Inspiration for Turning a Dilemma around to Create a Business Opportunity

Businesses that solve a social issue are always intriguing, particularly when they address the basic necessities of life. I’m often amazed at how simple the solutions are and wonder why no one came up with the idea sooner.

I’ve recently learned of some innovative entrepreneurs who’ve created solutions to what is probably the most urgent issue: the availability of safe drinking water in the developing world. A couple of my favorites are Cynthia Koenig’s Wello Waterwheel and Roundabout’s Playpump.

The WaterWheel is a 25-gallon drum that holds five times the amount of water women traditionally carry on their heads, alleviating the tremendous physical and time burden of water collection. The Wello wheel is basically a barrel with a handle that can be easily pulled or pushed similarly to roller-board luggage. Women and girls spend about a quarter of each day collecting water. Using the water wheel will free up time to spend on more productive activities like work or school.

The Playpump utilizes the energy of children at play to pump water.  As the children play on the roundabout, borehole water, which has been tested and deemed safe for human consumption, is pumped into and stored in a 2,500 litre tank, allowing access to the water when needed.

Until a recent visit with my son, Todd, who builds green homes in mountain communities off the grid, I never thought about the challenge of getting power to a construction site in a rural area. Obviously, power tools are necessary and because Todd’s goal is to be as eco-conscious as possible, he doesn’t want to run a gas generator. He showed me how they have rigged up a mobile solar power station on a trailer to supply energy for the building process. This got me thinking about how useful a mini version of this could be, particularly in the developing world.

A string of recent natural disasters has made us even more aware of how suddenly we can be without power and water, conveniences many in developed countries take for granted. Just this weekend, millions of people on the East coast were without power. Some may also be without safe water.  I wonder how some of these dilemmas can be turned in to viable business opportunities for an aspiring social entrepreneur. That’s what triggers the inspiration for many businesses that make a profit and a difference. Any ideas?

Three Criteria for the Ideal Socially Responsible Business Venture

If you are a regular reader of Inspired Livelihood or Craft Biz Blog, you know that I have three criteria for the ideal business venture:

• It is profitable
• It improves lives
• It utilizes a local workforce when possible

Frequently, when someone comes to me for help creating a socially responsible enterprise, they are initially thinking non-profit. They are surprised that they can create a business in the private sector that makes a difference and they think they have to  manufacture product oversees to make a profit. Of course they can have the item made more cheaply in sweatshops that do not pay fare wages but what good is building a business to help people and then taking jobs oversees that could be creating local income and helping unemployed Americans create a livelihood?

I try to encourage the use our own labor force whenever possible so I was absolutely thrilled to read about what I think is the perfect sustainable model.  Darr and Tom Aley founded Mojo, (short for Moms and Jobs), a hand made apparel company that hires and trains single mothers living near or under poverty level. They provide child care, health care and career training to help these women get off social services like food stamps and welfare and create sustainable livelihoods to improve the lives of their children.

If you know of other businesses that are profitable, improve lives and use local workers, please post in the comments below. I’d love to share them with our other readers. What can you think of that you can do to meet the above three criteria in your own business?

What can you bring from the outside world to make a living AND help your own community?

In this age of technology where we are able to exchange ideas and currency with a worldwide audience instantly, we are encouraged to take our small businesses global. While there’s a lot of merit in being able to sit in your home office and do business all over the world, bigger isn’t always better and some of us still crave face-to-face time with our customers or clients.

Sometimes turning things around and looking at them from the opposite perspective can be enlightening. Rather than just thinking how you can expand your little home business to a universal scale, consider how profitable and rewarding it might be to bring something from “out there” back into your own world.

Maybe it’s time to think local, to look for opportunity to make a living and a difference in your own community.

Reading this week about a start-up, BigBox, who delivers Costco Items to small businesses in NYC, I recalled reading a couple of years ago about Modernash who delivers Ikea to customers in Nashville. (The closest Ikea to Nashville is 250 miles away in Atlanta).

As a proponent of shopping local and supporting small business, my initial reaction was. “Why would a local merchant (Big Box was started by a restauranteur) want to encourage buying from big box chains?”  Having lived and owned business in a small village 40 miles from the nearest big box chains, I am sensitive to the issue of people traveling to purchase what is available locally. It bothered me that local merchants would spend time and gas to purchase office supplies and hardware from Staples or Home Depot rather than spend a little more and support their fellow merchants. That is until I realized it wasn’t a matter of saving a few dollars. The local office supply and hardware store had limited selection and the prices were sometimes double or triple. I recognized they didn’t have the buying power to enable them to sell at the same prices as the big box stores or the cash flow to stock as much inventory, so a service that delivered from the chains wasn’t taking business away from the local merchants.

When I look at any small business concept, I ask myself a couple of questions right off:

What differentiates this business that makes someone want to chose to spend their money here?

How is this business making a difference in someone’s life, the community or the world?

In the example of Modernash:

I’m not aware of a local Nashville business that sells inexpensive KD (knocked-down or flat-packed) Danish Home Furnishings so they are not taking business away from a local.

Every trip ModerNash makes to Atlanta saves Nashvillians an average of 750 gallons of gas, thus cutting down on harmful emissions and pollutants.

In the case of BigBox:

They claim that: On average, your daily household items are 147% more expensive at local New York City stores

Local solo entrepreneurs frequently run their shops alone, therefore would lose revenue if they had to close and do their own shopping in the suburbs. Also, many merchants in NYC do not own cars so have no way to transport items even from local vendors.

I feature these business not because you’re necessarily interested in starting a delivery service but to demonstrate how you don’t have to be feeding starving children in an underdeveloped country to make a difference in people’s lives. Nor do you have to come up with a totally new concept for your business to stand out and succeed. Delivery service has been around forever. (Think ice man or milkman.)

The key is to do it better or different. More efficiently, higher quality or better customer service.

Now that we are able to get our message out to the world instantly, we are encouraged to look at the market place globally. That doesn’t mean some of the best ideas aren’t right in your own neighborhood. Try something new. Actually, it’s something ancient. Think local! Look around your community. What is lacking? Walk or drive around your immediate area and observe. What are people spending time, money and effort on that could be done faster, easier, most cost effective or more fun? (Yes, people will pay more for something more exciting.)

What service or product is not available in your local community that you could bring in to save people time or money that isn’t taking away from a local business?

AS always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Why Teens Need Entrepreneurs as Mentors

Several months ago I felt honored to be invited to mentor a 17 year old high school senior.  As a requirement for graduation, each student chose a year long community service project, which culminated in an awards program. Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the presentations and came away with an optimism about our future leaders.

Naturally, some of the students thought the project was “lame” and did only the required work with little enthusiasm. But what delighted me was seeing the pride on the faces of many others who were so inspired by the work that they far exceeded the obligatory hours. Their Power Point presentations, story boards, scrapbooks, oral or written reports showed they’d put far more time and energy into the project than was required.

I’m aware that young people often do volunteer community service because their churches encourage benevolence or they know it looks good on a college resume, but whatever their initial motivation, some of these kids discover empathy and purpose that hopefully will give their lives direction. Of course they feel the satisfaction of helping others but they also learn that goodwill and philanthropy isn’t just about volunteering and making charitable donations. That beneficence can be a way of life and a livelihood.

A proponent of socially responsible business, I found it encouraging that these young people gained an appreciation for and interest in environmental,  elder care and youth services careers.  As a life-long entrepreneur and self employment advocate, I was elated that they not only volunteered in civic and  social service agencies but also witnessed adults gleefully earning their livelihood as proprietors of private recycling services and sports camps for disabled children. They discovered that they could be self employed elder advocates, or environmental lobbyists in the private sector. One young man exuberantly reported on his work with a rock band who did a playground improvement project in each town they performed on tour. Another student, a pitcher on the high school baseball team, when asked if he hoped to play professionally, said his project coaching an inner city basketball team inspired him to maybe start a baseball camp for less privileged kids.  A girl whose project was testing river water for impurities, when asked if she wanted to be a researcher said, “No, I’m going to be an author.  I’ve already started writing fictional stories that teach a lesson about our precious natural resources.”

Sure, many of these kids will be job seekers but I’m ecstatic that some are already thinking like entrepreneurs. They know that they don’t have to have a job to do well financially and that volunteering or check writing aren’t the only ways to do good. These grads are heading out into the world knowing that they can make a difference by making a living as a social entrepreneur.  I’m still smiling.

Is FEAR behind your drive to change the status quo?

At a Summit on Social Entrepreneurship at Yale University last week,  “Sandbox” community members were asked to share their thoughts on “Fearless Leadership”. Interestingly, the young change agents argued that if you wish to change the status quo you must fear something.

Sandbox members identified three fears necessary to drive change:

1. The fear of not having an impact.
2. The fear of doing something they are not genuinely passionate about.
3. The fear of being ‘normal’.

Had I been asked the same question, I’d have cited discontent or anger at an injustice, but this got me thinking about what is at the core of my own drive to want to make a difference. Does it really stem from my fear of leaving this earth without having made an impact? Is it the fear of not doing something more meaningful. Is it a fear of mediocrity? Maybe. Probably. What about you? What fuels your need to create change? As always, you are invited to share your views here.

Find More Meaning in March

My friend Alice Barry  (www.entertainingtheidea.com) calls March the Month of More Meaning.  Throughout the month of March she’ll be focusing on  and exploring the many ways we can contribute to the world in meaningful ways through our businesses.  As you know, the mission of “Inspired Livelihood” is to  support, inspire and encourage artists, musicians, authors and aspiring entrepreneurs to make a living while making a difference in their community or the world.

As Barbara Winter, author of  ”Making a Living Without a Job” said in her recent Joyfully Jobless newsletter the “search for meaningful work that makes a positive impact in the world is a huge motivator” of the successfully self employed. If you are ready to activate your inner activist and add the meaning/purpose piece to your bottom line, the “Inspired Livelihood Workshop” is for you. .

Join Alice, Barbara and me f in Sedona, Arizona on April 16 & 17. With this exquisite community as our backdrop, we’ll explore what it means to create a business that is both profitable and meaningful. Read about this exciting event HERE

Creating More Meaning in Your Work

The late Anita Roddick knew “if you can create an honorable livelihood, where you take your skills and use them to earn a living, it gives you a sense of freedom and allows you to balance your life the way you want. ” As founder of The Body Shop, she created a business that was  wildly profitable while remaining socially responsible.

There are many ways to make a difference and they don’t have to be limited to volunteer or non-profits. If you’re like many of us, you dream of doing something more meaningful and making an impact but you do still need to earn a living.

As  social media specialist Jeff Korhan noted in his lawnandlandscape.com post yesterday,  “Social entrepreneurship isn’t philanthropy. It is augmenting your business model to include social needs alongside traditional profit needs.” Contrary to the beliefs of so many aspiring entrepreneurs, it’s not only OK to make a solid income from a socially responsible business, but your business is more likely to make an long term impact if your company is profitable. If you are continually worrying about adequate charitable donations to drive change, you aren’t going to be able to focus on the greater good.

If you’re searching for a way to create more meaning in your work, check out  the upcoming Inspired Livelihood workshop in beautiful Sedona, Arizona with Barbara Winter and Alice Barry, where you’ll learn how you can make a living and make a change in society.

From Wall Street to Social Entrepreneur

An article in the New York Daily News today featured several young Wall Street “casualties” who’ve taken advantage of the recession to begin new socially conscious businesses. Stephen Chen and Iris Chau started  GreenSoul Shoes,  selling sandals made from recycled tires by artisans in Third World countries.  Chau’s husband came up with the idea after seeing children playing barefoot in a Manila garbage dump.  For ever pair sold, they donate another to a needy child in the artisans’ communities.  GreenSoul isn’t only making a difference  in underdeveloped countries.  The company incorporates the social change aspect on the home front by using a facility that employs ex-cons, recovering addicts and formerly homeless to do their packing and shipping.

The article mentions other young social entrepreneurs including Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie, two Brown grads  who are bringing a tea called Guayusa to America as an energy drink. A highly caffeinated, sweet tea that keeps you alert without the jitters, Guayusa is grown in  Ecuador and because it needs the shade of other trees to grow, it is helping to preserve the rain forest, and is supporting indigenous farmers. 

These and many other aspiring entrepreneurs, are turning their recent job loss into an opportunity to create a new economic model that makes doing good in the community or the world a part of doing well financially.  This recession is likely to birth some of the most successful and socially conscious entrepreneurs in history. 

How can you turn a job loss or down economy into an opportunity to take a stand and make a difference while you’re making a living.  Could this be the perfect time for you to, as Gandhi said, “be the change you wish to see in the world?” 

Read more

Is it OK to make money while doing good?.

Not only Ok but vital to your livelihood and your cause.  I’ve heard people complain about the salaries paid to  directors of non profits.  They say things like “if she really were in it for the better good, she would do it for free.” Or,  “I resent that part of my donation (to a particular charity) goes to paying a director’s salary.”

Do these same people believe that their doctor shouldn’t charge a fee or that public defenders should do their jobs pro-gratis? I don’t believe that the people who research cancer treatments or those who develop cleaner fuel sources feel the least bit guilty about getting paid well to do good in the world. 

So why is it that many entrepreneurs who want to make a difference by addressing social issues feel they shouldn’t command a reasonable income to do what they feel passionate about? 

The truth is, non profits do pay nice director’s salaries and as a result attract the best, most effective staff. If everyone who wanted to make a difference had to be a full time volunteer, we would not have the effective leadership to make positive change.  Most of us need to make a living and it takes the brightest, highly driven and most dedicated executives to direct change. If those people couldn’t make a good living as change agents, they’d have to be corporate leaders and just do what they can for a cause in their spare time. I, personally, am thrilled to have the best and brightest heading up causes I feel strongly about. and I am happy to see them making what they are worth to make changes in the world. 

If your dream involves making a difference but you don’t see how you can make a living as a social entrepreneur, the first step is to examine your attitudes about wealth and adjust your mindset around money. You likely have a gift to share with the world and it has monetary value. If a corporation was to hire you to use your talent to set up and run a particular department, you’d expect to be paid well for your expertise. As a social entrepreneur, you have even greater value. 

As you are dreaming of making a difference,  think about what special skills you have that you’ll use to implement change. Then consider what you’d expect to be paid to do this job in corporate America. That is the value you should place on your new “job” and figure that into the overall plan. It may involve some creative financing or grants, and you won’t make that salary overnight, but it is your “value” and you have no reason to feel anything but generous about giving your time and talents in exchange for income.