Entrepreneurs: are they the bad guys or the good guys?
We have finally come to the end of the WINSOME reveal to SEE Your (& Our) Way to a Better World where SEE is Social Enterprise Evolve. E is for Entrepreneurial and Environmental Benefit.
I truly believe, along with some others, that the entrepreneurial mindset holds the key to transforming cities, states and even nations. Entrepreneurs by nature are visionaries plus are good stewards of resources. This article will consider best practice in entrepreneurship and also how the environment must benefit in the SEE Your Way to a Better World paradigm, where we all win.
Entrepreneurs at times have had a negative reputation where they have been greedy and arrogant. When we Social Enterprise Evolve our Cities, this is NOT the case. This vision and stewardship (or responsible management of resources) must be coupled with character and authenticity or vulnerability. Society is well over the fakes and can spot counterfeits a mile away. Humility is key. Not thinking more or less of yourself in comparing yourself to others, but rather thinking of yourself less – being outward focused to bless others is the secret many forget or ignore to their own detriment. Let me explain.
Social entrepreneurs by their nature want to make the world a better place, there is a social as well as an economic goal. They have realised that we need love and money to change the world. When we have a purpose beyond ourselves this inspires intrinsic motivation – the why to get up in the morning. The purpose may be to improve your local community regarding youth, women, reducing crime, or stopping global sex trafficking but I would also suggest it must also be multi-generational in focus, including caring for the environment.
Saving or healing the damage already done to our planet I would argue must be part of the social cause. What is the legacy we are leaving future generations? This must include clean air and water, and healthy food. I cannot recall meeting anyone who is a social entrepreneur who doesn’t also have strategies that care in some way for the environment. This could be anything from using filtered water in reusable environmentally friendly bottles, to driving a hybrid vehicle such as a Toyota Prius, turning off lights when not in use, keeping electronic copies of documents rather than paper to reduce paper waste, or choosing to walk or ride a bicycle on weekends to reduce CO gas emissions.
When social entrepreneurs lead by example by having a social cause as well as a financial sustainability model as the foundation of the company, as well as have the character to walk out their vision, and are humble enough to be real about the journey, we all win.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this series on Social Enterprise Evolve for Cities and Their People to thrive as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.
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