SubscribeOriginally published by Color Magazine
I grew up disliking the word “business.” I felt distrustful of most businesses and was tired of the sell. I didn’t want to think about money because we didn’t have enough of it. Now, at 25, I call myself an accidental entrepreneur and spend my time thinking about how to create a hybrid nonprofit/for-profit media company. A lot’s changed since I was a kid.
Three years ago, my business partner and I attended a conference called “Taking Social Innovation to Scale” with a vague idea for a media company. One speaker cited Myron Kellner-Rogers’ organizational change principle, “Start [the work] anywhere, follow it everywhere.” This was all I needed to hear. It felt like permission, and as a young woman who always played by the rules, I wanted permission to do a crazy thing like starting my own social business.