According to Wikipedia, Entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit.

At face value, this definition would not accommodate the branch of entrepreneurship committed to social good. Nevertheless, at a closer look, it does.

Let us paint a scenario, Christy is a Social Entrepreneur. Her enterprise teaches widows and homeless girls how to make fine dresses using locally sourced material and selling on the market to become financially independent. Looking beyond the money these women will make, what other ways can this PROFIT them and the community at large? The women learned a new skill. The community’s GDP has increased. There is a reduction in the unemployment statistics, reducing social vices in extension. And so many other benefits. These are profits, but not in direct monetary value.

I will share with you four things necessary for success in Entrepreneurship, be it social entrepreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship.

1. Determination

Entrepreneurship, most times, involves leaving one’s comfort zone, diving into the “deep ocean” and playing with the big fishes. That is not something one can do without determination. Leaving one’s comfortable paying job to take on a venture that has no guarantee of success is a very scary thing to do. Entrepreneurship needs determination. You, sometimes, have to go against advice from friends and family. They most likely want the best for you: by not wanting you to leave your comfort zone, a place with assured income at the end of every month. Entrepreneurship is a risky and uncomfortable journey with potentially high returns. The high returns are the most alluring factor; why many people are willing to risk it.

2. Imitation

Imitation, in a wise way, is not the death of creativity nor the proliferation of thievery and laziness. In Entrepreneurship, it is just knowing what works and following that model. Given, there might be other ways to the same journey, but there is, most times, a most preferred pattern. Running an E-commerce business, I doubt there is any faster and more effective way of scaling up than involving third-party sellers and investing in and optimizing advertising. This is a basic but workable model. A smart entrepreneur will know to replicate this model and build on it. Take a look at all the businesses you know, they all do one thing; solve a problem. That in itself is a form of imitation. Social entrepreneurship is also all about solving social problems in our communities. As an entrepreneur, get ready to imitate.

3. Innovation

Innovations drive the market. Innovations are one way to become the market leader in your industry. Innovative companies do way better than their less innovative counterparts. Take Tesla and other traditional automakers for example. Tesla is just fifteen years old (founded in 2003) but it has more market value than so many older automakers with even deeper pockets.

One word; innovation. Innovation has helped Tesla stay relevant in the market. They imitated the art of making vehicles for human beings and then brought innovation into their production. In Entrepreneurship, you imitate and then innovate.

4. Permeation

There is no point in creating a product that only your wife and your best friend will use—not that it is illegal to create one. Penetrating the market and having consumers use their products and services is the dream of every entrepreneur. I like to think it’s the most important aspect of Entrepreneurship; market permeation and sales. To be successful at the game of entrepreneurship, one must ensure one’s product permeates the market. Imagine if Facebook was as good as it is now with so many nice features, but had no users or a few hundred—Mark wouldn’t be so happy. An entrepreneur that fails to permeate the market with their product has failed at the entire game.

Determination, Imitation, Innovation, and Permeation; successful entrepreneurship in four words.