The burgeoning social enterprise sector has changed the expectations of an entrepreneur. High profile examples such as Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Foundation and John Bird’s Big Issue have made us highly aware of the potential of using business solutions to tackle social issues, and entrepreneurs are increasingly understanding their ability to facilitate change.

 

Dan McGuire is counting on this for his drive to recruit volunteers for Young Enterprise. As an ambassador for the organisation, he says that one of the biggest problems is a lack of volunteers, although he is certain there are thousands out there who would be very keen to get involved with speaking in schools or mentoring.

 

While canvassing interest from entrepreneurs, as suspected he found that desire to help was not the problem. Two perceived obstacles were cited – either they didn’t know how to go about it or were worried about it encroaching on their time. This is a fair concern. As an entrepreneur you’re already doing your bit for society by generating wealth and employment and this should absolutely come first.

 

Running your business has to be the priority, but McGuire reckons he's come up with the perfect solution. And you'd be hard pushed to argue with it – he's done his very best to remove any possible objection that might be thrown at him with his two-hour initiative. He’s asking for two hours of your time every quarter to go into a school or college and just tell your story.

 

Many entrepreneurs say they didn’t take too kindly to the rigours of academia, and most schools don’t offer setting up a business as a viable career path. Taking the time to physically engage with the next generation of business owners will undoubtedly help the entrepreneurial among them see that it’s possible to turn their dreams into money-making reality.

 

Is there any reason not to?