After being asked by a businessman in Perth called Jason why I do what I do...  I thought about it further, and while there are so many reasons and circumstances in my life that have led me to care the way I do, there was one story in particular that I thought I would share for VLOG_006.

So here it is... There is a bit of talking, and a bit of skating and a bit of dancing, because its all me... I look forward to hearing from people about their 'Blue Shirts' and why you are doing whatever it is you are doing now.

Thanks very much as always, and remember.

Just Be Nice.

While helping non-profits run more efficiently, I talk to many individuals who are passionate about starting something themselves to help. People looking to make a difference by starting a new enterprise — the ‘Social Enterprise’.
 
 Too many of these individuals are starting their conversations with ‘Insert passion and purpose here’ followed by “Business is not my strong point”. With big hearts and a passionate drive to help, they are frustrated often at how hard it can be to get involved with other organisations that are already doing work.
Bottom line. If business is not your strong point, you should not be starting a business. It doesn’t matter if your intentions are noble, a business needs to be run well independently of the cause that it is servicing.

For instance, if you start a café that employs the less-fortunate and provides opportunities for training, engagement and employment for those that otherwise struggle with it, it will not do well if the coffee is terrible. It won’t do well if the food isn’t up to scratch, and it won’t do well if the service is no good.

What these remarkable, generous and understanding people bring to the table however is exactly that. They bring understanding of particular difficulties, they bring relationships with those in need, or people going through tough times. They bring an ability to connect with those who need a connection.

The real future of social enterprise, or social responsibility is the connection of these people with business people, people whose skills are business. The Just Be Nice Project is about connecting business with those who understand social responsibility. We need to let the business people grow enterprise with scale, and the socially responsible individuals need an avenue to grow and scale the positive impact they can have.

A successful cafe may just employ those less fortunate, if we have people to provide wrap-around support services to make it easy for the business to be involved. It allows the cafe to participate in making someones life better, if allows the social entrepreneur to focus on looking after the human element and challenges that come through employing disengaged individuals.

If you believe you can run a social enterprise… Run a business first. It is much easier to add social responsibility to a successful business with scale, than to find a way to create consistent revenue from good intentions. Social responsibility is a long game, long term consistency and scale is the key to enormous positive impact, not big ideas with poor execution.

There are already plenty of organisations with mission statements and bold ideas that fall well short of the mark before they fade into insignificance. With a non-profit for every 385 people in Australia alone, we could surely solve a large portion of the worlds problems by being more collaborative, consistent and accountable.

If you are a person with a big idea that is unsure how to execute, feel free to drop me a line to discuss how we can use your skills, in collaboration with another organisation to reach scale and achieve longevity and consistency in the field of social responsibility. Along the way we can reach more people, educate and inform those who are able to help and provide lasting impact across the globe.
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As always, Just Be Nice.
JOSHREIDJONES.COM

Missed Parties. Missed Weddings. Missed Dates. Late Nights. Early Mornings. Long Days. Emails. Emails...... More emails.

There is a lot of work and sacrifice that goes into doing what I do, its not glamorous, I don't live in a penthouse and drive a fancy car. But I do it because of this video below.* 

Last year I changed my defining metric of success from how much money I can accumulate, to how much I can do for others. Now, I am a business man, and I believe that the way to help the most people is through sustainable and successful business! The business still runs like any business, balance sheets, sales, marketing etc, but changing the metrics for me personally have allowed the freedom to make sure that we can create an environment that produces amazing moments like the ones below.

Rather than try to find ways to do everything myself (which I think is inefficient and not necessary) , I have teamed up with a whole bunch of charities who maintain relationships and deliver incredible results to at-risk and in need humans. This day we went out with Anonymous X who distribute clothing and essentials to rough sleepers in Melbourne.

This particular night, we connected Diane, a woman from the other side of the country, who had been a part of the #JBNProject by purchasing some apparel from Odin, with PJ, a rough sleeper who received new apparel from Odin.

It is amazing to see such gratitude and appreciation from both sides of the story, and through the course of a 10 minute conversation, Diane came to learn PJ's story and to see that homelessness can be the result of a whole myriad of reasons.

Its because of these moments, and the impact that we are able to have that I can keep up the amount of work required to reach even more people. And for that, I am grateful to Sean, PJ, Diane and everyone who's ongoing support makes this possible.

*A tear may have been shed in the editing of this video.

With so many people asking what they can do to help out with various causes, I have started the conversation about things to look at in the very beginning of your journey to just being nice!