It is exhilarating to be able to explore and dive into your passions. It is even more stimulating when you are able to do so along with others who share the same passion.
I remember attending this summit on alleviating poverty through entrepreneurship as a sophomore in college.
It blew my mind.
With strong interests in international poverty, business, and economics and a belief that relief programs were not enough to deal with the issue of poverty, this summit came at the exact right time in my college career. I had never heard of the concept of using business as a tool against social issues and poverty. That was the beginning of my fascination with the field often known as "social entrepreneurship".
Part of the reason I am on the Race is to explore this passion and see what is going on in businesses and organizations in the developing world. This is not exactly a field where you can look on Monster for job openings and just apply. The needs must be found; activity in the field must be sought out.
On the Race, I want to see what countries and cities are open to business-based interventions. I want to see where the needs are, and which ones I might be able to address through business-based solutions. I want to see what others are already doing in this area.
Before the Race and until Feburary, I was only aware of one other squadmate who shared this passion. Imagine my excitement when I realized several people on my squad share the same interest in social entrepreneurship!
One of my squadmates, Hillary, studied entrepreneurship in college and decided to start a small track within our squad focused on this passion. And so the Social Entrpreneurship track was born.
There are actually about 8 or so of my squadmates with an interest in social entrepreneurship. We all have separate experiences, different dreams, and various skills to share with one another. One squadmate has had a ten year career in supply chain and data analytics. Another has no business experience but really has a creative flair. Others have worked in real estate, finance on Wall Street, and the public sector.
Our hopes are to encourage and inspire one another, as well as share our knowledge and contacts. We hope to train each other in different areas, such as creating a business plan. We have already shared some contacts, ideas, and skills. It has been a wonderful experience so far, getting to dive into our passion for social entrepreneurship together.
Because of this group, I was really inspired to network in Granada, Nicaragua. One person I met was Vladimir, a young man from Granada who has grown his own kayaking business from nothing to a small, thriving enterprise in the last 3 years. His father gave him a little seed money, and he bought three kayaks despite the ridicule of his friends. Here, having a long-term focus and a desire to save or invest is rare; people like Vladimir are the exception. Despite having no income and customers for the first month, he persevered and didn't sell the kayaks. Eventually, customers did come. Today, he has a fleet of 13 kayaks. He still doesn't have a web presence or tour variety, though, but was interested in growth in those areas.
There was also some incredible work being done by the King's at an organization called El Puente. They were opening up a vocational school in a small town outside of Granada, and a small marketplace is going to be a significant feature of the school. The hope is to bring in a variety of small businesses, both to fund the school and to provide jobs to the area. Also, these businesses will be used as examples to educate the students about how to own and operate a successful business. (El Puente also houses a Young Life club in Granada, one of my other passions! The pictures below are from that experience.)
These are just two of the incredible examples I've seen of people trying to improve local communities through business and entrepreneurship. I can't wait to see more inspiring entrepreneurs, learn more from my squadmates, and explore more of this passion over the next 8 months on the Race!
Reflection: What are some of your special passions? Are you exploring them? If not, why not? Do you feel they are too odd, too far out, too hard to delve into to try?
My encouragement to you is to go after the stuff that matters to you, even if you feel alone in doing it. Who knows, you might turn around and find a whole group of other people who can encourage you in the same passion.
