Unlike many entrepreneurs in the social enterprise space, I didn’t start my career in nonprofits or for cause businesses. Prior to starting beCAUSE minded, I was a retail clothing store assistant manager, a news reporter, a Miller Lite girl, a strategic sales manager for a well-known supplement brand, and had started a company called Health and Fitness Activations in the traditional business space.
So, when I launched beCAUSE minded, I was surprised to learn how much I didn’t know. The social enterprise space is like its own planet – its own galaxy even! First, let’s start with defining what a social enterprise is. A social enterprise uses business to solve a social need. At beCAUSE minded, we sell luxury corporate gift boxes that fund corporate gift suppliers who (among other things) employ Syrian refugees in Turkey, build schools for girls in developing countries, and provide job training to the transitioning homeless. Things in this space operate so differently than traditional business.
“How?” you ask. Well, in a social enterprise…
1. You’re constantly balancing what you sell and why you sell it
Let’s use beCAUSE minded as an example. We are a product-first company – meaning we want people to purchase our products because they are fantastic personal and corporate gifts boxes, not only because they are gifts that support a cause. However, we also realize that many people purchase our gift boxes because they stand out in the crowded gift space precisely because they are the combination of high quality and cause based. So, we have to talk about both, which can sometimes be challenging for social media and SEO.
2. Your supply chain is wild
People are talking a lot about supply chain issues these days. But our challenges started before (waaaaaayyyy before) the most recent backup at the LA harbor. We source from refugee camps in Turkey, sex trafficking survivors in India, and a company that employs the transitioning homeless. There are so many variables that don’t come up in more traditional supply chains. Plus, our very purpose is to support these supply chains, so we can’t go with suppliers who are cheaper or faster who don’t fit our cause-based model.
3.You measure success in a whole different way
Of course, to stay in business, you need to make enough sales to keep the lights on and pay your team, but your real success isn’t measured in dollars and bitcoin. It’s measured in the number of people employed, wells you built, or women you helped escape from sex trafficking. Those are the numbers you hang on the wall. Those are the ones you buy the confetti cake for. And those are the ones that keep you motivated.
4. Volume discounts are a tough topic
When you are a for-cause company, whether to offer bulk discounts or not is a difficult decision. While more orders do mean more dollars for your cause, it also means a lower profit margin. Many social enterprises offer transportation, job training, counseling, etc. to their employees, who often need these services to make the transition from their vulnerable group to mainstream society. Every discount takes away from the mission you are trying to complete.
While the social enterprise business model can be one of the more difficult, it is also one of the most rewarding. Here at beCAUSE minded, it fills our hearts to know when you purchase one of our gifts that give back, lives are changed all over the world. A woman in Uganda has hope for the future after coming out of sex trafficking, a family in India has soap they can use to try to stay healthy, and a girl in Nicaragua gets to go to school.
Thank you to everyone who has made this possible.
What is your favorite social enterprise? Tag them here!
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