There are people who say that you shouldn’t mix business and pleasure, but there isn’t as strong of a line that those same people might draw against mixing business and social good. And along that side of the spectrum, one aspect of social good that has definite business potential would be the fight against addiction.
So if you were to take on that particular social evil with a well-intentioned business, five of the things that you’d have to think about would including knowing the signs of addiction, deciding on your own personal financial intent, looking for government grants, creating appropriate business plans, and looking for successful stories to model your concept on.
Know The Signs
Before you can do much with a business idea about helping addicts, you’re going to first have to know the signs. And you can approach this from an academic standpoint, but reading about it, watching videos about it, and learning in a second-hand manner, or you can actually go somewhere that addicts are and meet them face to face. Combining both methods will give you the deepest form of learning.
Decide On Financial Intent
Early on, you should decide your financial intent as well, with the program of social good. Is it intended to make you as much profit as possible, in the capitalist intent, or are you looking at it more like you want to break even financially, and help as many people as possible? Knowing the answer to that question early on will help you take the steps to promote yourself accordingly without giving anyone any wrong ideas with regard to the business plan.
Look For Government Grants
With social good programs, there are lots of government grants that you can apply for as well. These might vary from state to state and even community to community, but if you can use them to your advantage, either for the purpose of loans or maybe even tax breaks, then that would be a good idea to pursue.
Create Appropriate Business Plans
And then will be the time-consuming but all important step of creating your business plan. Even social good programs require that you think of all the steps in advance, understanding how financing and accounting work, and know all of the steps to take as far as practical matters like licensing go.
Look For Success Stories To Model After
And finally, if you wonder if your idea is going to work at all, why not look to see if there have been successful models in the past of what you’re trying to accomplish? Even a short search online for different social-positive businesses will show you what kinds of places are open and have thrived in today’s marketplaces.