Philanthropy is something that we are all doing our best to incorporate into our lives. When you are running a company, in some respects, it encourages you to be shrewd. And this has been apparent during the last 9 months or so. When you are running a business during tough times you may feel the struggles of being helpful when you are trying to keep your life and company afloat. But being a philanthropist in the entrepreneurial world can be a challenge. However, if you are someone who has had difficulty in marrying the entrepreneurial spirit with the philanthropy side of things, what can you do?
Start Local
Starting small means starting local. Take a look around you and see what you can do in your immediate surroundings. This isn’t just a way to keep your efforts modest at the outset, but it will help you tune into the problems that are in your immediate surroundings. You can then use your entrepreneurial skills to help in a way that is in keeping with your approach and skill set. Even if you think that you have a very niche skillset, you can take inspiration from entrepreneurs who have a very left of center skill set that doesn’t necessarily slot in with charitable causes. For example, Paul Ognibene, CEO and founder of Urban Spaces, uses architecture to give back to a neighborhood. But starting local is going to benefit everybody, not least yourself.
Working With the Third Sector
Also known as the philanthropic sector. This is an alternative to businesses that gain a profit. If you are an entrepreneur who is looking to expand their skillset, working with the third sector can highlight the immediate potential for improvement in the quality of life for societies or communities. These can consist of economic opportunities, housing, or even clean water. Working with the third sector can be the perfect marriage of entrepreneurial skills with an actual solid outcome that benefits humankind.
Getting Inspiration From Your Entrepreneurial Heroes
Many business-minded individuals start to become philanthropic because they realize that what they were doing wasn’t contributing to the good of humankind. If you are someone who has been struggling with this for some time because you have been focused on the business, take a look at the people you admire. Were they all about being in it for themselves? When you look at the big names like Bill Gates or even ex-presidents like Jimmy Carter, they have used their entrepreneurial skills in other areas.
Learning to be a philanthropic or charitable entrepreneur can take a lot of soul searching, but for so many businesses that have struggled during the pandemic, the lesson has hit home. Many companies are now doing what they can to help people around them without getting a profit. It is about them using their business premises or products to feed hungry families or being a location for vaccinations. And it’s all these little things that can be a worthwhile lesson as an entrepreneur.