My Social Entrepreneurship - Assignment

After reviewing the videos for the social entrepreneurship training, I was surprised by some things, how far I’ve come, but also things I may be overlooking or have done differently on my social entrepreneurship journey thus far.

For example, I would’ve love to have had the savings already in place before I embarked on this challenging journey to start Liluye. I would love to be making much more impact than I currently am, and I’m sure that most people on this forum that have started non-profit organizations can relate to the constant doubt related to decision making, funding, etc. I also have quite a lot of mindset challenges still around asking family and friends, or anyone for that matter, for funding. It’s taking me awhile to really see that it could be an opportunity for people, not necessarily family and friends, but anyone to invest in a lifechanging, or potentially lifechanging initiative and movement. How do we know this, however. Do we know our thoughts and vision could impact many? Or it is just burdening your family, friends, and connections with constant requests for fundraising, potentially tapping into their already limited funds.

You can see where I go down a rabbit hole rather quickly with this mindset. I don’t give up, though. I think there is validity and value to what I’ve worked so hard to create and achieve through my work, mission, and work. Time will only tell how it pans out. I’ve always thought there are others ways to generate income to make Liluye sustainable. Originally it was to create handmade goods or shoes to sell on the internet. I still haven’t given up on this idea, but there are quite possibly other ways to generate income quicker. With the help of my Operations Strategist, Esther Nivedita, who actually sought me out on World Pulse and has been really devoted to helping me streamline my operations and brainstorm on fundraising more, and our COO, Monica Griffin, I feel like we’re getting somewhere, albeit slower than I would like:-)

What I do know is that there’s a need for what I’m creating, real, tailored aftercare, economic empowerment, and prevention resources for trafficking survivors. I just need the right support (more organic followers. I already have an amazing support system of dedicated World Pulse members backing me which I’m truly grateful for), better resources (in the form of real, sustainable funding streams), and mental support for myself and staff (to ensure we stay on track, don’t get burned out, and get the healing resources we need to heal from our own traumas and experiences so we can continue to elevate others and create the ripple effect we wish to see and create within and outside of ourselves).

I never knew this journey was going to be this challenging, to be honest, as people don’t really talk about how challenging it can be and what difficulties you will likely encounter along the way, and what’s really need to sustain the journey and to really build an impactful organization. So many people still see it as insanity that I’m still plugging away after almost seven years on something that doesn’t appear to have substantial income resources, and not making as much impact as it could be after such a length of time. But this is the point, if you have the passion, you have the vision, you can’t give up.

I’ve put so much time, energy, and resources into this vision and work, I can’t believe there isn’t a call for it and a way to see it come to fruition. Is success really you have $20K to put into something, you have all the team members already in place, you help 200 people in the first year of registering your business, scale it up by doubling that success every year. How many people can say this is reality? I personally don’t know of any, but it sure seems like the majority of people out there still seem to think the definition of “success” is this very straightforward shot upward. The stories I personally love are the ones of struggle, of real strife and sacrifice to get to where they are today. They made it work through blood, sweat, tears, perseverance, authenticity, transparency, and a clear vision, uplifting humanity in some way, big or small. Those are the stories I want to see more of.

So, if I had to envision a new journey or a way of starting over and doing it differently, I would imagine a genie waving a wand, granting me three wishes:

1. A strong support system around me, my guides, angels, healers to heal my own traumas making me stronger, more confident, and self loving creating unwavering belief that I can absolutely do this work and that I’m the best person for it, but also a strong, committed core team with a COO, treasurer, fundraiser, grant writer, salesperson, and social media team.

2. A sustainable income stream system in place; a solid plan to start with whether it’s sales, fundraising, or grants.

3. A strong technical platform and system to carry out the scaling up of the vision, mission, and work to ensure the work can easily be increased every year easily.

Thanks once again, World Pulse, for the opportunity to grow, heal, and thrive, alongside those who believe and support me. I’m not sure where I would be today without the continuing support of the platform and people behind it. You rock!