If you were asked to pass on some lessons to a social entrepreneur, what would you tell them? In the UK, many of those that are engaging with social needs are coming at it with very little experience of ever having done anything similar before. It’s at time like this that I put my business head on and try and find some lessons that can be applied across. Here are a few:

• Have a very clear goal of what you are trying to achieve. This might be big (rid the world of poverty) or small (raise funds to build a homeless shelter in Brazil) but it’s critical to know what you are doing.
• Don’t spend money unless you absolutely have to. The phrase “lean startup” is all the rage in the technology startup market at the moment (you’ll find over 500,000 hits on Google for the phrase), but essentially it focuses on this – you have a finite amount of money to fund your vision, so don’t waste it on things like legals, IT equipment, nice offices etc. Do it on the cheap to start with and you’ll be grateful later on to have that extra money.
• Be very careful when it comes to hiring. It seems that almost every venture that succeeded admitted that it got it wrong in the early days when it came to hiring. The ones that lucked out seemed to be the ones that hired 1) friends 2) friends of friends 3) people that they already knew and trusted. Trust and shared vision seem to be the two most important qualities to hire on.
• Use the power of your story to hire. You’re not introducing someone to a cubicle to do bookkeeping for the next 40 years, you’re inviting them on a journey to transform the world. That has to mean something right? Who wouldn’t want to work for an organisation that brings purpose and meaning as well? It will probably lead to greater employee retention and therefore more stability and team bonding.
• Focus. If you’re about water for villages in Africa then focus on water for villages in Africa. Don’t spend your time on charitable legals, accounting, website design, fundraising (ooh, controversial…), design of nice logos, speaking at conferences etc – UNLESS those are central to your vision. If not, simply outsource it.
• Take a break. It’s a good habit to switch off regularly and let yourself recuperate physically, mentionally, emotionally, spiritually. Otherwise you burn out and that doesn’t help anyone. Be aware how you get recharged and make sure you have the discipline to do that regularly.
• Accept that your plans will change and always be opportunistic. You may have an idea as to how you will remove poverty, or build that shelter, but maybe new angles will become apparent – be flexible, but keep the central vision. Keep asking yourself, can I do this any better.
• Build strategic relationships. If you’re doing something interesting, lots of people will want to talk to you, not everyone is that good a use of your time (albeit I’m not saying you should be rude, I’m British after all!). Identify those that can be key supporters, or key enablers, of your vision, and spend quality time with them. Listen as well as talk!
• Have fun! This sounds a strange one but I’ve discovered that there’s often a big gap between the goal of your big vision, and the reality of the early days/weeks/months. So it’s good to both remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing, but also to enjoy it while you go. Startups do this all the time for one example of a startup culture, you’ll probably want to have your own angle!). So whether that’s surfing, bungee jumping, a night out, good food, hanging with friends, or white water rafting, it can all be a really helpful part of the journey.
• And finally, just remember that not all advice you’ll get or read is good advice (possibly including this post…).