About a year ago, I fell in love. The attraction I felt was not instant, nor could I describe it as love at first sight. The feelings I had grew gradually until one day, I realised I had found what had been missing in my life. That love was social enterprise. It was through this love that Goodsites was born.
When a friend of mine falls in love, I want to know all the details. My favourite question is ‘How did you meet?’ And this is usually followed by a series of other questions such as ‘What is the person like – looks and interests? What was the thing that attracted them to this person in the first place? What is their favourite thing about them?’ And so on….
Reflecting on my own answers to these questions, I would have to say that one of the main reasons I fell in love with social enterprise is because of its ability to drive social change through business. It’s practical and simple – using business principles to address and respond to community problems. As said by Rupert Scofield (November 2011), in a world of dwindling public resources and growing social challenges, mission-driven entrepreneurship is more important than ever before.
Like all love affairs, there were many great moments. Having the opportunity to learn more about and build the capacity of other social enterprises, along with meeting a range of passionate individuals committed to changing the world through business were certainly highlights. Whilst I can laugh about them now, there were plenty of not-so-great moments that forced me to question how committed I was to this ‘love’ – these included the time I accidentally smashed about 20 plates and saucers in front of a client (you could tell I had never worked in hospitality before!), booked 2 clients into the same room at the same time, and hired out an oven to a client that did not actually belong to the business (it had been left in the venue by a caterer!)
You learn a lot about yourself when you fall in love or feel passionately about something or someone.
Pretty quickly, I learnt that the only thing I knew was that I knew nothing.
Despite this, I thought some of my learnings over the past 14 months might be useful for those interested in delving into the world of social enterprise.
- Passion is only one ingredient. Passion and energy alone is not enough to set up and run an effective social enterprise. Technical skills and business experience are equally important. This does not mean you need an MBA – but in the event that you have more passion and energy than technical business skills and experiences, as was the case for me, you will have to surround yourself with those who complement your skill set. (Thanks Daniel, Paul, Tim, David and Cherie!)
- Money is important. The question any start-up business (or any business for that matter) needs to ask itself each day is ‘where is the next dollar going to come from?’ If possible, do not get bogged down in writing countless ‘to do lists’ that have no short-term dollar return. Having never really worked in a business environment before, I initially felt strange and somewhat guilty when I quoted clients and sent them an invoice. However, within months I realised that unless I was firm about clients paying for services Goodsites provided, there would be no business! It is not enough to have a sustainable business – it must be profitable. (Thanks Paul!)
- Pick your battles and be prepared to have the ‘hard’ conversations. Setting up a business involves developing relationships and networks with a range of suppliers and customers. Whilst one should work to ensure these relationships are solid and genuine, do not expect to be friends with everyone you do business with, and where necessary, be confident in addressing issues that are affecting your business’ interests. Importantly, do not stress about everything and take every potential ‘battle’ on board personally. (Thanks Daniel!)
- Embrace risk. If you don’t, you won’t last long in a social enterprise environment. I had thought that I was not adverse to risk until my involvement in social enterprise. I am (or was?) so adverse to risk! There is never any guarantee, as I have learnt, that your social enterprise idea will be successful or that you will get paid each week. Success in the social enterprise space means not being distracted or overwhelmed by these two realities. (Thanks Cherie and Paul!)
- Love your financial statements as much as you love what your social enterprise stands for. I borrowed multiple books on accounting and business in an effort to understand profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow documents. How I thought I could be effective in running a social enterprise without understanding these financial statements is beyond me!
- Balancing act. Balancing Goodsites’ social objectives with the need to be a profitable business was an ongoing battle. We regularly asked ourselves whether Goodsites could remain a profitable business without compromising its mission and values. Is it okay to compromise a little during the start up phase? My answer would be no. However, if the social enterprise is not profitable, its ability to address social problems will most certainly be limited.
- Have fun and enjoy the ride. Most days will present a new challenge – embrace them all! I have been so inspired by those who have been involved in building and supporting Goodsites. The experience would not have been as great if it weren’t for those I had the privilege and honour to work with along the way. Special thanks to donkey wheel charitable trust, Life Expedition, Cherie Ong, Daniel Wong, Paul Steele, David Curtis, Tim Goh, Paul Darley, Rachel Reichman, Terry Stevens, Bessi Graham, Rob Hansen, Jessie Richardson, Ellie Khoo, Eugene Wong, Juan Chacolie, Jean Lim, Doreen Chew, Stuart Ellis, Troy Perera, Jing Wen Yeo, Vanessa Mayne, Samantha Royce, the teams at Social Traders (especially Jessica Purbrick-Herbst), Kinfolk Cafe (especially Jarrod Briffa), Prahran Mission, Original Foods, CleanForce and Incito Maintenance.
Who and what will be my next love? I am hoping that a human, rather than a new business will be the focus! Ha. However, in the meantime, I will keep exploring new social enterprise ideas – I just can’t help myself! My latest idea is centred on my dormant compost bin at home. It’s at full capacity (ie. we can’t put any other food scraps or waste in there) and contains 500 healthy worms (thanks for the great Christmas present, Meagan!) but as I have very little garden space, there is no where to put the compost waste. Perhaps I could mobilise other people with a similar problem who may be interested in selling their compost waste to a local garden or hardware store? This would address an environmental problem, have a positive impact on the environment and would possibly provide employment opportunities for those working in horticulture or gardening……….
Here is to another opportunity to drive social change through social enterprise!
All the best to those running a social enterprise. I look forward to hearing your stories.
