How to Become a Social Entrepreneur: Hire Employees Smarter Than You
A problem that isn't unique to nonprofits, any well-run organization needs to employ this simple hiring tactic. For social entrepreneurs, it's often just as difficult to hire other employees who may have skills or experience beyond yours, but that's no different than a for-profit entrepreneur building a team. Once you get over that original fear, you will be able find and keep talented employees who recognize that your ego doesn't get in the way of success.
"Today more than ever before, human capital is what counts, not financial capital," Scofield says. "In the nonprofit sector, you probably don't have the ability to offer either the short-term big bucks or the whispered promise of future riches that equity provides. Some managers are afraid to hire people smarter and more ambitious than they are, thinking these new hires will knife them in their back and steal their job. You just can't do that and succeed."
Harrison adds that the sales pitch to potential employees, while often more difficult in terms of finances, is all about finding the right people.
"I've got to really inspire people to give their lives to something greater that are interested in legacy and making history as one of the greatest world problems is solved," says Harrison. "We're always looking for talent and that's often my ask—not for money but for talented people to join what we're doing.
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How to Become a Social Entrepreneur: Employ Transparency & Authenticity
Another of the principles for Harrison early on was being truthful with donors. He wanted them to know everything about his cause (hence the thorough website), but importantly the financial information. He didn't want any questions on where the money was going, so he made it personal. Annual reports are available for download to anyone visiting the website, and there is an updated counter on how many people charity: water has helped.
"It was really important to me to be completely honest with people where their money went," Harrison says. "So if you sponsored a well, we would send you back photos and the GPS coordinate of the projects, so you would know it existed and where it was, the community and the people you helped. We're trying to make that personal connection to make that tangible for people."
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How to Become a Social Entrepreneur: Develop Smart Partnerships
For many social entrepreneurs, success is dependent upon (or relies heavily on) developing effective partnerships. From a corporate perspective, you want to align your brand with organizations that have a good track record but also align closely with your ideals. Large organizations get so many proposals for charitable causes in a given week that you need to smartly target which ones make the most sense, and get it right the first time.
Beyond corporate partnerships, you can't do it yourself. Similar to hiring smart employees, you need to be watching for companies who can help you to achieve your end goal. For charity: water, that's the people that actually drive the rigs of clean water into the underserved towns, the people that build the wells, etc. Make sure the people you're in business with understand your goals and can relay that message, so it doesn't get lost in translation.
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How to Become a Social Entrepreneur: Make an Emotional Connection
Without a doubt, public perception can drive social entrepreneurs to success or failure, and rather quickly. Every organization (for-profit and non-profit for that matter) wants more media mentions and press coverage. But sometimes, it's as simple as going back to that original passion you had for the cause and developing your own ways to connect with individuals. Control the message and the medium, and never lose sight of what your ultimate goal is.
Harrison has had many big-name celebrities support his cause, from Will and Jada Smith raising over $100,000 on their birthdays to a viral video of Jennifer Connelly depicting the water crisis but in New York City terms. But all of that said, he is just as impressed with individual efforts like 8-year-old Ella Salerno of Austin, Texas, who started fundraising for her birthday.
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How to Become a Social Entrepreneur: Utilize All Available Platforms
"Visual storytelling has been really important to our success," notes Harrison. "We've made over 200 videos using new media and are on ten different social media platforms, because they're as easy as signing up. We're aiming to connect donors in as close to real-time as possible with the people they are serving around the world."
Perceived by many as one of the truly successful social media social entrepreneurs, Harrison and charity: water views it with a basic mindset: you need to be everywhere your donors are, and provide them value at every touch point.
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