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![10 Groups of Questions Educators Ask Social Entrepreneurs [BASET Project]](/uploads/6/8/6/0/68602941/editor/261188.jpg?1546260549) Following the previous publications on our blog in the BASET project’s site let us remind you that our definition of an educator in the context of social entrepreneurship was the following: he / she is a person who acts professionally as a trainer, teacher, mentor, coach, adviser, consultant, facilitator or some other kind of a professional, who works with social entrepreneurs in order to facilitate and support a start-up and the development of a social business (venture). So, what questions such a person (educator) will ask at his/her first meeting with social entrepreneurs, who would like to be supported (trained, mentored, etc.) in doing business with a social mission. The ten group of questions below are included in our Social Entrepreneurship Development Model (SEDM) (read the draft version) as one of the main outputs of the Project BASET. All these questions are taken from good practices of consultants, trainers and advisers on social entrepreneurship. Therefore, the educator should get an initial impression of the entrepreneur's personality about his / her: Motivation, Inherited Mentality, Competencies, Skills, Experience, Empathy, Leadership, Integrity, Social Intelligence, Social Business Model. 10 Groups of QuestionsThe proposed ten groups of preliminary questions neither exhaust all possibilities nor claim universality. Any trainer and consultant (educator) could ask more or less of these questions, which are listed below depending on his/her experience. We believe that it is quite important for any educator, however, at the beginning of his/her work with the entrepreneurs to sketch a general picture of the social business idea or case and the profile of its owner. GROUP 1 First group of questions concerns the motivation of the persons who are interviewed. The educator has to understand what is the motivation of these persons and why they would like to start their own business in the areas of tackling social challenges and problems. The entrepreneurs have to be asked if they know what impact they would like to achieve and whether they rely on sustainable decisions. What is their vision and mission? What leads them to the realization of their idea? GROUP 2 Secondly, it is commonly accepted that the inherited mentality of people is an important factor of their decisions to become entrepreneurs and to help other people. The educator would ask them to share with him/her whether they have in their family entrepreneurs or people who have led other people and/or managed projects, and if they have received tips and good examples from them? Or maybe they have been instructed or influenced by other leaders or concrete examples in a national or a global context? GROUP 3 Next, the third group of questions concerns important competences. Do they know the social issues they will have to deal with as entrepreneurs and can they share what knowledge and competences they still lack about this area as well as for the economy and management of a company or organization? Do they know well what difficulties and challenges await them in the course of their journey? GROUP 4 The questions for competences are followed by questions on skills, so the forth group of questions are related to important skills. For example, the educators could ask them on what skills they would be able to rely so the creation and/or development of their social venture / project / enterprise is successful? Whether they know what skills they lack for being successful social entrepreneurs? GROUP 5 The fifth group of questions are about the social entrepreneurs' experience. The educator will ask those interviewed whether they have personal experience of working with social projects and / or doing classic business? He/she may ask whether they already have work experience in a social enterprise or they have been in a network supporting social causes? Any question that can give more information about the experience of the potential social entrepreneurs can be very supportive for the educator? GROUP 6 The sixth group of questions is about empathy. If the interviewed claim that they are involved in solving social challenges and problems the educator has to ask them what is the reason for this. Whether this is a philanthropy, social responsibility, the belief that everything is in their hands, or it is their philosophy of life, the understanding that every business is social when it is innovative, the understanding that the social business model is more efficient in comparison with the classic one, or this is a good approach of searching for justice, or they would like to support solving global problems, or all these things or/and something more? Are they ready to achieve their goal despite the anticipated difficulties and losses, or do they believe that they can and do they intend to work towards reducing the risks of failure to a minimum? And /or maybe both? 
GROUP 7 The seventh group of questions concerns leadership and is one of the most important. Do they think that they have the qualities of a leader that can also engage other people in solving the tasks and achieving social impact? Would these qualities be useful so they become business leader as well? Do they know the difference between the two types of leadership? GROUP 8 Next, the eighth group consists of questions that concern the integrity of social entrepreneurs. Do they know the moral and ethical norms of doing business with regard to users, investors, customers, beneficiaries, competitors, suppliers, consultants, etc.? Are they ready to give up of their ideas and goals for achieving financial and social impact, if this overrides these norms? GROUP 9 The ninth group of questions is about the social intelligence of the entrepreneurs. Do they have stakeholders, supporters, partners and / or a network of contacts that support their mission and intend to achieve specific social effect? How do they plan to include them in their initiative / project / enterprise to increase their chances of success? GROUP 10 And finally, the tenth and may be the most important group of the preliminary questions concerns the business model. Do the entrepreneurs have an initial idea of how they will create and sell something useful to the users, and how they and their target group will benefit? The educators would like to expect that the entrepreneurs could simply answer the questions: who, why, what, how, to whom, and where? Can they develop a more detailed operational business plan and do they know where they would seek some help? |
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August 2019
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The Boost Aid for Social Entrepreneurship through Training /BASET/ Project No. 2017-1-BG01-KA204-036360 has been co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
This website reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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