How Hard Can Running a Social Business Be?

I remember a week before running the 2013 Vibram HK100, I was telling my mentor how working on the social business was actually tougher than training for a 100km ultra marathon.

There was a long while when I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning asking myself what the hell was I doing, especially when I was not even remotely interested in running a business. Recently, I was finally able to come to terms with myself. I have convinced myself that I have spent pretty much the same amount of money, time and effort doing an MBA plus social science plus environmental sustainability degree. Instead of reading and researching, I have acted it out, which made it even more fun and valuable.

I am very grateful to so many who have given me the inspiration and shown me this admirable cause - Francis of SVHK, Dr. Siu of the Baptist University, the LplusH team and Ada, Bob, Alex, Times and Angel. Last but not the least, Leong, for being my most important mentor and investor, and for believing in me.

When I started this project, I was hoping that I could bring out the worth and potentials of the sewing ladies. Now that I look back, I was actually the person who gained the most out of it. The sewing ladies probably were making just as much money and subject to the same risks had they worked elsewhere. I am not able to offer any greater sense of job security. The only thing I was able to offer them was a greater sense of job satisfaction and pride. Day after day, they were using their sewing skills, but stepping outside of their comfort zone and trying new things.