Social Entrepreneurship

The book, Social Entrepreneurship written by David Bornstein and Susan Davis, makes crucial points about the evolution of social entrepreneurship. The first being the 'personality' of a social entrepreneur: one must have a passionate interest in simple questions, such as why can't we extend loans to villagers? and the like. The second must be to question one's society, such as the way inner city schools teach, and why they do. The third is to have a persistent outlook and determination to go to the source (such as the villages or inner city schools) and gain an understanding of the problems at hand(78).

However, the question of 'How can I make money being a social entrepreneur' still exists, and the perfect solution would be a company like TOMS Shoes. Blake Mycoskie, the owner and founder of TOMS Shoes, is the perfect example of a business that makes a profit, as well as helps those in need. If anyone has a personal interest and wants to help others, form a business around that idea, and put food on the table - that dream is more of a reality, especially in this generation - Generation Y.

"Philanthropists could use their influence with universities to encourage education and research focused on social entrepreneurship" (112). Colleges, as well as high schools, can have an underlying focus on helping others and forming a business plan as well. Making the world become aware of a problem is best done when it is in their face - such as when someone sees their classmate wearing a pair of TOMS Shoes, or wearing a Charity:Water t-shirt (http://www.charitywater.org/shop/) can make a huge difference.

TOMS shoes Prezi

TOMS shoes on Prezi

Learning about TOMS Shoes was not only interesting, but inspiring. I personally worked on who the company is upsetting, as well as who they are leading. It seems weird to say that some people are not happy with TOMS Shoes, however, some believe that instead of someone buying a pair of shoes to help the people in the impoverished countries, they wear them as a fashion statement that says "Look at me - I'm a good person." Although there can be some truth to this, nevertheless, the shoes do help other people. It is more beneficial to buy a pair of TOMS instead of a pair of converse.

TOMS is mostly leading Generation Y - our generation. He offers internships, as well as 'parties' to spread awareness on college campuses. Also, fashion is a great way to connect our generation, and not to mention our generation seems to have a greater desire to help others in third world countries, or those less fortunate down the street.