5 Social Enterprise Lessons you Wish you had Known Sooner

71% of social entrepreneurs struggle to make a living from their venture. That's one of the saddest facts I've read this year. It was in a Guardian article with the title, 'Social enterprises go bust all the time.'

The things is: they actually don't. Social enterprises are just as likely to fail as 'traditional' enterprises.

I've been a social entrepreneur for 31 years, and I haven't gone bust! In fact, I've been able to create several successful companies that make enough profit to have a tangible impact on the communities I want to help — both in the UK and in Zimbabwe.

But one thing hasn't changed since I first got started in 1987: at first, it's always a struggle. As I look back over my career, I can see that I could have been so much more successful and felt so much more joy and ease if only I'd learned a few lessons sooner:

1. Brainstorming is NOT dead — it's one of the most valuable things you can do for your business.

"Brainstorming is dead". Google returns 5.250.000 results for that phrase — and almost all of them are at least 5 years old. Since then, publications from Harvard Business Review to The Muse and Inc have 'resuscitated' the technique... and for good reasons: there's hardly a better way to spend your time as a social entrepreneur.

I like to brainstorm on my own to find creative solutions and innovative ideas. And I make time to brainstorm with my team, too. Their unique perspectives allow them to see unexpected possibilities. Their skills, knowledge and relationships can open up completely new paths.

If there's one thing I regret, it's that I didn't spend more time brainstorming when I first got started.

2. Choose your sounding board carefully

Every entrepreneur has their personal sounding board... and we often don't make a conscious choice of who's on that all-important support team. We share our ideas with anyone who's reasonably close to us: our partners, best friends, our family — expecting them to pitch in, provide their point of view and guide us as we make important decisions.

It's worth taking a step back from time to time and ask: if I were to create an advisory board for my company, what kinds of roles would I like to fill?

You'll probably come up with answers like:

• Someone who listens well and gets under the surface of your story to find the real pain point

• Someone who really understands your market

• A super creative person

• A strategist who always asks: 'what if?' — and who's able to find the flaw in your thinking

You probably won't want people who believe in you no matter what, people who are too caught up in their own life to listen properly, or anyone who loves you too much to doubt your ideas. Because there’s a difference between emotional support… and help running your business.

Tip: from time to time, ask one or two people who have nothing to do with your enterprise and your social cause to come on your sounding board. This may sound counterintuitive, but hear me out. We make so many routine assumptions when we're very close to our own work. Someone who's more removed from it all is more likely to ask unexpected questions or query issues you may take for granted... because they don't share your ways of thinking.

And that question might be exactly what you need to unleash a whole wave of new ideas.

3. Templates are a good thing — if you know how to use them

Blueprints, templates, frameworks and master plans... the internet is full of them at the moment. And they mislead a lot of people into thinking that if they just send these 10 exact emails, or follow in the precise footprints of someone else, they will be successful.

That's not how this works.

Yes, it's a good idea to use the tried-and-tested methods taught by someone else. Why reinvent the wheel? Your genius is not in any way diminished if you follow good advice and avoid mistakes.

But such templates and blueprints should only be your starting point. More like a map than a Sat Nav. You're individual, and so is your business. What worked for the person who made the template may not work exactly that way for you. If you follow blueprints blindly, you'll lose touch with your own authenticity and soon feel cut off from your source of energy.

Allow yourself the time to really think through those frameworks and plans.

What can you borrow from them? What do you need to tweak? This exercise in itself will sharpen your business skills.

4. Use every opportunity to make work friends

Many entrepreneurs tell me they don't like networking. They find it stressful, inauthentic, even sleazy...

I like to compare networking to what kids do during recess. Chat, share food, play together... and make friends. Without any ulterior motive, other than the sheer fun of it.

We're all grown-ups now, but we can still do the same thing! Call it networking or something else... the idea is that we spend a bit of time getting to know each other, having good conversations and building relationships. And just as kids talk about teachers and lessons, so we talk about our companies from time to time.

But the aim is always to make that personal connection. Not to force a sale down someone's throat.

Meeting in person isn't everybody's cup of tea, I know. The internet makes networking really easy for introverts and anyone who can't travel. LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, Twitter... there are so many ways to meet interesting people online.

5. This one step out of your comfort zone will transform everything

Stepping out of our comfort zone is easier said than done. So if you're struggling with this, it's best to focus on just one task that feels uncomfortable but brings great reward:

Always get introduced to decision makers.

This is where the magic happens. The decision maker will be able to buy from you, sell to you, hire you or start a joint venture with you. They will probably know other decision makers and can introduce you to them, too. This is where word of mouth is really powerful.

On the other hand, if you're speaking to someone who's not a decision maker, things will slow down. They will need to ask others for input and permissions. You might not hear back for a long time... or they might even forget about you.

Just try this one thing in your next sales conversation: ask your counterpart who will be making the ultimate decision. If it's someone who's not in the conversation with you, simply tell them: "OK great, I’ll need to meet with them to talk this through. Can you arrange the meeting?" More often than not, you'll get that meeting. Even if the decision maker says no, at least you won't have lost all that valuable time waiting.

Ever since I embraced these 5 lessons, my life as an entrepreneur has been much more fruitful and enjoyable.

If we want to make the world a kinder place, stop global warming and save species from extinction, we need to inspire the 'mainstream' business sector to adopt social causes, too.

For that, we need social enterprises to thrive and be successful.

Because if we can't make this work, then who can?

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Wishing you growth and happiness,
Nyasha