Suppliers. Where are you?

Customers are definantly one of the new age mantras of today’s business, “customer knows best” and “customer is always right.”

However have we forgotten about the suppliers? they are the ones who meet those qualities to satisfy the customers. As demands from customers continue to evolve, the role of a supplier has to change in accord to this. We are in the search for a supplier who is all for a positive outlook on society.

So in saying so we need someone at the Homeless café to be our local supplier. One who has timely deliveries of suppliers and meets those last minute deadlines, in other words no delayed supplies and constant supply when demanded. Can provide the quality assurance deserved and keep the supplies at reasonable pricing.

Is this you? If so, we need you on board.

Social Entrepreneurs, What drives them?

Your typical entrepreneurs (Business related) measure their profits in terms of the business returns. However we see social entrepreneurs also taking into consideration and action a positive return and outlook to society. Furthering broad social, cultural, and environmental goals making them commonly associated with the voluntary and not for profit sectors. What drives us? The need for innovation, creation, curiosity to enable improvement and have a positive outlook in society. The need to want to challenge the status quo and come up with new ideas, benefiting the business and society as a whole.

At homeless café, we don’t just serve coffee and bread, we adopt the homeless as one of our own lifting them off the ground and putting them in a position to better their future, in saying so we don’t just spoon feed them but give them opportunities whether it be skills, stability shelter and money (which is all worked for). In saying so if we can pull this off as social entrepreneurs we can definantly hold our heads high and say that we are creating a more positive outlook on society,  

Food Bloggers: We Need You!

An integral part of the marketing scheme for our homeless cafe is food bloggers. Food bloggers are an excellent source of public exposure and honest critiquing. 

By buying and judging our food compared to other cafes, you will make us a better cafe; we want your feedback on what you liked, didn't like, and loved in order to make future visits more enjoyable.

Our aim is to provide high quality food and service, and a great atmosphere; therefore, we need your help! We'd like to know if there's any particular foods/dishes you'd like to see in our cafe - an extensive vegan or gluten free menu? Food bloggers are just the people we need to answer these questions and more!

Doing good or doing well?

A common misconception is that by giving someone what they need, they will have a better life or be a better person.

Have you walked past a homeless person on the street and thrown some coins down or even given them some food? Walking away did you feel like you’ve done a good deed? In doing so, you’re “doing good”, but there is alternative ways to help that are more effective.

Whilst giving the homeless your spare coins or buying them a cheeseburger so they eat for the day, might appear to be helping and ‘doing good’, gestures like these don’t elicit change in the homeless behaviour or life. These gestures only lead to short-term happiness and rewards.
To create long-term success for these individuals, they need to change their way of life. By provoking a change in behaviour we aim to effectively do well and do good.
Thus, as social entrepreneurs we recognise that in order for people to change, we must help create that change.

Give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he is set for life 

The first part of this quote, refers to people that just simply “do good”, whereas the second part relates to those who do good, by “doing well”.

At the Homeless Café, we don’t give the homeless free money or free food. Instead, we give them valuable skills to obtain future employment, we give them stability, we give them shelter, we make them work for their food, we make them work for their money, we make them work towards better lives. 

Measuring performance is based upon the change we create. The ability to operate a successful business whilst also maintaining our ability to house the homeless is a major challenge. But if we can manage to do both, then as social entrepreneurs, we have partially completed our goals. The movement our café creates is how our performance will be measured, if the homeless people we try to help, don’t turn their life around or the business doesn’t make a profit we cannot do well or do good.   

Have you got any suggestions that will help us do well?