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