Madeleine Shaw - The Greater Good: Social Entrepreneurship for Everyday People Who Want to Change the World

PRAISE FOR THE GREATER GOOD

Madeleine is an extraordinary innovator whose ideas have had profound positive influence on so many lives. Her voice is a beacon for these times. Her stories will engage, inspire, and activate.

Joel Solomon, author of The Clean Money Revolution: Reinventing Power, Purpose, and Capitalism

Madeleine Shaw is a brilliant innovator, fierce feminist, generous collaborator, and persuasive storytellerand is all of these things at once in The Greater Good.

Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, author of Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity

Run, dont walk, to buy The Greater Good. The old business models just give us the same results. Madeleine Shaw knows firsthand how to do good successfully. This is an essential primer for the new business world we need.

M.J. Ryan, author of Radical Generosity and How to Survive Change You Didnt Ask For

Madeleine Shaws book arrives at the perfect time as a gift to future generations of social entrepreneurs who have dreams for a more equitable world. Shaws decades of experience, insight, and wisdom are now available to all in a relatable format.

Vicki Saunders, founder, SheEO

The Greater Good is a master class that will welcome many more world-changers into the fold of social entrepreneurship.

Cory Ames, founder, Grow Ensemble

Madeleine Shaw is fiercely inspiring! And her book The Greater Good is a nurturing and inclusive guide to activistic entrepreneurship for the everyday human.

Dr. Melanie Rieback, CEO/co-founder, Radically Open Security

Humane, intelligent, and deeply practical, The Greater Good is a guiding light for visionaries, innovators, and entrepreneurs ready to create a future where everyone can flourish.

Sarah Selecky, author of Radiant Shimmering Light and founder of the Sarah Selecky Writing School

With this book Madeleine captures the spirit of her in-person mentorship to guide the reader as they navigate creating their version of the greater good.

Emira Mears, author of The Boss of You: Everything a Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business

In The Greater Good Madeleine shares frank, generous, heartfelt stories and essential advice on how to avoid unconsciously upholding systemic biases.

Servane Mouazan, founder, Ogunte

Copyright 2021 by Madeleine Shaw

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021910542

ISBN 978-1-63756-004-4 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63756-005-1 (EPUB)

Editor: Allison Serrell

Cover design, cover illustration, and interior design: Morgan Krehbiel

Author photo: Felicia Chang Photography

Published by Wonderwell in Los Angeles, CA

www.wonderwell.press

Distributed in the US by Publishers Group West and in Canada by Publishers Group Canada

To:

Duncan and Pat, my greatest champions Suzanne, the best of the best Gigi, the future

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

HELLO AND WELCOME! I am sure youre eager to get cracking on ways and means to change the world, but I would be remiss if I did not share a bit about my background and perspective with you beforehand. I started my first social impact venture, a sustainable fashion line, twenty-eight years ago at age twenty-five, and I have since founded and co-founded three more. I have been part of countless social impact conferences, communities, and educational programs, have mentored dozens of aspiring entrepreneurs, and have spoken on the topic of social entrepreneurship internationally. While I have little formal business education, I would say that by this stage I have a street MBAI earned my credentials through lived experience, rather than tests or degrees. All of my projectssome for-profit, some not-for-profit, and varying widely from reusable menstrual products to child-friendly workspacesare motivated by a social change agenda.

As a general principle, I love growing things. This can include projects, businesses, relationships, plants, and ideas; all evoke a similar quality of creativity and nurturing to me. Nothing pleases me more than seeing something flourish and realize its potential, especially when it happens in unexpected or organic ways. This predilection informs my definition of entrepreneurship as something that is ideally generative, creative, and a profound act of self-expression. I should also add that my perspective is informed by my background as a white settlerCanadian cisgender woman living and working on unceded traditional Indigenous land (this book was mostly written on Kwantlen, St:lo, and Musqueam Nation territories), among other forms of visible social privilege. While my goal is to share the stories of everyday people and underrepresented leaders, I do not speak on their behalf. I am here to offer you inspiration along with accounts of lived experiences (rather than academic research) and practical advice, which I have endeavored to make as realistic and down-to-earth as possible.

My decades-long practice of starting and leading social changedriven initiatives has led me to a viewpoint of entrepreneurship that strongly differs from the tech-heavy, scale-oriented profile typically associated with Silicon Valley. Although, once upon a time, my creative, feminist soul would have dismissed starting an organization or companyespecially a for-profit oneas restrictive and insufficiently political, I now hold the opposite view; today, my conviction is that founding a values-led enterprise of any size and type can be one of the most socially impactful things that you could set your heart, mind, and spirit to.

I see entrepreneurship quite differently than the way its typically portrayed in the media, particularly in regards to who entrepreneurs are (or can behence the everyday people in this books subtitle). Some common misperceptions that I want to address are the assumption that a business background or degree is necessary in order to start a venture, that a project must be scalable (in a state of constant financial growth), and that entrepreneurial projects must be for-profit.

I approach social entrepreneurship from an expansive perspective and, as such, am here to profile and champion a far more inclusive image of the entrepreneur than what you may be used to seeing. This includes people who, like me, may not have a business background, may not be white or male or driven by technology, and may not be seeking as their primary goal to disrupt anything, but rather to heal, nurture, and otherwise improve the world on any scale. Maybe you dont think of yourself as a businessperson, entrepreneur, leader, or changemakeryet. Thats okay. Maybe you primarily identify as an artist, parent, corporate worker, teacher, student, homemaker, tradesperson, or something else other than entrepreneur. You might be racialized, female, transgender, or nonbinary, or a person with a disability who does not see many people who look like you on the covers of business magazines. What I am pretty certain of about you is that you are