This is so cool: writing in Escape From Cubicle Nation yesterday, Pamela Slim suggests that social good is a natural extension of entrepreneurship. This reminds me, happily, of the dreams of the late 1960s, when a lot of us –

I have done this work myself, and support others like me – who STEP OUTSIDE their own sphere of existance to help others.

In my own daily work, I am self employed professional in the Business, Marketing and PR area. I use my powers for GOOD. It is an integral part of my business and my philosophy is to lead by example and be visible.

I have created a communications support network and conduit for those individuals (not corporates) in the field running programs at grass roots level – for communities in Australia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the Congo and Kenya.

http://www.zulucommunications.com.au

This is a STARTING point – I hope it grows and grows.
There are SO many who aren’t motivated into ACTION when it comes to helping others. My goal is the change that. To inspire and motivate people to take some action, find an opportunity to get involved and connect with communities and individiuals.

We are all doing small things that get the people. Lots of small and direct things – DO make a difference to these communities.

Sue – Chiefette from Zulu Communications and Head Fairy God Aunty.

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Sue:

It is SO wonderful to hear what you are doing! Brava!

And I now have an official “favorite job title of all time, bar none”: Head Fairy God Aunty.

FABULOUS!!!

-Pam

I LOVE your not-so-secret plot to to unleash smart people on world problems.

Thanks for this great post, and your support of TFH. It’s much appreciated!

But I enjoy your blog so much, and find it most encouraging!

It’s not just the cubicle refugees, though, I think it applies as well to the entrepreneurs in general, and particularly the smaller-scale entrepreneurs who haven’t quite the temptation to get lost in the dizzy air of empire building.

For most, the power of value — giving value, believing in values, and clustering with people who share those values — is a very strong driver. I’ve seen this many times through the years.

And that then means that your three reasons apply as well.

What you’re saying here resonates. I feel like I’ve dealt with the phenomena you cite, and often.

And thanks for the TFH reference, that’s exciting.

The corporate employee may experience this as, “Someone else pays me for my time, and I may contribute to good causes with the time and energy and disposable income. I may instead spend it on a nose job. Ultimately I am limited by what I can get ‘them’ to pay me.”

The nonprofit employee also works from a disempowered position like, “I help homeless people by giving my work day to this organization, and they shape how I contribute. I make whatever sacrifices ‘they’ demand, such as accepting low pay.”

Entrepreners becomes an agent rather than an instrument, and organizations become vehicle for the entrepreneurs’ own agenda rather than a master.

At the root, that attitude towards life doesn’t require being an entrepreneur at all. I think one of my struggles has been that my mom instilled that attitude in me from day one – and she was a public school teacher.

I realize I’ve always seen organizations as merely vehicles for the people in them. I’ve always been sensitive to demands “for the sake of the organization” that really reflect the demands of some individual or group within the organization. And increasing work for myself has merely been a trade-up to a more comfortable, more controllable vehicle.

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As always Barbara, great thought-provoking comment.

My frame of reference is coming from working with corporate employees who clearly feel stuck and unhappy. And when they are in that state, they can certainly support causes and do things for the good of humanity. I certainly did, when I was a (happy) employee and volunteering upwards of 80 hours a week.

I guess the perspective is on what happens when you specifically take the employee to entrepreneur leap — i have noticed such a sense of accomplishment and excitement that it often leads to deeper engagement in life.

All entrepreneurs are not philanthropists, that is for sure.
At the same time, a significant number of them get really energized to do some new, different, interesting things that are a direct result of their dabbling in starting a business.

Like all in life, “it depends,” no?

-Pam

Although I haven’t taken a huge leap yet, I have found the joy of helping others through my blog and some charitable and social-change efforts that I support. One of the factors that motivates me to start my own business is the desire to accumulate and direct resources to the causes that my family and I would like to support even more strongly than we do now.

Great post! Thank you for the TFH information. I’m looking forward to your book as well!

We really hope that this pilot project will be a success so that we can truly expand and grow into an online humanitarian community.