Source: http://thehubhalifax.ca/social-entrepreneurship-ceeds-fresh-ideas/
Before we begin, I’d really like to you read this article which defines a social enterprise in a simple and understandable way but if you are looking for a more formal and not as fun definition click here. As stated by my favourite afternoon professor, Robert Gateman, businesses essentially had one goal: to make a profit. Similarly, not-for-profit organizations also have one goal: to solve a major social issue. However, the social enterprise, as mentioned in the two links, combines both goals. Due to this combination, I believe social entrepreneurship is one of the most formidable tasks an entrepreneur can undertake since these two goals can often be at odds with each other. For example, if a social enterprise focuses too much on generating profits, the company will not be able to allocate enough resources to solve the social issues that it intended on doing in the first place and end up looking like the cartoon at the bottom. However, if it focuses too much on the dealing with the social issues, it will run out of resources very quickly. This problem can be especially threatening to social entrepreneurs since they often lack the funding and loans that are available to traditional businesses. Despite of these challenges, we can see numerous examples of social entrepreneurial success throughout the world from local companies like SaveOnMeats (see video) to international multimillion dollar establishments like Grameen Bank. As a result, to answer the question in the title, social enterprising is not an impossible task but it is definitely a challenge that should never be downplayed.
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