Your business concept might be unique, or your technology cutting edge but according to a study by Harvard Business Review regardless of whether you’re a not-for-profit or a bank, all paths to business success are the same.
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Social businesses and not-for-profits are coming up with innovative ways to tackle the SDG in anyway they can from finding different approaches to tackling these ingrained and complex issues.
The most common challenge listed by the not-for profit sector is funding, the second is people or time. Its time to dispel the myths around successful not-for profits and start innovating.
Investors hear business pitches all the time. Some that capture their imagination and are highly memorable, and some that are forgotten within the hour. Don't be forgotten!
In the startup world, buzzwords get thrown around left, right and centre, and sometimes it’s hard to discern meaning from the chaos.
This is an exciting time to be founding or growing a social enterprise in Australia. We have summarised some fantastic opportunities as a cheat-sheet to help Aussie entrepreneurs and enterprises succeed.
More people are quitting their jobs and starting their own profit for purpose businesses. But competition for startup investment is tough! So we’ve narrowed down ten steps you can take to get a head start on your competitors.
Pick a theme, chuck in a few pics and your logo, and put your speech into dot points. That may have cut it in high school, but an investment worthy pitch deck has to be so much more than that!
Some ideas are better than others, I’ll give you that. Some ideas even have the potential to be amazing, impactful, and maybe even the next Uber. But even a great idea will fail if the person or team behind it cannot execute it, just as the best teams in the world cannot make a terrible idea work.
Crowdfunding. Everyone’s doing it – but how do you pull it off? James Grugeon, founder of the Good Beer Co., has just completed a 60 day long crowdfunding campaign to secure preorders and support for the first Australian social enterprise beer company’s first beer (Great Barrier Beer) to be made in, sold in and benefiting of Australia.
10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
It takes a special kind of person to have a business idea and to make it work. The following characteristics are common among successful entrepreneurs - do you possess them too?
1. Ability to identify fertile ground for market opportunities: You may have a great idea, your buddies think it’s awesome and everyone wants to get on board. While there is probably some serious merit in your idea, make sure that you have done your research. Identify which market segments you are after and narrow it down to small bite size chunks. Identify where your product or service is likely to get the highest / fastest uptake so that you can build a solid base. Ask questions, test your ideas with a broad base, and research your market.
2. Have a compelling value proposition: Understand what makes you different and what sets you apart as this is what will win you customers and investment. Understand what gap you fill in the market: Do you provide efficiency? Are you the first? Is it your social and environmental credentials? Or is that just an added bonus? Whatever the reason understand your value proposition, own it and communicate it.
3. Know your audience: Preparation is important. Make sure you understand who your stakeholders are, what they want, and how your offering benefits them. Engaging and understanding your audience is what will get you new customers, networks to promote your social enterprise, and your investment pitch over the line. By sympathising and truly understanding their pain points, your audience will feel a connection to your enterprise. Being open and honest with them will help your audience be your greatest advocates.
4. Successful navigation of unchartered territory New ventures require the ability to be adaptable and make your own path. Think of it as a ‘choose your own adventure’ rather than a ‘tried and tested fairy tale’. Evaluate the cross roads and do what feels right for you. Regardless of the outcome plough ahead without regrets and take the bumps along the road as useful learning experiences. Be comfortable in being uncomfortable.
5. High performing teams As a founder of a social enterprise it’s important to employ people that can help you achieve your vision. Look for people that are results driven, self motivated and lateral thinkers. Make sure to do skill gaps analysis before deciding what type of employee you need next. Don’t be afraid of hiring people who are smarter than you to drive your enterprise’s growth. Ensure that all employees are aligned with your organisation’s purpose and its values.
6. Self belief and drive to succeed Starting your own business is far from smooth sailing. Be hungry for success and persist to obtain the results that you deserve. Many successful entrepreneurs have had to push through tough times. Elon Musk almost sold Tesla to Google, but his persistence and drive helped him realise the dream of having an electric supercar on the road. His story is not as unique as you may think repeated by entrepreneurs in many other industries. Believe in yourself and keep striving towards success. It doesn’t happen overnight.
7. Be persistent Keep striving towards your goal. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and there will be some stumbling blocks along the way. Solutions may not come easily, but if you keep trying there will be a way around the problems. The Wright Brothers (who successfully flew the first aircraft) had worked for six years with three versions of human-controlled gliders before finally getting a flight off the ground. So keep trying because the next attempt could be the one that catches on.
8. Always be closing Don’t miss an opportunity to pitch what you do, engage a new customer or just talk about what you do to engaged audiences. If you see an opportunity seize it and don’t be afraid to push the boundaries. If this doesn’t come naturally don’t worry, engage someone who can help you refine your skills. Remember the old adage “practice makes perfect” so just keep promoting and discussing because you never know who could be the person that helps you take your business to the next level.
9. Build a support network Look for people you can turn to for guidance. These may be technical experts to bounce ideas off of, successful business owners who’ve already done the hard yards, and family and friends for some much needed emotional support along the way. Look towards where you want to go and find people that can help you get there.
10. Establish a winning culture A can do attitude and celebrating success are essential to creating and maintaining a winning culture. It is the kind of environment where employees are inspired to go above and beyond because they are motivated by the purpose of the business and want to drive results.
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The Often Overlooked Ingredients
For many social enterprises sales can be a function of the business that is under nurtured and for some it is completely forgotten. There can be a misconception that just because you are doing something good everyone will want to get on board and purchase your product or use your service. There is also a misconception that selling and sales is pushing products on consumers and employing forceful tactics. We want to tell you that sales is not a dirty word, but in fact it is the lifeblood of growing your business! And growing your business means growing your impact.
When you break it down sales is about promotion and connecting the dots between your product or service and what the customer’s needs are. The reality is that it doesn’t matter what sector you are in you have to promote your offering, reach your target audience and convince them that they need what you have. There are many ways to sell your product in an open, honest and ethical manner.
One of the great things about social businesses is that they often have a great story to tell. It’s about giving back to society and filling a particular need. Don’t be afraid to tell your story. It’s one of the easiest ways to get people engaged with you and your business. Your purpose and your motivation to do what you do is a unique differentiator. People want to know why you’re different and why you do what you do, so share it around.
Nail your elevator pitch. Time is precious so you need to be able to succinctly communicate your ideas to grab people’s attention. You need to be able to convey your message in 30 seconds. A successful elevator pitch will buy you another 3 minutes to keep engaging and develop your story. A solid elevator pitch will get you ready for an opportunity whether it be a new client, partner or investor.
If the idea of going out and pitching your business or product makes you squirm find someone that can help you sell. This could be a mentor to give you some coaching or a business partner who can complement your technical or business strategy skills. Many great entrepreneurs are introverts including Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Steve Wozniak. Steve’s business partner, Steve Jobs brought energy and creativity and coupled with Wozniak’s technical genius they founded Apple.If you aren’t comfortable promoting your business keep practicing but also make sure there is someone on your team that can run with the promotional activities and bring your business to life.
Telling your story and promoting the business should not only be the role of the business’ founder. Everyone can sell. It is important that opportunities to build connections and promote your product are maximised, especially during the startup phase. Ensure there is someone who can lead by example whether it’s the founder or dynamic partner who can encourage and support other staff. When meeting new people, whether it’s at a networking event or a family bbq, don’t be afraid to talk about what you do and start to build a following.
As a social business you have a great story to tell, which is an added feature of your offering. Keep the message simple and easy to communicate what you will find is that word of mouth will help to spread your message and it is the best endorsement. Don’t be afraid to collect testimonials and use it for your promotional activities. Don’t forget to get out there and always be closing.
More Tips & Tricks
Here at One10, we embrace the social enterprise continuum. We even encourage social enterprises to embrace a for-profit model so that it can find investors to help scale up the operations to have an even greater impact. This is tough to do on a not-for-profit model, but there are ways to finance this type of model.
Sometimes, we need less thought and more action. Here are ten actions you can take to start bringing your idea to life. Find out how One10 team of experts can help you commercialise your idea.