Money

Built to Flip: "We have arrived at a unique moment in history: the intersection of an unprecedented abundance of capital and an explosion of Internet-related business ideas. But, for all of the incredible opportunities unleashed by this combination, there is one monumental problem: The entrepreneurial mind-set has degenerated from one of risk, contribution, and reward to one of wealth entitlement. We all have friends and colleagues -- often mediocre friends and colleagues at that -- who have struck gold after 18 or 12 or 6 months of work in a built-to-flip company. And we have all entertained the thought 'I deserve that too.' Here's another thought: When I and a lot of other people began talking and writing about the new economy in the early 1980s, little did we know that it would engender what we most despised about the old economy -- an entitlement culture in which the mediocre flourish. . . .

Why on Earth would you settle for creating something mediocre that does little more than make money, when you could create something outstanding that makes a lasting contribution as well? And the clincher, of course, lay in evidence showing that those who opt to make a lasting contribution also make more money in the end."
Do Something Special With Your Life

Former Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty member Jim Collins is asking the right question: "Why on Earth would you settle for creating something mediocre that does little more than make money, when you could create something outstanding that makes a lasting contribution as well?"

Making money isn't all that difficult. When it comes to building a business, we in Europe and the US have a misery of choice. Money is important, but most legitimate opportunities offer more than enough financial recompense to fund a comfortable lifestyle. However, not every opportunity offers a purpose beyond, but not without, profit. Social enterpreneurship does.

Of course money is important, but it isn't the only thing that is important. If you were offered the choice between earning £50,000/yr selling lung cancer for a tobacco company as a cigar shop operator, or £45,000/yr for saving children from starvation as a social entrepreneur, which opportunity would you select? Would it make a difference if the choice was between £500,000 and £200,000? I hope not.

This blog has an affiliation the NTC social entrepreneurship opportunity, but we hope to provide all honest social entrepreneurs with ideas and insights that will help them to prosper by creating social and humanitarian good in the world.

Squidoo

You may notice something special about Squidoo today.We have quietly — and completely — moved out of the closed beta test… and into a public beta.That means that anyone can visit Squidoo, find lenses, claim lenses, and build their own. We’re thrilled to open our doors to the public, and to let everyone use the platform that you’ve been helping us test and improve these last few weeks.But we’re not going to tell anyone yet.Except you.

Squidoo BetaBlog

I want to encourage all members of the Alliance to build a lens at Squidoo.

In the closed beta phase I have started working on several lenses:

http://balance.squidoo.com/Oxonian/

http://balance.squidoo.com/narnia/

http://balance.squidoo.com/bespoke/

Building a lens will help you indirectly promote your social entrepreneurship activity, and generate revenue for charities linked to Squidoo. For more information on how to do this go to Squidoo. (Any of the above links will take you there.)

Honest Critiques are Always Welcome

Critics of the social entrepreneurship initiatives of NSE at Wealth Bondage (excepting the editor, Happy Tutor, and one Bulldog) were eager to indict and convict NSE of wrong doing based on negative reports from some 14 years ago. They were less eager to discuss NSE's current humanitarian initiatives. They were keen to link to unbalanced criticisms of NSE, but apparently unwilling to cite more objective comment. I don't doubt the good motives of our critics at WB, but a rush to judgement is no substitute for solid debate.

Should we be doing more? Yep. Should we be condemned and damned for our lack of perfection? That depends on your theological orientation.

This entry is my olive branch and invitation to all honest critics: discuss and debate the merit of social entrepreneurship generally, and NTC specifically, with us. Our Alliance exists to save the lives of children. If your critique of our SE methods can help us save more lives, then no matter how unpalatable the analysis, it is welcome. ("The same hammer that shatters the glass strengthens the steel.")

The following report from the New Straits Times is a little more current, and perhaps a little more objective than some we have seen in recent days.

Any comments?

New Straits Times - Malaysia "Together with his compatriots in public and private medical facilities, Dr Pirapat performs weekend and evening surgeries, and they have saved 2,354 children in the past eight years. Dr Pirapat himself cared for around 2,000 of them.

The PCSF gains funding for these efforts from various sources, not least of which is the Nu Skin South-East Asia Children’s Heart Fund (SEA CHF). The SEA CHF was set up in 2003, born out of a pledge made by direct-selling company Nu Skin.

Nu Skin sells personal care and nutritional products, and has committed to various charitable causes in the regions where it operates. Nu Skin Thailand began aiding the PCSF in 1999, and four years later the SEA CHF was launched, incorporating Nu Skin enterprises in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei.

To date, the SEA CHF has amassed over RM560,000, through donations, fund-raising activities and the sale of premium products.

“What we have left of the fund, which amounts to around US$60,000 (RM226,698) is being divided into two parts,” the urbane, bespectacled doctor explains in his precisely measured voice.

“The first part is to train more medical personnel, especially surgeons. We hope to set up a fellowship or a scholarship to send people abroad for study. And the second part is for treatment directly, to help save children.”

Last year, Nu Skin helped to set up a new Children’s Intensive Care Unit at the Rajavithi Hospital, to deal with the large backlog of cases. It’s there that Ray and Jackie are currently housed, and it’s there that they receive a visit from a contingent of Nu Skin representatives, assembled from throughout the region to inspect the progress of their charity efforts.Direct-selling usually attracts a certain sort of personality — communicative, motivated, enthusiastic and outgoing — so the children are slightly overwhelmed, surrounded by well-wishers bearing shocking pink SEA CHF T-shirts and flashing cameras.

Ray appears unable to decide whether she approves or disapproves, while Jackie remains impassive.Even though so much more needs to be done within Thailand itself, Dr Pirapat believes that with enough aid of the sort that he’s been receiving from Nu Skin and the SEA CHF, the influence of the PCSF can spread further. So far, it has only aided one child from the rest of the region, a Filipina.“This region of the world is in great need of a children’s heart centre.

In Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar they have no real medical infrastructure, and there isn’t a congenital heart disease centre in Vietnam. So this would be our long-term project.It might seem like quite a big one, but the money that’s required to set up a centre shouldn’t be more than US$5 million, and then we’d only need money for treatment.” And Thailand is one of the best places in the region for such treatment.

Surgery is cheap — a corrective procedure that costs US$30,000 in an American hospital would only cost US$7,000 in Bangkok, where medical facilities are more than up to the task.In terms of the infrastructure-to-cost ratio, it’s the best place to send children from throughout the region.The obstacles ahead are more than just financial, though; there is still the need to create awareness about the problem and its solutions.

When Jackie’s irregular heartbeat was first detected he was only two months old, his parents Montha and Samphong Phansri decided not to send him for an operation, because they believed that the procedure would threaten his life.Even after he’d grown to what they believed was a safe age, his mother Montha insisted on researching the recovery rate of other children who had undergone the same procedure.

Only then would they submit their son.The delay has caused Jackie to develop pulmonary hypertension, worsening his already fragile state and necessitating a prolonged post-op observation period at the children’s ICU.Ray, on the other hand, is likely to be discharged soon, and happiness is written on her parents’ genial faces. Before this, their daughter could only walk a few steps before collapsing from exhaustion.Such relief is still rare, though, among the parents of the 50,000 children born with heart disease each year in South-East Asia.

Nu Skin is already hoping to make the SEA CHF live up to its name by sending needy children from throughout the region to Bangkok for care. Nu Skin Malaysia is appealing for cases to be sent to them for consideration, by telephoning Lee Lim Bee Yoke of Nu Skin funds at 03-21707700. Those wishing to learn more about the PCSF can visit their website at http://www.pcsf.org.

Google Talk

Ambreso: "'There are a lot of exciting things in store for Google Talk in the coming months and we thought the best way to tell you about them was to create a blog. We'll keep you posted on new features, happenings in the community, and progress towards our goal of enabling customer choice in Internet communications through open standards and interoperability."

To read the entire announcement go to Ambreso.

Congratulations Chris

Google Alert for: "Nourish the Children"

Join forces to provide VitaMeal specialised food to Nourish The ...
Nourish the Children has now passed the 35 MILLION VITAMEALS DONATED POINT!
Thank You! Now you can donate as little as $5 US in order to help the Nourish ...

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This once a day Google Alert is brought to you by Google.
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Chris J. has taken the Fundable (www.fundable.org) information I gave everyone last Friday (and published on the Ambreso blog), and done something with it. Today I got a Google alert advising me to check out his Fundable site. Imagine that, in one week he has managed to get Google to send his fundraising message out around the globe. He has even received a contribution for half of the amount requested. Folks, web2.0 strategies really do work, but only if you are working too. Everyone had an equal opportunity with Fundable. Action makes the difference.

Is saving a life important enough (to you) to spend 10 minutes learning how to use a few of the simple tools we have developed/discovered? There are real living breathing children that you can save from debilitating malnutrition and starvation -if you will only lend a little time and effort to helping with the work at hand. It is up to you, of course.

Tom

PS By adding comments to our blog Chris has also managed to achieve a number one spot on a Google results page.