for this particular brand of entrepreneurship have sprung up, providing greater opportunities where before there were few besides banks. Second, faith in Corporate America at large, and in its concern for our well-being in particular, have diminished. And third, social entrepreneurs’ labors can be seen bearing real fruit in terms of both doing good for the world and creating real wealth.
No longer are aspirations to saving the world relegated to the non-profit realm. In 2004, Fast Company created its Social Capitalist Awards, which honor those who use their business acumen to solve social problems. In 2010, the term “conscious capitalism” gained huge traction when it became the subject of Megatrends 2010, the third in the bestselling Megatrends series. In 2011, three of Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30” top entrepreneurs were engaged in social enterprises. And today, there are seven states that have adopted the Benefit Corporation status, a new, specially designated business entity intended to distinguish social enterprises from other businesses and non-profit organizations.
As the global economy continues to limp along, legions of downsized and disillusioned workers around the world are making their opportunities while making the world a better place, which is why the term “social entrepreneurship” seems to be a trendy new concept. But the truth is, it’s not new. As you’ll discover in the pages to come, social entrepreneurs were hard at work bringing their passions to life long before there was a name for what they did.
But what we set out to do when we started Journey Healing Centers was to serve others by working to treat substance abuse, and to build personal wealth by applying the Rich Dad principles to our lives. Social entrepreneurs have, traditionally, focused on providing products or services to the poor and under-privileged. In our experience treating addiction, we know that social problems aren’t the exclusive domain of the poor or under-privileged; they exist in all socioeconomic classes, in all races and ethnicities and age groups. We raised the capital, created new jobs, designed a business that made sense, grew a healthy bottom line, and assisted people in the process. We are Social Capitalists.
Social Capitalists have the strength to face problems that send others running. We know that the government can’t solve all our problems. We know that they can’t give our power away by becoming dependent on governments and large corporations for our well-being. We take charge of our own lives, and create our own solutions while creating a path for financial security, putting ourselves and others the fast track toward financial freedom.
And since you’ve picked up this book, we suspect that there may be a Social Capitalist lurking inside you, too. If you’ve ever thought that you might have it in you to start a business, wondered why you never felt fulfilled working for other people, asked whether there was a way to turn your passion into a profitable enterprise, wanted to add a socially conscious component to your existing business, or wanted to know how to leverage a solution you’ve found to an existing problem, this book is for you.
In the following chapters, we’ll share the story of how we went from being financially ignorant employees to financially savvy business owners and investors on the fast track, and we’ll share a few of our secrets, and the secrets of other Social Capitalists, for building a business around the heart – a business that’s financeable, leverageable, expandable, and predictable. We’ll provide you with a blueprint for becoming a Social Capitalist, highlight the new uses of the Benefit Corp, and reveal to you how a passion-driven business can have a triple-bottom line, delivering profit, social value, and freedom.
As you read this book, you will find parts of the story being told from Josh’s point of view or in first person as he is telling it and in the third person or being told from the collective “we” perspective. We chose to write this way to make it easy for you, the reader, to read. However this is both our stories, as we walked the path together, learned together, built and grew the business together, went through the good, bad, ugly and great together and have committed to this journey together. A lot of Lisa’s story and perspectives is included in the “we” portion of the book and in the “I” (Josh’s voice) portion. Lisa’s input is also included in sidebars or textboxes throughout the book.
The 5 Points of Social Capitalism
If you’re looking for a book on the steps involved in starting a business, there are plenty of sources better, more interesting, and definitely more knowledgeable than either of us. Any of the books in the Rich Dad Advisor Series can provide you with valuable information on anything from writing business plans to strengthening your sales force, motivating a team, understanding taxes, forming a corporation, or growing profits. You’ll find that the Rich Dad and Rich Dad Advisor principles will apply to any business. Our focus here is exclusively on Social Capitalism, and harnessing your desire to contribute to the world in a meaningful way while satisfying your hunger for personal fulfillment and a rich life, in every sense of the word.
We’ve broken this idea into five salient points:
1. Understanding the tenets of Social Capitalism: Many entrepreneurs, particularly social entrepreneurs, take a position of poverty. We were led to believe that in order to do God’s, or humankind’s, work, means taking a vow of poverty. But if you look at many of today’s Social Capitalists – Tom’s Shoes, Annie’s Homegrown, Inc., Odwalla, and even Starbucks – it’s obvious that Social Capitalists don’t have to be poor, and we’ll show you why.
2. When the student is ready, the teacher appears: God, the universe, Buddha, life, fate … whatever you want to call it … is always ready to teach us, when we’re ready to listen. For years, I struggled with addiction that kept me from recognizing the teachers that had important lessons to share with me. When I finally shed the anger, fear, and addiction, and when Lisa and I, together, opened our eyes, the teachers began revealing themselves to us in amazing ways. We’ll show you how there are no accidents; your past is one of your greatest assets, and mentors come into our lives when they’re supposed to. After all, you’ve picked up this book. Something is calling you to serve a higher purpose, to play a bigger game in life.
3. Finding your “why”: You can’t, and shouldn’t, build a socially conscious business unless you are passionate about the cause. If your business is going to work, it absolutely must be built around what’s in your heart. For us, this meant addressing addiction. Fighting this monster that had taken so much from us was the force that drove us every single day, through good and bad times – and there were plenty of bad times. What keeps you going through good and bad? What’s your “why” for forming a business? What will keep you going each and every day, wanting to work and give it your all? So many business owners have profitable, successful businesses that don’t fulfill them. Spiritually or emotionally, they’re dying inside – they aren’t fulfilled, because they aren’t truly passionate about their businesses and their outcomes. We’ll show you how to find your own “why,” and how you can turn that into a new business, or tap into that “why” to bring a fulfilling social component into your work or existing business.
4. The Fight: Lisa and I were both born into alcoholism. I was an addict myself, and Lisa worked in law enforcement, wrestling with substance abuse, which was the root cause of much of the crime she fought on a day-to-day basis. We were both born to fight addiction. For us to have started a social enterprise that feeds the hungry is a worthy goal, but it wasn’t our fight. It wasn’t the “why” that got us out of bed each day, ready to fight. What’s your fight? What is it that you must take on? We’ll show you how we recognized our fight, and how you’ll know yours, too.
5. The Global Social Capitalist Movement: As the Social Capitalist movement continues to gain traction around the world, social entrepreneurs continue to cite finances as their primary obstacle. Your typical bank, angel investor, or venture capitalist may not immediately see the payoff in social enterprise, which makes finding funding through
