I both know and admire Robert from working within the 3rd sector in Norfolk together and view him as one of only a few people you can rely on to cut the bull and give it to you straight. And this is exactly what he does in his 12th and most recent book “How to be a Social Entrepreneur – Make money & change the world”.
Robert nails it for me in the intro when he states that “…tomorrow’s entrepreneur will be a social entrepreneur. More confident shaking hands than shaking a collection tin; more confident negotiating innovative, colaborative partnerships with those able to help them further the cause and more confident that profit is good, because of the freedom it gives you to do good.”
The realisation that profit is indeed good was the reason I started my social business consultancy. As Robert puts it on p10, “In today’s world, the only way to bring about sustainable change is through being enterprising and entrepreneurial.” And for both Robert and I that means focusing on creating a financial profit in order to create the positive social and environmental value which will result from this. Social entrepreneurship is about utilising profitable business models to enable positive change in the world.
I would recommend this book to all those who have the desire to change the world but may lack the business skills necessary to do so - you can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon using the widget in the sidebar >>>
Visit www.robertashton.co.uk for more from Robert.
About Richard Patey
Search, social and content marketer and editor of the Profit Is Good Blog.
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Richard is himself a passionate pioneer, promoting for all the right reasons the message that ‘profit is good.’ Without profit you have no choice. Without choice you became a slave to anyone willing to find you – and then before to long a victim.
However you interpret Big Society, you have to accept that we can no longer rely on the tax man to collect from the masses the money needed to provide support to society’s vulnerable people.
Instead, we have to help those people fund themselves, directly or indirectly, by being entrepreneurial. It really is a case of shaking hands not tins. If you find this difficiult to do, shake Richard’s hand first and he’ll lead you in the right direction.
If you know Robert Ashton’s earlier book – The Entrepreneur’s Book of Checklists – you’ll be familiar with the format; lots of short lists interspersed with case studies and linking commentary. Some of the chapter headings – on selling better, corporate responsibility, and selling your business – will also ring a bell or two.
I like the style – it’s easy to dip in and the author sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. That said, I’m still not sure whether the cases studies are genuine (I hope they are) or simply used to illustrate a point. I think the title is too clever for its own good – it may sell a few extra copies but entrepreneurial success is a hard, if enjoyable, slog.