Getting your social enterprise idea off the ground
Susanna Bevilacqua, Founder and Director of Moral Fairground and founder of the Early Ethical Entrepreneur Pitch Competition, provides personal advice on getting your social enterprise idea off the ground.
Susanna founded Moral Fairground in 2009 whilst holding down a full-time job. She has broad and diverse experience, with over 27 years working and leading community-based initiatives through the banking sector and 13 years creating events and programs with Moral Fairground. She also sits on the board of Moreland Early Years Management. Susanna is passionate about using business as a force for good.
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What happens when you have a great business idea that has the potential to have a positive impact?
An idea is just an idea unless you actualize it. There is nothing worse than having a great idea to find out years later that someone else ran with a similar vision and you did nothing about it.
People tell themselves all sorts of excuses and build barriers to justify why their idea is good but not good enough. Some claim they are not intelligent enough to deliver such a big idea; others argue that other commitments take up too much of their time, and the list continues.
"The true sign of intelligence is NOT knowledge but imagination." Albert Einstein
If you have an idea, perhaps you want to start a social enterprise that helps older people connect with young people, or you want to create an app that revolutionizes microfinance projects, or you might want to set up a retail space for young people. Whatever that idea is, it will always be just an idea unless you write it down or start talking about it. Often the most significant challenge we face is ourselves.
How do I know if it is a good idea?
Let's be honest; you will not know until you test it out. Sometimes an idea is before its time, and the market might not be ready for it.
Or an idea you thought did not exist is already on the market. The only way to find out is if you have a good idea, do some research to see what else is there that is similar. Once you identify what is out there, see if you can find the gap.
Don't think you need to be an inventor and come up with something completely new. The same but different is OK. Looking at social enterprises like "Who Gives a Crap" or "Thank you", toilet paper and drinking water bottles are not new ideas. However, how they use their commercial activity to do good is innovative in their space.
Some ideas can also be specific to geographic areas or demographics; you might determine that your idea might provide benefits for a particular community or demographic.
"To make great ideas a reality, we must act, experiment, fail, adapt, and learn daily." Jocelyn K. Glei
The most significant personal and professional challenges as a social entrepreneur
It's true when you are starting-out, like most people, you might juggle multiple jobs, a job that provides an income whilst at the same time working on your entrepreneurial idea.
Not having enough time in a day to do everything can be a real challenge; having big ideas and great potential but only a small team to deliver outcomes.
These are challenges that most entrepreneurs face. It's the daily life of the entrepreneur.
To top it off, if you are trying to set up a business with impact, a social enterprise, you have the added challenge of identifying how your business will make money and support your social mission. If you keep on finding excuses for why you are struggling to make your big idea happen, it is simple; you are not ready.
"Someone once told me growth and comfort do not coexist. And I think it's a perfect thing to remember." – Ginni Rometty
The best piece of advice
Do not try to do everything yourself. Look at your skill gap and see if you can find collaborators to help you achieve your social enterprise goal. Don't be embarrassed or afraid to ask for help; if you don't ask, you will not get it. Make your failures your great successes.
"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." – Ryunosuke Satoro
Also, don't be afraid of short-term ideas. We saw this play out during COVID when someone came up with the idea of making fabric face masks because of the environmental impact caused by the disposal of surgical masks. We saw a wave of businesses jumping in and making facemasks, and for a short time, it was a great business. It provided an environmental solution and also a health solution.
You might ask, why was this such a great idea given that now hardly anyone is buying a mask?
Short-term ideas can gather excellent information about customers who might purchase similar products or services in the future.
Another big piece of advice is to find avenues to get your idea in front of people. Enter a pitch competition, like the Early Ethical Entrepreneur Pitch Competition that we now have open until the 21st of October.
A pitch competition can be confronting because not only do you have to summarise the idea you have been working on for years in a 5 to 10-minute pitch. Also, you need to build the courage to share your vision with people, judges, and funders. A word of advice here, do not let this stop you!
A pitch can give you access to a pool of professionals and specialists that can help to get your idea off the ground. You might not win, but it does not stop you from reaching out to judges or supporters to ask for advice or support.
Remember, when you run a business, you pitch every day. You pitch to sell your product or services. You pitch your project to get sponsorship, you pitch to convince a funder, and you pitch to collaborate with others. Running a business is a constant pitch.
In a nutshell
If you keep finding excuses not to do it, don't do it; you are not ready.
Be prepared as your idea will consume you; it will take over your life, and compromises will need to be made.
Be prepared to work hard
Be prepared to collaborate
Be prepared to pitch
Be prepared to fail, get up, and start all over again.
Be prepared to enjoy the journey and recognize your efforts.
The Early Ethical Entrepreneur Pitch Competition is open until the 21st of October – Will you be the next Winner?
Moral Fairground runs the Early Ethical Entrepreneur Pitch Competition every year for purpose-driven enterprises and over the year, we have seen many incredibly inspiring and life-changing ideas.
Pitch competitions and awards for start-ups and can be very rewarding, life-changing, but also a little overwhelming for emerging entrepreneurs. What stops most people is not knowing exactly what to write, what is important in a pitch and what is not. However, if you get the recipe right, the reward can be beyond your expectation, even if you do not win the pitch. Not only will you get serious about your idea and put it down on paper, depending on the pitch you will be sharing it with judges, but it is also a fantastic opportunity to connect with potential co-founders, investors, business partners or your next customer.
If you want to see the market of ideas that is Ethical Enterprises, come along to see what others have made with great success for their own pitch, you are in for a treat! Network at the The BIG Shift in December at Melbourne Connect, the University of Melbourne, or come along to one of our other events that regularly feature keynote speakers and successfully established social enterprises and ethical businesses.