The thing that differentiates a social enterprise from a normal business is its social mission. A Social Enterprise is inseparable with its Social Mission, otherwise it would not be called Social.
DEFINITION: SOCIAL MISSION
Social mission is the mission that a social enterprise adapts in order to solve a problem and benefit the society.
There are specific social issues that are real for many people globally such as immigration, poverty, lack of access in education, homelessness, unemployment, child abuse and many others. Depending on the country, different social issues are existing. Social Entrepreneurs tend to choose a specific issue, which they are either directly interested in, either indirectly.
The reason that someone should be very careful when identifying the aim of the Social Enterprise which is about to create, is that it should respond to a real need of the society. That means, sometimes it is needed to realise if you are about to take care of the symptom you are about to really cure the ‘pain point’. For example, unemployment is a huge issue that cannot be solved in one country, because it is associated with reasons that in some cases overcome the borders. On the other hand, a Social Enterprise could take care of vulnerable groups such as youth and help them become competitive by fostering their skills and help them develop specific soft skills which are in demand in most workplaces.
On the other hand, if you are thinking of creating a Social Enterprise which aims to help people with addictions and integrate them in society, probably you will not manage to solve this problem, because addictions have a complex background, which cannot be solved by someone’s integrating campaigns.
When the social mission is finally clear and its sustainability is well studied, then the most important task of the Enterprise is to find the best way to disseminate their work and the benefits for society, in order to manage to help as many as people as possible and of course to attract sponsors who will help in the continuity of the Social Enterprise.
Social enterprises work with a variety of groups (organizations, NGOs etc.) which help them access the groups that they are working for. Either it happens in a formal way or in a non-formal way, it is crucial to develop qualitative relationships, in order to ensure the best conditions for their cooperation.
When researching the social issue, you want to tackle, you should also research organisations who are already working in that field and contact them. You could start by asking for a meeting to discuss your idea and try to get some feedback. This could then develop into a formal partnership as you make progress on the business, or they could stay as informal partners. However, making contact will give you access to more knowledge and experience than you would have otherwise.
