Listen to the full episode on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon.

Welcome to Your Conversation Pit, the podcast. In this episode I am giving all the details on how The Cheetah Company chooses to integrate purpose and a philanthropic goal into the brand and is sharing ways you can do the same for yourself. Looking at some of the great brands that do this within their business strategy and philanthropic strategy such as TOMS, Warby Parker, and Patagonia.

So I’m kind of going to sidetrack before we go to purpose and philanthropy specifically.

 I want you to consider what I mean by not purposeful action. It’s not a persistent pursuit of how you can best serve your clients and unpredictable ways to delight them. 

So if we’re specifically copying someone else’s or immitating or emulating someone else’s strategy step by step in exactness, that’s where it gets a little shaky.

Be unshakeable

So thinking about your unshakable unwavering purpose filled action where you are taking creative risks I want you to also consider the purpose the philanthropic experience that you’re seeking to push people towards or influence people towards but more than anything else because I was describing this ease of  imitation and copying in the online business space where someone creates this like blueprint strategy of how to launch something.

I want you to consider reverse engineering your purpose and connecting it to a philanthropic goal  and  movement.

Brands often will stay in the spotlight of “me” or “us” and “we” and forget that there could be a powerful call behind all of the people in your space to do something purposeful with the immersive energy and connections you all have together. 

I see entrepreneurs silo their people from each other all of the time and that creates siloed intimate experiences but it doesn’t rope in what most people are actually craving: experiences with real people going through the same things they’re going through that can connect in the process. 

Product brands do this, service providers, agencies, coaches, consultants… you can, too.

Some brands in action:

• Warby Parker: Buy a Pair, Give a Pair. For every pair purchased, a pair of glasses is distributed to someone in need. So far, that’s 13 million pairs and counting.

• TOMS Shoes: Wear Toms, wear good. When you buy TOMS, you help fund access to mental health resources for the millions of people who need them. We’re in business to improve lives. We believe in a more equitable tomorrow. That’s why we invest ⅓ of profits for grassroots good, including cash grants and partnerships with community organizations, to drive sustainable change.

• Patagonia: Answer with Action. For almost 40 years, Patagonia has supported grassroots groups working to find solutions to the environmental crisis. But in this time of unprecedented threats, it’s often hard to know the best way to get involved. That’s why we’re connecting individuals with environmental organizations, in order to take action on the most pressing issues facing the world today. Patagonia Action Works.

All of these companies have the words impact or activism on their websites. They’re actively working in action to see the change they want to see in the world, leveraging the business as the bank to fund the mission work, but also asking clientele to either stay connected to get involved or to rally up more folks like them to get interested, head their way, and become another brand advocate to shift society forward.

How TCC does this:

TCC does this the cheetah company that I feel like We might need to do that in a different episode  because it’s getting a little long but ultimately our organization that we donate to every month is called  the Ocala Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center I have a pretty big story in connection with that center that I’ll save for another episode but every single month we donate from our revenue and we  have since the beginning of the Cheetah Company We’ve ran marketing campaigns specifically towards the center to share my specific story with them and also be able to point you or point the person that’s  reading listening viewing to an actionable step that does change the lives of the people at that center 

And one of our regular lines that we use at the GITA company is that we help women resiliently rise.

So the problem that we’re fixing through the Cheetah Company or at least supporting is to help women  resiliently rise and get back on their feet after a really challenging time Either having the experience of  being a survivor of domestic violence or sexual assault.

How to do this for yourself…

Take these questions into conversation and consideration this week, even if that conversation is first with yourself via a journal, audio journal, or in your head on a long walk…

• What frustrates you about the world? What problem do you think should already be fixed?
• What makes your blood boil? To the point of being red in the face about it?
• What breaks your heart and what do you wish would become history… for future generations? If this problem never existed in the future… what is that problem you’d be fixing?

Now, once you get there, come tell us about it on social media or leave us a voicemail through the link in the show notes with your questions on the who, what, when, where, and why if you desire more info, but we’ve organically shared my personal story several times, connecting the story to an action like donating to the shelter that supported me, sharing with our community that a percentage of our revenue goes to the shelter every month therefore if we work with them… a percentage of our work is going to the shelter, and we have so much more up our sleeves for the future, but currently this is how we connect what breaks our heart, frustrates us, and what we want to see gone from the future of the world… to business.  

Resources:

Listen to the full episode on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon.

Bio:

Ashleigh Henry has been in marketing, sales, and leadership positions for the last decade and it was exhilarating for Ashleigh to climb the retail, corporate, higher education, and start-up ladder holding positions such as Marketing Strategist, Copywriter, Social Media Strategist, Manager, Editor, Co-Editor…until it wasn’t. Alongside her degree, Ashleigh decided to bring all of her experience into the freelancing world until it became clear that she didn’t just want to pay the bills – she wanted to create a company that was foundationally built on cheetah print, legacy-minded marketing, and sexy sales structures that could stand the test of trend and time. The Cheetah Company, founded by Ashleigh, does this for female entrepreneurs through their education, coaching, and consulting services. Learn more about Ashleigh here.