ABSTRACT
Social entrepreneurs need the skills to translate good intentions into effective outcomes – whether through their efforts alone or combined with those of a co-founder, team members, volunteers, or others. The perspective a social entrepreneur must adopt is that she has a product that someone finds valuable enough to pay for. That “someone” might be the same person who uses the product, such as an aid agency, which may pay for it then distribute it to others who cannot afford to pay. “Hard skills” are the glamor skills in social entrepreneurship – the “entrepreneurship” part of “social entrepreneurship,” which strengthens the enterprise, and the ego for mastering them. Credibility is earned step by step, though some steps are often confused with crossing the finish line rather than being – well – simply another step. Though winners’ heads may swell even more than their pocketbooks, these social entrepreneurs sometimes suspect their accomplishments are, really, a bit hollow.
