Thought I would share with you a piece I put together for high school students that I was asked to speak to about business. Writing it made me realise how very very fortunate I am to be able to run a social enterprise.
Have you ever thought about running a business that wasn't necessarily about making you rich? What if you thought about running a business that made you happy?
Is money what makes your world turn? Or is it happiness, compassion and a sense of satisfaction?
If you answered yes to the first question then social enterprise is probably not for you. However if you answered yes to the second question then it most probably is.
Social enterprise is a new way of doing business. Well,,,,I say it's a new way but I actually don't think it is. I think that its the way that business used to be done before we got so caught up in this rat race that is life. It s a way of doing business that helps your neighbour as much as it helps you. If we turn back the clock to the years where my Nana was growing up it seems to be that life was about helping others.
What has changed??
The answer is quite simply life has changed. We live in a society where its all about what you have got in your life. But is that what really matters??
At the end of the day - we ain't getting out this adventure called life alive no matter what way we look at it. And in reality the only legacy we leave in this world is two things - the balance we have in the bank and the difference we have made.
Personally I would much rather tick the second box. You see my social enterprise will never give me a big bank balance. My social enterprise wont have me rubbing shoulders with the elite in society.
But.. my social enterprise makes me rich in ways that I cannot even begin to describe.
Every single day I meet people who inspire me. People who are fighting battles, personally and professionally to make life better for those experiencing mental ill-health. These people are strong, beautiful and inspiring. They fill my heart and soul far more than any amount of money ever would.
They show me that amongst all the doom and gloom in the world - that there is hope. That people care for each other. And that people have the ability to make the difference that is needed in the world.
My social enterprise won't make me rich - but it will pay me enough to pay my bills. I'm not going to pretend it isn't hard to look around me sometimes and think "I could/should be earning more". There are days when I think - "what the hell am I doing??? Will I ever made a REAL difference in this whole mucked up world?? - what is the point in trying??" But I would have those days anyway no matter what type of business I was running.
But with a social enterprise that is balanced out by far by the positives of the job.
I know that change happens one person, one attitude at a time - so I keep going. And I am never far away from the next reminder of the difference I am making.
So please - consider a social enterprise as a way of doing business - because doing good really does you good!!
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