Top 10 Reasons People Choose Social Entrepreneurship and Social Business
Social entrepreneurship is growing, more business owners see the value in starting an impact-driven business. The traditional business model where profit is king is the old way. Increasingly customers and employees build loyalty with brands they connect with based on their personal values. Here are 10 reasons why entrepreneurs are choosing a social business.
Why People Choose Entrepreneurship – The Gift of Entrepreneurship includes:
- Freedom
- Flexibility
- Responsibility for yourself
- Creating your own corporate culture
- Supporting the things you believe in
- Working with who you want to work with
- Creating generational wealth
- Being there for your children
- Moving past toxic employment situations
- Believing in your purpose
Freedom: #1 Reason People Choose Entrepreneurship vs. a Job
I recently hosted my weekly room the Social Impact Entrepreneur Collective on the Clubhouse App where we discussed the gifts of entrepreneurship, more specifically social entrepreneurship.
Before the room I was reading The #1 Reason Most Entrepreneurs Start a Business from Business News Daily.
They describe the top reason “most people want to become their own boss is the freedom, satisfaction, and flexibility it offers them.”
They go on to explain further in the article…
“Nothing beats the freedom of being the boss, at least when it comes to the entrepreneurial efforts of small business owners. With freedom comes the flexibility to make your own schedule and not have to answer to anyone.”
I asked the Clubhouse room speakers…
What is your story about why you want to have your own business? What gifts does having your own social business bring you?
My answer is a bit straightforward, including these perks:
- Flexibility
- Freedom
- Responsibility for yourself
- Creating your own corporate culture
- Supporting the things you believe in
- Working with who you want to work with
- Creating generational wealth
- Being there for your children
- Moving past toxic employment situations
- Believing in your purpose
Why Did You Start Your Entrepreneurial Journey?
Participants in the discussion shared why they chose to start a business or non-profit with a social impact mission. That journey wasn’t always linear, they described fear as a reason for holding off on starting their entrepreneurial journey.
When we dug into the conversation, what is clear is that there are many reasons people are motivated to move past their fears and start their business or non-profit.
However, there are also tradeoffs and moments where you have to move away from your past and step into your future, which can be a hard thing to do.
Social Business: Seeing What I Don’t Want
A strong motivator for entrepreneurs to start their social impact venture is encountering in their career that they didn’t want or ask for. Issues like job instability, career changes, devaluing of workers, and ageism are good reasons why the risk of entrepreneurship is worth it.
I agree with this perspective wholeheartedly. When you see the instability of the American workforce and understand that no job can be taken for granted, you also want to fix that. For yourself and for others.
It’s like looking in the mirror and saying “Imagine what investing in my own life would be like?” After that realization, it’s easy to see why people choose social entrepreneurship as a means to create their own business culture.
You also have the freedom to not engage in corporate BS, or be forced to adopt the culture of the company. You literally can say “I don’t have to choose to implement that practice in my company.”
Although you may not have to answer to a boss or manager, you still have to be responsible to customers. However, you can make choices that allow you to meet your customer’s needs differently, the way you choose to.
Seeing what you don’t want and actively creating a life that moves you away from what you don’t want is a big motivator to choose entrepreneurship.
As an entrepreneur, you only have to deal with the issues that arise for you and your company. Not priorities and issues that are a big deal for your boss. When it’s your business, you can create it however you want.
You can choose who to do business with. Having the ability to choose who you work with gives you the flexibility to say I only want to work with people who have the same values I do. You can literally say “I’m not going to compromise my values to make a buck.”
Social Entrepreneurship Gives You Freedom & Opens Possibilities
The Business News Daily article listed freedom as a huge motivator for founders who want control of their schedule, life, and the ability to make their own choices.
While freedom is one reason people choose entrepreneurship, there are others such as creating generational wealth and wanting to be available for your family.
For parents, entrepreneurship means not having to explain why you need to take time off to be with a sick child or not having to deal with the stress of worrying about being off.
Even with the hustle of entrepreneurship, this is the best path rather than someone telling me I can’t be home with my child. If you don’t have children, this reason can resonate with other priorities you might have.
The Gifts and Tradeoffs of Social Entrepreneurship
As I’ve already described, there are a lot of opportunities that entrepreneurship brings to you. If you think of these things as gifts, you can easily see why so many people want to own their own business or social venture.
The gifts include being your own boss, having complete responsibility, and being able to invest your energy in what you do want to do. You have the liberty with your schedule to make your own choices as opposed to mandates given by others.
You also have the ability to avoid corporate politics and other forms of trauma that can happen in the workplace. Venturing into entrepreneurship gives you the opportunity to break down toxic corporate cultures and build new socially-conscious businesses in their place.
Tradeoffs Make Entrepreneurship a Rough Road
Of course, entrepreneurship isn’t only full of gifts. When we decide these things it’s important to weigh all other factors. I’d never say that entrepreneurship is for everyone and will only bring good things.
In fact, choosing to start or own your own business or non-profit is a huge risk. The instability of income, fear of failure, mindset shifts, and deep personal development are difficult parts of the journey.
The demands to build your business and start making a profit can be more pressing for an entrepreneur who cannot clock out at 5 pm.
One mom described the trade-offs of entrepreneurship as “Mom guilt”. Even with flexibility, you might not be there as much as you want to be for your family.
There are times when your business will make you sacrifice, but having the freedom to choose when to make those sacrifices is a big deal. It means that you can make those sacrifices pay off. Working through the hard times allows you to be there for other opportunities to have fun or relax.
“Mom guilt” is a daily battle for women business owners. Juggling family responsibilities and a career is just as difficult to do whether you work for someone else or yourself.
As an entrepreneur, the journey can be very lonely. If you have employees, you might be the first in and the latest to leave. In fact, sometimes schedule flexibility doesn’t exist when you’re hustling.
If you are a solopreneur, you are the webmaster, designer, social media manager, writer, editor, CFO, CEO, and the cleaning crew. Not only is it lonely, but being a solopreneur requires a complete shift from your identity as a worker with a defined job to a jack of all trades.
Being everything in your business is impossible, so of course, help is needed as growth happens. But for those who are just starting a business and choosing entrepreneurship, one reason many people don’t continue is because of the tradeoffs that one has to make to be a successful business owner.
Lastly, no matter what, toxic cultures will exist. There is a lot of envy amongst entrepreneurs and you can’t help but compare yourself, even if you try really hard not to. However, we’re stronger together. The tendency to compete rather than collaborate is a hindrance to new business owners who could rise with others rather than drown alone.
Level Up Accelerator:
Get Clarity & Confidence
The Level Up Accelerator will help you turn your ideas into action so you can make a big impact. Check for the dates for next live workshop!
What You’re Moving Away From Old Business vs. Social Business
The gift of entrepreneurship also gives you an escape from the toxic things that you don’t want and move in the completely opposite direction. In the woo-woo world, this is known as what you’re moving away from.
When you choose to start your own social business as an entrepreneur, you can create your business and world in a way that breaks down the negative aspects of business.
For example, male-dominated cultures that exist in business have allowed sexual assault, sexism, discriminatory pay, and bullying to take place in workplace.
When you grow tired of using your talents for someone else and not feeling appreciated, choosing entrepreneurship gives you the gift of using your own talents for you.
As a worker, you can become calloused in your job because you’ve given all your talent to an industry or career. Although you may have been passionate about the work and believed in the purpose, at the end of the day it may feel like nobody cares.
When you start your own business, you have the time and space to heal from wounds that the workplace created in you as a person. You can move away from the past traumatic experiences and toxic environments to create a business where your talents are used and appreciated in a way that aligns with your vision for life.
Leading Yourself and Leading Others
As an entrepreneur, you have to learn to fend for yourself because no one else is going to wake up and make sure you are ok. Especially because business can be very competitive.
A good way to think about it is “You have to own your career”. No one is going to rescue you. It’s up to you to lead yourself down the path you want to take.
As a business owner, you can choose to be the leader that you didn’t see in the corporate world. This gift is a very enticing one for me because I always feel like leadership was lacking throughout my career.
When you exist within a corporate culture where you know your talent and work aren’t being groomed for the next level, you can feel constrained. Creating your own venture can help you break free from the bureaucracy. You can truly take your work to the next level without being constrained or restricted.
For woman business owners, having the power to hire women and help empower others to build their own ventures is a huge gift. Not all women want to lift up others, but for those who want to use their business as a platform to empower other women- this gift is a big one.
Believe in your purpose
Sometimes when you’re doing something that you love, it doesn’t feel like work. This is the biggest gift of entrepreneurship. You have to have complete faith in your vision and purpose because the journey is difficult.
You have to work as if you know and you believe that what you are doing is your purpose.
Owning your own business means you no longer have to live giving the message“thank you for giving me the opportunity”.
You can change that to “thank you” to “you’re welcome”.
Making an Impact Through Your Social Business
One of the most important reasons I was excited about starting my own business was to make an impact and serve people. Making an impact through your business is a gift of entrepreneurship that more and more people are recognizing.
As more people add in a social impact objective to their mission, the way we do business will change. Entrepreneurs will become expected to consider how their business helps the community, individuals, and even on a global scale the world.
The more common having a socially conscious business becomes, the more likely new entrepreneurs are to consider their impact when building their business.
Listen to our conversation on Clubhouse if you want to hear more about the gifts of entrepreneurship!
