Even though social entrepreneurship is not an unknown subject, the sector has been thrust into more focus in the world of business in recent times due to the paradigm shift in global connectivity that has been instrumental in sparking off increasingly stiff competition for charitable funds. The essential difference between traditional enterprises and social businesses is the focus on income generation. While conventional business is motivated by profits, it is at best a secondary and supportive consideration for entrepreneurs seeking to address large-scale social issues sustainably.
As far as growth and operational issues are concerned, both face the same hurdles, however, social entrepreneurs also need to contend with delivering the intended social impact in addition to being sustainable. A few of the top challenges facing social entrepreneurs analyzed.
Sourcing Funds
Even though most people assume that social enterprises are purely charitable, it is not always the case as many are run as commercially as conventional businesses while others sit in the middle of the spectrum. Some social organizations generate revenues by selling goods and services that are socially valuable, however, many do not have any income and depend on donations from individuals and companies and government funding.
Retaining Long-Term Focus is Critical Observes Eric J Dalius
Social enterprises are challenged by the fact that their essential objective is creating social value. As EJ Dalius points out in https://www.fromdev.com, in most cases, the maximization of profit and fast business growth is not the main goal of social enterprises. A robust vision and strategy are necessary for identifying the business’s unique value proposition that differentiates it from the others and spells out clearly what the organization will or will not do so that it is possible to make all the activities reinforce each other for the greater good.
Remaining Objective about Communicating Value
Because social enterprises deliver more than commercial businesses in terms of social value, social entrepreneurs often tend to be passionate about what they are trying to achieve, says Eric Dalius. This additional zest combined with the problem of objectively measuring social value can make it complicated to explain the viability of the enterprise to donors, investors, or even to the community it is trying to effect changes.
Conclusion
Overall, managing a social enterprise can be extremely challenging because you need to convince your supporters that your intentions are genuine, you have the vision, competence, and the strategy to get the results and also make it self-sustaining. Entrepreneurs need to also overcome austerity measures of their donors that can limit the availability of funds as well as implement robust strategies to counter the increasing competition in the same space.
