The Capitalism for Good Podcast is all about how we make and spend our money to benefit the greater good (and how that benefits us right back). We are on a mission to do 100 business interviews with business leaders about how they are using their businesses, both small and large, to make a positive difference in their internal and external communities. This is the intersection of money, time, energy, and bandwidth considering how to balance these for now and for the future.
Capitalism for Good is all about community, giveback, business, leaders, founders, owners...you know just folks using business to give back to the communities, prioritize employees, build better culture, make and use sustainable materials, encourage intentional consumerism, and more.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism. We love talking about using capitalism for good.
Capitalism for Good talks to business leaders about how they got to where they are, what drives them to make decisions that prioritize people, advice and examples of why supporting community supports the business back, and the impact that business has on the greater community. Then we end with a final question, "who is another business or leader that you see doing things the right way that deserves a shout out," because we believe in recognizing the hard work and intentional decisions of others, even if it's our competition. Because that's what makes us all better. That's how we build better community. That's using Capitalism for Good.
This show is supported by Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood where you’ll gain access to bonus videos, episodes, and extra goodies as a thank you for your support.
Capitalism for Good has a touchy feely introspective sister project called Bittersweet Paradox all about how the darkest of times and the lightest of times can exist simultaneously through both a Writing Club and a Podcast. The Capitalism for Green project puts the lessons learned in Capitalism for Good into action in real time.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | BioSite | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions | Transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Capitalism for Good Podcast is all about how we make and spend our money to benefit the greater good (and how that benefits us right back). We are on a mission to do 100 business interviews with business leaders about how they are using their businesses, both small and large, to make a positive difference in their internal and external communities. This is the intersection of money, time, energy, and bandwidth considering how to balance these for now and for the future.
Capitalism for Good is all about community, giveback, business, leaders, founders, owners...you know just folks using business to give back to the communities, prioritize employees, build better culture, make and use sustainable materials, encourage intentional consumerism, and more.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism. We love talking about using capitalism for good.
Capitalism for Good talks to business leaders about how they got to where they are, what drives them to make decisions that prioritize people, advice and examples of why supporting community supports the business back, and the impact that business has on the greater community. Then we end with a final question, "who is another business or leader that you see doing things the right way that deserves a shout out," because we believe in recognizing the hard work and intentional decisions of others, even if it's our competition. Because that's what makes us all better. That's how we build better community. That's using Capitalism for Good.
This show is supported by Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood where you’ll gain access to bonus videos, episodes, and extra goodies as a thank you for your support.
Capitalism for Good has a touchy feely introspective sister project called Bittersweet Paradox all about how the darkest of times and the lightest of times can exist simultaneously through both a Writing Club and a Podcast. The Capitalism for Green project puts the lessons learned in Capitalism for Good into action in real time.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | BioSite | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions | Transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
He quickly admits that he could take or leave real estate. It’s just a vehicle for him to encourage others to fill their best shoes. That got me intrigued. I had more questions. Most people I speak with lead with their jobs (as do many of us when asked “what do you do?”). What sticks out the most to me about Dan is the way in which he views the world. It all comes back to being a teacher and a coach even when the environment looks a little different. At one point, he was a teacher in a classroom. At one point he was a coach to a team of kids. Now, he’s a combo teacher & coach to real estate agents helping them evolve and grow as humans. At the end of the day, that really sticks out: he treats people like humanism, he values people as humans, and he works hard to make a positive impact on his fellow humans. And if that’s not the real through-line and generality that I should be adopting to replace my outdated gendered one, then I don’t know what is.
We also talk about the value of grit. In his words, “you can’t lead anyone through anything that you haven’t experienced yourself.” This line makes me think about how many of the folks we’ve talked with thus far have had really varied backgrounds that involve big career swings between focuses. These folks talk about how they’ve made mistakes and learned from the dead ends they’ve hit along the way. They talk about the times they faced challenges and unexpected events that preempted life pivots. The folks in the Capitalism for Good crew all have grit that helps them persevere and charge forward even when it’s not easy, even when they feel like failures, and even when they’re making decisions that most CFOs would tell them to absolutely not do. These experiences and the boldness to move through them gives them know-how to help lead others through their own challenges. When you’ve walked through the fire to come out on the other side, then you can be the proof that it’s possible and help guide the next person through. It’s no wonder he’s a good coach. No matter what he’s doing.
And speaking of what he’s doing…it’s a lot and nothing at all. It’s big dreams like a big outdoor adult playground in Colorado where people can gather, connect, and play. It’s also the quiet moments that he now allows himself where he can sit. Appreciate nature. Breathe. And dream. Dream about that big outdoor playground in Colorado and how he’s going to make it become a reality. There’s power in the quiet moments that we allow ourselves when we’re not caught up in the noise and busyness of life. The world is chaotic. Life is unexpected. But there’s calm on the other side of the fire. There’s quiet in the mornings in the Rocky Mountains where his hard work got him. There’s wisdom in the grit. There’s another example for us all of how to use our positions and the way we make our dollars, to have a positive impact on the people and the world around us.
Shout out to:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Even though there are just a couple resources listed in this episode, I don't feel right about gatekeeping it, so here's a not-so-fun bonus Between the Interviews episode for all.
Episodes Referenced:
If you or anyone you know is looking for help or to help, start with your local Community Foundation or United Way. Regardless of where you live, they’ll be the experts on what is available for those that are looking for help, gaps in services that need to be filled, and can recommend where the largest needs might currently be.
P.S. No need to bring critical comments related to the example used. If you think it's a bunch of BS that people will be negatively impacted, please read the room (and also see my repeated quote in episode 2 of Capitalism for Green that I steal from one of my favorite podcasters, Karen Kilgariff). Constructive comments are encouraged for discussion. Because it takes a collection of great brains from different backgrounds to truly solve problems well.
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hey folks. I promise to be real quick here. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to use capitalism for good as the name of the project suggests by putting all the lessons I’ve learned from the leaders I’ve interviewed so far into action. I’ve also been thinking a lot about how much the need in our community is likely to continue to increase in the coming months. So in the spirit of using capitalism for good, I’m officially launching a give back program. To kick it all off, I’ll donate 50% of all dollars from Patreon memberships split between Feeding America because they have a national reach and address food insecurity and then a charity of choice by the Patreon members so we funnel some money to somewhere near & dear to you all.
So, if that sounds like something you want to get on board with, we’ve got a few options for you to join on Patreon. Bittersweet Paradox has a Writing Club and a podcast. That’s your touchy feely thinking writing personal project.
Capitalism for Good has 2 podcast series, one exclusive to Patreon members and some early releases. That’s 100 interviews with business leaders making a positive impact on their community.
Capitalism for Green has early release video episodes and a Patreon exclusive blog. That’s where I put what I learn from capitalism for good into action by attempting to open a store of my own.
There's a link to all of these in the show notes for you to join so we can make some really big donations together.
Moving forward, each of the projects will continue with a monthly donation to a charity of choice so we keep this momentum going.
So, spread the word. Tell anyone you think might be interested.
Alright. That’s enough. Let’s go leave this place better than we found it.
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Spin off sister projects:
BioSite | Company Mentions | Email | Instagram | Transcripts | YouTube
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anastasia Bezrukova is the Founder & CEO of Minori Beauty which is short for Minimalist Origins. Her idea behind the product is to create something that is simple and universal as an alternative to the overwhelming amount of options from brands a galore out there. Honestly, that mostly seems like a summary of her entire life. She, herself, is a melting pot of cultures. She’s Half Russian, Half Greek growing up in the Soviet Union and then heading to Canada before coming to the US to live in both New York & California. Because of that, she talks about how she’s a mix of polite and direct, which serves her when she’s interacting with all kinds of people in all kinds of positions in different stages of growing Minori. She leans on her background, the legacy of her mother (also a business owner), and her innate ability to ignore the pressures of the world around her to focus on each step to build her clean, simple, universal beauty brand. She doesn’t shortcut success. She doesn't try to be someone she’s not. She doesn’t fold herself into someone else’s mold, she is just honestly transparent in a really refreshing way. And all of that is why she’s another perfect fit for the Capitalism for Good project.
Shout out to:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Transcripts | YouTube
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Tierra Barber. She is the Founder & Owner of B. Elevated Candle Bar in Houston, TX. She started her career as an Athletic Director of a school system, but later used her talents to educate her community in a different way. After discovering her daughter had adverse reactions to certain household items, she went deep into researching to find a solution. And like any good overachiever does, she used that solution to transform her home and the traditions established by the women that came before her. Candles were always a staple in her house growing up, so when those candles seemed to be the source of the issue for her daughter, she decided to make her own complete with homemade labels and clean ingredients. And with that, she had set herself up to be ready to open her business and share what she’d learned with her community. Nowadays, education looks a little different, but she’s still out there using her work to help others. She’s a great example of a leader who not only talks the talk, but also walks the walk. She’s also taking what is important to her to another level through their Environmental Impact Program with incentives for those who choose to re-use and upcycle existing containers and finding ways to reuse materials throughout her store.
Shout out to:
Bonus shout out to:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite | Transcripts
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jessica Cichowlas is Owner of BYOC Co. a refill store in Ann Arbor, MI with a focus on local manufacturers and products that don't harm the environment. If you're not familiar with refill stores, don't worry. She explains what they are and what separates them from traditional large retailers including the impact of encouraging manufacturers to incorporate closed-loop systems to eliminate waste (think: sending containers back to manufacturers for sanitization & reuse and using only recycled materials to create new products). We talk about how she got to where she is now as owner of a refill store and what lessons she learned along the way, including the shift in how she views monitoring her time related to her working style. Her 2025 Mantra: “I like the way I work and the way I work serves me.”
We talk about the drive to find solutions to the problems that we discovered as kids learning about the depletion of the ozone layer and the impacts of recycling using the family computer to fall down early rabbit holes. We also talk about the positive things that have come out of those spirals and with the forward momentum of folks banning together to push the envelope. BYOC's hometown of Ann Arbor, MI, is leading the charge with the A2Zero movement focused on achieving community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 by providing resources to citizens to transition their daily lives into a carbon-neutral functionality. As small business and city-wide initiatives continue to spread, so does the impact of those focused on intentionally improving environmental outcomes. Keep it up!
Shout out to: A2Zero in Ann Arbor, MI.
Bonus shout outs to:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Transcripts
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Travis Franklin is the Co-Founder of Tipton Franklin and Founder of Bar 9 Agency. He's also the second in a 2-part series of the folks behind Tipton Franklin. When you put the stories of Angela Tipton (his Co-Founder) & Travis together, you get this well-rounded perspective of 2 folks that are using their unique expertise that positions them right between their agriculture and scientific backgrounds with each of their marketing education & experience to help the experts in each of those respective fields work seamlessly together. If we’ve learned anything from the folks from the previous interviews of the Capitalism for Good project, it’s that it really takes all kinds of people, working together to keep things running, especially running well and running for good (I’m reminded here about Veronica Hernandez’s bird analogy). They’re also both focused, and have been from the beginning, on being intentional about where they can make an impact and choosing the people that they feel good about working with.
In his words, “every single pivot was a moment that I was planting a seed.” Whether those moments were intentional or not, it was each of those seeds and the curveballs that life pitches to us all, that got him to where he is now. And while the technology of today they're using in Tipton Franklin is helping small businesses keep up with their competition, these novel advancements aren't free of downsides. Travis doesn’t sweep the concerns under the rug making comparisons to the perceived potential threat of Y2K referencing the instinct we all inherently have saying that, “evolution has told us to watch for the grass moving in the jungle so that when that when the predator comes at us, we’re ready…we’re at that stage now where we’re not sure that the AI is the grass moving in the jungle and we’re in danger or if it’s something else that’s there to help us.” Despite the risk, he is choosing to leverage the opportunities for good through both Tipton Franklin & Bar 9 Agency. At the end of the day, that’s exactly what this project is all about. And that’s exactly the kind of thing that we can all learn from.
Shout out to:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite | Transcripts
We love small businesses, local businesses, those run by underrepresented leaders, those supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Between the Interviews | Bittersweet Paradox | Capitalism for Green | Company Mentions
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Angela Tipton is the Co-Founder of Tipton Franklin (and we may or may not be featuring her counterpart in the future…) and is our 21st interview of business leaders making a positive impact on their communities. She breaks down a very complicated world of science professionals and her role of helping those scientists with their marketing needs. Especially in today’s society, when science can sometimes be viewed as controversial and can be misunderstood without the deep knowledge of their specialties, helping navigate communication is key. Simply put, in her words, “the only thing really that trumps science, is better science.” The niche that Angela supports through Tipton Franklin is key to helping scientists further their missions. We talk about the importance of helping experts be experts by supporting their communication and marketing needs. When marketing specialists can partner with those in science, especially those small businesses with hearts of gold and minds that push the envelope, can use their expertise to focus on crafting tailored messages for the public, investors, internally, to funders, or whoever, then that allows the scientists to focus on what they do best: the science. It takes a community of partners working together, leaning into their individual talents, and chasing each of their individual dreams, to push society further, expand our knowledge of the world around us, and leverage the technology and advancements in AgTech, BioTech, and beyond.
And speaking of communities of people working together, one of my favorite rabbit holes that Angela indulged me by walking into when we spoke was about mentorship. Just like how Tipton Franklin helps scientists and small businesses see and take advantage of new opportunities to give them a competitive edge, mentors can also do that for each of us. When each of us are focused on keeping things afloat in our daily lives when we’re trying to meet our professional goals in our current roles, maintain our family responsibilities, and keep all the current plates in the world, it’s easy to only see the world from our own immediate perspective. That’s where mentors come in to reflect back to us the pieces that may be more difficult to see. For Angela, one of those instances was when her supervisor pointed out that she might thrive in marketing. But that mentor could take so many different forms. It could be a formal agreement between a more experienced and lesser experienced individual in a similar field with clearly outlined goals and actions steps. It could also just be someone that crosses your path (personally and/or professionally), that takes the time to notice you as a human and foster those things that both fill your cup and that you might have a particular set of skills for. It can look different with different people and at different points in your life.
Shout out:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Transcripts
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a lot of ways, Peter Krull is another perfect example of the Capitalism for Good project. He’s a Partner and the Director of Sustainable Investing at Earth Equity Advisors as well as a host of the Dollars & Change podcast and author of the upcoming book, The Sustainable Investor. He’s also clearly driven by the idea that we can use our money to create positive change in the world around us. In his words, “the way we spend our money, is all an extension of us” and “if you’re going to do this, why not do it so that you not only have an impact on somebody’s bottom line, but you also have an impact on the world around them?” He’s also a book-loving avid-reader, which obviously also speaks right to so many of my favorite things. Throw in a Ted Lasso quote (“be curious and not judgmental”) and it’s no wonder that he made the cut. He credits part of this to growing up in a generation that started to buck the norm in favor of a “non-linear life” that perpetuates an against-the-grain approach to business and to life. We talk about the behind-the-scenes mentality that led him to dedicate his career to advancing solutions through intentionally invested dollars.
Shout out to:
Instagram | Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Transcripts
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"I think food and music and spaces and all of those things breed community and I find community really fascinating," said Hannah Withers of her love of merging her career and her passions. With the help of her 50/50 partner in both business and life, Ben, she has helped found, fuel, and fire up community through spaces and events all around her much like her mother, a founding member of The Mother Folkers, and much like Maxine Miller, the founder and namesake of Maxine's Tap Room of which Hannah is currently named "Caretaker." Back before the women could open bank accounts without a man's signature and decades before widespread laws against women bartending were overturned, Maxine Miller, opened a bar in Fayetteville, Arkansas as a single woman. That was back in 1950. Back when one of the regulars would tie up his mule outside of the bar. While Maxine is no longer with us, her legacy continues to live on.
She has it all. She has passion. She has drive. She has transparency. She has creative ideas that draw people to her. She has lessons that she learned the hard way. She has the respect and admiration of the people around her. She's got so much to teach all of us. And she's another one of those life-long learners that will likely continue to have more and more wisdom to pass on to us all. Cheers to never growing out of learning & loving.
I don't know if I could ever sum up all the things I took away from this conversation and I find new nuggets that burrow into my brain each time that I listen back to her. Enjoy!
Shout outs to:
Bonus shout outs to:
Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Blog & Transcripts
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sami Baldridge, Owner of Series Six, is another founder of a St. Louis based apparel company (shout out to Jeff & Randy Vines of Interview #15/100) that is so much more than just a t-shirt company. Series Six has become a staple in the St. Louis, Missouri community and part of that is because they’re once again leveraging the love for the city. And the city loves them back for it. Sami sits down to talk to us about what it’s been like to start and build her brand. She also gives some practical advice for other entrepreneurs looking to build in a community give back initiative into their plan the way Series Six does with their local zoo, museums, nonprofits, children’s hospitals, and restaurants.
For Sami, it might be that growing up in a sports family helped give her the mentality needed to grow her business. She talks about prioritizing valuing employees (much like you would teammates and fans), having a strong work ethic, and a “scrappy mentality” (are you picking up on the theme of St. Louis yet??). She also places a strong emphasis on quality. When I ask her about the future of companies like hers with the dawn of AI entering the creative world, she seems mostly unfazed knowing that the creativity and quality of their products is largely untouchable by AI.
While we often focus Capitalism for Good on businesses that support their communities, it’s important to point out that Sami’s community also supported her all along the way. Her entrepreneur grandfather saw the potential in her at an early age and encouraged her to pursue business education. Her parents were supportive of her goals. And her hard work and talent was quickly recognized and respected by the public like when a fellow St. Louisans named Barb (shout out Barb!!) stopped her to say she loved her self-designed shirt and wanted to know where she got it. Barb is still a big supporter and the support throughout the community has only grown since that day they first met.
Once again, let’s hear it for people supporting people, businesses supporting businesses, women supporting women, and community supporting community. Love to see it.
Shout out to:
Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more)
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Cathy Nesbitt calls herself an “accidental entrepreneur" and is the Founder of Cathy’s Composters and Cathy’s Chuckle Club, Not only does Cathy teach us about laughter yoga and tell us about how she became to be an ambassador for it, but she also talks about how she started her career as a secretary, studied psychology, owned a composting worm business, and so many other detours along the way. At each stop, she gained some new skills, found new ways to help her community, and all of it brought her to where she is today. It’s such a twisty turny journey that so many of us can relate to. We can also learn a lot from her.
She talks about how sometimes it’s not easy to make sense of the dots while you connecting them in real time or truly understand the impact that you have on the community around you, but, as she reminds me in real time as we talked, leading with positivity and encouragement for your community does have an impact even if we don’t see it in real time. Even if we don’t see it later. You never know how a small interaction, a chance to educate children about the value of worms, a morning laughter yoga session, or whatever it is that you’re doing today may positively impact those around you. It’s people like Cathy that remind me (and hopefully all of us) that it’s worth giving it our best effort to do right by our community whether we see the impact or not. In her words, “all of these little impacts make a big impact.”
Last week, I attended her Chuckle Club for the first time. It was a Tuesday morning at 9:30AM EST. I had just finished a work out, scrambled to get showered, and annoyed at myself for (once again) trying to stuff too many things into too little time and likely running late. I didn’t really know what to expect and I am so happy to report that it was a delight. It was cheesy for sure, but I’ll be darned if I didn’t truly have a smile on my face as I laughed and it lasted throughout the day. If you want some pure, honest to god, lighthearted fun moments, I highly recommend checking it out.
Shout out to:
Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Blog & Transcripts
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jeff & Randy Vines, Founders & Owners of STL Style are full of advice, full of grit, and full of love for their hometown community of St. Louis, Missouri. What started as a moonlight project in 2001 when they graduated college, quickly evolved into much more as it gained media attention and recognition all over the world. That t-shirt business grew to a brick and mortar location now known locally as STL Stylehouse. And then that shop evolved with the help of it’s employees to become the larger community it is now.
They’ve also built a stellar internal community by propping up their staff, giving them ownership to make the community around the store what they want it to be. “Our staff is as diverse as the city itself” and are proud of the staff, consider them family, and truly love them. Empower employees to use the space for what they need. This is well beyond a local t-shirt company as they have been known to host open mic nights, drag performances and makeup workshops, backdrops for a professional freelance photographer building his own business outside of the brand. They even give everyone a set of keys and let people keep their keys past their time of employment and welcome a return to visit the house cat. They’ve created a sense of ownership.
They don't take it for granted that the city loves them back. Even supporting their competitors within the community of St. Louis-based apparel shops that have since opened. They give a shout out to the younger similar businesses that are doing a great job by acknowledging their competition fueling their own evolution. Once again, uplifting the community including the competition.
Here’s where you can find them for custom work, collaborations with brands with Washington Universities, STL Public Radio, public speaking, tours for school groups & relocation tour groups, all things ready to uplift STL:
Shout outs to:
Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Blog & Transcripts
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wade Ogle, Owner of Block Street Records (with 2 locations in Bentonville, AR & Fayetteville, AR). There are so many things that stand out about how he’s built his record store business. First of all, we start this interview talking about how the store doesn’t have a traditional website. They do have a Facebook and an instagram for each location (Fayetteville & Bentonville), but that’s it. They do almost all of their business in person save for an occasional sale via Discogs. Second, he is pretty adamant that he’s not a traditional “business guy” even though he’s been in business for what seems like his entire adult life. He’s meticulous about what he wanted this “proper record store” to be like: fun, organized, and friendly. I’m struck by his words of “if it fails, it won’t be because I didn’t try my very best.” That’s the kind of mentality that I think a true entrepreneur needs to have. The things we care about the most will need our very best effort in order to keep the whole thing running. In Wade’s case, he’s keeping it thriving.
Further, his respect and support for both his employees (he gives a shout out to a number of them including Shelby and Logan) as well as all of the customers that enter the stores is obvious. He's an example of a leader that cares about his employees beyond just working for him at the store at the moment. He even throws out some numbers of how long employees tend to work at the store (his “main guy” Logan has been there over 7 years). He also wants the staff at the store on a daily basis to be knowledgeable, but also friendly and inclusive. He respects that everyone has their own music they love and wants to help them find what they're looking for regardless of what it is plus maybe help them discover something that might be a little outside of their normal wheelhouse. That’s what he and the staff at Block Street Records are there for.
When thinking about business leaders that are doing things the right way to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities, Wade is a clear fit. We all have a lot we can learn from him to use in business, in life, and with music.
Shout outs to:
Bonus outs to:
Bonus shout out for his own music:
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Kate Assaraf is the CEO of Dip, a sustainable hair care brand that was built with careful intention. And this episode is full of intention, full of gratitude, and full of words of wisdom that will make you feel empowered to build something great for yourself and for your community. Seriously. Kate’s here’s to show us the way.
Get to know your customers. Talk to them like you do your friends. Value them. In fact, when I asked her about recommendations for someone just starting to look at making sustainable swaps, she doesn’t skip a beat before responding that it depends on the person and what they’re interested in. That insight into the factors that go into why people make the choices that they do seems to be a key factor in how she operates. And it’s working.
“I’ve hired people that are better than me at almost everything” is something that reminds me of Veronica Hernandez talking about how she looks for employees on her team that can move faster than her. Clearly that’s a great way to curate a strong and successful team. There’s also an underlying respect there for the folks that are working so hard to execute the mission and vision of the company. In fact, this episode is full of shout outs. Shout outs to her mentors. Shout outs to her family. Shout outs to refill stores. Shout outs to the entire dip team. Shout outs to other sustainable beauty brands. So. Many. Shout. Outs.
When thinking about examples of leaders that are using their businesses to have a positive impact on their internal and external communities, Kate is a shining example of this. She’s supportive. She’s honest. She’s hard working. She’s relatable. She’s funny. She’s a cat lover. We have so much to learn from her.
Shout outs to:
Plaine Products (Lindsey McCoy gave a shout out to Kate in her interview)
Company Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more)
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Josh Daniel is the founder, owner, and operator of TrashHelp, located in Florida and providing a dumpster rental and junk removal service to his community. What caught my eye first about TrashHelp was the description of the estate cleanout with compassion care, discretion, and patience. This is a field that I honestly would not have thought of, but I’m here to give credit where it’s due. Mari Casas reached out to recommend Josh and I’m so happy that she did. Josh has such an empathetic and personal demeanor that makes it so clear so quickly why she thought he would be a great fit. He’s a great dude. It’s that simple.
He also has a talent for telling stories that paint a picture (he was so full of them that not all were recorded and not all could fit in just this one episode). So while we might not all be familiar with the dumpster business, he’s sure to bring us all into the world and show us what it’s really like. Spoiler alert (and trigger warning for some), it’s not pretty. In fact, it sounds downright tough. Obviously, we’re first thinking about how smelly, gross, or physically difficult it might be to work in this field. What had not occurred to me though, is that he and his team are often showing up to do a job while another human is really struggling. We’re talking estate cleanout after a loved one has passed, massive home cleanouts tied to the mental health struggle resulting in hoarding, animals that need help, eviction notices, storm cleanup, and more. Those are already times that are tough to navigate, especially when you have a job to do. Josh balances making sure that he’s doing the job well, but also making sure that he’s taking care of his fellow human being. And that’s admirable.
He’s another leader that is not only a great example of how to lead a company, but also how to treat people in all areas of our lives. In so many ways, that’s what the Capitalism for Good project is grounded in: folks that are just decent human beings in every aspect of the word who happen to own businesses. It seems to come natural to them to take care of their clients and employees the same way they do their families, friends, and neighbors. That’s something that we can all look up to.
It’s also no surprise that his business has just naturally grown and that his community members want to hire him, work for him, and call to check up on him (shout out to sweet Ms. Rita).
Shout outs to:
Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Blog & Transcripts
Capitalism for Good: real honest and transparent interviews with 100 business leaders about how they're successfully using business to make a positive impact on their internal and external communities.
We love small businesses, local businesses, businesses run by underrepresented leaders, businesses supporting other businesses, folks making against the grain business and financial decisions, sustainable business, ethical businesses, businesses prioritizing quality and curated experiences, and businesses that encourage your to practice intentional consumerism.
Join the Capitalism for Good community at Patreon.com/CapitalismForGood
Capitalism for Good is a part of the CFG umbrella. Visit the website to learn more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a lot of ways, Connor Treacy is an example of someone whose leadership spills beyond just what is evident in the business world. While Connor has a wide range of experience in his career, he’s shown himself to be a leader in all aspects of his life including the work that he’s doing in partnership with pushing political actions that line up with his values. Sometimes being a leader is an unconscious skill and trait that permeates all the things we do. Connor might be one of the most perfect examples of that. As much as I tried to get him to put himself in a box or nail down his next goals, it all just came back to him embracing the people around him and naturally gathering people together in a positive way. I’m not sure that we give folks like Connor who are natural connectors enough credit. Combine that ability with a life-long learner and a work ethic that seems to span larger than a narrow goal and you get a man who gave a shout out to Warren Buffet for being a seemingly down to earth man giving away all his money he worked so hard to earn.
It wasn’t all roses and butterflies. He’s open about the times that things weren’t going his way or when he felt like he was on the verge of losing it all. It’s those ups and downs that we all can relate to. The reality is that the path to successfully making a positive impact isn’t easy and isn’t linear. There are so many detours, lessons learned, and hiccups that pop up along the way. He also brings a theme of working really hard on whatever project is in front of him. When he started throwing parties, he was throwing bigger and better parties that more people want to come to. When he started working in music, he helped grow Yungblud into a multiplatinum selling artist. We also talk about how the hustle looks different depending on the day or the year or the project. Sometimes it looks like it’s just going on a really long walk and letting the inspiration come to you. Sometimes it’s tackling the to-do list in front of you. Sometimes it’s going back to school. Sometimes it’s DJ’ing a democratic political event to support the cause. It might not look like your typical grind, but it all adds up and it’s all meaningful.
His advice for giving back to the community? Simple: use your skills and talents. Not as rich as Warren Buffet (yet)? Give your time. Want to be a good supervisor? Treat everybody the same, no matter who they are. Want to get into politics, but don’t know anyone in that space? Start reaching out to folks. Find a gap in your experience? Fill it in. This common sense approach to life reminds me of Whitney Wagner’s “see a need; fill a need” line. t's also the common sense approach to a good leader pushing for a meaningful and positive impact in the world.
Shout outs to:
Mentions | BioSite (with links to listen & more) | Blog & Transcripts
The Capitalism for Good Podcast is all about how we make and spend our money to benefit the greater good (and how that benefits us right back). This is 100 interviews with business leaders about how they are using their businesses, both small and large, to make a positive difference in their communities. This is the intersection of money, time, energy, and bandwidth considering how to balance these for now and for the future’s “now.”
There’s also a Between the Interviews sub-series and other perks available on the Patreon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 down & 90 to go! I’ve gone back through the first 10 to pull out some themes & ideas that stuck out to me. This is not scientific nor a controlled study. I did not ask everyone the exact same questions, so something that came up with one person may be true for all the others, but we just didn’t cover it. So take this with a grain of salt that these are simply observations. There were so many themes that have risen to surface already and some thought-provoking differences that have come up so far. In this episode, I recap what has come up so far.
Thank you so much to everyone that has subscribed through the Patreon. These subscriptions are what fund the project and keep it going. There are many different tiers available, starting at $1 and $2/month and each tier gets you access to extras. For example, $2/month Listener Tier gets early access to Interviews on Thursdays (audio & video); $3/month Member Tier adds on weekly Between the Interviews Series on Mondays; VIP Tier has merch. I do my best to give back to those joining, so check the show notes for the link to the Patreon.
I truly do want to hear from you, so please message me on Instagram, on the Patreon, leave a review, or email me your thoughts and suggestions. I really am listening and have been working on pulling in leaders from locations near where I know people are following from and from industries that are of interest to you all. Send me your thoughts and I’ll do the research here.
Finally, if you’re interested in working together to build better community, check out the business website www.capitalism-for-good.com. Whether you’re interested in starting or expanding a community give back initiative with your company, want to plan a volunteer day, are looking for a charity partner that fits your values, or perhaps talk about some eduction around the value of community partnerships, I would love to help. I’d be happy to get on a phone call to see how CFG can help you with your community goals.
The Capitalism for Good Podcast is all about how we make and spend our money to benefit the greater good (and how that benefits us right back). We talk to business leaders about how they are using their businesses, both small and large, to make a positive difference in their communities. This is the intersection of money, time, energy, and bandwidth considering how to balance these for now and for the future’s “now.”
There’s also a Between the Interviews sub-series and other perks available on the Patreon.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.