When business owners who have three bottom lines -- people, planet and profit -- they can get confused about how to balance competing responsibilities. Is increased profit more important than a sustainable supply chain? Is a sustainable supply chain more important than paying a living wage? Is paying a living wage more important than profit?

Round and round it goes! Social entrepreneurs really need a clear description of their business goals and how to honor what are sometimes competing commitments.

• What is the mission of the business?


• How will that mission be accomplished?


• When those three bottom lines conflict, which one takes precedence?

"The process of writing a business plan brings issues into focus," says Stengel. "It prepares the social entrepreneur for the decisions that crop up when trying to do good while doing well."

Stengel is an experienced and successful entrepreneur, and founder of http://www.ventureneer.com [Ventureneer], which provides online learning and support for entrepreneurs using a blend of traditional instruction and informal, peer learning that takes advantage of Web 2.0 technology.

This free webinar, hosted by Sparkseed.org, an organization dedicated to increasing the impact of social enterprises will take place at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 25.

Social enterpreneurs will learn how to chart the course of a social enterprise and ensure that the needs of investors and partners, as well as benefits to people and planet, are taken into account.
Social entrepreneurs, small business owners who want to add "people and planet" benefits to their bottom line, and those thinking about using their business skills to make a difference will all benefit from this free webinar.

To register or for more information, go to http://sparkseed.supercoolschool.com/class/1226/Business_Plan_Essentials_for_Social_Entrepreneurs.

About Sparkseed
http://sparkseed.org/ [Sparkseed] is a nonprofit organization that supports the next generation of social entrepreneurs. We harness the passion, innovation, and talent of college students with world-changing ideas to scale the impact of their social ventures. Over the past two years, Sparkseed has provided mentoring, seed money, pro-bono consulting, and web tools to nearly 50 social innovators throughout the country.

About Geri Stengel
Geri is founder of Ventureneer, an online education and peer support service. An adjunct professor at The New School, she honed her online experience at companies like Dow Jones and Physicians' Online. Geri co-founded the Women's Leadership Exchange and is president of Stengel Solutions, a consulting service for social-impact organizations.

About Ventureneer
Ventureneer.com provides nonprofit and http://ventureneer.com/ [small business advice] as well as entrepreneurial and http://ventureneer.com/non-profit-management-training-critical-component-leader%E2%80%99s-success [nonprofit training] through a new approach to learning: a blend of traditional, formal instruction with informal, peer learning that takes advantage of Web 2.0 technology to capture and share knowledge. Ventureneer's customized blogs, virtual classes, peer-to-peer learning, coaching, web events and articles help entrepreneurs make faster, better decisions for their enterprises.

Ventureneer

Ventureneer

Ventureneer provides a new approach to learning that blends traditional formal instruction with informal learning derived from problem solving with peers using Web 2.0 technology. Members use Ventureneer to solve problems, request resources or information, seek guidance from others and, most important, how to have the greatest impact. The first phase of Ventureneer a blog called Vistas has launched.

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