The journey of any social entrepreneur in the world is not an easy one. In their quest to make the world a better place, the path is not straight. The challenges arise from both societal and economic factors. As social entrepreneurs, these are some of the challenges you will encounter in your quest.
1: Social entrepreneurs often encounter problems in finding collaborations
The business environment is a rapidly changing one. Businesses are finding it difficult to separate their primary objectives from their social responsibilities. This has thus led to the rise in collaborations to quell the harsh environments for social entrepreneurs. The problem arises when these collaborations have to force a cultural shift for these enterprises. This is because small social entrepreneurs have an uneasy feeling that the large ones intend to take up their operations. This has thus led to many social entrepreneurs having to struggle with numerous objectives, some of which will not be fulfilled adequately.
2: Having a steady source of finances
As a social entrepreneur, you have to look for finances for your enterprise and your social work. The setting up of social welfare requires numerous resources. This may be getting learning materials for the less privileged or setting up healthcare facilities. Your enterprise may not have a profit margin that is big enough to cater for these expenses. Social entrepreneurs are thus forced to seek alternative finances or abandon the projects altogether.
3: Retaining social purpose
The process of choosing a purpose through which to impact society is one of the vital steps for social entrepreneurs. Many local authorities are stepping up to fill the roles intended for social entrepreneurs. This has left many with a lack of what to continue doing and thus have considered shutting down. This challenge is fast increasing and has resulted in stiff competition between social enterprises. Retaining a strong sense of social purpose requires a clear understanding of how far an organization can diversify and the pros and cons of doing so.
4: Absence of motive
Why should someone start a social enterprise when they can start a commercial one where they can potentially make a lot of profit? Although there are selfless people who genuinely care to help society without much attention or emphasis on making a profit out of their business, these are usually a trivial percentage of any population. They often find themselves in this quagmire and are unable to make a solid decision.
Numerous challenges come with setting up and running a social enterprise. As social entrepreneurs, we should learn to surpass these challenges and focus on the reward to the community.
