Social Entrepreneurship Have you ever run a lemonade stand You would have planned it out bought your supplies and made it happen That would make you an entrepreneur An entrepreneur is someone who plans starts and runs a new enterprise that provides goods or services Henry Ford was a revolutionary entrepreneur whose vision included social improvement He improved the lives of his employees by paying them well and reducing their workweek 6 1
Groundbreaking Entrepreneurs Some entrepreneurs do things that change people’s lives One famous American entrepreneur was Henry Ford In 1908 his company introduced the Model T automobile It was affordable and simple to drive In 1914 Ford began producing this car on a moving assembly line This had never been done before The new approach made production easy and kept costs low The Model T’s low price allowed many more people in North America to buy a car for the first time More importantly Ford’s assembly line changed the way many things were made Using an assembly line to make automobiles meant that more cars could be built in less time The cars could still be good quality but cost less Workers had shorter workdays yet made good money Ford’s success inspired business owners worldwide to use assembly lines in all kinds of industries Today everything from toasters to party hats are made using assembly lines Forms of Entrepreneurship All entrepreneurs follow a passion They tend to be good at noticing a problem or need and then finding a solution for it Traditionally entrepreneurs have focused on keeping customers and making a profit In recent years people have begun to use business skills to develop new kinds of enterprises In an automobile assembly line cars move through a series of stations At each station a worker installs the same part on every car Many entrepreneurs have found business opportunities providing goods and services over the Internet The main goal of digital entrepreneurship is the same as that of most businesses to make money Most businesses measure their success by whether they make a profit Suppose you sold a lot of lemonade at your lemonade stand You would probably make a profit so your business would be considered a success Social and environmental entrepreneurship are different Such enterprises may generate a profit but that is not their main goal Environmental entrepreneurs are passionate about having a positive impact on environmental issues The main goal of social entrepreneurs is to have a positive effect on people’s lives 7
Making Social Change Happen This book is about social entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurs are good at finding clever solutions to address social problems such as child labor poverty lack of sanitation hunger racism or low literacy Social problems around the world are almost too many to count All social entrepreneurs have one thing in common they share a passion to help improve the lives of others What message might this girl be sending to her customers by her unique spelling of the word lemonade on her sign Not Just About the Money Like all entrepreneurs social entrepreneurs plan and run new enterprises They provide goods or services and they must be financially responsible Unlike other enterprises a social enterprise is only successful if it makes social change Suppose you want to help families who can’t afford to buy food If you set up a lemonade stand to raise money and donated half of your profits to a local food bank that would make you a successful social entrepreneur 8
What qualities would you use to inspire your team to help you change the world Qualities of a Social Entrepreneur All entrepreneurs are problem solvers driven by a sense of purpose Social entrepreneurs have the action-oriented nature of an entrepreneur as well as a powerful sense of social responsibility Nearly every entrepreneur has worked hard to develop the qualities he or she needed to succeed Many social entrepreneurs remember becoming concerned with social issues when they were young They learned skills that would help them become successful social entrepreneurs That means you can too Which of these qualities would most help a social entrepreneur 9
