Business With Purpose

Do you have an item or two (or seven) in your closet that you’ve held on to for a long time and you’re not sure why? It doesn’t fit or it’s out of style but it holds some type of significant meaning to you… whether we realize it or not… a lot of our identity, personal history, and even sometimes our self-esteem can have a significant connection to what’s hanging in our closet… we hold onto things that maybe… just maybe we should let go of. 3:50 – The Essense 101 As a child, Essense wanted to rebel against being dressed in the same outfits as her sister. Once she found her first job in retail she took full advantage of her 30% employee discount and she began to cultivate her own style. In college, Essense started to define and explore her own style, but worried people would only know her for clothing. She wanted to be known for her personality as well. Today, Essense fully embraces her personal style as a way to show others who she is. While working as a paralegal, Essense’s style would attract attention from

Corretta Scott King was quoted as saying "The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." Sometimes, when we think about community, we focus solely on our neighbors. Yes, we should be participants in our community, but we should also think about community in a broader sense. Consider our online community, our ancestral community, and those with whom we share a nationality. Today's guest is Haitian American Vanessa Fleury, the founder and director of Carl's Village.She's taken the idea of impacting her community to the next level by starting a nonprofit. To visit the Business With Purpose website, click the link: https://www.stillbeingmolly.com/2019/06/12/business-purpose-podcast-vanessa-fleury/

How do you approach tragedy? What do you do when the bad things come in life? How do you handle pain, sorrow, and sadness? Today's guest used a period of suffering to make herself better, give herself strength to carry on, and inspire others to do the same. Nancy Solari is the founder, creator, and host of Living Full Out. She wants to encourage you to overcome disappointments and strive for your goals. This is her unique story. To visit the Business With Purpose website, click the link: https://www.stillbeingmolly.com/2019/06/05/business-with-purpose-podcast-ep-144-nancy-solari/

This episode is for the guys. When it comes to fashion and style, what's your perspective? Do you have a personal style, or do you go through the motions each morning. Additionally, what do you think of ethical fashion? Do you think it only applies to women, or does it resonate with you. Let's be honest, in the ethical fashion realm, the voices are primarily female. On today's episode, we'll hear from one of the men on the frontlines in the ethical fashion industry. Garik Himebaugh is the Chief Stylist and founder at Eco-Stylist. He joins us to help you revamp your style while shopping with a purpose. Things You Don't Want To Miss: 3:09 - The Garik 101 Eco-Stylist is a marketplace for ethically and sustainably-made men's clothes. Garik shares how his journey into this space began with his first foray into men's fashion. Garik's girlfriend suggested he wasn't well-dressed, and he began to see that fashion enabled him to represent his best self. His dream was to be an entrepreneur. Specifically, he wanted to b

In the last year, I've been open in sharing about my faith journey and it's impact on my life. Through grief, my faith has been stretched and grown, and through scripture, my faith has been transformed. However, memorizing scripture can be a challenge. Meet Vera Schmitz, the founder of Dwell. Dwell is a membership service that helps people to connect with God through scripture verse memory. On today's podcast, we'll examine how Dwell profoundly changed the way I view scripture and scripture memorization. Things You Don't Want To Miss: 4:17 - The Vera 101 Vera spent most of her life training as an athlete. In middle school, she fell in love with track and field. She trained in pole vault, and she attributes her faith in God to keeping her rooted along the journey. Scripture kept Vera focused and in tune with God as she competed. She found scripture memorization to be a helpful tool, and as her competition got bigger, she turned to those verses to deepen her faith. Vera trained to become a part of the U.S. Oly

It's no secret we live in a time of heightened social tension. There are issues all around us we're inundated with through the media and around the dinner table. It's overwhelming to consider how we should address issues including racism, foster care reform, recidivism rates, and healthcare. Today's guest is tackling these issues with a unique kind of ammunition: human-centered design. Durell Coleman is the founder of DC Design, a social impact design firm that uses human-centered design to fix some of the world's greatest challenges. Things You Don't Want To Miss: 3:00 - The Durell 101 Durell starts with his childhood and shares of his upbringing in Texas. His passion for design goes all the way back. He told his mom he wanted to be an inventor at the age of eight, and he made grand plans to own his own company. Durell's brother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when Durell was nine. His brother fought the disease for five long years, and he even played varsity soccer and graduated high school. Howev

In the last year, big brands like Nike, Athleta, and J.Crew have entered the fair trade industry. It's a big win for the fair trade movement, but it leaves small business owners with daunting challengers. Mom-and-pop shops are no match for companies like Target. No longer is it enough to market the story of your artisans and expect to generate revenue. If you want to compete, you must put your customer first. In my keynote address at the Fair Trade Federation Conference in Austin, I challenged business owners to reconsider how they position their organizations in the fair trade space. This is what I had to say... Things You Don't Want To Miss: A Crazy Dream 1:17 - In the next 25 years, I want the term fair trade to cease to exist. I want ethically-made products to become so much the norm that the term "fair trade" is no longer needed. The Power Of Persistence 1:45 - When I was about eight and 1/2 years old, I took it upon myself to look out for the other children in my neighborhood. Our neighborhood didn't

Ethical issues surrounding the jewelry industry are often vague and misunderstood. Movies like Blood Diamond examine these problems, but we need to go deeper to fully understand the ethical issues surrounding gold and diamond purchases. Marc Choyt is the president of Reflective Jewelry. He joins us to answer all of your questions on ethical jewelry and show you how your jewelry purchases impact lives around the world. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest 1:25 - Marc Choyt is the president of Reflective Jewelry, the first and only Fairtrade certified gold jewelry in the United States. He initiated the first ethical jewelry blog in 2006 which eventually evolved into Fair Jewelry Action, a human rights and environmental justice network. The Marc 101 3:20 - Marc's wife was a self-taught jeweler. In 1995, he started driving around the country and trying to sell her handiwork. At the time, he was also funding ecological preservation, and an epiphany in his preservation efforts gave him new awareness

The minutia associated with owning a small business can be excruciating. Especially if you run a non-profit, you're probably more interested in your passion than you are managing day-to-day activity. Today's guest is Stephanie Skryzowski, the founder and CEO of 100 Degrees Consulting. As an expert in management and finance, she equips motivated organizations to execute their vision while managing organizational operations. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest 1:40 - Stephanie Skryzowski is the founder and CEO of 100 Degrees Consulting. 100 Degrees Consulting helps purpose-driven leaders better understand and use their financials to make smart decisions for their organizations, so that they can do more and serve more. The Stephanie 101 5:03- Stephanie just new she was going to become a lawyer. She'd read every John Grisham book, and she majored in Political Science. After college, she even lined up a job at a massive law firm in New York City. However, she quickly realized she was in the wrong

We often hear on the news how we're a divided nation. Tensions run high as political, racial, and cultural divisions lead to hate, prejudice, and fear. Amidst the turmoil, one woman in an under-resourced community in Detroit, Michigan is taking small steps toward creating meaningful, cross-cultural relationships and bridging the divide. Rebecca Smith is the founder of Better Life Bags, a company that seeks to provide economic opportunities for women who might otherwise face barriers to employment. This is her story. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest. 1:20 - Rebecca Smith is the founder of Better Life Bags. Better Life Bags is a custom handbag company located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan. Every bag is hand-sewn by a woman from their under-resourced community. Your purchase gives these women the opportunity to excel at a skill and provide for their families. Click the video below to learn more of Rebecca's story. The Rebecca 101. 10:30 Better Life Bags will celebrate its tenth birthday

Join me for a special edition of the podcast as we feature exciting moments from the Fair Trade Federation Conference in Austin, Texas. I'll recap my favorite stories, brands, and personalities from the week. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Llenay Ferretti, Acting CEO Of Ten Thousand Villages. 2:41- Llenay Ferretti has been involved in fair trade for years. She gave a presentation outlining the research surrounding consumer markets as well as the information gap between the consumer's understanding of fair trade and what they value. Reshaping The Story. 3:28 - Llenay discuses Ten Thousand Villages' efforts to bring its mission into the modern age. They created the Maker to Market Movement, and they now encourage consumers to connect to ten thousand villages around the world. Liz Bohannon, Founder Of Sseko Designs.    5:00 - Liz Bohannon encourages us to use design thinking to build better businesses and in turn, a better world. The Myth Of Preparation. 5:56 - The idea that we can perfectly design a prod

It seems like out of nowhere, eating healthy has suddenly become trendy. People like to talk about eating Organic and Non-GMO foods. It's funny because our grandparents and ancestors did this for years, yet somehow, it's come onto the scene as this trendy, new concept. Regardless, our guest today wanted to make clean, healthy food more accessible. Join us as we speak with Kat Eckles, the founder of Clean Juice. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest. 1:08 - Kat Eckles is the founder of Clean Juice. It's the only USDA certified organic juice bar in the country. She joins us to discuss how her homemade smoothies and juices inspired the idea of opening a juice bar in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Kat 101. 2:30 - Kat is a mom of five, and she wants to create a healthy home for her children. As a young mom, she researched healthy foods, looking for ways to make green smoothies a bit tastier. She quickly discovered you could disguise the taste of spinach in a smoothie by adding a banana and some blue

Maybe you want to get into ethical fashion, but you're not sure where to start. Meet Amy Ann Cadwell, the Co-Founder and CEO of The Good Trade. The Good Trade is a digital media and lifestyle brand publication that covers sustainable fashion. Amy Ann joins us to tell her story and share with you how your purchases can truly work toward alleviating poverty and suffering for marginalized communities. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest. 1:19 - Amy Ann Cadwell is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Good Trade. She founded The Good Trade in Los Angeles in 2014. It's a digital media and lifestyle brand publication that covers sustainable fashion and lifestyle. The Amy Ann 101. 2:45 - Amy Ann first pursued social change as an academic interest. She studied development economics and along the way became interested in micro-finance and entrepreneurship as sustainable solutions for poverty alleviation. As a result, she received her master's degree in social entrepreneurship. During this time, Amy Ann watche

At ten years old, most of us were exploring the outdoors, riding bikes, and maybe playing with dolls or legos. However, today's guest was busy growing his family's business; Perkins Orchard. Join us as we interview Donovan Alexander Watson about the importance of buying local, supporting local farmers, and connecting the community with farm fresh produce. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest. 00:42 - Donovan Alexander "Alex" Watson is the owner and CEO of Perkins Orchard. It's a family business he took over when he was just ten years old. Perkins Orchard is that largest and oldest fruit stand in Durham, North Carolina. Alex transformed his grandfather's fruit stand into a full-fledged business. He's here to share his story. The Alex 101. 4:08 - Alex's grandfather started Perkins Orchard started as a roadside produce market in 1970. However, his grandfather also pastored the Apex First Baptist Church, and around 2004, he started a divinity school within the church. The fruit stand proved to be

We often contemplate the origins of our clothes and shoes, but purchasing with purpose even includes notepads, sticky notes, pens, and paper. Jillian Ryan is the founder of the Marie Mae Company. She joins us to discuss the tremendous social impact you can have by purchasing items as simple as office supplies. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest. 00:54 - Jillian Ryan is the Founder and Creator of the Marie Mae Company. Her company provides invaluable business training for entrepreneurs around the world. By purchasing Marie Mae's office supply products, you're contributing to the education of students at the Marie Mae Business School. The Jillian 101. 8:30 - Jane grew up in Texas where she graduated from Texas A&M. She ended up working in Washington D.C. for ten years with an international business consulting firm. She was a political risk consultant, and she helped businesses overseas to navigate the nuances and risks associated with business in an emerging market. A Change In Direction.

Charity doesn't end poverty. Jobs do. Resources and money give you freedom; the give you dignity. Charity is important, but work is empowering. Jane Mosbacher Morris joins us to discuss how job access could end global poverty. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Meet Today's Guest. 1:22 - Jane Mosbacher Morris is Founder and CEO of TO THE MARKET. She's also the author of the newly released book, Buy The Change You Want To See. TO THE MARKET connects consumers and businesses to ethically made products from around the world. It partners with businesses that offer a safe work environment for women who have been exploited in the sex trade or who are vulnerable to human trafficking. The Jane 101. 3:29 - Jane shares her belief that every person has a purpose as well as her passion for promoting the dignity of work. Her career started in the U.S. Department Of State, and she spent a lot of time around people who lacked control over their own destiny. She wanted to create opportunity for these individuals, and she disc

The Marie Kondo craze has swept the nation with her new show on Netflix, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. A good purge can be cathartic, but what will become of your things that don't "spark joy?"  Give your clean-up a purpose, and consider how you'll develop new habits amidst your clutter-free lifestyle. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Who Is Marie Kondo?  00:00 - Okay, most of you are familiar with Marie Kondo. Perhaps you've even tried tidying up, but in case you've missed the craze, Marie Kondo is a Japanese organizational consultant. She's got her own show on Netflix, and she helps people to declutter their homes while sparking joy in their lives along the way. She wrote a New York Times Best Seller, and she's even appeared on Ellen. A Few Statistics On Your Clothes. 2:23 - According to the EPA, Greenpeace, The New York Times, and a few other resources, more than 15 million tons of used textile waste is generated each year in the United States. In other words, we throw away a lot of clothes in this country

The Fair Trade Federation is an association that works to elevate and strengthen fair trade partners in the United States and Canada. It's a key partner in the global fair trade movement. On this edition of the podcast, we catch up with the organization's executive director, Chris Solt. Things You Don't Want To Miss: Come To The Fair Trade Federation Conference!  1:20 - I'm going to be speaking at the Fair Trade Federation Conference in Austin, Texas in March. If you live in the area, you need to come check it out. There will be all sorts of speakers, fair trade organizations showing their wares, breakout sessions, and much more. For more information, visit fairtradefederation.org. The Chris 101. 3:45 - Chris takes us all the way back to the beginning and shares the story of his upbringing in Vermont and Ohio. Chris' father was a band director, and he grew up learning to play the drums, bass, guitar, piano, and many other instruments. He was even in a band, and he just knew he'd become a musician. He chose

I do not have a green thumb. The past few years, I’ve tried to start a garden in my backyard and it almost always ends up overrun with weeds, or one year all of my cucumbers ended up just eating everything else in my garden. I had no less than 50 cucumbers that year, and then the next year I wasn’t able to grow anything, then the next year I tried to grow things with plants, and maybe had a couple of jalapeños. But for the most part, every year, my garden has turned into a big flop. I really wish I could garden, I really want to learn how to garden. So, this year we’re going to try again, we’re going to do some raised beds, planted some fruit trees, got some blueberry bushes that maybe will give us some blueberries. We’ve got a blackberry bush, we’re trying. My guest today, took the idea of a garden in her backyard, and decided she no longer wanted to just feed her family, she wanted to feed her entire community on the south side of Chicago. What was once a small idea that she had, is now a full fledged dream

Let’s pretend for a second that you have a dream of starting an ethical fashion brand. You want to start this brand, you know the designs in your head, you have a clear vision for it, but you have no idea where to start when it comes to the manufacturing component. You look online, you do some Google searches, and you find factories literally all over the world, and you have no idea if they’re ethical or not, you have no idea what these factories might look like, you have no idea what the process is like. What if there was a way to make it easier for people  want to manufacture their clothes ethically? What if there was a way that you could know for sure that these factories are vetted, they’re legit, they’re clean, they’re ethical, workers are working in clean, and safe conditions. What if there was a way you could have all of that taken care of you. My guest this week is Jessica Kelly, the founder of Thr3efold. It is a platform to help you build your ethical, and sustainable fashion brand. EXPERIENCING SYST