Coming soon to Ontario?
If you have an early stage social venture or you’re still at the conceptual stage, the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) may be of interest to you. It is a one-year program that will train you to use your abilities in effective ways to set up a social enterprise or social purpose business – developing your abilities and your venture plan at the same time.
Ready to sign up? Not just yet.
What are we teaching our kids?
Last month, the Texas Board of Education decided to change their history and economics curricula after days of fierce debate. The new revisions put a decidedly right-wing spin on the curriculum, taking out references to Thomas Jefferson’s call to separate church and state, and including Rush Limbaugh and John Wayne as “patriotic heroes.”
Reactions online were typically bipartisan, with responses ranging from “Liberals Running for the Hills in Texas” to “Dear Texas: Please shut up. Sincerely, History.” These arguments over curriculum (think of the 2005 battle over teaching evolution in Kansas) seem confined to the US, but the question of what to teach our youth is central to every functioning democracy.
That question is being answered, emphatically, not only by the Ontario Ministry of Education, but also by a slew of social entrepreneurs working on education in Ontario. These entrepreneurs see gaps in a curriculum much like traditional entrepreneurs see gaps in a market and use them as an opportunity to grow a business.
Helping women in business
In the current economic strain, many women are pursuing the opportunity to become their own boss and have entered the realm of entrepreneurship. Women entrepreneurs will have an experience different than their male counterparts. Research has shown that female-owned businesses are smaller, less profitable and less likely to grow.
What to do?
At last week’s CIBC Presents Entrepreneurship 101, we heard Mr. Craig Thorburn speak about the different roles and responsibilities of shareholders, boards of directors, advisory boards and company officers. These may well be fulfilled the same person(s) at the start-up stage of a company, but once external investors come on board they typically insist on a more formal board structure to guide the company.
This often leads to a difficult question – who gets how many seats on the board? The founders wish to ensure that they continue to have a strong say at this level – but the investors have a similar need. Both parties, and the company, would likely benefit from external, independant input. What do you think is the ideal size for an early stage board, and who gets the seats?
At last week’s CIBC present Entrepreneurship 101 lecture, Tammy Sturge, of HR Transformations and four-time Entrepreneurship 101 presenter, laid it all on the line for the budding entrepreneur reviewing the ins and outs of hiring and firing. The importance of finding the right employee at the right time for the right position is crucial to building your business. Bad hires and just filling gaps can lead to the focus being in the wrong place as a business grows.
Tammy’s step-by-step tips on interviewing, offers, performance management and, yes, terminations are helpful to anyone building a business and great refreshers for those at larger organizations.
