BUSINE SS WITH S PIRIT
HOW TO BE A BUSINESS THAT DOES GOOD
Have you thought of starting or converting your business for social good? Simon Griffiths shares the lessons he’s learned in putting together the successful ‘Who Gives A Crap’ business.
By Simon Griffiths 6 OCTOBER 2015
‘WHO GIVES A CRAP’ is toilet paper that builds toilets. We sell 100% recycled toilet paper online and in independent grocers, and donate half of our profits to build toilets in the developing world. I started Who Gives A Crap with two
of my friends because 2.5 billion people don’t have access to a clean toilet. That’s roughly 40% of the global population and means that diarrhoea related diseases fill over half of sub-Saharan African hospital beds and kill 1,400 children under five every day. Obviously there’s lots to running a
successful social business, but when I look back, these five points have been some of the most important factors in Who Gives A Crap’s success. If you can’t tick all five of these boxes before you get started on a new social business idea, it might be worth having a look at your business model to see what can be changed to increase your likelihood of success!
1Partner up
Many social businesses assume
they know what’s best for both their customers and their beneficiaries, but not many really do. Focus on what you’re good at – for us that’s making great recycled toilet paper – and work with experts who can help you solve the social problem you’re looking to solve. We don’t know as much about building toilets as we do about making toilet paper, which is why we work closely with WaterAid to help us have as much impact as possible.
2Make it last It can be easy to work towards
a solution to a social problem while failing to create a viable business. If social businesses aren’t solving a social problem they’re not having any impact, but if they’re not solving a business problem for their customers then they won’t last. A social business that doesn’t last is almost as bad as one that didn’t have any impact from the beginning!
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