The Social Capitalist - Josh Lannon

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We are Social Capitalists.

      Social Capitalists have the strength to face problems that send others running. We know that the government can’t solve all our problems. We know that they can’t give our power away by becoming dependent on governments and large corporations for our well-being. We take charge of our own lives, and create our own solutions while creating a path for financial security, putting ourselves and others the fast track toward financial freedom.

      And since you’ve picked up this book, we suspect that there may be a Social Capitalist lurking inside you, too. If you’ve ever thought that you might have it in you to start a business, wondered why you never felt fulfilled working for other people, asked whether there was a way to turn your passion into a profitable enterprise, wanted to add a socially conscious component to your existing business, or wanted to know how to leverage a solution you’ve found to an existing problem, this book is for you.

      In the following chapters, we’ll share the story of how we went from being financially ignorant employees to financially savvy business owners and investors on the fast track, and we’ll share a few of our secrets, and the secrets of other Social Capitalists, for building a business around the heart – a business that’s financeable, leverageable, expandable, and predictable. We’ll provide you with a blueprint for becoming a Social Capitalist, highlight the new uses of the Benefit Corp, and reveal to you how a passion-driven business can have a triple-bottom line, delivering profit, social value, and freedom.

      As you read this book, you will find parts of the story being told from Josh’s point of view or in first person as he is telling it and in the third person or being told from the collective “we” perspective. We chose to write this way to make it easy for you, the reader, to read. However this is both our stories, as we walked the path together, learned together, built and grew the business together, went through the good, bad, ugly and great together and have committed to this journey together. A lot of Lisa’s story and perspectives is included in the “we” portion of the book and in the “I” (Josh’s voice) portion. Lisa’s input is also included in sidebars or textboxes throughout the book.

       The 5 Points of Social Capitalism

      If you’re looking for a book on the steps involved in starting a business, there are plenty of sources better, more interesting, and definitely more knowledgeable than either of us. Any of the books in the Rich Dad Advisor Series can provide you with valuable information on anything from writing business plans to strengthening your sales force, motivating a team, understanding taxes, forming a corporation, or growing profits. You’ll find that the Rich Dad and Rich Dad Advisor principles will apply to any business. Our focus here is exclusively on Social Capitalism, and harnessing your desire to contribute to the world in a meaningful way while satisfying your hunger for personal fulfillment and a rich life, in every sense of the word.

      We’ve broken this idea into five salient points:

      1. Understanding the tenets of Social Capitalism: Many entrepreneurs, particularly social entrepreneurs, take a position of poverty. We were led to believe that in order to do God’s, or humankind’s, work, means taking a vow of poverty. But if you look at many of today’s Social Capitalists – Tom’s Shoes, Annie’s Homegrown, Inc., Odwalla, and even Starbucks – it’s obvious that Social Capitalists don’t have to be poor, and we’ll show you why.

      2. When the student is ready, the teacher appears: God, the universe, Buddha, life, fate … whatever you want to call it … is always ready to teach us, when we’re ready to listen. For years, I struggled with addiction that kept me from recognizing the teachers that had important lessons to share with me. When I finally shed the anger, fear, and addiction, and when Lisa and I, together, opened our eyes, the teachers began revealing themselves to us in amazing ways. We’ll show you how there are no accidents; your past is one of your greatest assets, and mentors come into our lives when they’re supposed to. After all, you’ve picked up this book. Something is calling you to serve a higher purpose, to play a bigger game in life.

      3. Finding your “why”: You can’t, and shouldn’t, build a socially conscious business unless you are passionate about the cause. If your business is going to work, it absolutely must be built around what’s in your heart. For us, this meant addressing addiction. Fighting this monster that had taken so much from us was the force that drove us every single day, through good and bad times – and there were plenty of bad times. What keeps you going through good and bad? What’s your “why” for forming a business? What will keep you going each and every day, wanting to work and give it your all? So many business owners have profitable, successful businesses that don’t fulfill them. Spiritually or emotionally, they’re dying inside – they aren’t fulfilled, because they aren’t truly passionate about their businesses and their outcomes. We’ll show you how to find your own “why,” and how you can turn that into a new business, or tap into that “why” to bring a fulfilling social component into your work or existing business.

      4. The Fight: Lisa and I were both born into alcoholism. I was an addict myself, and Lisa worked in law enforcement, wrestling with substance abuse, which was the root cause of much of the crime she fought on a day-to-day basis. We were both born to fight addiction. For us to have started a social enterprise that feeds the hungry is a worthy goal, but it wasn’t our fight. It wasn’t the “why” that got us out of bed each day, ready to fight. What’s your fight? What is it that you must take on? We’ll show you how we recognized our fight, and how you’ll know yours, too.

      5. The Global Social Capitalist Movement: As the Social Capitalist movement continues to gain traction around the world, social entrepreneurs continue to cite finances as their primary obstacle. Your typical bank, angel investor, or venture capitalist may not immediately see the payoff in social enterprise, which makes finding funding through traditional sources difficult. We’ll show you how funding Social Capitalism is unique, where there are resources to support your goal, how a unique corporate entity called the Benefit Corp works to protect Social Capitalists, and how to leverage the capital you receive.

      We want to thank you for picking up this book, and for being willing to consider a life of service to the world we live in. And we congratulate you for daring to dream of a life different from your current one, a life in which you may face obstacles, and which may force you to question all your beliefs.

      We’re sharing our story with you to show you that through all our hard work, and through all the challenges we overcame and the lessons we learned, we are rewarded every day, not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually as well. Knowing we’ve contributed to improving the lives of thousands of people affected by substance abuse is, in itself, unbelievably rewarding. Knowing that, if we stay on track, our financial freedom will enable us to continue doing this for the rest of our lives makes that reward even sweeter.

      So if you’re ready to turn your passion into profits, let’s get started!

      Josh’s Story

      In 1999, Lisa and I saw the movie The Matrix. It’s the story of Neo, a computer programmer, who learns that the world he lives in is nothing but an illusion created by computers to subdue people. Throughout the course of the movie, he fights, with the help of others, to free himself from this web of deceit, called “The Matrix,” and live free in a true reality. Science fiction isn’t really our thing, but for some reason the film haunted us. It had nothing to do with its elaborately choreographed fight scenes and cutting-edge special effects. It was that Lisa and I had each been brought up feeling as if our lives were predetermined, or programmed for us, and we’d both always felt frustrated by the pressure to conform. We just couldn’t shake the feeling that we were, in a sense, in our own matrix, and both of us felt the urge to break free.

      I had been that kid in class who maddeningly questioned everything my teacher (and my parents, for that matter) said. Never content with simply doing what I was told and accepting the boundaries set for me, I

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