Typology of social entrepreneurs. Third type.
Hi! Today I want to introduce a third type of social entrepreneur. “Savior” and “Merchant” set the extreme points of the spectrum of two bright individualists, with their opposite attitude to money. The Savior helps for his pleasure, Merchant for money. When it comes to the third type, he is not interested in material values, but is fixated on its social capital.
Meet — the Hobbit.
Hobbit –the name is not associated with fluffy legs, but with hobbies. It’s a man who builds a business around his passion. Hobbit creates a special environment, his little wonderful world (more correctly Shire), where the same enthusiasts, can do their favorite thing: create handmade things, teach dancing, sewing, singing and drawing. What else? Go on hiking, watch anime and ride horses, create performances, preserve and collect folk crafts, give lectures, engage in historical reconstruction, practice spiritual arrangements and anything the soul might wish for.
Hobbit creates its autonomous space; something between club and circle of philatelists, in which people can reveal themselves and find understanding as they can communicate with similar “weirdoes”. Realize their moral right to escape from office routine, parental burden, political marasmus or unfulfilled hopes. “How great it is, that we are all here today.” Fans of yellow guitar and music festivals today prefer nice decaf instead of raw tent. Even escape from civilization can and should be comfortable.
Society is eager and willing to pay to be surprised and entertained. Today Millennials measure the quality of existence not by material values, but by the variety of life experiments. At the same time, they suffer the most from loneliness — “forever alone.” Thanks to social networks, the circle of contacts has expanded, but communication has become superficial. Millennials seem to be stuck in the transition from offline to online (older and younger generations do not have such a problem, though for various reasons), so the demand to feel part of some group, circle, community has increased. The communication manager — your personal Homa Brunt (from Gogol stories), with hashtag will outline a protective circle against all tenderness. Inside light and warm, own atmosphere, mythology and artifacts, it is possible to slowly fix karma.
It seems that Hobbit has all the prerequisites for successful capitalization: create a community, set up targets, launch lead generation, monitor conversion, strengthen virality. But it does not work. Clean business for Hobbit is not interesting, he has a different motivation, and all capital is symbolic. The accents put on informal relations, value proximity and creative amateur activity, interfere with the business development.
Hobbit really considers the fight for market segments and client niches to be an outgrowth, because expanding the business can destroy the brotherhood of the circle. They are small but self-sufficient and proud people.
When you ask directly about income, Hobbit starts shuffling his leg and mumbling, something in the spirit: it doesn’t matter that no one buys… or is unable to appreciate the skill of our masterpieces, but as long as we are united, we are invincible. We hold on to each other, big business helps with orders; summer markets will start soon… everything will be fine.
Production is only an invitation for communication, the same as a table in a cafe or a fire nearby a river. If an enterprise has no profit, it is the problems of this enterprise, but not Hobbit. He will close it and open another or go out of business, because the main thing is to keep the union. They are largely followers of the hippie movement. Long hair is no longer in fashion, but the thirst to find own community has not gone away.
Social entrepreneurship allows him to declare self independent. I want to invite Merchants to them for a week, but there is a high probability that after his “optimization of internal business processes” Hobbits in panic will run away. Hobbit’s dream is that someone will organize a stream of clients for him, and he will teach them something in his nice workshop, breathing a smoking pipe.
It is not solitary life. Hobbit just believes in small steps theory. The world is not redone, but you can change reality at arm’s length, step by step and day by day. He’s not chasing fame as a Savior. He doesn’t need giant social holdings as Merchant. You won’t help everyone, but friends can and should your support. Do what you have to do with whoever’s around. Big social changes begin with personal changes within each person, with the personal zeroing of outdated social conventions. Someone has to start this process, show another way, an alternative space of opportunities.
Hobbit acts as a guide, as Morpheus forces Neo to reveal his eyes and believe in his powers. Teacher, priest, shaman — he treats souls, frees from the matrix of everyday life. If the Savior corrects the consequences of public diseases, the Hobbits acts preventatively. Working with disabled people and children, creating performances, developing creative skills, organizing festivals and performances, holding discussions and open lectures, — they are teaching tolerance and cultural diversity, humanity. Make us nicer and cleaner.
Behind all this naive activity stand fundamental values that mitigate the severity of social conflicts. So next time don’t spare money and buy souvenir, toy or a ticket to a creative master class.
Did you recognize any of your friends? Write in comments. And welcome to our community of impact investors and social entrepreneurs Galileo — www.iiic.ch
