Why Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

In 2015, 193 world leaders got brainstorming and came up with a list of 17 major issues facing humanity. Covering everything from saving the whales to ending world hunger, Global Goals is basically a to-do-list for us humans to execute and put the world back in working order.

And here comes the crazy part… The deadline is the year 2030.

When I tell people that I have a goal to be a part of a global initiative to end hunger and poverty by the year 2030 one of two things happen;

ONE. They look at me like I have escaped from San Quentin and slowly back away excusing themselves, muttering to wander off, refill their drink or feed their cat. Or…

TWO. They slightly tilt their head to one side and ponder. Is she totally crazy or are 193 world leaders, Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Usain Bolt and Obama onto something?

So besides the killer party ‘We Fixed the World’ in the year 2030, that is going to make new years eve 1999 look like a shindig at a nursing home, what does being part of the global goals mean and how does it have anything to do with creating a brand?

Giving back. One for one. The one -percent pledge. I’m sure that you have heard these terms being thrown around. Businesses that have decided to build giving back into their DNA. Pledging product, time or money from their bottom line. But Why?

Well usually it starts with the founder. The gift every great entrepreneur has is seeing a problem not as a hopeless situation but as an opportunity to create a solution. To change an industry, reimagine the way we live, disrupt and disassemble the way things are and make them better. It is that same thinking that usually leads to the next question… WHY?

Why should I be able to create vast wealth while people on the other side of the planet cannot afford to eat? Why should I keep consuming with no thought of how this is affecting the planet? And then the second great ingredient of any great entrepreneur kicks in… that crazy, bonkers vision of… well… let’s change it.

And the world is changing. You can literally travel from one side of the earth to the other in 24 hours, while just 70 years ago it would have taken the better part of three months. The internet has truly made us a global community and the up and coming generation are kickass. They are connected, tech savvy, fearless, mutherFu**ers. They expect more and they are your future consumers and employees. They are the future of your business.

We already hear so much chat about how connecting with Gen Z is sooo hard, they don’t consume or respond to marketing as previous generations have. They don’t want to stay in a job for the next 25 years, battling away to finally get their long service leave… NOPE! They want a job that makes them feel like they are living their purpose and making a dent in the universe. And if you are doing your job as great leader – you will create more leaders, not followers.

I believe that the future of business and giving is shifting. I believe that not only will your consumers come to expect that your business is creating a positive impact in the world, but your employees too. And as we have all been the ‘one man band’ startup at some stage… We know you need a kickass team, to create a kickass business.

So when I meet those non-believers, who slowly back away and think I’m some sort of mental person, it makes me all the more sure I’m on the right path. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who will.