Introduction

Welcome to the introduction of the module ‘Starting up your business – The Business Cockpit of the social entrepreneur’.

source: pixabay.com

Here you are going to learn how to turn your dream into a business and get started. We did our best to stick to the essentials of a business model and document the core concepts well. Those who want to delve into a particular topic will find more information in the videos and links to literature.

Over the years we discovered that a successful business not only requires a good business plan, but that it is equally important to be very aware of your own drive and talents. Therefore, this is also extensively discussed.

Let’s give an overview of how this module is structured. After this introduction, where we dwell for a moment on the concept of social entrepreneurship, we start with the entrepreneurial passport where you reflect on the mission and DNA of your business and your core idea. We then proceed with the exploration of  business models and their components, ending with sustainable variants of these business models.

  1. Create your Entrepreneurial Passport. First, the fundamentals of the enterprise are identified. Some of these fundamentals are the questions of what exactly the company wants to contribute, what the unique strengths are that it wants to use, what its particular position in the field is, etc.
  2. Develop a Business Model. A business model consists of a number of building blocks that you, as an entrepreneur, need to become familiar with. We take you through this step by step so that you gain thorough insight and gain confidence through practice.
  3. Sustainable Business Models. We cannot give a complete overview of business models without touching on the topic of sustainability. Above all, remember that all types of business models (linear, sustainable, commercial,…) are in their essence all about the same principles. But, the sustainable layers on top do make it more complex.

60 minutes

The lesson Create Your Entrepreneurial Passport will take you approximately 60 minutes to complete, if you only follow the explanations. The case assignments will take more time and force you to expand your wings to put the theory into practice to internalise it.

20 minutes

The lesson Develop a Sustainable Business Plan will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete if you only follow the explanations.

20 minutes

The lesson Sustainable Business Models will take you a further 20 minutes to complete, that is, if you just follow the explanations.

There are 3 concepts we want to share with you before starting the course:

  1. A short history of social entrepreneurship. To understand the present and imagine the future, it’s important to know the past.
  2. Social entrepreneurs on the hybrid spectrum. These days everyone likes to call themselves a social entrepreneur. Using the hybrid spectrum, we explain where social entrepreneurship is situated, and why other entrepreneurs can also be committed to social causes.
  3. Social impact and entrepreneurship: creating a common language. After many decades of thinking that social aspects and entrepreneurship don’t go together, people are increasingly coming to the conclusion that they can both fulfil their mission even more when they start learning from each other and integrate each other’s strengths. This requires learning to read and write each other’s language.
source: freepik.com

We hope you enjoy the journey and find the information and knowledge you are looking for!