Create and manage a profitable business to address a social problem.

I am a woman. I am a business expert. I am a social entrepreneur. My company, The Business of Me, began as a non-profit organization to tackle the global issue of domestic violence.

I used to live two lives. I was a successful Wall Street executive but I was also a behind-closed-doors abused wife. When I finally broke free I decided to create The Business of Me to help other survivors of domestic violence learn how to overcome their fears and lead independent lives free from abuse.

When I first created my company, I thought that since I was ‘doing good’ by addressing a social problem, my only option was to set up a non-profit organization. However, I was overwhelmed with the bureaucracy. I spent a lot of time doing paperwork and searching for donations to help women and girls rebuild their lives after domestic abuse.

Like other businesses, my company was affected by the financial crisis. I had to find a way to make my company financially stable to be able to provide the services that so many women needed. After a lot of thought, I decided to offer my company’s services to larger companies. A social enterprise may not fit every organization’s goals or mission but it did for me.

My services not only improve the lives of an organization’s employees but also improve the workplace for every organization that utilizes them. We now offer webinar-based programmes for victims and survivors in these companies to help them create self-sufficient lives free from physical, emotional and economic abuse, while empowering them to become more productive in their personal and professional lives. We use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance our social, environmental and human justice agendas.

Being a social entrepreneur I can explore, create, implement and expand The Business of Me services to meet the rapidly changing technological landscape. We use the latest techniques, based on research, to help victims improve their lives. As one among many social entrepreneurs, I believe that we are in the process of a new way of thinking about how we view, create and operate social enterprises.

Questions to the reader:

1. Did you know that social entrepreneurs are individuals who build businesses based on innovative solutions to resolve society’s most pressing social problems? Do you have a business idea that can help solve a social issue while at the same time generate revenue for you as an entrepreneur?

2. Have you been thinking ‘out of the box’ to ensure that your company services the broadest group of consumers possible? For example, are there other actors or intermediary that could pay for your products or services other than the end user/consumer?