Social entrepreneurship is a fine vocation for anyone daring to follow its path. When you start out, however, you may be wondering what it’s like living a life working for a social concern. You may be keen to seek ideas and experiences from others in the world who are out there, ‘in the field’.

Thanks to Michael, today I’d like to give you that inspiration of what it’s like to actually go out of your comfort zone.

I’m an Australian myself. I was born in the Philippines though, but I lived and grew up in Australia since I was 4 years old. Our family moved to escape poverty, and so we had to start up our lives again in Australia. I have known what it means to be poor and to start with nothing. Perhaps that’s what has inspired me to be a social entrepreneur – to want to help other people, especially those in developing countries.

Since 2009, I’ve been working in two refugee camps on the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar, seeking to find solutions to overcome the malnutrition and food problems of the refugees who had fled Myanmar due to persecution. It may sound like an overburdening job, and I must admit, that sometimes it truly is.

Nevertheless, I followed my passion, which is to ultimately serve others.

And now that I’m here in my unique situation in Bangladesh, I’d like to offer some lessons that I’ve learned during my time as a social leader.

1. Be Idealistic

One of the most valuable traits of social entrepreneurs is their idealism. Social entrepreneurs hold onto an ideal for creating a better world. This is certainly powerful because your ideal vision for the future is what can motivate you. Certainly, social entrepreneurs are known for their unique passion and enthusiasm, and I believe that this drive comes from the clear and ideal vision.

From my experience, I was actually working in Sydney, Australia before I decided to come to Bangladesh. I had external security and external comfort there but ongoingly I felt an internal discomfort. Personally, I have a vision of improving the lives of others, especially the most disadvantaged in our world. For me, I felt limited in my scope and influence by staying in Sydney. My idealism pushed me forward, to try something completely different, in order to align my actions and life to my ideals.

Now, I feel more and more in line with my inner values and vision as I work in the refugee camps, for something I believe in. I also encourage you to nurture your ideals and idealism.

2. Be Pragmatic

Having worked here for almost 2 years now, I also believe that ideals are not enough. I arrived with the belief that we could radically improve the refugee situation, and in an instant. Now, I believe that it’s highly important for social entrepreneurs to be both idealistic and pragmatic.

Goal-setting is essential. Figure out concrete action steps that you can take to accomplish your achievable and measurable goals, including goals for social impact.

3. Be Innovative

One of the major problems with long-term social projects is fatigue. Your donors can become fatigued. So can your beneficiaries, and even your staff. I’ve seen some instances of this with a number of organizations who are working on this protracted operation (It’s been running for nearly 20 years now!). This can be a great opportunity, especially for social entrepreneurs to get innovative.

Get focused on your outcomes, and come up with new programmes or activities that can still achieve your outcome, but which have not yet been tried before. For example, one of our outcomes was to increase the diet diversity of the refugee population. Instead of providing them with more food (which could exacerbate the problem of dependency), we decided to encourage them to creatively use the food they already had. We held cooking demonstrations, with the renowned Bangladeshi celebrity chef, Tommy Miah, to demonstrate that there were alternative ways that food could be prepared and cooked.

Encouraging Social Entrepreneurship

There are plenty of other lessons that you’ll learn along our journey of social entrepreneurship. Like Michael, I encourage you to get out there and try it. You might just like it!

Matthew Alberto is currently the Programme Officer of the United Nations World Food Programme on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. He is responsible for improving the self-reliance and food security of over 28,000 refugees who fled Myanmar due to ethnic and religious persecution. He is a Filipino-born Australian citizen, who is also passionate about inspiring social entrepreneurship worldwide, especially for young people, and he writes daily articles at http://matthewalberto.com.

The Social Innovation in Business Leadership Course (SIBLC), formerly the Socialpreneur leadership Course, is a course I created in order to help business leaders take their organizations to the next level of business and social engagement.

My goal is to show organizations (profit & non-profit) that they can be profitable and reduce the negative impacts of social problems by simply increasing their involvement in the overall societal ecosystem.

The problem
The world population is growing exponentially every year. Today, there more than 6.5 billion people on the planet. According to the UN’s “World Population to 2300” study, by 2050 the population size is expected to increase to 8.9 billion.

More than 60% percent or 4 billion people on the planet today earn less that $2.00 a day and live in poverty. If this percentage of people in poverty were to stay the same, over the next 40 years more than 5.3 billion global citizens would live in poverty and we would all suffer from unfathomable social challenges. Could you imagine what the world would be like if everyone on the plant today was in poverty? This is the magnitude of our problem.

In the U.S, according to the 2007 U.S census, 37 million Americans live in poverty (earn less than $21,000 a year). Record numbers of people in poverty put a strain on all economies and traditional philanthropic models. Moreover, poverty is also a leading cause and indicator of other social problems to include; lack of education, violence, disease, substandard housing, lack of technology, etc)

Under traditional models non-profits and government agencies are the only organizations established to meet the social needs of people. Non-profits receive funding from the government, corporate foundations and individual donors. The government funds its social programs through increased taxation. Today, each of these entities is suffering from major economic pressures and are all fighting for every dollar they can find.

The aforementioned challenges actually represent an opportunity to rethink the way society has traditionally viewed the roles of citizens and key member organizations business, non-profits, and government agencies.

Our existing model of serving an ever growing population of people has reached its tipping point.

The Solution:
The model I propose is called social innovation. The goal of the Social Innovation model is to apply business principles to the process of eliminating social problems and increasing the quality of life for all.

Much like Dr. Edwards Deming’s Total Quality Management model (Which was initially scoffed at by American automakers but embraced by the Japanese who later went on to dominate the auto industry) sought to eliminate waste and increase quality control in manufacturing through systems redesign; Social innovator seeks to eliminate social issues by redesigning how we engage our political, social and economic ecosystem. Participants who attend the SIBLC learn learn skills that will allow them to just this.

Xtreme Business International (XBI) is a cause-related marketing firm and leading supporter of social innovation in the Southwestern U.S. and throughout the world.

This announcement was a huge win for the social entrepreneur, social innovator, public/private partnership community.

It is often said that “if you cannot lead your self you can’t lead anyone else.” I certainly believe this to be true. Have you ever worked for a business owner or supervisor who was always late or in a hurry, never seemed to complete task on time even though he created the deadline, his desk was a train wreck, his life was filled with drama, and he never seemed quite clear about what he wanted you to do?

This is a perfect example of someone in a leadership position who has yet to master self-leadership. If this sounds like you and you’d like things to be different I’d recommend hiring a personal or business coach that can assist you in clarifying your goals and managing your life. Sometimes it requires an outsider to help you see what’s happening on the inside.

Self-leadership is important because it ensures that you materialize your goals and most importantly that you build self confidence. When you feel confident about being able to master your own life you exude confident positive energy. People intuitively pick up on this confidence and will unconsciously look to you for leadership. We love to be around leaders that are confident. Confidence and certainty about oneself is like a magical spell. It always draws people in.

If you think I’m kidding, watch for yourself.

The next time you attend a powerful presentation about any topic, watch how many people flock around the “leader” /presenter after he or she completes their presentation (even if the attendee has absolutely nothing of importance to say). Especially if the speaker has written a book.

People can’t help but admire and respect someone that has applied discipline to their life to accomplish a goal. We reward self-leaders this by giving of our time, talent, and treasure. Just take a look at how much we pay entertainers, sports stars, and great salespeople.

The old saying that respect must be earn is indeed true. The price we pay for this respect is self-leadership.

During my talk, I realized for the first time that Rotary had the infrastructure to become the greatest force for social entrepreneurship and social innovation on the planet.

Let me explain. Rotary is recognized as the worlds largest philanthropic organization. Local Rotary clubs have developed since 1905 and are known for international philanthropic projects like helping eliminate polio throughout the world and ensuring fresh water is available to people in distant places. While Rotary also provides scholarships, and UN involvement for young people, I think it would be fair to say that most global citizens are unaware of this. I certainly was.

When I spoke to the Old Pueblo group, we talked about moving Rotary to the next level of philanthropy by applying principles of cause-marketing and social entrepreneurship to their existing model, and using social media to share this message with a new generation of 80 million millennials who all seemed predisposed to wanting to change the world.

I had never spoken to a crowd that reflected the same high level of intensity I share when into comes to making a difference. It was simply Amazing!

It was at this moment that I realized that with a little strategic planning at the international and local levels, Rotary could become the largest social innovator on the planet…Alas, Rotary could shed the stigma of being a good ol’ boys social gathering, attract new leaders and become highly profitable by applying business principles to doing good.

After finishing my talk, I took several questions regarding how Rotary might most successfully use the principles mentioned above.

My advice was that a brand awareness campaign was desperately needed. This campaign would reach out to leaders and effectively communicate the history as well as the new vision of Rotary Clubs around the world.

I called for a “Rotary Revolution.” Sounds exciting doesn’t it. I look forward to seeing how the rest of this story will go and the role I will play in it. I’ll Keep you posted!

The Pepsi Refresh Project Competition is providing $1.3M in funding for aspiring social entrepreneurs in 2010.

Social entrepreneurs are business and community leaders that apply innovate business principles to the eliminations of social problems. While the concept of Social Entrepreneurship has been around for ages Pepsi is helping to make it more mainstream by targeting the new “new generation” of millennials increase their already record levels of social engagement.

Learn more about how can participate in the Pepsi Refresh Project. You idea could be the next winner.

When I decided to start my company Xtreme Business International, my goal was to teach other business owners in Tucson how to make a profit by making a difference. However, I didn’t realize that I would be helping keep state funded Adult education programs available for more than 800,000 Arizona residents without a High School education.

The news video above is a perfect example of how I, a small business person, just like you, helped organize hundreds of people online and offline to stand up for education. The work of my company is to teach every business person to use their enterprise as a tool to make a positive social difference in the world.

The primary vehicle I use to teach these skills is the Socialpreneur Leadership Course. If you’d like to increase profits, media exposure, and build goodwill within your community this is the course for you.

Register now for the next class or teleseminar

Michael Tucker
http://www.xtremebusinessinternational.com

Tonight I participated in a “Think and Grow Rich” mastermind class to generate some new ideas for my social enterprise, Xtreme Business International. Now, I know many people with the word social in front of their title have a problem with anything that has to do with money or “getting rich” and I will address in future articles how negitive beliefs about money can derail your entire operation…Ask me how I know.

Anyway, for now, I would like to share that the most fascinating idea I took away from the class was a new perspective of will.

In this class will was defined as a state of conscious that allows you to hold on to your goal to the exclusion of anything or anyone in opposition to it. Will was said to be distinctly different from will power. Will power is a counterproductive use of the will as it has more to do with forcing something into existence.

A perfect example of someone using will power would the desperate friend we all have that is always trying to get a date. They are on every dating website, they are involved in every singles group. They beg everyone to hook them up on blind dates, yet they never experience a happy relationship. Why? Because they are trying to muscle a new partner into existence as opposed to simply maintaining a clear focus on their goals and objectives in life, have an open heart, and being present to the opportunities for love when they show up.

I think almost everyone can relate to this example.

Will is the conscious application of focus and can be used effortlessly with practice.

As social entrepreneurs we do not need to find will because it is not lost. Instead, we must focus on the task we set out to accomplish without regard for opposition. This does not mean stepping on people to reach your goal. Instead, acknowledge the obstacles that exist and give no more energy than that to them. Stay focused, do the work, and allow your goals to deliver themselves to you.

1. Only choose to support a cause that inspires you and has lots of motivated people behind it. This is critical. You will get swamped and tired very quick so it is important that you have something other than “I really feel bad” about this situation to keep you going. Additionally, you will have more influence when people see how passionate you are.

It is also important to choose a cause that is in alignment with your business and you feel you have a reasonable chance of succeeding with. Winning is not everything, but everyone loves a victory party.

2. Make sure you identify your goals and make them measurable. Is your plan to get massive exposure; If so, how much? Influence political leaders; which ones? Raise funds? How much? For each of these questions it will be imperative that you identify the online groups and communities where the people you want to influence hang out in. You should be where they are to create positive conversations that lead them to supporting your efforts.

3. Identifying your time line is critical. Will your campaign last 4 weeks like I’m expecting the “Save Adult Ed for Arizona” program or will it last 6 -9 months like a political race? The amount of work and how fast you do it, will be based on knowing your time line.

If you have a longer campaign cycle it will be important neither to overwhelm people with too much content nor to wait for the last min. A steady pace of 2 – 3 post a day on Facebook with many people posting as much as possible to a Group or Fan page is perfect. 10- 15 tweets a day on twitter is also a good goal.

4. Social media is powerful but don’t limit yourself there. Become friends with media personalities on social media sites before you need them. Comment on their work or their post and weave your cause in when the timing is right (i.e. when the opportunity presents itself in chatting or a post. Bombarding someone you don’t know well could get you blacklisted super fast. You will also want to make plans for your team to write letters to the press, their representatives or host a rally. You can easily use social media to spread the word about these things.

5. If you are using your business as a tool to the support the statewide change you would like to see, make sure you choose a position on the team that will allow your business to really shine. What platforms are you or your employees good with, e-mail campaigns, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging? My strength is Facebook but I also took on blogging for the “Save Adult Ed Arizona” program. I soon became aware that getting certain parts of the blog to work was an unexpected challenge. To overcome this, I quickly asked for help and shifted that task to someone more capable. It is also important to remember that how well your business performs becomes your brand forever in the community. Always go the extra mile to deliver a brand worth talking about.

6. Choose a structure for your team. Will your team be small with one person in charge of social media or will it be filled with masses of motivated people from everywhere, whom you will only need to gently guide to ensure your message gets out?

Will your span of control be centralized and hierarchal, where someone at the top reviews everything and some authority figure or personal disaster puts an end to your efforts, or will your organization be decentralized?

Decentralized organizations have no real leader; people lead themselves and collaborate with others that are committed to an idea in order to get the word out.

If your operation is centralized look for ways to delegate or you’ll burn out. If it is decentralized, make sure its easy for your supporters to get wide access to the content you want communicated. One volunteer saying the wrong thing could derail your entire cause.

7. Stay organized with collaborative tools like Google calendar, Docs, Groups, Zoho or Groupsite. There are many free collaboration tools available. Make sure you identify your needs before hand then choose the collaboration platform that works best.

8. Think big, build alliances, and conquer the counties. This step is paramount. In order to have a loud voice it is important that you build a number of alliances that support your efforts both on and offline. Every organization should play to their strength and organize various aspects of the campaign.

It is also equally important that you have representatives in various counties managing social media efforts in those areas. These representatives can leverage personal contacts and local groups they are affiliated with to spread the word faster than someone unfamiliar with that county.

However, as the U.S. economy toughens, and government and non-profit organizations experience budget cuts, American business owners are being asked to subscribe to the philosophy of “doing good by doing well” and proactively step in to make a difference.

Business owners that take on the challenge of using their business as a tool to create solutions to social problems often find themselves building community goodwill, attracting positive press, and gaining a competitive advantage over their competition.

Social Entrepreneurs are innovative thinkers that apply free-market business principles to the challenge of solving social problems. While their efforts are expected to generate profits, their bigger motivation is to transform communities by providing solutions to social problems.

The Annandale Apartments in Tucson, Arizona is an example of an American company applying the principles of social entrepreneurship. This company pays tenants to perform odd jobs around the apartment complex if they become unemployed due to downsizing.

It is important for social entrepreneurs to share their story in many formats in order to keep customers and other supporters engaged.

Here are 5 low-cost or no cost social media tools your organization can use to communicate its message massively and effectively.

Create a Facebook Fan page

Starting a Facebook Fan page is a great way to begin promoting your organization. By setting up a fan page you will be able to strategically promote your organization to millions in the region or demographic of your choice.

Your organization can share information about community involvement, raise money by using the Causes or Chip In application or use the Static FBML application to apply a website-like appearance and functionally in order to increase interaction with page viewers. The Fern Thai Foundation is an excellent example of a Facebook fan page with all of these capabilities.

Meetup groups

Meetup groups make it is possible to take your online activities into the real world by building local communities of people interested in similar topics. There are Meetup Groups established for dog lovers, quilters, and even social entrepreneurs.

Suppose you own a website development company and you wanted to create a stronger sense of family for low-income seniors. You could offer free or discounted internet classes to help bridge the gap between the seniors and younger family members that only use computers to communicate. Since the seniors you’re targeting are not online, it may be advantageous to create a Meetup Group for Gen Xer’s with aging parents.

By hosting this Meetup group your company could build relationships with the family members of seniors, generate revenue from holding monthly events, cultivate new customer relationships with the Gen Xer’s, and most importantly inform them of the courses available for their aging loved ones.

Blogging

Blogging is another important way to share the work your organization is doing. While blogging can take some commitment, it is important to remain consistent and use keywords to increase search engine rankings. Wordtracker.com is an excellent tool for conducting keyword research.

Some of the best online marketer’s blog daily. However, if time is at a premium for you, blogging weekly is better than blogging inconsistently or not at all. Consistent blogs tells the reader that you take your organization seriously. It also causes search engines to increase your rankings because of the new content.

Many successful internet marketers like Derek Alverez, social entrepreneur and founder of Drivetheline.com suggest that you generously share your most valuable content on your blog in order to create a long-term readership.

Use the “Share this” widget

Once you have created a loyal readership for your blog, you want to make sure that reader have the opportunity to share your content with others who may be interested. A simple way to make it easy to share your information is to install the “share this” widget on your blog.

According to wisegeek.com, a widget is a piece of self-enclosed code which can be embedded into a website or program to perform a specific function. The “share this” Widget is just that. You can create the code for your widget in a matter of seconds at Sharethis.com and embed it into your blog. This widget will allow your readers to click the icon of their favorite social networking or social book marking site and instantaneously share content from your blog with their entire social network.

Promote your social media channels everywhere

Applying social media tools to any business model can be time consuming. However, the return on engagement from the content you share can mean the difference between success and failure for your enterprise. A simple way to remind customers, partners, donors, and venders to stay in the conversation about the good work you’re doing is to include links to your social media sites on your business cards, brochures and in your e-mail footer.