TOPIC 3

Developing the Social

Enterprise Concept
What happened to Martha Rollins?
How did her idea move forward?

Each part of Boaz &Ruth’s mission is easier said than done – as

they met with inevitable difficulties.

Mission describes the opportunity, envisions the venture and

shapes its development; proceed with a viable business
model and then describes the mission and model in a business
plan for others to see.
THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE MISSION
First objective in developing a social enterprise concept
involves communication: describing the enterprise in a way
that others can understand it and get behind the concept.

It should be clear and succinct, explaining what the enterprise

will do, how it is entrepreneurial and why it is important.

This information constitutes a social enterprise mission.

Social entrepreneurs often skip the step of constructing a
mission statement at the start of the business planning process.

This is a mistake, for two reasons:

1. A mission statement focuses social entrepreneurs on what
they intend to accomplish and how to measure programs
toward the stated goal.
2. A mission statement provides a marketing tool to bring
other interested parties into the entreprise.
After a social opportunity is positively identified, the next step
for social entrepreneurs should be to write a mission
statement.

The criteria for doing so can be summarized with the following

list of questions:
1. What the enterprise will and will not do?
2. How it creates and measures value?
3. How an enterprise innovates or adapts?
4. How success will be measured?
Class Activity ….

The XYZ organization’s mission is to provide

youths from low-income neighborhoods with the
academic skills and learning opportunities they
need to succeed and to provide college
students with the opportunity to understand and
help meet those needs to promote their own
development as leaders.

Rewrite XYZ Mission Statements

BUSINESS MODEL
A business model is a blueprint for how an organization
intends to create value. It is tangible outline of how the
mission will be put into action.

A business model usually has four specific components:

a) The core mission: Includes a brief summary of the
organization’s activities, definition of value, goals and
measures of success, and how the enterprise is innovative
or adaptive.

b) Strategic resources: Includes an idea of its fundraising and

earned revenue strategies. It also includes a list of the
enterprise's unique competencies and strategic assets.
c) Partnership network: Includes donors, volunteers,
governments, suppliers, and enterprise collaborators.

d) Service interface: This is a description of how the enterprise

connects with its beneficiaries – include the target
clientele, community, staff, donors and volunteers.
 Client
Vulnerable Job/life Commercial rehabilitation
population training enterprises
Community
development
• Founder’s expertise and energy
• Highland Park residents and businesses
• Richmond residents and businesses
• Local government

Business model schema for Boaz and Ruth, Inc.

THREATS TO THE BUSINESS MODEL

Demand side failure is any product that people – clients and

donors simply do not want.

Supply side failure is one that might well garner good amounts
of revenue but is too expensive to operate on an ongoing
basis. This is most often the case for enterprises that are
capital-intensive.
Why many social enterprises fail?

Majority of nonprofits fail within their first five years of

operation.

Failure is typically due to a lack of income to cover costs.

This can either a supply-side problem (if costs are too high) or
a demand-side issue (if costs are too low).