If you read the first installment you know that there is plenty of work to be done prior to seeing your brainchild fully develop. It was discussed that you must find your motivation and passion before embarking on any brainstorming. Once you have found that driving force, you can then begin formulating ideas. Remember, not all ideas are good ones, and only a few will be realized.
Once you have your ideas it is time to begin planning. This is when you will put together that detailed business plan- that covers every aspect of your venture/organization. This item should be professionally crafted because if done well, you can use this as a tool to solicit donors, investors, or community support.
That brings us to the next step. Your brainchild is currently a toddler and in order to bring it to the next development level, you will need to get your idea up an running.
In order to get of the ground you should set up a team. A successful team will ensure that your venture is supported and ensure that you don't burn out from doing everything yourself. This team could be just a partner or a complete group/board of individuals. Make sure that the people you bring on your team compliment your weaknesses. If you are not good at raising capital, make sure that someone on your team is. You need to determine what roles each team member will play and how decisions will be made- this will eliminate a lot of bickering and confusion in the future. Everyone needs to have a clear understanding of their roles.
After your team is established you need to decide on a work space. Now, if you are going at it solo, it may be sufficient to just carve out a place in your basement, garage or bedroom. But make sure if that is the case, you pick a place where you can focus and actually get work done. Also, if working out of your home, you might want to communicate with family members or roommates about when you plan to work and lay down some basic ground rules for when that work is taking place. If you there is a team of people working together, renting or leasing a work space would be the best avenue. Once the work space situation has been figured out, your brainchild has entered it's childhood phase. It's slightly more independent, but still requires more guidance and development in order to become a fully functioning adult.
Your next step towards that aim would be to generate funds for your mission. I will briefly touch on this subject because this is much more detailed than I can lay out in a simple plan- but I will give you the basics. First you must know your needs. Before even thinking about finding cash, you must identify why you need the money, what you need it for and how much? You must also determine what can and cannot be accomplished without money.
Once you have a concrete plan (one that should have been detailed in your start-up business plan) you can begin soliciting. You will most likely experiment with several different fund generating models before you decide on one that works. You will most likely end up with a combination of resources and methods that satisfy your needs. These combinations will generally consist of a hybrid of equity, debt and grant funds. It will depend on the scope and size of your mission to determine how much of each pot you will need and what will work best. Please keep in mind that this phase is generally the slowest and the most frustrating. Those who are involved in fundraising often take the rejection they receive personally- but please don't. It just means that that particular investor or donor just wasn't interested in your particular idea. Take it for what it is, and move on.
OK, so you have survived the fundraising phase and welcomed your brainchild into adolescence. It's almost adult, but still needs to become a bit more worldly and gain more wisdom before it can be set free as an adult. In order to gain that worldly experience, your brainchild has to become exposed to the world- that requires social communication and networking. This step can make or break your idea or organization. Without proper communication, you will not be able to perform any number of functions, especially those outlined in your mission statement. Your message should effectively integrate social, environmental, and economic elements in a clear and unforgettable manner.
You need to understand your audience and be able to speak their language. Your pitch should be concise, present the problem or need, and then lay out the solution. It should highlight the benefits and value you can bring in a passionate way without seeming to ramble or elicit too many cliches. Simple ways to broaden your reach would be to join social media sites and networks that allow you to control your message and who it reaches. Start a blog, publish web casts, join networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. These user generated methods are a very influential that have in some ways surpassed more traditional communication tools.
Contrary to popular belief, the world has never been changed by a single individual or idea. In most cases, the individual or the idea acts as a trigger for the change. In order to achieve a massive tsunami of change the idea has to be connected to a network that is vulnerable to the seed that is being planted. Many people embarking on a social venture feel they lack the kind of network that is required to initiate that change. This is absolutely not the case, you most certainly do know enough people who could help you make a difference. It's like a chain link. Through your immediate contacts, you can be introduced to another set of contacts and on the chain goes. But is all starts with you. You are your own network. And you have to work that network if it is going to work for you.
Here are some tips to make networking a success:
1. Know what you can do for others- know what you can offer others and how you can benefit them, this makes creating a winning relationship much easier.
2. Get out to events- you never know who you might meet.
3. Ask good questions, but remember to listen as well- nobody enjoys someone who seems to have a case of diarrhea of the mouth.
4. Share your passions- Don't just sell your idea all the time. Talk about your personal passions and motivations, this makes the interaction more personal.
5. Know your subject- You have to have a sound knowledge base in order to be able to carry on a meaningful conversation. This comes from researching your field and becoming more knowledgeable.
6. Follow Up- Don't just stick those business cards in a drawer and forget about them, follow up will phone calls or emails.
7. Offer accessible contact information- make sure individuals have your information- and not a home number that you never answer, but a method that you regularly check and use. If you prefer to communicate via email, make sure that is known.
Now, just like aging and personal development are an ongoing process, so too is networking. People have very short memories and you and your idea can be easily forgotten. So, you have to continually learn about your field and passions. You have to continually network with your circle and expand it. You must never feel content that you have reached everyone because you most certainly have NOT! Social ventures are cyclical. You will always need more funds (hopefully- because that means you are doing some things right), you will always have more people to help and you will always need to share your vision and commitment to change the world with others. Keeping those thoughts in mind will go a long way to make sure that your brainchild grows into a thriving success.
Once you have your ideas it is time to begin planning. This is when you will put together that detailed business plan- that covers every aspect of your venture/organization. This item should be professionally crafted because if done well, you can use this as a tool to solicit donors, investors, or community support.
That brings us to the next step. Your brainchild is currently a toddler and in order to bring it to the next development level, you will need to get your idea up an running.
In order to get of the ground you should set up a team. A successful team will ensure that your venture is supported and ensure that you don't burn out from doing everything yourself. This team could be just a partner or a complete group/board of individuals. Make sure that the people you bring on your team compliment your weaknesses. If you are not good at raising capital, make sure that someone on your team is. You need to determine what roles each team member will play and how decisions will be made- this will eliminate a lot of bickering and confusion in the future. Everyone needs to have a clear understanding of their roles.
After your team is established you need to decide on a work space. Now, if you are going at it solo, it may be sufficient to just carve out a place in your basement, garage or bedroom. But make sure if that is the case, you pick a place where you can focus and actually get work done. Also, if working out of your home, you might want to communicate with family members or roommates about when you plan to work and lay down some basic ground rules for when that work is taking place. If you there is a team of people working together, renting or leasing a work space would be the best avenue. Once the work space situation has been figured out, your brainchild has entered it's childhood phase. It's slightly more independent, but still requires more guidance and development in order to become a fully functioning adult.
Your next step towards that aim would be to generate funds for your mission. I will briefly touch on this subject because this is much more detailed than I can lay out in a simple plan- but I will give you the basics. First you must know your needs. Before even thinking about finding cash, you must identify why you need the money, what you need it for and how much? You must also determine what can and cannot be accomplished without money.
Once you have a concrete plan (one that should have been detailed in your start-up business plan) you can begin soliciting. You will most likely experiment with several different fund generating models before you decide on one that works. You will most likely end up with a combination of resources and methods that satisfy your needs. These combinations will generally consist of a hybrid of equity, debt and grant funds. It will depend on the scope and size of your mission to determine how much of each pot you will need and what will work best. Please keep in mind that this phase is generally the slowest and the most frustrating. Those who are involved in fundraising often take the rejection they receive personally- but please don't. It just means that that particular investor or donor just wasn't interested in your particular idea. Take it for what it is, and move on.
OK, so you have survived the fundraising phase and welcomed your brainchild into adolescence. It's almost adult, but still needs to become a bit more worldly and gain more wisdom before it can be set free as an adult. In order to gain that worldly experience, your brainchild has to become exposed to the world- that requires social communication and networking. This step can make or break your idea or organization. Without proper communication, you will not be able to perform any number of functions, especially those outlined in your mission statement. Your message should effectively integrate social, environmental, and economic elements in a clear and unforgettable manner.
You need to understand your audience and be able to speak their language. Your pitch should be concise, present the problem or need, and then lay out the solution. It should highlight the benefits and value you can bring in a passionate way without seeming to ramble or elicit too many cliches. Simple ways to broaden your reach would be to join social media sites and networks that allow you to control your message and who it reaches. Start a blog, publish web casts, join networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. These user generated methods are a very influential that have in some ways surpassed more traditional communication tools.
Contrary to popular belief, the world has never been changed by a single individual or idea. In most cases, the individual or the idea acts as a trigger for the change. In order to achieve a massive tsunami of change the idea has to be connected to a network that is vulnerable to the seed that is being planted. Many people embarking on a social venture feel they lack the kind of network that is required to initiate that change. This is absolutely not the case, you most certainly do know enough people who could help you make a difference. It's like a chain link. Through your immediate contacts, you can be introduced to another set of contacts and on the chain goes. But is all starts with you. You are your own network. And you have to work that network if it is going to work for you.
Here are some tips to make networking a success:
1. Know what you can do for others- know what you can offer others and how you can benefit them, this makes creating a winning relationship much easier.
2. Get out to events- you never know who you might meet.
3. Ask good questions, but remember to listen as well- nobody enjoys someone who seems to have a case of diarrhea of the mouth.
4. Share your passions- Don't just sell your idea all the time. Talk about your personal passions and motivations, this makes the interaction more personal.
5. Know your subject- You have to have a sound knowledge base in order to be able to carry on a meaningful conversation. This comes from researching your field and becoming more knowledgeable.
6. Follow Up- Don't just stick those business cards in a drawer and forget about them, follow up will phone calls or emails.
7. Offer accessible contact information- make sure individuals have your information- and not a home number that you never answer, but a method that you regularly check and use. If you prefer to communicate via email, make sure that is known.
Now, just like aging and personal development are an ongoing process, so too is networking. People have very short memories and you and your idea can be easily forgotten. So, you have to continually learn about your field and passions. You have to continually network with your circle and expand it. You must never feel content that you have reached everyone because you most certainly have NOT! Social ventures are cyclical. You will always need more funds (hopefully- because that means you are doing some things right), you will always have more people to help and you will always need to share your vision and commitment to change the world with others. Keeping those thoughts in mind will go a long way to make sure that your brainchild grows into a thriving success.
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