What Is Conscious Entrepreneurship?
Conscious entrepreneurship describes businesses and startups who place emphasis on benevolent and altruistic goals other than just profit-making. Whether the business focus is in financial literacy, gender equality, or greener initiatives, businesses that operate with a conscious mindset have a higher response rate with consumers. Yet, when it comes to the overall success of these conscious businesses, how do they fare overall? It varies. Companies like Curriculet, an education tech company, find themselves vulnerable to low profit margins after only a few years. Perhaps the questions isn’t whether or not having a conscious mission automatically dooms businesses for failure, but whether the impact of the business – conscious or not – can create a long-lasting impact for consumers and the industry it operates in.
How Conscious Businesses Can Create Longevity
Being a conscious business is a worthy cause, and can be a prime example of how profit and intention don’t have to be disparate goals. The need is there – as consumers grow more aware of the issues that directly impact their lives, they respond stronger to businesses that resonate with them about issues they care about. In fact, the Conscious Business Institute reports that “up to 90 percent of the work force is disengaged” between the businesses they push to create and the fulfillment that consumers and entrepreneurs feel. Forbes contributor Patrick Hanlon writes on the impact that “conscious capitalism” will have on the market: In the end, the message is clear – it’s possible to be profitable and make a difference in the world. We just need to begin seeing these solutions as highly compatible, instead of a disparate means to an end. Image Credit to Helena Eriksson / Flickr.
