Topic 1

Social enterprise is a specific type of economic entity in which the focus is not on profits and their maximization, but social goals. Social enterprises operate under various legal forms:

• social cooperatives,

• associations,

• foundations,

• non-profit companies

They have one thing in common - any surplus related to running a business is invested in such organizations in achieving goals, such as social and professional integration of company members, or activities for the local community.

In social enterprises, an important element is the democratic and communal nature of company management. An employee is not a cog in a larger business machine, but is treated as a partner and has a real impact on the company's fate.

The profits from the company's operations are not owned by the boss, who can do with them as he pleases, but are allocated to the development of the enterprise.
Social enterprises want to act consciously, responsibly and leave a good mark. They want to have an influence on what their surroundings look like.

Social entrepreneurs apart from running a business, do specific good. The idea of ​social entrepreneurship was popularized in the world by Muhammad Yunus,
winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, founder of many social enterprises in Bangladesh, incl. Grameen Bank, the world's largest financial institution that provides poor people with small unsecured loans.

Social enterprises are aimed at everyone who is tired of the constant pursuit of money and working in places focused solely on coin-based profits. Their activity shows that employees can successfully use their business skills in activities for a better world. Social enterprises are also a good solution for those who want to find their place on the labor market, but lack specialist qualifications.

Social enterprises provide a chance to see the potential in every person, regardless of their resources, to create a space for the development of creativity, and thus help them regain independence and, in a sense, dignity. We all live in a world that forces us to be creative - both in terms of changes in technology, communication, customer needs and building competitiveness in business which is a social enterprise.

Vulnerability of social entrepreneurship

Vulnerability is the characteristics determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes which increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards.

Vulnerability is one of the defining components of disaster risk. You want to do it all. You’ve got the passion and the heart to make our world a better place. That’s no small feat, and it’s important to remember that you don’t have all the answers, nor do you need to do everything on your own. We know that sometimes, the most difficult thing to do is accept your shortcomings and ask for help. To give you a leg up, we’ve come up with a few ways you can learn to embrace your social enterprise’s vulnerability. With vulnerability comes the opportunity for tremendous growth! Assess where you are, dream about where you can be, and stay positive as you make it happen.

Think About Your Vulnerabilities as a Social Entrepreneur—and Be Okay With Them

One of the first things you can do to determine your social enterprise’s vulnerabilities is to determine some of your own. It’s okay to fall short in certain areas or know that you personally have room for improvement. So, take the time to evaluate where you are, where you want to be, and certain traits, behaviors, or skills that can be optimized to get there.

Look For (and Embrace) Skill Gaps in Your Team

Just as you have gaps in your own ability to perform for the best success of your social enterprise, so does your team as a whole.

In the impact world, we likely face difficulties that come with having limited resources and finances. This is okay. However, you can take the time to look at some of these skill gaps and determine best ways to correct them. Instead of brushing any of these vulnerabilities under the rug, come to terms with them and realize that they are part and parcel of being a changemaker.

Where Can Your Board Improve?

Just like with yourself and your team, there are sure to be some potential areas of improvement when it comes to your board. Building a great advisory board is no easy feat, and even once you have one established, you may not notice vulnerabilities like you do during day-to-day activities with your team.

Every once in a while, take some time to really evaluate your board. Do you have different people coming from different backgrounds? Are all perspectives included? Do you meet in a way that’s effective for growth? Your board certainly has vulnerabilities, and there’s no better time than the present to come to terms with them.

Vulnerability breeds creativity.

One of the commonly overlooked benefits of embracing your vulnerability is that it can actually lead to really great content that helps you connect with your online audience. Through the major social media platforms, we’re exposed to many images and stories of people succeeding, but what we really connect to is our stories of vulnerability.

It’s well understood that while a superhero story might put a quick smile on your face when we’re exposed to struggles on social media, we’re more likely to connect. So, don’t be afraid to bare it all online—not just the wins.

Benefits of Embracing Your Vulnerabilities

• Vulnerability breeds creativity.

• A vulnerability-embracing leader is a better leader.

• Being aware of vulnerabilities can help you improve.

• Being vulnerable and connecting with others goes hand-in-hand

Creativity in social entrepreneurship is the art of unusual and effective problem solving and dealing with obstacles on your own.

The concept of creativity can be defined in several ways. We can understand this ability as the ability to create new solutions as well as developing and presenting innovative ideas to solve problems or satisfy needs.

The features of creativity include, among others:

• originality

• efficiency

• purposefulness

Creativity is also a thought process or some creative action, the effect of which is the emergence of new ideas, products, and solutions that did not exist before. Creating new, previously non-existent connections of already known concepts.

Creativity is not the domain of a select few, marked geniuses. Everyone has that element in them, and everyone has the potential to create something new. Social entrepreneurship provides space for the development of broadly understood business creativity.

The most important thing in being creative is believing in your own ideas and putting them into practice. It is also important to be open to changes and to accept the opinions of other people.

Creativity means being able to look at issues from multiple perspectives. Thinking multifaceted about a problem will allow us to more quickly and effectively solve an obstacle that we previously thought was unmovable. A social enterprise gives you the opportunity to pursue your own creativity. We can fully use the resources of our mind as we like. This idea is the main factor behind the success of the project.

For employers, a creative employee is more and more often worth its weight in gold, because he can think outside the box and find a way out even from difficult situations. Creative people are always better perceived than those who prefer not to stick out of the shadows.