By Rolfe Larson on September 20, 2010
As the term social enterprise gains traction in the marketplace, more and more organizations are using that term. There is a real risk that this expansion will dilute the meaning of social enterprise to the point that it means any organization that can claim social as well as financial goals, no matter how vague or [...]
By Rolfe Larson on August 3, 2010
This recent report summarizes a recent survey of 740 organizations on the current state of the SE field in the US. This work was prepared by the Social Enterprise Alliance, in partnership with Community Wealth Ventures and Duke University’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship. REDF funded the survey. Some interesting findings include: Top [...]
By Rolfe Larson on July 14, 2010
Earlier this year, the Social Enterprise Alliance published Succeeding at Social Enterprise: Hard-Won Lessons for Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurs (Jossey-Bass). Anyone interested in starting or strengthening a social enterprise would benefit from reading this informative book. The book’s sixteen chapters are organized into three sections: Startup and Structure, Methods, and Leadership. Each section contains chapters [...]
By Rolfe Larson on June 29, 2010
This blog was written by guest writer Andy Horsnell. While working for a nonprofit capacity building service, I had occasion to put together an “Executive Director Boot Camp” that would help EDs identify and begin addressing issues that were critical for their on-the-job effectiveness. Early in the development of this project, I almost had myself [...]
By Rolfe Larson on June 17, 2010
Can a nonprofit purchase a for-profit company and operate it as a social enterprise? This question came up in a recent discussion on the npEnterprise Forum. Incidentally, npE is the official listserv partner of the Social Enterprise Alliance, and, with 7000+ global subscribers, has become the global commons for the social enterprise movement. Subscriptions are [...]
By Rolfe Larson on June 10, 2010
One of the nice things about writing a blog is getting comments. And now that the Free Management Library blogs are attracting more than 10,000 readers each week (wow!), we’re glad to hear what readers are thinking. Here are two particularly interesting recent comments: On whether the “social” in social enterprise is redundant, Andy Horsnell [...]
By Rolfe Larson on June 2, 2010
Google “social enterprise” and you’ll get 2.1 million citations. I kid you not. So, if you want to be more selective, here’s a quick guide on what we’ve found to be the most useful online sources of practical information about how to succeed with social enterprise (SE). (Full disclosure: I’m affiliated with several that I’ve [...]
By Rolfe Larson on May 27, 2010
Financial reward can be a powerful motivator. The potential for personal profit can provide intense focus and efficiency to almost anyone. Indeed, incentives drive entrepreneurs in their relentless search for success, overcoming obstacles along the way. Money might not be their only motivator, but dollars (the kind they get to keep) are always their favorite [...]
By Rolfe Larson on May 14, 2010
So you have piles of venture ideas and don’t know where to start. Or perhaps there’s just one idea that you think looks pretty good. Either way, you need to some feasibility testing. To narrow a long list to a manageable number, try the Quick Feasibility Screen (at www.RolfeLarson.com click on Free Resources). It’s a [...]
By Rolfe Larson on May 11, 2010
It’s not hard thinking up venture ideas. Often they seem to come out of the woodwork. Get some folks together for an hour and you’ll come out with a couple dozen of them. Include some entrepreneurial people from outside your group and you’ll get some new ideas that you might have missed. But also step [...]
Rolfe Larson provides consulting and training in areas such as strategic planning, market research, feasibility analysis, business planning, marketing and implementation strategies.
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