Are making a living and making a difference separate parts of your life?

The old idea of philanthropy as writing a check or volunteering after you’ve made your fortune in a high level job is  20th Century thinking.  A trend we’re seeing at universities worldwide is to prepare graduates to build a business that makes money and embraces social change. A business degree is definitely not necessary to start a business, but it’s worth noting that major business schools are turning out a new breed of MBAs who want to make a buck while also making the world a better place. The old MBA model turned out graduates with the goal of landing a solid corporate job. If a student’s goal was to make a difference, they’d go into social work or the non-profit sector.   In a recent article in the Independent, a UK publication,  Pamela Hartigan, director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship was quoted as saying that “rather than separating where they (new MBAs) make their money from where they do good, they are convinced that it is possible to live comfortably and dedicate their careers to pursuits that are fundamentally innovative, philosophically positive and morally compelling.”

Are you ready to join the ranks of 21st Century Entrepreneurs who are creating businesses that improve the lives of individuals, families, communities and countries by using their passions and creativity to solve local and global problems and create social change?  If you’re ready to learn how you can create a profitable business that means something more, I’d like to invite you to join Barbara Winter, best selling author of “Making a Living without a Job” , Idea Artisan, Alice Barry of “Entertaining the Idea”and me, Terri Belford, self-employment muse for a life and

career changing event.

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.

Paul Hawken’s to the Class of 2009,University of Portland

If you haven’t read this commencement address by Paul Hawken’s to the Class of 2009,University of Portland, read it. If you have, RE-read it. Please. I read it in May and re-read it this morning. This is probably the most important message these graduates heard in their college career.

I have great respect for Paul Hawken, as an entrepreneur and a responsible human. For any of you who believe making a difference is just for non-profits, check out what he’s done with private enterprise. It’s not just about amassing a great fortune and then donating to causes. It’s about living each day taking responsibility for the future and this can be compatible with private enterprise.
Below is Paul Hawken’s to the Class of 2009,University of Portland:
When I was invited to give this speech, I was asked if I could give a simple short talk that was “direct, naked, taut, honest, passionate, lean, shivering, startling, and graceful.” No pressure there.

Let’s begin with the startling part. Class of 2009: you are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on earth at a time when every living system is declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating. Kind of a mind-boggling situation… but not one peer-reviewed paper published in the last thirty years can refute that statement. Basically, civilization needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades.

This planet came with a set of instructions, but we seem to have misplaced them. Important rules like don’t poison the water, soil, or air, don’t let the earth get overcrowded, and don’t touch the thermostat have been broken. Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seatbelts, lots of room in coach, and really good food-but all that is changing.

There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn’t bring lemon juice to decode it, I can tell you what it says: You are Brilliant, and the Earth is Hiring. The earth couldn’t afford to send recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint.

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Tiny Steps to Make BIG Social Change

There’s a lot of media buzz recently about huge organizations driving social change. Almost every career change seeker I have spoken with has a strong desire to not just make money but to make a difference in their community or the world. 

For most, this is still a dream, so I began looking at what’s holding them back? It appears that while the drive is authentic and strong, the fear factor kicks in and the aspiring change agent is frozen by overwhelm. They’re intimidated by what they see as impossible. They don’t believe that they as an individual can make a difference. 

What all these aspiring entrepreneurs are missing is that no one starts big. Even the most high powered global entrepreneurs had to start right where they were when the idea became an unstoppable drive to make a difference. 

Not all social change has to be global. Is there something in your own community that just tugs at your heart or feels terribly unjust? You can have a huge impact right in your own back yard whether your interest is environmental, educational or social. You may do something in your neighborhood that makes such an impact on one life, one group or one community that it is duplicated throughout the world. Remember, every huge movement started with a single step. Stay tuned for BIG news on a small event where you can make enormous change.

“The man who moved a mountain is the one who began carrying away small stones.”  Chinese proverb

Entrepreneurs as Change Agents-Can you Make a Living and a Difference?

When friends and family ask me what I do, my description often includes the term “social entrepreneurs”. Typically, I see puzzled look and I explain that I help inspired entrepreneurs to make a difference in the world. This is frequently followed by, “you mean you work with non-profits?”. 

While some social entrepreneurs do run non-profit or not-for-profit organizations, and draw a nice salary as director, many social entrepreneurs are in private enterprise.  The terms “social entrepreneur” and “for profit” are not in conflict.  There’s a common misconception that making a difference means living on peanuts. That’s absolutely false.

Social entrepreneurs can make a substantial living, however their mission is to for “more than profit.”  Unlike “cause marketing” which is attracting customers by promoting the fact that a percentage of profit goes to a particular cause, social entrepreneurs are moved by a specific social problem and use entrepreneurial principles to aid in social change.  As opposed to a business deciding to donate to a cause, the cause is the impetus for the business.

According to an article in Business Week last fall, there are now 30,000 known social entrepreneurs producing $40 billion in revenue. The same article reported that President Obama  suggested starting a new government agency to help socially conscious startups gain more access to venture capital. 

Although we’d all love to make changes on a global scale, social entrepreneurs can make a positive impact by using their business acumen to facilitate change in their own community. 

Daily, I hear from entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs who’s priority is making a difference.  Coaches, counselors and other re-careering professionals report that the most common criteria  their clients express for an ideal livelihood is that it must have meaning. A traditional career counselor hears this and steers the client to social work or other helping professions.  The idea of entrepreneurship isn’t part of a career counselor’s toolbox. 

Do you have a strong pull to make a difference in your community or the world but no idea where to begin to build a business around it? Or are you already an entrepreneur looking for greater meaning in your business and your life but can’t figure out how to have both? Either way , you’ll not want to miss the summer “Inspired Livelihood Tele-Summit” where you’ll learn from entrepreneurs who are making a living, doing what they love and making a difference.

Small Steps Change the World

Whether it’s a desire to see a greater effort toward energy conservation, improving literacy or eradicating a crippling epidemic, all it takes to get the movement going is a big vision and a tiny step.  The resistance I  consistently hear from  clients and friends is that they want to do something that makes a difference in the world but feel powerless as one person to make a dent in whatever the issue is. Frequently, a great idea is as far as it gets because they may have a grand vision for social change but are paralyzed by a feeling of overwhelm. True, one person can not change the world without a dedicated tribe of supporters and some of the changes may take more than our lifetime to come about. It’s common sense that nothing will get accomplished if someone doesn’t start it, and that if a lot of people do a little thing, it becomes a bigger thing than the sum of the parts.  Let’s look at the example of polio. If one man hadn’t had the determination to keep trying until he developed a vaccine, many of us would not be walking today. And even though no one person can wipe out millions of cases world wide,  each of us has the power to vaccinate one child for the price of a postage stamp. Read more