Reflections on Social Entrepreneurship and Branding

I was reading an interesting article on Forbes titled " Five Mistakes That Social Entrepreneurs Make When Crafting Their Brands". Instead of classifying them as mistakes, it may be constructive to use some of them as topics for reflection of Sew Much Talent's journey.

"Mistake #1: Forgetting to build a solid value proposition into the brand, beyond social impact"

Some people care about the social enterprise more for its cause. Others only care about the products or services that are offered. Some care about both. My humble experience is that people are interested in the social enterprise if you have a good story to tell at the start, but that sympathy factor only goes so far. Thereafter, much more effort has to be focused on the business model, the products and services. This year, my greatest learning and reward has been to go out and do a pitch, see how others do it, and see how other people see us.

Mistake #2: Asking for free creative work

Truly agree. There are limits on what and how much you can ask for free. Designers or other professionals have their own priorities and commitments. To ask for pro bono services would mean lots of inefficiencies and may not get you the quality you want. We are quite lucky to have found designers and volunteers who can meet the quality at a decent price. It also helps a lot to communicate our values and the journey we have gone through, and probably because of that, designers understood and offered reasonable fees without much need for negotiations. That is a win-win.

Mistake #3: Only looking at your primary customer as your brand's audience

Agree. The first group of customers are good friends who can help you perhaps only once. Very soon we realized we had to look beyond and develop something which has relevance for a wider audience and wider market.

Mistake #4: Expecting People to Care

It is hard not to have expectations when you have given your heart and soul into running the social enterprise. But yes, the reality is that most people don't care. But if you are passionate enough, I bet there will always be some who care in different ways. It takes time to build up your name and story in people's heads though, and don't expect people to care right away. Some people may become interested in your story and will come to you at some point on an idea, on a business proposition, or on a referral. I don't take that for granted, but I am not that gloomy either.