Social enterprises are businesses that prioritise positive social or environmental impact alongside financial sustainability. By aligning their operations with a larger social mission, these organisations have the power to drive meaningful change – while still generating revenue.
However, developing a successful social enterprise strategy requires a different approach to other businesses. To support founders on this journey, this page compiles a list of valuable resources for building robust social enterprise strategies.
Resources:
Books:
- The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook: How to Start, Build, and Run a Business That Improves the World by Rupert Scofield – In The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook, Rupert Scofield gives you a practical plan for doing what you might have thought wasn’t possible: becoming a driving force for good by using business practices typically reserved for amassing personal wealth.
- Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism that Serves Humanity’s Most Pressing Needs by Muhammad Yunus – In Building Social Business, Yunus shows how social business can be put into practice and explains why it holds the potential to redeem the failed promise of free-market enterprise.
- The Social Entrepreneur’s Playbook, Expanded Edition: Pressure Test, Plan, Launch and Scale Your Social Enterprise by Ian C. MacMillan and James D. Thompson – Professor Ian C. MacMillan and Dr. James Thompson provide a tough-love approach that significantly increases the likelihood of a successful social enterprise launch in the face of the high-uncertainty conditions typically encountered by social entrepreneurs.
Guides:
- How to start a social enterprise by Social Enterprise UK – There’s a lot of information out there for startups, and this guide takes you through the essentials focusing on the parts that are most important in a social enterprise.
Articles:
- All about Social Enterprise by Social Enterprise UK – This article details what a social enterprise does, how they’re defined and answers common FAQs.
- How To Create A Business That Does Good With A Social Enterprise by Forbes – Social enterprises are on the rise, creating many job opportunities and contributing to the economy. Forbes shares some tips on how to build one yourself.
- How to set up social enterprises in the UK by British Business Bank – This article breaks down how to set up a social enterprise, from deciding on your legal structure to how to run it.
Reports:
- The State of Social Enterprise 2024 by The World Economic Forum – The State of Social Enterprise 2024 is the first, comprehensive global data set to estimate the size and scope of social enterprises worldwide.
- Social Enterprise Barometer – Financial Performance by Social Enterprise UK – Based on a quarterly survey of Social Enterprise UK’s members, this insight paper gives us a snapshot of sector conditions and expectations.
You can also find further reports from Social Enterprise UK on their website.
Podcasts:
- Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs Podcast – On the Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs podcast, they talk to experienced and successful social entrepreneurs and change makers, committed to building a better world.
- Do More Good Podcast – On this podcast, you will find light-hearted conversations on professional development, the charity sector and interesting individuals who are ‘Doing More Good’.
The strategies and resources outlined above offer a comprehensive toolkit for entrepreneurs and organisations looking to develop and implement impactful social enterprise models that drive positive change.