My Greatest Learning Project Since Graduation (Part 2)

Six months after our company's factory closure in Hong Kong, I remained in touch with about 100 sewing ladies. I had a chat with each of them to see what they were doing and what challenges they were facing. Of the 100 people, only half of them found jobs. For those who did not find jobs, they were telling me stories of how they were rejected at the first round at job fairs because they were too old. For the remaining half who found jobs, only 3 were on a monthly salary, the rest were doing temporary jobs with no employment protection. 

"Social entrepreneurs are often driven by passion, they've found a new way to tackle a social problem and everyone they speak to gets excited by their vision. They're convinced that as soon as their innovation has been released their enterprise will take off. Love makes the world look rosy."

By now I also realize that I too have been somewhat blinded by my initial passion and my little innovative idea. Having a bright idea isn't enough. Having products that are good and that can sell, bringing in business consistently and managing the cash flow are the real challenges.


Along the way, I've been fortunate enough to get mentorship from friends who are successful in their fields. Their advice to me was straightforward - start with a business plan, explain how I would produce the products, what it would cost, who would buy them. I racked my brain for months to ensure I've all of the angles. I thought it would be useful for helping me think through through the process of running the business, but reality was very far from that.

There's no correlation between the quality of a business plan and the business, I then realized it is revenue that determines the survival of my humble little start up company. The sooner I bring in revenue the better.


Many social enterprises fail because the product or service they offer isn't valuable or not valued in the market. Simply creating social value isn't enough. The best social entrepreneurs must sell, they persuade people to buy what they have to sell. It is also very important to get ideas off the ground, and be very adaptive and responsive on developing products and services.


As with any other business, a social enterprise is also changing, evolving, adapting and growing. This dynamism together with a social context require constant learning that comes from trial and error, not only in terms of dollars, but also initiatives, partnerships and tactics.