Tag Archives | Leadership & Management

Why I Lie About What I Do and Why It Matters for Social Entrepreneurs

By on April 29, 2013 in Building a Social Venture, Fundraising, Non-Profit Management, Outcome Evaluation

Do you know the Google search algorithm? You probably have a basic idea. If you know anything about computers and the Internet, you might have a pretty good idea. But the short answer is no, because the Google search algorithm might as well be written on a little piece of paper and locked in a [...]

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Need a Break?

By on April 1, 2013 in Building a Social Venture, Impact Assessment, Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

If you’re like me, chances are you sat and made a business plan that was based off the idea that you’d raise upwards of $50,000 the first year your organization was registered. You likely visited DoSomething and applied for some starter grants and checked out the DoSomething Award winners. Then, at some point, somebody told you [...]

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10 Tips for Aspiring Social Entrepreneurs

By on March 11, 2013 in Building a Social Venture, Fundraising, Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

We’d all like to think that beyond the warm and fuzzy feeling we get from donating or volunteering, our efforts lead to some form of sustainable change. But how can we measure our impact amidst all the negative news about wasted aid and futility? We certainly don’t profess to know the answers, but in the [...]

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In the Business of Helping Others, Put Yourself First

By on March 6, 2013 in Starting the Journey

Recently, I ran into a hurdle with my organization, Cheti. The journey to, over, and past this obstacle has been as much a discovery of myself as it was of others. I have seen that during the last three years I have been so concerned with moving things forward that I never gave myself the [...]

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How Do You Hire on The Ground? Generating Business Partners in Africa

By on October 22, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship

I often find it necessary to remind myself that the majority of us begin working in Africa because of the ignorant idealism that flows from the infatuation behind a dream. Maya Angelou writes, “now that I know better, I do better,” and I don’t struggle with ignorant idealism, as such. It’s just that kind of [...]

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What it Takes: Six Critical Principles of Social Entrepreneurship

By on September 24, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship

These six ideas have guided my work with the Congo Leadership Initiative. They’re helpful for any social entrepreneur at every stage of development. 1) The social sector takes risks. Governments can be slow and traditional companies exist to fulfill a profit motive, but one of the best things about working in the social sector is [...]

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Diving, Sinking, and Swimming

By on August 7, 2012 in Featured, Social Entrepreneurship, Stories of Impact

A month before my 24th birthday, I was fatigued, directionless, and jaded from role playing in a life that wasn’t my own. Up to that point in my life, I made a lot of safe decisions, many that weren’t directed at my happiness. I decided to change this habit and made the rash decision of quitting my stable, [...]

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