While the term “impact investing” (or social capital) has garnered substantial attention in recent years, the more traditional field of microfinance, still by far the largest share of impact investments, gets less attention yet has decades of experience doing social capital. Here are a few of lessons from the micro finance sector worth reviewing as this strategy matures: Continue reading “Microfinance Informs Impact Investing”
With the emergence of so many “social businesses,” there’s been a widening distinction made with what many people are now calling non-social businesses. The distinction is that social businesses are built around a heroic mission to make the world a better place, while their non-social cousins exist for a crass purpose — solely to make a profit.
I don’t know about that, but it’s definitely making waves in the social change world. Social capital — and by that we mean investors and lenders who are focused on providing funds not for (or at least not only for) their own profit, but also for the greater social or environmental good — is on the rise. These kinds of financing sources are often called “patient capital” in that they are often willing to accept lower interest rates and longer term repayment plans, relative to conventional financing, essentially in exchange for high social impact.
Continue reading “Will Social Capital Replace Venture Capital?”
It’s amazing how fast mobile devices have taken over our lives. I’ve had my smart phone for only a few months, but hardly a day goes by when I don’t ask it for advice. This past week alone, I looked for child-friendly restaurants, a “green” dry cleaner, bus routes, airline tickets, and a car rental. Sure, I have a computer, and I use it all the time. But if I’m waiting for a meeting, or stuck in traffic, or eating lunch alone, or waking up in the middle of the night, or waiting in a doctor’s office, or – OK, you get the idea — you’ll find me looking at something on my phone. And so are a lot of other people.
Including your customers. Continue reading “Do Social Enterprises Need Mobile Strategies?”
I’m generally not a great fan of business plan competitions, for two reasons. First, they can consume huge amounts of time often with little benefit to those who don’t win. And, unfortunately, lately they have become more about the “pitch” and less about quality research and business competitiveness.
Actual success in the marketplace won’t be determined by flashy slides and smooth talking, but by the depth of understanding of your target customers and your competitive environment.
That said, competitions are popular, and working on how to describe your business in a clear and compelling manner won’t be a waste of time. And, well, you might win some good advice, and even (for a tiny number of contestants) some dollars, too. Just keep your eyes open before you enter into one, so you know what they’ll be judging and how much time it will take.
Here’s a very recent (today, actually), blog entitled “40 Prestigious Business Plan Competitions Every Entrepreneur Should Know About.” It’s a great place to start if you think a business plan competition is the right thing for you.
Good luck!
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For more resources, see our Library topic Business Planning.
Innovation and energy often come together on campus, and today many of them have an entrepreneurial sparkle. College and business school is no longer a place for just preparing and planning how to launch a new venture or nonprofit organization. For many students, the venture starts while on campus, long before graduation.
Here’s an article about 20 successful nonprofits that students started, many of them social enterprises. Click here.
Keep up the good work, students! Gives the rest of us hope for the future.
Good luck!
There are many reasons why one social enterprise grows fast, while another one doesn’t. Frankly, I think luck has a lot to do with it, but there are many other factors as well. A recent article in the Guardian suggests that the attitude of the leader is the most critical ingredient, and that’s hard to challenge. Continue reading “Want Scale? Get Attitude.”
The drive to create a business plan in the least amount of time has reached a new high … or low. Last week, Inc. 5000 published an article suggesting you can and should be able to present your entire business model on paper in (gulp) just 20 minutes. The idea is from a recent book, Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to Plan that Works, by Ash Maurya.
Social Impact is the world’s first social enterprise directory available on cell phones. Continue reading “New Social Enterprise app”
