Social Entrepreneurs and the “How can I make money?” mindset

I came across an interesting post today that helps me to further define what a social entrepreneur really is.

In the non-profit organization mindset where resources are limited and funding is scarce, the mindset is more along the lines of “how can I save money?” instead of “how can I make money?” and this is where the difference between someone in the non-profit sector and a social entrepreneur lies.

Taken from fromgoodtogold,

“… A habit of thrift and economy… is a critical personal and organisational leadership skill for running an NGO or other non-profit where one uses limited financial resources – since no new financial resources are being created there is no room for any financial risk-taking. So in my experience social entrepreneurs come to believe in a “how can I save money?” versus “how can I make money?” mindset.

This is where leading a social enterprise is strategically different from leading a non-profit. Corporate or social investors want to know when the organisation will be financially self-sustaining. strategically, a social enterprise looks more like a for-profit venture. Strategic leaders will answer the following questions: 1- how much time to first enterprise revenue dollar 2 – How much time to break even 3 – how much time to first profit dollar (social enterprises typically reinvest revenue)”

In other words, a social enterprise increasingly looks like a for-profit venture, but with the social mission as its primary focus. This definition corroborates the definition the Laurel Centre has for social entrepreneurship:

“Social entrepreneurship combines the passion of a social mission with the discipline, innovation and knowledge of traditional business fields.”

Posted via web from Renjie Butalid