This post discusses how entrepreneurship is a skill that can be developed at an early age. Community gardening offers youth the opportunity to learn important business skills in addition to revitalizing local food infrastructure.
Building Things and Solving Problems: Entrepreneurship 101
One of the things that make America one of the best countries to live in is the ability to launch your own business.
According to the Small Business Administration:
- There are almost 28 million small businesses in the US and over 22 million are self-employed with no additional payroll or employees (these are called nonemployers)
- Over 50% of the working population (120 million individuals) works in a small business
- Small businesses have generated over 65% of the net new jobs since 1995
- Approximately 543,000 new businesses get started each month (but more employer businesses shut down than startup each month)
Why the fuss?
Why are so many business owners willing to take the risk?
Some common reasons why Americans launch businesses every year:
- Help people. Use products and services to improve people’s lives.
- Become an expert. Learn the ropes of your industry through first-hand experience.
- Invest in yourself. You take the risk, and you’ll gain the rewards.
- Make more money. If you want a pay raise, you can give yourself one.
- Financial independence. No one else is signing your paychecks.
So if you’re one of the individuals who understand the importance of getting your hands dirty, you probably know what its like to build something from the ground up.
You probably understand WiseTribe’s mission to bring people and organizations together for conversations and projects that strengthen local communities.
We focus on the future of food, wellbeing, and learning.
Several of our projects are designed to impact and change the local community, beginning in Delray Beach, Florida – the perfect place to launch a business in 2019 and beyond.
Ways Social Entrepreneurship Affects YourCommunity
Venture philanthropy describes a philanthropic model that goes far beyond the writing of checks and often take a deep of what it means to invest in solving global and/or local problems.
A changing landscape, economic disparity and a host of other reasons have driven the next generation of business leaders to launch.
Companies and business leaders have a crucial role to play in creating an environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually meaningful human presence on this planet.
WiseTribe has already worked with local organizations like Carver Middle School.
Our approach – a long-term view of what it means to invest in solving global and/or local problems.
What are your thoughts about doing things with your own hands?
If you’re a parent of a community member who doesn’t mind getting a little dirty, then you’ll want to keep reading.
If you are reading, hopefully, you’re someone who understands the benefit of building something from the ground up.
You understand the benefits – the risks and rewards – of failure.
You understand why WiseTribe is so focused on getting our projects into the community.
At its core, social entrepreneurship allows future business owners to pay it forward – to take the philosophies of their values and put them front and center.
- Blake Mycoskie of TOMS
- Rachel Sumekh of Swipe Out Hunger
- Sheena Allen of CapWay
Innovators with passion, grit and ideas – the emotional intelligence required to launch a business of impact.
These leaders value people and planet, and a focus on the ecosystem of sustaining life, is at the forefront of their company’s.
They understand that experiences – have a direct reflection on the type of company you build, the culture that develops and its long term impact.
Social Impact: The History of the Business of Giving Back
Social impact is a trend that has been around for quite some time. 
Donations, volunteering – examples of helping others – have been the primary drivers of impact for businesses on paying it forward.
Today, the focus is on bringing those activities front and center.
The use of data, technology, and marketing campaigns are used to get the word out about each organization’s commitment to leaving the planet a better place.
So while social entrepreneurship is a relatively new term, its usage can be found throughout history.
In fact, throughout history, there were several entrepreneurs who established social enterprises to eliminate social problems or bring positive change to society.
Vinoba Bhave, the founder of India’s Land Gift Movement, Robert Owen, the founder of cooperative movement and Florence Nightingale, founder of first nursing school and developer of modern nursing practices might be included in this category.
They had established such foundations and organizations in 19th century that is much before the concept of Social Entrepreneurship used in management.
Community Gardening and Business Impact
Gardening is the perfect opportunity to plant a seed of entrepreneurship within our communities.
The trend towards community gardening is a reflection of the social entrepreneurship trend we discussed earlier in this post.
Community gardens throughout the world have been providing youth with the opportunity to learn skills needed to launch and scale their own ventures.
In fact, farmers, agriculturalists and gardeners are easy examples of social entrepreneurs.
At their core, these workers are focused on creating impact through sustainable practices – environmentalists in their own right.
These impact warriors focus on getting products like veggies, carrots, potatoes and pears – into your favorite food providers and farm-to-table restaurants like PurGreens.
George Washington Carver was an early example of the importance of social impact in business.
While he’s sometimes confused as being the creator of peanut butter, his impact could be felt in a lot of other, more impactful ways.
Carvers mission not only focused on helping to sell products grown from the land.
He also stressed the importance of environmentalism.
As an environmentalist first and entrepreneur second, Carver understood the importance of a local community infrastructure to keep fresh produce around and in the community.
Farmers markets, grocery stores and convenience stores are examples of the stakeholders responsible for getting you your produce.
This complex ecosystem of players who work close to the earth and who understand the business of commerce – isn’t enough to provide a better future for tomorrow.
Going above and beyond – helping to ensure a planet for tomorrow – is something the social impact entrepreneur will continue to focus on.
- PATCH | Dania Beach
- The North Lauderdale Community Garden
- Eat Real Food Community Garden | Marando Farms
- Miramar Community Garden
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how participating in this local phenomenon will impact the future growth of our local communities?
Delray Beach offers the perfect case study for an issue reflected at an international level.
Delray Beach, Florida: Economic Opportunity, Civic Engagement and More
If you’re a #FriendofWiseTribe, you might know that Delray Beach offers a unique opportunity to test local solutions at a global scale.
Here’s why:
- A great community of schools like Carver Middle school
- ~20% of ouron is under the age of 18
- 86% of our population aged 25 or older has a high school diploma
We also have a robust economy ripe and ready for stimulation.
How WiseTribe is Creating Change Through #GardenGates
Founder and Chief Visionary Jacqueline Botting conceived WiseTribe at a crossroads in her life. Devastating personal loss led her to understand how much she needed to explore new paths to personal fulfillment.
While working for the Trade and Technology Board in Ireland, Jacqueline witnessed firsthand breathtaking technological changes, and realized how those changes are influencing the way we live and work.
All around her Jacqueline saw people who were searching, as she was, for lives of greater significance.
Like our #GardenGates project.
The “Garden Gate” is a 100% upcycled, vertical, compact container garden made from cast-off wood pallets and recycled plastic bottles.
WiseTribers are designing, building, and distributing Garden Gates as a way to generate civic agriculture, low-tech innovations, plastic recycling and healthy neighborhoods as part of the #GetDirtyInDelray movement.
These are the perfect opportunity to join the conversation and give back.
Purchase your Garden Gate today to pay it forward and help teach the next generation about what it takes to launch a new business.
