A call to action for everyday people to build businesses and initiatives that make a difference in the world.

In The Greater Good, award-winning social entrepreneur Madeleine Shaw presents an inspiring look at how visionary individuals can use their personal values and vision to launch and grow world-changing ventures. She dispels the myth that you need a business degree or a blockbuster tech idea to start a successful enterprise, arguing that passion, a willingness to step into one's personal power, and strong relationships are what propel social entrepreneurs forward.

Part memoir and part empowering manifesto and how-to guide, The Greater Good is woven through with Shaw's success story as co-founder of Lunapads, a privately held company whose sustainable menstrual care products are sold in more than 40 countries.

An invitation to women, minorities, and other marginalized individuals who may not see themselves as belonging in the business world, The Greater Good shows readers how to map and mine their own experience and core values, with creative exercises and prompts to formulate a vision for change. Using established self-discovery methods designed to draw out readers' strengths, skills, and passions, Shaw also reveals how to work through self-limiting perceptions, and provides a primer on basic business fundamentals to help readers identify and remedy their own knowledge gaps.

Finally, the author challenges the notion that social impact can only be enacted through non-profit entities, or that making money is somehow contrary to the greater good. No margin, no mission" is her mantra.

Most existing books on social entrepreneurship focus on business strategies, beating back the competition, and achieving celebrity status. In contrast, The Greater Good takes a more personal look at how people can change the world through capitalist enterprise, uncovering the emotional drive within each of us to build the world of our dreams through vision, courage, and collaboration.

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Madeleine Shaw's profile page

Madeleine Shaw is an award-winning social entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience launching both for- and non-profit ventures with a social change agenda at their heart. At age 25 she founded Aisle (previously Lunapads), whose groundbreaking sustainable menstrual care products are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide. Shaw went on to establish United Girls of the World Society, a charity, and G Day, a national rite of passage celebration series for adolescent girls, and Nestworks, a family-friendly co-working community. She lives near Vancouver, BC, with her husband and daughter.