So, you want to become a social entrepreneur. That’s great! Social entrepreneurism is a great career for anyone interested in using their passions, skills, and talents to create change. Being the change and making a positive impact is the heart of this industry. However, it’s not as simple as it looks, so here are the 05 steps you need to succeed in becoming a social entrepreneur.
Find Your Passion
Finding your passion is the first step towards any career goal. The most successful entrepreneurs, such as Bill Drayton and Shiza Shahid, started their careers by believing in something. They wanted to help others, solve problems, make a change, and have an impact. Your passion should answer each of the 5 w’s.
- What do you want to do with this passion?
- Why are you passionate about this subject?
- What bothers you about the problem you want to solve?
- When do you hope to achieve this goal?
- Where is the community or groups you want to help?
- How do you plan to use your passion for good?
With these questions, you’ll learn to understand yourself, which will make it easier for you to pursue your dreams.
Research the Industry
It would help if you researched the current industry and its offerings. If a social entrepreneur or famous businessperson is doing exactly what you want to do, use it for inspiration. Also, research competitors and gather insights for what problems or solutions they’re not focused on. List those things because they’re opportunities you have to discover and succeed in targeting a niche audience.
During this phase, you might also want to consider researching keywords, topics, and phrases that your ideal target audience might look at. Here, you’ll also work on the brand persona and its demographic information.
Create Your Unique Offering
This is your chance to create something that might change the world. Ideally, you want to offer your target audience something that has not been introduced to them yet. This will make your offering more unique and marketable.
According to an article on UsChamber, one way to do this is to write a word representing the brand, problems, and solutions on sticky notes. Then somewhere, you can easily see them and move them around as necessary.
Grow the Business Organically
One of the biggest mistakes new social entrepreneurs and business owners make is buying off users and purchasers to help their brand. But that hurts you more. Businesses who buy followers, likes, web traffic, and purchases are scamming themselves and their audience (American Express, 2012). This results in customers, collaborators, and online users distrusting your intentions and what you’re offering.
Instead, focus on using your business or skills to work within the communities you want to serve. The overall goal of social entrepreneurism is to invest, help, and grow a community in need. Growing you skills or business takes time, but with patience and hard work, you’ll soon find success.
Network and Ask For Feedback
Throughout your journey as a social entrepreneur, you should always be networking with others and asking for feedback. Social entrepreneurism is not an industry you can rush through. It requires time, patience, and passion for doing. Networking allows you to meet people in the same field as you, succeeded, and can offer advice to do better.
Find mentors or other people within your entrepreneur niche that can offer guidance when you’re struggling. These people should be professionals, just like yourself, who enjoy helping others to succeed.
Why You Should Pursue Social Entreprenuerism?
Social entrepreneurs approach the business industry from a different lens. They look at how their business skills can be used to create positive change in the world. The most popular entrepreneurs note several reasons for going into this industry: having a life purpose, networking with like-minded individuals, and using your skills for good.
We all want to do something to be the change. But, to do that, you must work towards it. That is what social entrepreneurism offers you.
References
American Express. (2012, June 30). Why You Shouldn’t Buy New Followers For Your Business. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/why-you-shouldnt-buy-new-followers-for-your-business/#:~:text=You%20could%20be%20scamming%20your,genuine%20knowledge%20about%20the%20material.
UsChamber. (2019, December 09). 7 Steps to Becoming a Successful Social Entrepreneur. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://www.uschamber.com/co/good-company/growth-studio/how-to-become-a-social-entrepreneur
Wright, R. (2018, August 16). 6 steps to becoming a successful social entrepreneur. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/6-steps-to-become-a-successful-social-entrepreneur/