If you are even remotely interested in business or investing, no doubt you’ve heard the phrase “the bottom line.” It’s a term that focuses on financial profits above all else.
For some people, monetary gains aren’t enough for self-fulfillment. On the other hand, others need a bigger incentive than just doing good deeds.
This is why the motto for the Residential Assisted Living Academy is “Do Good and Do Well.”
You can have it all. Your bottom line can actually be two-fold – you don’t have to sacrifice the concept of gaining wealth in order to express acts of kindness toward others.
You can have a double-bottom line.
WHAT IS THE DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE?
The double bottom line is a business strategy that marries financial profit to social responsibility.
Ordinarily, the bottom-line measures fiscal performance, financial profit and loss. The double bottom line measures the benefit of positive impact. It is a nonconventional approach of business that provides the ultimate sense of satisfaction.
The double bottom line focuses on more than just the return on investment: the initial cost compared to the amount generated.
The double bottom line considers both financial and social aspects of owning and operating a residential assisted living home before arriving at a business decision.
WHERE DID THE CONCEPT OF DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE COME FROM?
Jed Emerson and colleagues at the Harvard Business School coined the term “Double Bottom Line” in 2007. It initially started as terms called “blended value proposition” and “blended return on investments.”
Blended described the connection between financial considerations and social or environmental returns on an investment.
His work has now led to an investment trend called “socially responsible investment,” or holding a double bottom line.
Social entrepreneurs use the concept of the bottom line. When people use venture capital to make investments that are socially responsible to create positive social or environmental change, this is called a social entrepreneur.
Investors and owners of residential assisted living fit the description of social entrepreneurs because of the positive impact they have on senior housing.
THE MICROENTERPRISE ELEMENT OF RESIDENTIAL ASSISTED LIVING
It doesn’t require a major cooperation to make a huge impact, small residential assisted living homes do it every day as micro-businesses.
Microenterprises are small businesses that only need a few individuals to operate. They have become popular, particularly benefiting the residential assisted living industry.
Since micro-businesses can be opened for relatively small amounts of money, it is easier to connect investors with owners with unique repayment opportunities.
Investing and owning a residential assisted living business is a socially conscious approach to making money using the double bottom line approach.
HOW THE DOUBLE BOTTOM LINE IMPACTS MARKETING
There is a concept called “Cause Marketing” that motivates consumers to make purchases knowing that a portion of the proceeds will benefit a specific social agenda.
For example, Campbell’s soup places a pink breast cancer logo on the label and provides proceeds of the soup sale to breast cancer research. For this cause, consumers purchase the soup to make an impact.
Therefore, when marketing residential assisted living homes, owners and operators can use impact marketing to highlight the business benefits of providing quality care for senior living.
It helps the cause while also creating a positive impression about the assisted living industry.
CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL OF OWNING YOUR OWN ASSISTED LIVING HOME
The double bottom line looks at the return on investment from both a financial and a social perspective.
A double bottom line is about impact investing. The terminology boils down to assets, investments and financial returns, but also a social return.
Countless investors are seeking to funnel their revenue into social causes, save resources, or contribute to efforts that make society better.
Overall, it’s doing good while doing well.
Residential assisted living is the ultimate double bottom line business. It marries the opportunity and profitability within the senior housing market.
It’s an opportunity that’s only growing larger as the baby boomer demographic enters their senior years.
It also provides social impact and meets the demand for senior care in ways that traditional large senior facilities cannot.
Residential assisted living is about helping seniors thrive, not just survive. Learning more by visiting RALAcademy.
Some would call that sustainability or strategy; others would just call it smart.
