Social Entrepreneurship: Being a Blessing to Others

Last March, I had the privilege of attending the Bioentrepreneurship Pitches of the Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) of my beloved Alma Mater, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. To give a background on what actually goes on in these pitches, way back during our Entrepreneurship classes, we were asked to innovate a certain product or service that could be of service to the community. Back in our time, my classmates proposed mobile applications to help promote local industries of those who are in the marginalized sector, and those of our local farmers, fishermen, and the local agricultural industry. 

This year, the Entrepreneurship classes of my alma mater took a higher approach. Instead of merely conceptualizing the product and building a business proposal around it, they have to build it using 3D-printers or build the product itself, while still building the business proposal around it. Below are some of the notable ones I ever came across with.

While listening to their elevator pitches, I couldn't help but imagine how Entrepreneurship is being taught in other schools. I couldn't help but praise the approach of Sacred Heart in its Entrepreneurship classes. They stood by the foundation of Entrepreneurship and what it means to be a thriving entrepreneur in the 21st Century. 

Looking back at what the students of Sacred Heart proposed, I would like to contemplate on this side-by-side with the works of the students. To me, the experience of seeing the new inventions every entrepreneur, or game-changer should learn from these students. But before I dive into reflection about these, let us define what entrepreneurship actually is. 

There are many definitions of the word "entrepreneur", but from all the definitions I have came across with, one definition of an entrepreneur stands out. Peter Drucker, one of the hallmarks of modern business corporation, famously said the following quote:

"The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity"

According to Drucker, an entrepreneur is known for three things: to seek change, respond to change, and create an opportunity with it. Usually, entrepreneurs seek out to risk more financial capital (not to mention blood, sweat, and tears) to become competitive in a market. However, if we look back at the examples of those Senior High School students. We can bring entrepreneurship into the light of a more purposeful perspective: creating ventures to become blessings to other people.

People will always seek for change. This is human nature. It is very unlikely that people yearn to stagnate over time. However, there is a reason why many people, all the more entrepreneurs, get tired in the pursuit of change. This is the lack of purpose. 

I would like to borrow a thought from Ryan Holiday's book Ego is the Enemy. Holiday mentioned that persons who are in the pursuit of things because of their passion are likely to tire out easily on their quest to become better versions of themselves. Why? Passion is dictated by emotion, and just like any other emotion like sadness or anger, emotions subside. Once emotions subside, the "fire" needed to energize their urge to go on will be gone, therefore making dreams or aspirations remain as dreams.

In the book, Holiday mentioned a way to make things better: it is to be driven by purpose, not passion. Bringing this into the business perspective of those students who presented, it is worth imitating by any aspiring entrepreneur, game-changer, or persons who wish to engage in business by asking themselves: what is the best purpose I can find to make my venture worthwhile?

The best answer to this question? Make your venture a Blessing to those who need it. 

No business, enterprise, venture, or initiative will survive if it doesn't meet its purpose. Businesses, although with the underlying objective to create money, have an underlying purpose: a purpose that it achieves by means of helping other people. Whether it be providing safer financial safekeeping like those in the banking industry or providing us powerful devices to connect with others like in the consumer electronics industry, all businesses have a purpose we endear. 

And so, why not make it a blessing to other people?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ken Boltiador is the National Director of LIGTAS Philippines. To learn more about the author, check out his profile at The Director's Corner.