If you’re looking to make a difference in the world, one way of initiating positive social change you may not have considered before is becoming an entrepreneur.
When most people think about contributing to their community or the larger world around them, they usually think about it in a traditional way. Some people may use activism to draw attention to some form of inhumanity or some type of social injustice. Others may turn to some form of art, like a work of literature, a movie, or a painting to awaken people to some neglected truths.
While these are great ways of making a statement, business is also an excellent way to initiate positive change, but there is no reason it can’t serve that purpose. And, in fact, many businesses were founded with the express purpose of making the world a better place.
Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when creating a business with an altruistic agenda:
Build Your Team
As a small business owner in Santa Monica during the second statewide lockdown, you could start a business that gives people hope. Perhaps, for example, teaching people who worked in the restaurant business or other that type of in-person service, how to make money online, a business model that would obviate the need to look for a job that would put their health at risk because of the coronavirus.
Regardless of the business model you choose, whether online or brick-and-mortar, to help the community, you may need to hire a few people.
After advertising your open positions, it’s essential to prepare a few well-structured interviews to help you find your dream team. Incidentally, even if you only conduct your interviews via Zoom and only hire a remote team, you will still need to do a job background check to make sure that you are hiring the right people, people who have been honest with you during the interview whom you can confidently delegate an increasingly larger amount of responsibility as your business grows.
Organizing a Mindful Company
A socially-responsible company will not have an organizational structure that distinguishes it from a regular company. However, there will be a few nuanced distinctions. For instance, one distinction between a mindful company and a regular company is that the mindful company may decide to make charitable donations all year long instead of just during the holiday seasons.
Yes, all businesses make a difference to the community, but here are some examples of a mindful business that you could start in Santa Monica, a business that does more than just focus on profits as the reason for building a business:
- You could start a business to promote environmental sustainability, such as a business that sells bamboo products to reduce plastic pollution.
- You could start a regular business, but one with a greater focus on charitable giving.
- You could start a business that hires people who could not find regular work, for instance, a bakery that hires people who have a criminal record who need to learn a skill.
In summary, if you want to make a difference in the world, you can do it through a traditional social channel like activism or art, but you can also do it through business, creating a business that focuses on adding to the social good through its products or services.
