How to start a social enterprise

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This project guide helps two Sky’s the Limit members work together through four meetings as they collaborate to start a social enterprise

Meeting 1: Define Social Entrepreneurship

Before this meeting:

Mentor Review: How to Work with Social Entrepreneurs
Both Review: What is a Social Enterprise?

In this meeting discuss or brainstorm...

Your business idea
Your personal passion
The purpose of your enterprise

After this meeting:

Google it. Try to find other businesses that are doing something similar to what you would like to do. How are they structured?

Meeting 2: Discuss business activities, goals, motivations

Before this meeting:

Both Review: Understanding your reasons for starting a business

In this meeting:

Complete the Understanding Your Why Worksheet prior to or during your meeting.
Discuss your personal why as well as the purpose of the enterprise.
Discuss the type and scale of impact you hope to have, and brainstorm ways you can you start testing your idea.

After this meeting:

Get feedback. Talk to potential customers or clients about your idea and document their feedback.
Note any agreed-upon next steps.

Meeting 3: Discuss pros & cons of social entrepreneurship

Before this meeting:

Both Review: Legal Types of Business Entities
Both Review: What’s the Difference Between a Social Enterprise and a For-profit Business?

In this meeting:

Talk through each of the relevant business entities in the articles.
Which ones sound most like what you are trying to accomplish?
Discuss the pros and cons to your business for each of your top options.
Be sure to think about how you will generate revenue, what your governance structure will need to be, and any funding implications.

After this meeting:

Sleep on it. This is a big decision with legal and funding consequences. Make sure you feel good about your final decision.

Meeting 4: Identify next steps for chosen business type

Before this meeting:

Review your meeting notes from last time.

In this meeting:

Based on the state or country you’re in and the entity you’ve chosen for your business, prepare to apply for that type of legal business structure.
Go through the application together and create a list of what information you will need to gather before you apply.

After this meeting:

Apply for the business type.
Be sure to mark your project complete, update your business tracker, and start a new project!