The concept of a fulfilling career path has a vastly subjective meaning. For some, success means earning a huge amount of money, obtaining an impressive-sounding title, or climbing to the top of the corporate ladder.
For others, the only true gratification in life is found by helping others and bettering the world around them.
These two outlooks on life do not need to be mutually exclusive, particularly when entrepreneurial-minded individuals can use their skillsets to support those who need it most.
If you were looking for a new business venture to sink your time and empathy into in 2021, here are some ideas to help you get on your way.
Do You Stand for a Cause?
If you possess a passion for a cause, then you are already well on the way to developing your business idea in many ways.
It is likely worth taking a look at opportunities closer to home when first starting out, as it might be easier to establish a business that can make a more immediate impact this way.
Choosing to tackle an issue that lies close to your heart may be able to inspire motivation in a way that transcends a regular business proposition.
Some of the best business owners see their entrepreneurial efforts as more than just a career path or a day job but as a way of living life to its fullest.
Enlisting the Help of Like-Minded Individuals
Trying to go it alone can be tough work at the very best of times, which is why finding the right support can be so important.
One of the best ways to do this is to reach out to local charities in an effort to create partnership opportunities or to get in touch with communities in your area for greater insight into what exactly needs to be done and who is in most need of support.
This can also pertain to taking on new employees, a difficult prospect to approach when starting a business of any kind, as they can potentially make or break a company’s efforts, particularly one that cannot afford to make a bad hiring decision.
Putting your company values at the forefront of your job advert and working with candidates who share your vision is a good way to move forward.
Do You Have the Know-How?
Even if you happen to pride yourself on your elite entrepreneurial ability, establishing a business with the chief concern of helping others takes a relatively unique set of personal traits and know-how to do properly.
Perhaps you already have these all-important traits without even knowing it yet, some of which include:
- The ability to empathize without a second thought.
- A tenacious approach to achieving your goals.
- Exceptional communication skills and the ability to convince and influence others.
- A natural affinity for altruism.
- Courage and resilience.
Coming Up with an Idea
Now for the hard part: Coming up with the idea that works. Sometimes, looking inwards at your personal skill set and experience is a perfect place to start.
For example, if you are skilled in writing, you could consider starting an online magazine that helps raise awareness about your cause, and you could even start off small by writing blogs and guest posts on sites that represent your values.
You could always check out the laws and regulations in your own state, as they might have measures in place for those wishing to open businesses that offer support to the community. For example, in California, you can open your own RCFE, (residential care facility for the elderly) an ideal choice for anyone wishing to build a business that helps support an entire demographic.
Like with most ventures, taking the right classes are key to opening a successful RCFE, so the value of striving to develop your skills through training and education should not be underestimated.
Market Research
Market research is one of the most essential aspects in business, regardless of the industry. No product or service will have an easy time flying off the shelves if they have nowhere to land at the end of their journey.
In order to make sure you are reaching the right audience with your new venture, taking a customer-centric approach is a must.
For example, what does your demographic need? Is it a more affordable transport solution? Perhaps people need a community organizer or a tutoring service. Whatever your new business entails, it is first worth discovering where exactly where your product or service will position itself in relation to the current market and how your audience can access it.
Some of the best ways to gain a deeper level of insight into the market include:
- Customer Profiling – Who is your ideal customer? What might incentivize them to choose your brand, and what are their hobbies and interests? Factors to consider that might influence your business include age, location, and financial status.
- Get to Know Your Customer – Spending some time getting to know your customer first-hand is perhaps one of the most valuable undertakings in market research. Often, this means personally spending time among your target demographics.
- Survey the Situation – Conducting surveys is a good way to understand what your clientele wants and how well your product has been received.
- Utilize Software Tools – Software is there to be used, and much of it is extremely beneficial, too much so to be ignored. SurveyMonkey is a popular option, as is Displayr, Statista, and even the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Help from Big Brands
Aligning yourself with big brands that have a well-established following can increase your reach and help grow your own company’s visibility.
This can be a particularly powerful technique in the world of meaningful business pursuits, as long as you make sure to partner up with brands that share your values.
The same can be said for influencers. Social media personalities are still wonderful marketing partners in many regards, so if you can find out who it is that your demographic watch online and you trust in their image, you should certainly consider enlisting their help.
Donate to Charity
Talking the talk is not enough when it comes to creating a brand that prides itself on being socially conscious; you actually have to show people that you are.
You could do this by setting up a partnership with a charity, one that you donate a certain percentage of every sale to.
Other ways to do this are by adopting a volunteering program, one that employees can become advocates of. For example, you may wish to give your employees a dedicated volunteering leave allowance every year.
This can be incredibly effective, and it is an option implemented by some huge brands such as Salesforce, Deloitte, and Nvidia.
You could always consider setting up a donation match scheme for your employees, as this can promote the value of fundraising throughout your company, encourage your staff to embody your charitable values, and, best of all, help out those in need. Companies that do this include Netflix, Apple, and Home Depot.
Work with Trustworthy Companies
Unless you plan on manufacturing a product from scratch (in which case you know exactly how ethically it was made), it is worth keeping an eye on where exactly you are getting your resources from, what kind of business practices your third-party associates carry out, and whether or not they are trustworthy.
In doing this, you can make sure that your company is a reliable one, a force for good in the world that puts the needs of its customers first.
