341 | Being Realistic About Social Enterprise Growth with Paul Zelizer
This week on the pod is our monthly solo episode with Paul Zelizer. Paul is one of the first business coaches to specialize in working with social entrepreneurs and the host of the popular Awarepreneurs podcast. This episode explores 4 topics to consider about sustainably pacing the the growth of your social enterprise as well as factors to pay attention to if you find yourself needing to make a pivot to attain more social enterprise growth.
The 4 key strategies for this episode:
Understanding Your Customer and Market
Knowing When to Scale—and When Not To
The Role of Funding on Pace of Growth
When to Reevaluate or Pivot
This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
Being Realistic About Social Enterprise Growth: Solo episode with Paul Zelizer
NOTE: While it’s not perfect, we offer a transcript and the below summaries by Castmagic for those who are hearing impaired or who don’t find listening to a podcast enjoyable or possible.
You can read the full transcript of this episode here..
Key Topics and Bullet Points
1. Important Issues for Social Enterprises in 2024
Overview of contemporary challenges and opportunities
Ensuring preparedness for future changes
2. Learning from Failures in Crowdfunding: The Coolest Cooler Kickstarter Campaign
Summary of the campaign's initial success and eventual failure
Key lessons on pitfalls and missteps to avoid
3. Understanding When to Scale
Signs to look for before making a decision to scale (e.g., market readiness, operational effectiveness)
Role of thorough market research
Importance of demographic and psychographic studies
Staying competitive through understanding market trends
4. Strategic vs. Opportunistic Scaling
Definitions and differences
When to use each approach
5. Maintaining Impact During Growth
Importance of balancing growth with the company's mission
Strategies to ensure community engagement and support
6. Role of Funding and Investment in Growth
Impact of funding on the pace and direction of growth
Importance of conversations with investors
Aligning expectations between the company and investors
Balancing financial growth with sustainability and mission
7. Managing Investor Expectations
Aligning company goals with investor goals
Transparent communication and setting realistic growth targets
8. Reevaluation and Pivoting
Indicators that a current strategy isn't working
When and how to pivot effectively
Importance of honest assessment before making significant changes
9. Learning from Failures and Setbacks
Using failure as a learning opportunity to strengthen the business
Avoiding predictable mistakes during transitions and pivots
10. Strategy Sessions for Social Entrepreneurs
Overview of Paul Zelizer's strategy session packages
Supporting informed decision-making for growth and scaling
11. Listener Engagement and Suggestions
Encouragement for listener suggestions on topics and guests
Gratitude for the positive impact listeners are making in the world