We recently connected with Rasheda Weaver and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rasheda, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I hope my legacy will be of a woman that broke generational traumas in her own family while maximizing generational blessings and then teaching other people to do the same through social entrepreneurship and multidimensional human development.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! My name is Dr. Rasheda L. Weaver and I am the Founder and CEO of Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory (WSED), a company that teaches people how to make money and do good with it. Specifically, WSED offers books, training programs, and coaching services for social entrepreneurs, people that created businesses that address a social cause.

We were recently selected by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Global Leaders – African Descent Social Entrepreneurship Network to create innovations and social enterprises that advance economic and social prosperity in the United States and beyond.

My new book “Social Entrepreneurship: A Practical Introduction” is a best-selling new release on Amazon and is being used by social entrepreneurs and universities globally. It educates readers on the world of opportunities and strategies in social entrepreneurship.

WSED’s signature program is a 5-day intensive training program “Ready, Set, Launch: Social Enterprise Bootcamp” that trains social entrepreneurs to:
– Solidify the relationship between their social mission and economic sustainability
– Utilize techniques for discovering and increasing their customer base
– Develop a recurring revenue system
– Examine different pathways for launching (online vs offline vs both)
– Outline a checklist and action plan to launch or expand their business by the end of the five days.

While my clients love the bootcamp, the coaching sessions have increasingly been a hit! My coaching sessions differ from other business coaching programs because I coach on topics like spirit-care and self-care, the entrepreneurial mindset, and how both relate to the entrepreneur’s business and overall well-being.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have been working as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the last 4 years and have been integral to the development of Iona University’s Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

I was the only faculty member for the institute (normally departments have somewhere between 5 and 15) so the requests for me to engage in the many new initiatives being launched, in addition to teaching 4 classes per semester and doing research were beyond demanding. In addition, I was unhappy with my work environment, and it took a toll on my health. I am normally a slim, athletic build person naturally, yet gained almost 50lbs from stress.

In June 2022, I walked away from Iona and decided to grow Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory, a company I started in 2018 and tinkered with on the side. In July, I launched my first live and virtual “Ready, Set, Launch: Social Enterprise Bootcamp” and it was amazing! I knew the experience would be great, but it turned out to be more epic than I envisioned even though it was virtual. I started designing a live bootcamp in Florence, Italy which will happen in July 2023. Learn more about it and consider registering at www.socialenterprisedirectory.com.

My book “Social Entrepreneurship: A Practical Introduction” was published on December 15, 2022. It immediately hit Amazon’s best-selling new release list! Then, my coaching services started taking off and in March 2022 I was invited to join the Biden-Harris Administration’s Global Leaders – African Descent Social Entrepreneurship Network. What an honor! This year-long program enables me to work with over 100 social entrepreneurs of African descent from 25 countries to develop innovations and social enterprises.

This is just the beginning for WSED and I am honestly amazed by how I am personally and professionally flourishing after leaving my faculty position. Seeing my services take off has been incredibly fulfilling. In addition, I lost 25lbs so far and have not been sick since leaving my job (I kept getting different kinds of stress-related illnesses as a faculty member). My vision for WSED is for it to be the go-to global resource for training social entrepreneurs while also enabling me to live a holistically healthy life on my own terms.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson that I had to learn in life and in business is that I cannot make other people love or believe in themselves. As an optimistic, confident, and positive person, I naturally attract all kinds of people, but especially people that desire feeling that way as well. However, I cannot literally give these qualities to someone else.

I can help them unlock their gifts, skills, and embrace their desires. I can educate and inspire them. However, I cannot run a business for them. I cannot attend conferences for them. I cannot force them to exercise and eat healthy so their minds can be sharp enough to run their business. I also cannot force them to set aside the finances needed to invest in their training, appearance, and well-being so they can thrive as an entrepreneur.

Thus, I have learned not to spend much time engaging with people that are interested in what I do and have ideas about what they want to do, but that have no genuine intention to act on their ideas and dreams.

Doing so is not only a waste of my time, but it’s also a drain of my energy. I coach my social entrepreneurs in spirit and soul care. A part of my own spirit and soul care is to develop an invisible force field around myself that enables me to not engage with people that have no desire to do the great work that I am training people to do.

I need to save my energy for the serious social entrepreneurs, myself, and my beautiful family. This does not mean that they are bad people. It just means that I know the qualities of my target customers and act accordingly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.socialenterprisedirectory.com and www.rashedaweaver.com
• Instagram: @rashedaweaver_phd and @socialenterprisedirectory
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasheda-weaver-phd-1a842b1a4/

Image Credits
Thank you for Charissa H. Yong Photography for these amazing images.