Theodora & Other African Social Impact Program Update - Part Three

Continuing our update on all things Theodora and Social Impact

Short-Term Goals 

For Theodora:

Our day-to-day operations are finally solid. Our current cash flow is strong enough that even if we lost a couple of clients, we would not be thrown into cash flow negative situation. So the goals I have set for this year are: 

• Pay down all the debt that we took on to cover us during the development years and the recent cash flow negative years. To accomplish this goal, we would have to not have a client loss set back like we've had in the past. But if we can avoid that, it is doable.

• Get a working new business development/lead generation system launched so the business can free itself from dependence on me.

•  Find some kind of mentoring/coaching for M so she can develop and grow as a manager and leader, and not have to learn everything OJT and the 'hard way'.

•  Add sufficient new clients that we can hire the women who are currently in training.

• Get the Rotary Club of Accra Spintex to take Theodora on as one of its long-term projects.

For EDI:

 

 We finally have a beta test with an organization that provides a model for replication. 

•  We need to have success in getting this model up and running. Knowing as I do the obstacles you face doing these things, I know it will not be easy.

•  Find at least one other similar situation, hopefully two, with which we can test the model. A population of one is too small to provide data on how to build something scalable. 

• Secure funding from the club to handle seed funding for those in the program building businesses.

• Develop a model for paying the volunteers that are providing the critical knowledge to make the program work. 

For de-I:

 

Over the last six months, I have successfully divested myself of virtually every bit of operational detail related to both projects. This has been shown by:

•  The training grant for Theodora that was developed and is being executed with virtually no involvement by me.

• My total non-involvement in any day-to-day activities at the virtual assistant business.

• My lack of involvement in any of the detail related to the new EDI project.

What I am getting to do is deals, putting together the various players in a way to make projects come to life. And if you know my past business career, you know that his is putting me in my sweet spot, the spot where I can be engaged in an extremely valuable way, but am not doing anything that sucks energy out of me. So this year, I want to show that I can put more of these 'deals' together that drive the mission forward.