Why integrate a social mission into your business? You’re an entrepreneur with an idea and maybe a business plan, a small-business owner or the head of mid-sized company. To expect you to add social purpose to your business just because it’s a good thing to do, is foolish. You have a bottom-line and other obligations […]
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Conscious Capitalism: A Mechanism for Prosperity
Companies that practice conscious capitalism benefit from putting their employees first. The Container Store, REI and Joie de Vivre have shown this to be true, even as the lagging economy has pushed other companies to downsize. At The Container Store, employees are prioritized over customers and shareholders. It’s a core company principle that influences all business decisions. Full-time employees earn an average […]
Come See Me at SXSW
Doing good is a business strategy, here’s how to start and how to do it better. That’s the flag I’ve been flying for three years and 250 blog posts. Next week, I’ll be speaking with a group of entrepreneurs and employees practicing varying levels of social sustainability (and, I hope, some who dismiss it […]
Want Social Venture Funding? Prepare Yourself
Interested in getting funding for your social venture? Think about these three areas: 1) building a solid business (yes, it must be able to sustain itself financially), 2) identifying the right investors and 3) preparing yourself. I write this blog to help you build strong businesses and I’ve identified 25 potential investment sources for you […]
Want To Open a Nonprofit Store? 10 Guidelines You–and Nordstrom’s–Should Follow
Scandal in-the-making, customer-pleaser, tax write-off, nonprofit cash cow or game-changer? Which hyphenated phrase will best describe Nordstrom’s new concept store, which will donate all net profits to charity? I was interviewed recently by American Public Media’s Marketplace on the Nordstrom concept store, set to open in Soho next fall, and on the growing appeal of […]
Retail Philanthropy Is In High Demand: 4 Steps To Doing It Right
Neither nationwide purse-tightening nor cries of Slactivism! Greenwashing! and Fad! have shaken cause marketing. Eighty-three percent of consumers “want more of the products, services and retailers they use to benefit causes,” according to Cone Inc.’s 2010 Cause Evaluation Study. But how do you do cause-related marketing (or cause branding) right? Pick a cause you care about. […]
4 Funding Options for Your Social Business Venture
I’m wrapping up Social Business Venture week with a look at funding options for the breed of businesses that generate profits but exist primarily to fulfill a social need. The legal structure of your business should take into account how you plan to operate and earn revenue. Neither of these decisions can be taken lightly […]
A Social Business Venture Can Make You an Iconoclast, But You’ll Have To Do a Lot of Balancing
A social business venture packs a lot of punch. If you care strongly about mission and impact but don’t want to solicit donors and institutional funding, it might be the right model for your work. By definition, this type of enterprise generates profits, which are reinvested into the business to advance the cause and sustain […]
What Is a Social Business Venture and Is It Right For You?
I’m refocusing on the crux of cause capitalism: building a business to drive social (or environmental) change because I believe that the force of capitalism can be used to solve many of the problems we face and because it’s in companies’ best business interest to do so. I see cause capitalism is a continuum with […]
I'm Olivia Khalili. I created Cause Capitalism to show you how to grow your business by incorporating a social mission. I've worked extensively with both nonprofits and for-profits. I found that when you combine the two, you grow your profits, impassion all your stakeholders and do good in the world. Read more.
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