Ten Important Questions for Social Entrpreneurs:
I just got off the phone with of Dev Aujla of Dream Now Dream Now a very cool organization in Canada for encouraging social change amongst new college graduates by activating passion for concrete activism (they have a fantastic ebook called “Operation Change the World” thats available for download at MyOccupation.org, if you give them your email address). Its a great guide if you want to learn about the area of social enterprise and innovation:
Here are some important questions for social entrepreneurs:
How can I tell if this is a viable organization? (opportunity identification)
How can I learn (or outsource) the basic business skills? (sales, collaboration, negotiation, marketing, PR, etc.)
How can I leverage a network? (other organizations in the space, customers, and government and other sectors)
How can I do deep customer research? (what they will pay for, what they will pay, etc..)
How can I keep my organization lean? (how can I optimize time, money, and resources in my organization)
How can I scale my organization once its tested?
How can I create a unique selling proposition which connects with customers?
How can I raise funds or otherwise bootstrap my organization?
How can I create a (sustainable) competitive advantage?
How can I find like minded customers & companies?
A couple other key questions for reflection:
What is most important to me & my stakeholders about what I am doing? (ie what is my purpose & the purpose of my organization)
Can I be a social innovator inside organizations (ie an intra-preneur)? Is that where I’m best suited?
How can I go from where I am now to where I need/want to be as a change agent?
What are the key questions that early stage social entrepreneurs and change makers need to be thinking about?
