Using Passion as a Tool
It was the year 2018 when my friend and I started to brainstorm a way we could use our skills to benefit society. As students in business, we are often exposed to methods and ideas from which we can profit from, and earn more for ourselves or our companies. However, the tools we learn at school need not be transactional in the sense that we sell a product and keep the profit made for ourselves. We can use our skills and knowledge to give 100% back to the community. My friend and I had this epiphany and decided that, with all the injustice taking place around the world, we want to take action! One step at a time, one month at a time and one cause at a time.
We wanted to be able to create a ripple effect in society by advocating for change in the domains of the environment, poverty, education and so forth. After all, if all 7 billion people said “What I do won’t make any difference,” then this world would never progress forward. We would be destroying this world for future generations, solely for limited and temporary profits today.
Then along came our not-for-profit company and e-commerce website: http://roadtosocialjustice.com
You too can start a social enterprise of your own, or make a difference in any small way you desire. Here are some of the valuable takeaways from our journey:
1. Be willing to take risks: Not-for-profits, similar to other entrepreneurial ventures, have the risk of failing. They make investments into an idea that may or may not even work. However, if you are serious about whatever social cause you want to advocate for, then this is a leap that you must take. It won’t be something you regret.
2. Promote your passion: It is NOT enough to just promote WHAT your company does/sells. It is crucial to talk about WHY your company even exists in the first place. Simon Sinek is a leadership expert who is well known for his famous TED talk and novel, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. The concept that he strongly emphasizes in his teaching is that of the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle has three rings. In the middle is the word, WHY, then it stretches outwards to the HOW, and finally to the word WHAT. He explains that the WHY is a value proposition that serves to establish the foundation of why your company exists and what causes it seeks to support and promote. Then you focus on HOW you go about executing that very vision. Finally, focus on the WHAT in order to firmly establish the products you sell.
3. Don’t give up: If at first, it doesn’t seem successful, keep pushing. Don’t give up after a day or two. If you don’t believe in your vision and mission, then no one else will either. It all starts with you believing in yourself and your initiative. Furthermore, once you start growing in the number of products you are selling, think about ways you can expand. The bigger you are the more of an impact you can have.
This world is a gift to us. Sitting hand in hand and watching plastics take over our oceans, pollution take over our air, children in poverty being deprived of breakfast before they go to school and the homeless suffering to make ends meet are just a few of the many examples that personally drove us to want to make a change. Find your passion, find your skills and allow the two to unite and before you know it, you’ll be using your passion to advocate your own justice!
By: Sanpreet Dhillon