Photo: BuySocial project
It is possible to earn money and solve social problems at the same time. Rehabilitation, training, and employment of people with disabilities are examples of the areas of work of social entrepreneurs. In Russia, this type of business is still in its infancy, but there are already successful examples. Especially for DISLIFE, Everland specialists prepared a review of 6 business projects that have already changed and continue to change the lives of people, including those with disabilities.
BuySocial
Project founders: Lyubov Ermolaeva, Alina Zubareva
Year of foundation: 2016
BuySocial is a social online store. Any purchase at BuySocial.me is a help to people in need, a contribution to nature conservation or the development of cultural projects.
Everland infographic
All producers are Russian social entrepreneurs and charitable organizations. They provide jobs for people with disabilities or older people in the outback. This is an opportunity to earn money and feel needed while doing what you love. Some manufacturers donate their profits to charity, helping people with serious illnesses, children from orphanages, girls who have suffered from violence, and grandparents from nursing homes.
BuySocial's mission is to unite buyers who care about how and why a product is produced, and sellers who, along with the quality of the product, care about their contribution to the development of society and preserving the environment. The project is trying to solve the problem of poverty and usefulness to society.
Lyubov Ermolaeva: “If you decide to start an activity in the field of social entrepreneurship, I advise you to start trying a little bit at a time! Make prototypes and go show them to people - potential buyers of your product or service, constantly testing your hypotheses in practice. Find support from like-minded people—in your team and beyond. Tell us about your ideas and people who share your values will be attracted to you, perhaps becoming partners or clients. You may have an idea for a social entrepreneurship project that no one has done before. Don't be afraid of this, sometimes ideas that seem completely unrealistic at first work! And at the same time, don’t fall too much in love with your idea, check whether other people – your clients and beneficiaries – really need it. Be prepared for the fact that you will often have to balance between business and social contribution. Go for it!”
You can find out more about the project on the website.
Social business - responsibility
Today, interest in social business among small entrepreneurs has increased significantly. But most businessmen still believe that this activity is aimed only at those citizens who are forced to use social benefits and cannot afford to purchase quality goods and services.
Social business is a niche between charitable activities and entrepreneurship, the goal of which is to maximize profits.
The prolonged crisis has made adjustments to the understanding of the principles of business building. Nowadays, many of those who only yesterday took out a loan and were confident in their abilities, today began to avoid repaying the debt to banks in every possible way.
Credit means trust. In this case, this is a trust relationship between the bank and the borrower. But trusting relationships and preliminary agreements on the terms of debt repayment suddenly turned out to be impossible. Thus, the entire banking business was under threat.
In such a situation, the interest of banks begins to shift towards those clients for whom, first of all, the ethical principle of doing business is important. It is these clients who become the target audience for lending.
The current situation forces us to develop business projects that aim not at immediate financial profit, but at responsibility in addressing social issues.
Everland
Project founders: Elena Martynova, Igor Novikov
Year of foundation: 2016
Everland's mission is to help professionals with disabilities achieve professional self-realization.
Everland infographic
Everland was created on an interest-free loan of 4.5 million rubles from impact investor Boris Zhilin. In less than 2 years, the founders of the project invested another 5 million rubles from their own funds. Today the project is earning money, and the entrepreneurial part is paying off. The social component – training of specialists and the work of curators – is not yet available. The project employs people with different types of disabilities from different regions of Russia and even CIS countries.
The first interviews at Everland took place on August 31, 2020 at Impact Hub Moscow. Photo courtesy of the project.
Elena Martynova: “If you decide to start activities in the field of social entrepreneurship, you need to build a business plan, evaluate the project carefully, try to outline risk areas and opportunity areas. If there are already operating initiatives in other regions, it is better to negotiate a franchise and use their experience, this will reduce time, reduce financial risks, and be more efficient. If the approach is innovative and no one works like that, try to first understand why? Maybe this is a dead end? If you still have faith in the hypothesis, then get involved and work until the result.”
Igor Novikov: “When implementing, it is important to see and maintain a balance in both components - the effectiveness of solving a social problem and the quality of the service or product for the end client. We must remember that it will not be easy, and do not despair if it is difficult. This is a difficult area, labor-intensive, requiring full dedication, but it gives results and meaning. You can definitely feel like a creator in it.”
Find out more about Everland's work on the project website.
New global trend
Social business uses:
- technologies;
- methods;
- methods;
- means of entrepreneurship aimed at solving social, environmental, cultural problems.
The concept applies to a wide range of organizations, varying in size and purpose. Classical entrepreneurs determine the success of a business taking into account the size of net profit, social entrepreneurs - by the impact of society.
In Russia, non-standard entrepreneurship began to emerge in the 1980s, and in the 90s it was already actively developing. Stimulating factors include the emergence of non-profit organizations, new means of communication, and the development of infrastructure and transport.
The concept of social entrepreneurship is constantly evolving, but it is impossible to give an exact definition of this phenomenon. This type of activity is present in different countries of the world. The leaders are considered to be the USA, England, Italy, Korea, Slovenia, India, Scandinavia, and Bangladesh. The legal status of non-standard businesses in different countries of the world varies greatly - from complete non-recognition to the creation of a corporation with a strong and well-thought-out strategy.
Social entrepreneurs are business entities that form a special model focused on helping citizens. They are allowed to engage in the production of goods and provision of services. Around the world, new business helps the state achieve stability in society. The government provides assistance to unconventional businessmen.
"Mom is working"
Project founder: Olesya Kashaeva
Year of foundation: 2012
“Mom Works” is a project that helps young mothers get an education, find work at home, or start their own business. The network of free coworking spaces “Mom Works” is a space where mothers can work quietly while a teacher takes care of their children.
Everland infographic
The mission of the project is to solve problems of material well-being among young mothers by providing them with the opportunity to earn income during maternity leave, improving the standard of living of young families and providing women with opportunities for self-realization, professional development and income generation without interruption from raising children.
Photo courtesy of the project.
Olesya Kashaeva: “We help young mothers overcome such difficulties as planning their time, fear of being away from their child due to employment or absence on work issues, combining raising children with fulfilling job responsibilities.”
You can find out more about “Mom Works” on the website.
Charity Shop
Project founder: Daria Alekseeva
Year of foundation: 2014
Charity Shop is a social business that generates funds for the implementation of the programs of the Second Wind charity foundation. In the project's stores you can buy items from well-known brands donated by city residents, and with the proceeds the foundation recycles items in poor condition, provides jobs to people from socially disadvantaged groups, and provides clothes to the poor, including people with disabilities. The Charity Shop's mission is to financially support these programs.
Everland infographic
The Charity Shop's mission is to use unnecessary resources (clothes tired of previous owners) to generate benefits - new jobs, recycled materials, helping people in crisis.
Photo courtesy of the project
Daria Alekseeva: “If you decide to start activities in the field of social entrepreneurship, treat your business as a commercial one. If your business model isn't working and you're earning less than you spend, it's not the high social burden that's to blame, it's poor management. Think about what, besides the environmental or social component, makes you truly needed and competitive.”
More information on the project website.
Implementation stages
In order to implement any social project it is necessary to go through a number of stages. In each case they are unique. Much depends on whether it is possible to obtain government support. This is not always possible - the fact is that some projects are not allocated targeted funds. This is due to the fact that these projects are impossible (in the opinion of government supervisory authorities) to be implemented under current conditions. Either the size of the investment is too large, or the climatic conditions are not suitable, or the project itself is expected to be unprofitable. Only work with government officials, lobbying and a multifaceted analysis of potential business will help here.
Idea
The first step is to formulate an idea for a future project. It must contain two components: a social role and financial benefit. It is not enough to propose a project that will be useful for society; ideally, this project should also be beneficial for its owners. In this case, it may turn out to be much more interesting for potential investors.
Government funding
Then, once the idea is formed, the hard work of finding funding begins. It is best at this stage to already have a business plan for a social project. You will need to show it to many officials and interested parties. Often, obtaining government funding is an impossible task. In this case, it is worth contacting various specialized funds that deal with this problem. For example, if we are talking about creating a drug rehabilitation center, then the right step would be to contact a foundation that fights drug addiction in a country, region or city.
Search for contractors
At the same time as resolving the issue of financing, it is necessary to resolve the issue of further implementation. You will need to find people who can organize the entire process of creating this business. These could be professionals from this field, or simply experienced managers. If this stage is completed successfully, then further ones will not be difficult.
Execution
Having received funding and resolved organizational issues, you can begin to implement the project. This may include anything: from the construction of some facilities to the selection of qualified psychologists. The fact is that there are an infinite number of types of social business and it is necessary to work in these areas in a variety of ways.
Project delivery
After the execution process is completed, it is necessary to report to investors about the funds spent and what the project now represents. If this was the construction of an infrastructure facility, then it is necessary to provide statistics on its visits and income level. For various businesses aimed at working with the population, it would be best to show statistics on solving a problem in the form of a “before and after” graph.
Profit calculation
The most enjoyable stage for you is calculating your profits. Here you need to look at how much money was spent on the organization, whether the business can continue to support itself and decide what to do next with the project. You may have to fight for additional sources of funding. This is normal practice for many social projects; they are simply impossible without solid support from government agencies.
"Work-I"
Project founder: Mikhail Krivonos
Year of foundation: 2013
“Rabota-I” is an employment center for graduates of orphanages and young people with disabilities. It was created in 2013 as one of the programs of the Raul Charitable Foundation, which was founded in St. Petersburg in 2011. “Work-I” is a model of supported employment.
Everland infographic
The mission of “Rabota-I” is, in partnership with business, NGOs and the government, to help graduates of orphanages and young people with disabilities build a decent independent life through their own efforts.
Guys employed by “Work-I”. Photo courtesy of the project.
Mikhail Krivonos: “Our experience is like this, this is how you can act: come up with an idea, find the first or second reliable partner, try, encounter difficulties, learn, solve everything, move on to new difficulties, learn again, solve, and so on. So, moving from level to level, you become a social entrepreneur. It's not easy, but it's very interesting."
You can find out more about the project here.
Agricultural social business project
In the recent Soviet past, it was the norm when the chairmen of collective farms created conditions for attracting young specialists to work at their enterprise.
For this purpose, houses were built and rural infrastructure was developed. With the collapse of the USSR, this practice became a thing of the past. But today, entrepreneurs have already appeared in Russia who acquire agricultural land, special equipment and technologies, and then attract representatives of vulnerable sections of the population to work.
These are children from low-income families, former prisoners, whom most enterprises and organizations do not want to hire.
And socially oriented businessmen create favorable conditions for this category of citizens.
Entrepreneurs in depressed regions of Russia organize their small businesses in the same way, from where young people are forced to leave in search of income and favorable living conditions.
Walk in the Dark Museum
Project founder: Elena Stakheeva
Year of foundation: 2016
“Walk in the Dark” is an unusual museum, the exhibition of which is immersed in absolute darkness! At the Walk in the Dark Museum, people learn a lot about themselves, as all senses except sight are put to the test. The project influences how healthy people perceive the lives of people with disabilities.
Everland infographic
The mission of the Walk in the Dark Museum is to give people a new experience and introduce them to the world of blind people.
Elena Stakheeva: “If you decide to start an activity in the field of social entrepreneurship, you need to understand what motivates you in the first place - the desire to create something new, build theories, take risks, assemble a team and manage it, solve the problems of all participants in the process, or do good? If the first, start boldly, don’t waste time, big victories and a lot of interesting things await you along the way. If you mostly just want to do good, I recommend getting a job in one of the existing projects and making a difference there.”
Photo courtesy of the project.
You can order a walk in the dark on the project website.
Prospects for social business
Social business is not only profitable, but also self-sustaining. In addition, many successful social businessmen over time begin to provide the opportunity to benefit from the fruits of their work for a fee to those who can afford it.
Today, entrepreneurs are beginning to appear in Russia whose goal is not to make crazy profits, but to have a socially oriented business.
Such businessmen are convinced that the main thing is to give people the opportunity to work, earn money and live with dignity.
In European countries, it is prestigious to be the owner of a social business. Gradually, this trend is beginning to gain momentum in our country.
