This is a part of a series of posts written by entrepreneurs of the Fall 2020 Business Accelerator cohort for EforAll Cape Cod.
by Vanessa Bishop of My Forever Village
Today’s session on Social Impact was so much more than just a class. It was a cohort bonding experience, healing therapy space, as well as strategy session. The session started with a meditation, which unbeknownst to us, put everyone in the right mood to leave the logistical thinking of planning a business behind and get more in touch with our deeper thoughts, values, and beliefs.
During the session, each entrepreneur dove deeper into their whys, probably more deeper than we had ever articulated out loud. And what came out of this discussion not only allowed us to return to the foundation of why we chose to become entrepreneurs, but why we chose our service or product. Our cohort is diverse in many ways not only personally but also with the business ideas that we are pursuing — ranging from businesses pursuing music endeavors to nonprofits supporting veterans. However, many common threads around our “whys” continually surfaced including a desire to contribute to the building of a community that we had or needed at some point in our life as well many of us who made decisions to step out on faith for work that we loved..
This conversation led us to a larger discussion, strategizing about how we would ensure that our “whys’ continue to ground us and stay foundational as we make decisions on building out, running and communicating about our businesses. We were in agreement that social impact shouldn’t just be something that you do for accolades or as a promotion, but it should be something deeply impeded in who you are as a business.
As I move deeper into my work with My Forever Village, this is a class that I will keep at the forefront of my mind. I truly believe that vulnerability and passion that was displayed connected our cohort in a way that we wouldn’t have imagined and also created the space for us to return to the humble beginnings of this journey. I am eager to see where this journey takes us all.
