Monday Motivation: How Can I Make a Change?

Tired of your current job? Feel passionate about helping others or changing the world? Then be a social entrepreneur!

One of the great things we get to do in our work is travel, experiencing new cultures and meeting so many wonderful people. People with ideas and causes that are doing something about it. On a recent flight the gentleman next to me asked if I was Gray Swoope? Turns out he had met me at @IAMCGroup years ago. Today, he is working with the social entrepreneurial firm @4oceanBracelets that employs more than 150 people in multiple countries. Through the sale of bracelets, and other products, produced through recycled plastics 4ocean hires teams to remove trash from our oceans.  According to the company, each bracelet purchased will remove one pound of trash. Jobs and cleaning our oceans achieved through a single business model.

Another example is right here in #TLH, @RE3EYE Coffee. Their mantra is drink coffee locally, change lives globally. Not only does the company contract with small organic growers, it uses all its after-tax profits to invest in humanitarian causes. And it serves a great cup of coffee.

The last example, @CharityWater, is one I reference often when talking about the importance of metrics. Scott Harrison, CEO and founder, has done an amazing job of building support by showing results. In 2017, Charity Water funded water projects to serve 1.8 million people. According to them nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide live without clean water. Access means education, income and a healthy well-being.

Building a vibrant community requires thinking holistically. An old approach to business formation was to set up a business incubator and help nurture someone with a business idea. Today, it can start with a cause, then build a business around it for support. Need #MondayMotivation.  Start with, “How can I make a change?”