Small Business, Big Change: A Microentrepreneur's Guide to Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has long dominated the conversation on the commitment of business to the environment, consumer and employee well-being, and the health and welfare of local communities where it operates. The dialogue increasingly includes small- and medium-sized businesses-- but we still rarely think of the solopreneur or microentrepreneur as having a tangible stake.

It's time for the conversation about sustainability and social responsibility to go beyond CSR.

Small Business, Big Change: A Microentrepreneur's Guide to Social Responsibility by Susan Chambers is one of the first books developed just for solopreneurs and microbusiness owners on how to incorporate socially responsible and sustainable business practices. Written specifically for the "little shop," this indispensable book offers practical and effective approaches to implementing and tracking socially responsible initiatives related to: operational and management practices; business networks and communities; vendors and contractors; customers and employees; and shareholders and investors.

If you've ever felt you lacked the time, money, or resources to adopt sweeping changes, or if you think you're too small to make a difference, Small Business, Big Change shows how you can have a real social impact with a few tweaks and changes coupled with a deep-seated belief in a better way of doing business.

What's Inside:

• A comprehensive social responsibility (S-R) strategy-- with an emphasis on social, environmental, and economic impacts.
• A detailed S-R Assessment Process-- evaluate the feasibility of undertaking a set of S-R measures and the associated expenses and benefits.
• An incremental approach to implementation-- learn the types of S-R practices that can be put in place in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term.
• A tracking system for measuring impact and success.
• Detailed case studies in every chapter of microentrepreneurs that are successful in adopting S-R strategies.
• Illuminating interviews of 21 solopreneurs and microentrepreneurs from a diverse range of industries, such as eco-retail, tech and computer recycling, LEED and energy consulting, web and mobile development, consumer products, and food service and catering.
• Lists of online resources, apps, books, and other materials that support microentrepreneurs along their path to becoming socially sustainable businesses.