The real meaning of social enterprise

In this week's post, i am just going to talk about what the title suggests, my opinions on the real meaning of social enterprise.

After reading an article about it, I feel that there should be a need the term social enterprise to be properly defined, to ensure that the term is not misused.
In the article, it shows an example of how companies can misuse the term social enterprise, and damaging the reputation of the industry in the process. It is "wholly misleading and threatens the real social enterprises sector's future" (the guardian, 2012).

In my opinion, a company or organization should have a few criteria, in order to name themselves social enterprise.

1) I feel that the organization should be socially-driven, the purpose of the company should be to achieve or address a social problem, and not for profit-maximization.

2) The company should have a social mission or social impact that can be measured, and should be used as the measurement of their success, rather than their profits.

3) The company should be self sustainable, they should not be relying on the goodwill or donations to operate.

4) The company should be providing a service or product, that defines it as a business, which makes it a social enterprise.

These four points above are, in my opinion, what social enterprises should be. I feel that it is important to clearly define what social enterprises are, to prevent confusion and any exploitation by some organizations.
References

The Guardian, (August, 29, 2012). The real meaning of social enterprises. Retrieved 16 November 2012 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/aug/29/real-meaning-social-enterprise