#47 Transforming your existing business into a social enterprise with Jenny Adjene
I remember reading a while ago that one of the best approaches to creating social impact is not necessarily to create a brand new social enterprise, but to buy an existing business and turn it into a social enterprise. Why?
Because an existing business is already established, it has a client or customer base, it has established revenue streams, a well known brand and identity. It's already operating. So all the challenges of starting a new business or eradicated or at least significantly reduced.
Yes, there are obviously changes required in implementing a clear social purpose or embedding new ways of operating but it could be easier and cheaper. So when I met Jenny Adjene I was excited to learn more and support her to do something similar, albeit with her own existing business.
Jenny is one of my inspiring past clients. I remember being so excited to work with her both because of her vision and commitment to wanting to embed more social purpose into her existing stationary business.
When Jenny reached out to me she had been running her business, HipHipHooray a wedding stationary business for 6 years, it was a very successful family-run business. The pandemic obviously brought its challenges in 2020 as weddings were postponed and cancelled, orders started to dry up.
Jenny says it gave her time to pursue a niggling feeling that had been there for a while, to embed a social purpose at the heart of her business and turn it into a social enterprise.
So that's what we got to work on late last summer.
In this episode Jenny shares her story of becoming an entrepreneur, and the steps she's taken to transform her business into a social enterprise.
We discuss:
Why she decided a social enterprise was the right approach for her business
Her new social purpose and how she decided on working with women who face multiple disadvantages
What difference becoming a social enterprise has made to her business
The impact she's already created in just 6 months
Her plans and hopes for the business and she builds on her success of the past 6 months
Find out more about Jenny & HipHipHooray
HipHipHooray website
Instagram: @hiphiphoorayinvites
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If you're a business and would like to embed more of a social or environmental mission or purpose into your business and explore becoming a social enterprise get in touch.
Instagram: @katluckockcoaching
Facebook: facebook.com/shareimpactpod
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