Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Social Entrepreneurship: An Introduction


The Definition:
“A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change ( a social venture).” – Wikipedia

The Example:
We can spend BILLIONS in aid to send food to Africa, or we can support the largest untapped resource in the world and provide the women with the land to farm the resources they need to farm that land, grow their own food, and empower themselves. – Back Pack Farm: Africans feeding Africa (http://backpackfarm.com)

The Application:
But this theory doesn’t just apply to extremely impoverished people in Third World Countries. We need to bring this home to our own people. STOP waiting for the government to “change things” so enough new jobs are created so that everyone can be employed. While you’re waiting to act on your dreams, you’re wasting valuable time of your life away, time you will never get back. Seconds turn to minutes turn to hours, days, weeks, years? You have unique talents, ideas, resources, and experiences. Please don’t waste them. If you keep doing what you’ve always done you’ll continue to get the same results you’ve always gotten. It’s time for a change – not a hand out but a hand up. I apologize for the “clichés”, but for simplicity’s sake I believe they get the message across.

The Content:
This blog is an accumulation of life observations I made, lessons I’ve learned, and established business practices as instructed and guided by my wonderful, esteemed, and knowledgable Business Professors at the University of the Pacific.

The Background:
My family always laughed that, “Ashley’s Out to Save the Whales Again”, referring to my fervent effort to change things that seem to be impossible. I am not perfect, I do not consider myself any better than anyone else. I compare myself instead to my capacity to reach my own potential. What I recognize is that I’ve been blessed with amazing people in my life that have sacrificed everything for me so that I can reach my dreams. On that pursuit I realized that I won’t be remembered for the amount of dollars I die with in my bank account, I’ll be remembered by those that love me and by those whose lives were somehow changed by my existence. I have a unique set of skills, experiences, and teachers in my life and I want to do something meaningful with that. I’m out to pay it forward, and I’m out to change the world for the children I have not yet had because I’m sick of the way things are and I’m sick of the way they’re going. I’ve heard that’s the secret to changing the world though – First you change your world, impacting the people around you, and watch the ripple effect as the impact carries on. So take this blog as my experiment because I’m interested to see how far that ripple effect can go if I truly try to capture my passions in written form.

The Goal:
My goal with this blog is to summarize and simplify the process to start a company from inception through commercialization of a product or service.

“If you can’t explain it simply you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

The Equations:

Getting Things Done  =  Motivation  x  Ability  x  Opportunity
If you’re lacking one of these 3 things you can easily get stuck in a rut with the best ideas that never become anything but a memory. There’s a time for dreams, and then there’s a time for action. So I will be breaking down this equation further later regarding how to overcome those barriers and let your empowered potential flourish.

Happiness  =  Someone to Love  +  Something to Do  +  Somewhere to Be
Hapiness is not an end all result we’re striving for, it is not something that magically happens one day when you wake up and everything’s perfect and you finally have everything you want. That’s the thing about desire, you’ll never have everything you want, so focus first on the things you need. Happiness is a mindset we choose to strive for by directing our thoughts, attention, and time. Happiness is the process of enjoying the journey and figuring out how to balance our privileges and responsibilities so we can share that happiness with those we love.

Personal Statement:
I respect everyone’s choice to hold their own values and goals as long as they don’t infringe on the intrinsic liberties of others. It is my personal opinion that nothing in this world means more or is more powerful than love. As a student of Economics, and Politics, and Government, and History I understand our society is structured to run with a competitive capitalistic heartbeat and to enjoy the luxuries of this society we need to compete in that system. I am seeking to empower the people with the motivation to revolutionize their lives and shake the currently established socioeconomic hierarchies. In-so-doing, I request that those who do choose to use my advice and knowledge continue to pay forward the love in which I have invested into this project, and in turn you. Make the most of yourself and your opportunities, but bring up your brothers and sisters with you – don’t tear them back down. Guide them in love and your investment will tenfold.  

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