The Akola Project: Transforming Lives of Impoverished Women

WEBVTT

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortes. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working

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on Purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortes. Welcome back to

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Working on Purpose show. Thanks for
tuning in again this week. I'm your

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host, Elise Cortez, joining you
from Dallas, Texas, which is home

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base for me. This program is
all about helping people more meaningfully and productively

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connect with their work and equipping organizations
to do the same for their employees.

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So I bring on guests to have
a particular perspective or experience that I think

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expands the conversation about meaningful and productive
work. And I often drawn the meaning

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of work research up and doing over
the last fifteen years, as well as

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my own consulting experience, including the
work that I do Insignium today, which

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is a global management consulting firm.
I'll get to the program in just a

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moment, but first, a big
thank you and shout out to my media

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partner and sponsor, jobbing dot com. They are the leading locally focused job

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board in the nation and they are
dedicated to helping employers find quality talent in

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their own backyard. While giving jobs
to control over their search, they can

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find work close to home. Great
partnership. Thank you jobbing dot com.

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Last week, if you missed the
show live, we were on the air

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with Kimberly Davis. She's the founder
and director of on Stage Leadership, which

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runs in New York City and Dallas. She is the author of the soon

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to be released book called Brave Leadership. Unleash your most confident, authentic and

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powerful self to get the results you
need. We've talked about all of what

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it takes to go into being brave, what gets in the way of that,

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and more ways we can actually tap
to get to our brave place in

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our leadership roles. And by the
way, if you want to receive alerts

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in advance on my live radio show
Conversations to know what's coming, you can

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join my mailing list by visiting my
website which is just Elise Coortes dot com.

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Navigating to the blog tab and then
under my photo entering your name and

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email address. So there's that.
This week with us is Brittany Merrill Underwood,

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who is the CEO of a Coola
Project, a nonprofit social business designed

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to empower women and disadvantage communities through
training, employment, and holistic care.

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She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Best Person of the World

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by Yahoo in twenty fourteen, and
was honored by clothing manufacturer Levi as one

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of fifty women around the globe who
have changed the political, cultural, and

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spiritual shape of the future. She
joined us today from Dallas, Texas.

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Brittany, welcome to Working on Purpose. Thanks you so much. How did

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to join your show? It's amazing
to have you with me, and I

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really really applaud the work that you've
been doing. And when I think about

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somebody really working on purpose, Brittany, it certainly is. You. So

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glad to come and have you share
your story what you've been up to.

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And I really think that our listeners
are going to be empowered by the work

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that you do. And by the
way, Brittany happened to enjoy listenership literally

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all over the globe, so your
message will will resonate all over the place.

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So you ready, I'm ready?
Okay, Well, I want to

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just get right into the work that
you do. Brittany. I'd like it

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if you could just tell us a
bit about the Acola Project. Why did

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you found the organization and what do
you generally do in the organization. I

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think it's better if we hear it
from your mouth versus mind. Yeah.

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So this whole thing began back in
two thousand and four, about almost fourteen

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years ago, and I was a
software gist in you and I had promised

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two friends we've spent somewhere together,
and we ended up in Granda, and

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I had never witnessed extreme poverty.
I sadly just didn't. You don't know

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what you don't know. And there
was a whole world that I didn't know

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about, and I was I didn't
really know how to process it. And

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I got sick and it was just
of been having a hard time. And

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I had a local actually pastor approached
me in the community and he said,

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I think you need to meet a
woman. And you've gotten woman in our

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community who I believe will inspire you. And I said, okay, So

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I followed him up. This kind
of windy dirt road to this shack on

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the outskirts of you've gotten this capital
city, Kimpaula. And it was Sarah

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that I met. A woman named
Sarah. She was only I think but

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three years older than me at the
time, but lived her life with just

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incredible meaning and purpose and kind of
sacrificed everything she had to take care of

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street kids who were just wandering to
her home. She had no way to

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provide for them, but she gave
them the little she did have. She

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actually would go hungry so they could
eat. And I sort of sat back

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and thought, oh, my gosh, I've been given so much in my

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life and haven't done anything for anyone, and here's this woman who has hardly

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anything, and in the little she
has, she's sharing with others so they

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can live. That sort of shook
me out of my complacency and began this

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journey, which at first was to
build an orphanage home for the kids that

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slept on Sarah's floor. And I
graduated from SMU and twosand and six and

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moved to Bando with three friends to
put their post college jobs on the hold

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to kind of build this ambitious building
project for orphan children in Sarah's community and

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started a cola, which means she
works while I was there. And what's

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really unique about a Coola is we
kind of solved the same problem that orphanages

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solved, but in a more efficient
way. After we put a lot of

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money into the Orphanage project and sort
of built it ground up, we realized

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there's got to be a more effective
way to do this, to care for

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disadvantaged kids in a more sustainable way. And we learned that while we were

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living in Uganda that if we could
work through women they wanted to keep these

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kids in their homes. They just
didn't have their resources. They had the

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vision and the heart to do it, they just needed the opportunities. So

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by combining income generating opportunities through our
Coola jewelry line that we started in twenty

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seven, still going today and excited
to talk more about that, but combining

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living wage work opportunity and with kind
of holistic educational and empowerment programs to teach

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women how to use that income to
actually create meaningful change and their families and

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their communities, they could could bring
children out of poverty. And we've seen

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that today and excited to share with
you later in the show how we expanded

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that effort that started in Uganda to
Dallas, Texas for a local and global

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impact. So, Brittany, you're
going to do this to me, how

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you're going to actually make me start
crying first thing in the show? Huh,

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that's how it's going to be.
This is amazing. I'm tickled so

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much to have you on the show. And I was wondering what a coola

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meant. So it means she works, you said it does. Yeah,

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okay, okay, and I did
want to understand a little bit about it.

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If I heard you right, then, this is your first quote job,

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is that right? It's the only
job I've had for fourteen years now,

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I will say we have innovated and
sort of reinvented what we do and

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here we are so many different times, so we really really found this model

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that we now operate out of a
coola now that I almost feel like I've

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had ten different jobs, but they've
all been in the same one. So

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yeah, I've done this since I
was nineteen and I'm thirty three now.

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Well, I want to applaud that, and I think there's going to be

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more than a few listeners out there
that are incredibly jealous of you, because

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I get so many questions from listeners
who say, Alice, I love hearing

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your show and hearing these people that
are passionately connected to their work. They

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found their purpose, and I don't
know what mine is. I've been looking

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and looking and looking. I can't
find it. And for you to be

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able to literally right out of the
gate go into the workforce and find it

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and land it, now, I'm
not saying it was easy at all,

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Brittany, I know that it wasn't. But for our listeners to be able

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to hear you know that you were
open, You let you, you let

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your heart respond to something right,
and that's and you followed it and probably

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went against all odds and probably even
advice that said, what are you doing,

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Brittany, why don't you get a
really great, high paying job in

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corporate America? Is something that's going
to pay big jobs of money instead.

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Did you get that kind of advice
from anybody? Oh? Yeah, I

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mean I spent the majority of my
twenties living in East African villages. So

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I mean my friend left. I
was at SMU and Dallas, and you

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know, they left, and they
were in New York and San Francisco and

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you know, having a great time. God knows how many different types of

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sicknesses you've got, you know,
sometimes didn't have running water, electricity,

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and just learning the hard way in
so many ways, which our first project,

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the Orphanage project, just we just
learned so much, which actually helped

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us build this new model that we
kind of stand on today at Acola.

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But yeah, I had a lot
of people, I mean my family,

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They were like, you're going to
be there for six months, right,

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and then it turned into a year, and then two years, three four,

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and then finally I think they surrendered
and I surrendered to this is the

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rest of my life, like this, this is a calling and a passion.

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But it was interesting. I didn't
have a passion for it. I

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discovered my passion while kind of committing
to something that was really hard. Because

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if you would have asked me at
nineteen, what do you want to do

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this? I would have I wouldn't
even have known what this was. Or

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I certainly wouldn't have said I'm going
to run a nonprofit or a nonprofit social

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enterprise in our case. But I
never would have told you. I would

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have spent my twenties in East affric
After my first summer there, I thought,

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well, great experience and I learned
a lot, but I'm never going

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back, you know kind of thing, And fourteen years later I am so

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I discovered it through committing to something
that was right and true and and and

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to something that was for others.
It was so not about me, and

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I think that's that's kind of what
carried me through this entire journey, is

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it was always about these women,
these kids, and I sort of lost

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myself in this process, and I
think in a great way where it was

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about them, and that gave me
the passion and perseverance to continue to commit

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to it. And then through it
I found this incredible passion for the work.

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I discovered it in the work that
I do two things if I can

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to that, Brittany. So first, I want to be able to acknowledge

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the listeners that you know, sometimes
finding our route to passion isn't convenient,

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I mean, and so your whole
notion of committing to something that's much bigger

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than you, I think really speaks
to that. And really all that you

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went through getting sick, all those
months and probably years living in probably what

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we could call third world countries is
not for the faint of heart, and

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so I want our listeners to get
that sometimes en route or as we discover

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looking for our purpose, it's not
an easy path, right, yeah,

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and well, and I think often
you're like, what am I doing?

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Right? Right? Least idea was
this again? Yeah? Yeah, So

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we started selling a coll of Jory. I mean when we came up with

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the idea in twosand seven, after
we were working on this orphanage project of

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hey, maybe a better way to
you know, help kids is empowering their

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moms, these women who want to
take care of them in jurn of the

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resources and the social business movement didn't
exist like we We are so lucky to

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have been on the cusp of it, like we we that was by chance.

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And all I knew then was this
is a better way, and I'm

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committed to it. And we picked
jewelry because, you know, we looked

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at all of these local, you
know, ways women can start businesses,

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and they're just so cut off from
the global economy that we thought if we

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could create a product, the women
could make it and we could sell it

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in the States, and one hundred
percent of the money went back to them,

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like, that's you know, how
we could do this, And we

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pick jewelry at the time and meet
when this later in the story, but

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we're the first nonprofit to ever retail
in the luxury space and we sell in

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every single Name in Marcus store now
and they hate it when I say this,

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But the little thought that went into
our line that's now in every single

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store at Name and Marcus was that
Doory was easy to ship. And we

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had some friends who had boutiques and
thought maybe they'd sell it to help support

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these women. And so I never
knew it was going to turn into this.

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I never knew it was going to
become the passion and purpose of my

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life. I just knew there were
women and kids who had needs. And

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I've felt a burden at first,
which wasn't even which is interesting. It

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wasn't even passion or compassion. It
was more of a burden of oh my

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gosh, there's this woman. She's
taking care of these kids. They're not

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eating, Like what can I do? And I feel like I have to

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do something. But in committing to
it, I found my purpose and passion.

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And I think sometimes you have to
take that risk and kind of jump

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into the unknown to do something that
you know may just start out as a

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burden and not a passion at all, and then years later you discover this

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actually is my passion and it is
my purpose. That is brilliant advice,

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Brittany to really just kind of jump
in. It almost sounds like the cart

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before the horse. And that kind
of got me to the second thing I

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was thinking about when you spoke earlier, and that was this whole thing that

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you're about empowering women and certainly the
children. And so I understand that you're

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certainly doing that in yaganda, are
you? And by the way, I

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wanted the reason that I wanted to
talk about that is because frankly, it's

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a real passion of mind, and
I do speak to a lot of women

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audiences about, you know, being
empowered and what can we do to empower

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each other. My question for you
is beyond you, Ganda, is is

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that your focus for empowering women or
do you do that in other aspects in

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other places as well? Yeah,
I've kind of realized I have this really

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cool seminary. I do some work
with the THESH Presidential Center here in Dallas

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and they have this great one's initiative. And it was actually part of a

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mentorship class that helped mentor Tunisian women
that came into the country and we were

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sort of helping them discover like what
is their passion and purpose and in doing

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that, they had to kind of
create this purpose statement for their life.

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And it was actually the first time
I even did that, which is funny.

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Sometimes when you're in a mentor role, you end up becoming the beneficiary

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of you know, and learning more
than maybe you could even teach. But

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I and I thought, what's what
would be my purpose statement? And it's

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funny, I realized it was empowering
women to become agents of transformation in their

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families and communities. And that's that's
an every year of my life. Like

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I mean, for Colon, my
passion is to unlock the potential that women.

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I think it's God given. You
know that they Sometimes you've gone through

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some hard stuff and you don't realize
how much you're capable of and how you

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you were actually designed to create change, not just to survive, not just

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to go through life, but transform
to change. And I've seen that unlocked

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and the women that we work with
and Uganda, and also the women coming

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out of poverty that we now work
with in Dallas, or our name and

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Marcus Partnership as well. But I
also see that in I mean our staff

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and even our customers. When someone
comes into our Cola store in Dallas.

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We have a store and University of
Park and we have people come in and

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suddenly they're like, oh my gosh, like I can be a part of

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this by buying Jory and help other
people and share the word and help these

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women. And suddenly in them I
see something unlocked. And I teach a

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course at SMU and helping students realize
what their passion is and how they can

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create unique business plans to you know, help help you know, find their

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passion and live it out in creative
ways. Suddenly that's unlocked. And and

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and that's happened to me through this
journey. I've realized I'm so much more

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than I thought. I can give
the world, so much more than I

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ever thought I always capable of.
And that's been unlocked in me as well.

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And so it's funny how it just
kind of carries through every part of

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your life. It's wonderful, Brittany, and I think that what you just

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said about having that purpose statement,
I have one too. Mine is passionately

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uplifting humanity through provoking insight and empowering
growth, and it does go everywhere across

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my life. And I love the
fact that you could articulate yours the way

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that you did, and it's so
you can stand in that space. It's

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awesome. So I love that you
also gave that to our listeners too,

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they can look and find their own
passion and purpose statement. We're about ready

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to go on the first break already, so before we do, let me

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let me get let me get to
this other stuff about the impact that your

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organization has been up to. I
was amazed and blown away Brittany that I

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understand your organization has helped drill twenty
three clean water wells in Uganda. Would

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00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:52.399
love to understand how did that work
come about and how was related to the

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work that you're doing to empower women
and get them out of poverty. Yeah,

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00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:57.960
it's so funny. So many people
just know a stro our Jory and

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maybe Marcus and online and we have
price points from five dollars to five hundred

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00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:08.400
dollars and so we're in a lot
of different categories and they see they I

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think, know that we help give
women a work opportunities. Often they don't

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even know it's at a living wage. So here in Dallas that's fifteen dollars

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an hour, which is pretty awesome. But what makes us really unique and

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special is the incredible work that we
do in the development efforts for these women.

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So everything from building infrastructure for economic
opportunity for women. In Uganda,

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we built three training centers ground up
because women had no place to work.

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They were working in the dirt in
front of their you know, full mud

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hut church when we started, and
you know, they didn't have a decent

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place of work. So we built
training centers and women were spending so much

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time freshing water that they couldn't go
to work because they didn't have clean water.

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So they didn't have the time.
And so we thought, if we

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start drilling wells and these different communities, you know, we can help women

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kind of came back that time and
so we've built that infrastructure and drilled wells

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in eastern and northern Uganda, and
we also have a suite of holistic programming

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that all of our women can access
called the Cola Academy and it's this really

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unique effort where women can take classes
in our program in every development category and

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maternal health and family strengthening and gender
based violence and savings and loans and business

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creation to help them again learn how
to use their income to create meaningful change

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for themselves and for others. So
we're really proud of that, and I

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think that's something a lot of people
don't know that makes us really unique.

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And that's why we are a nonprofit
and run a business through that framework,

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is we want all of our profits
we reinvested in efforts like that, beautiful

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Brittany, and a great way to
take us into our first break, I'm

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your host, Alice Cortez. We
do on the air with Brittany Merrill Underwood,

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00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.680
who is the CEO of the Acola
Project. It's a nonprofit social business

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00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:00.480
design to empower women in disadvantaged communities
throughout through training, employment, holistic,

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cares you and just today from Dallas, Texas. We've been talking a bit

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about how she got into this business
and how it really is her purpose and

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her passion. After the break,
we're going to talk more in depth about

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00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:18.119
how it is that she raises her
revenues through jewelry sales. Stay with us.

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00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:29.440
Friend us on Facebook to keep up
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designs and delivers professional development, leadership
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to your organization. She will help
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to speak to your organization, please
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Se at Elisecortes dot com. Now back

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to Working on Purpose. Thanks for
staying with us, and welcome back to

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00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:51.640
Working on Purpose. If you're just
joining us. My guest is Brittany Merril

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00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:55.799
Underwood, who has made an extraordinary
impact through her dedication over the last fourteen

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00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:59.720
years to transform the lives of impoverished
women and families through the Acola Project,

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00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.079
a nonprofit social business design to empower
women in disadvantage communities through training, employment,

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00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:08.079
and holistic care. I'm your host
at Last Cortes. So, Brittany,

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you and I were chatting a little
bit on the break that I want

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00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:12.519
and I wanted to be able to
queue this up for our listeners because I

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00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:18.279
think it's important. You mentioned something
about the the actual Acola programming. Would

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00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:22.039
you say a little bit more about
that for us. Yeah, when we

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00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:26.359
were talking about, you know,
just the goal purpose of my life and

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00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.599
also the goal of a COLA is
to you know, empower women to become

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agents of transformation in their families and
communities. So much of that goes beyond

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00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:40.839
programming and beyond the infrastructure investment,
and even beyond our training and opportunities we

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00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:45.759
offer it. It's how we do
it so often that makes it empowering or

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disempowering for women. So something else
that's been pretty unique about a COOLA,

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00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:56.200
and I think it's really beautiful is
we not only you know, train women

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in all these different areas and offer
them courses, but the way we do

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00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:03.480
it participatory, So we actually train
them to teach these courses and they can

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00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:08.400
kind of grow in leadership and sort
of unlock their potential to become the trainers

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00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:14.079
and teachers. Instead of us sort
of imparting knowledge that we think, you

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00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:18.640
know, we know what that even
is and you've kind of address all these

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00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:22.119
different areas of their lives, we
work with them to develop a curriculum and

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00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.920
train them to teach it. So
they're sort of becoming an army of development

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practitioners in their own right with the
ability to train and teach others. And

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I think that's what makes something empowering
or disempowering. Sometimes it's not even what

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00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:41.240
you do it, it's how you
do it. That sounds like, you

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00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:45.039
know, teaching a fish philosophy,
teaching how to fish philosophy kind of yes,

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00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.160
versus just giving the fish. Yes, okay, good. I so

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00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:52.920
applaud that and I appreciate that.
Years ago, I had the chance to

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00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:57.000
live in Rio Digiona, or Brazil, and I studied what was happening there

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00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:00.359
and really wanted to be part of
the effort to be able to empower and

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00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:04.480
be participatory as you were saying in
the efforts to develop. So I get

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00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:11.839
that, and I just really applaud
that, Brittany, that's fantastic. Yeah.

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00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:15.880
Well, let's let's get at what
I think is maybe the heart of

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00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.319
how you drive your results to make
an impact for women, and that is

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really the creation and sale of jewelry, if I understand it. So I

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heard you say that you, you
know, maybe kind of stumbled on this

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idea and it made sense because it
was light to ship, et cetera.

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00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:33.960
But help us understand how did you
get the idea to actually make jewelry and

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00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:37.839
make that be the financial drive of
your organization? Yeah, so, I

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00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:44.240
mean it was close by chance,
which again is because we built this pretty

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successful business that kind of fuels our
impact for Colon. You know, when

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we were wrapping up the Orphanage project, we you know, were thinking of

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ways we could have an impact without
having to spend you know, hundreds of

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thousand dollars on a building and then
having to raise that every year. How

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00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:07.799
could we do that sustainably? And
there was a group of women where we

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00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.000
were working, and they were rolling
these paper beats and selling them in little

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00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.359
shops in their town and sort of
had the idea of like, what if

356
00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.440
we could actually design these, well, what if we could, you know,

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00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:27.079
turn paper into basically gemstones, and
if there were because local techniques that

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were already here that we could build
on to create a really unique product and

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00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:33.920
product line. And that was sort
of the initial idea. And I mean,

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I can't even pretend that it started
out well. We used wood varnished,

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So for any of you listeners who
had our story back in two thousand

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and seven, I'm apologizing now,
we didn't know. We didn't know.

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And then the wood burners on the
beads, they had dirt and them because

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00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:52.599
women were making them on the ground, and you know, they were certainly

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a charity purchase. But I think
we learned pretty quickly, and that's why

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I think it's kind of set us
apart from other organizations who were doing this

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at the time timeless. If we
don't if we don't figure out how to

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do this in a high quality way
with high design, then this thing is

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never going to work and we're not
going to be able to support any women.

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And we work with close to five
hundred women now, so that's a

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pretty We have a lot of distribution
channels to make that happen and work.

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And so I think we we really
not only prioritized our mission, but also

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were realistic that if we didn't have
a high quality product that we could produce

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00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:33.960
with volume and really great designs,
like this thing again was never going to

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work. So we created unique designs. And it's funny our classic collection of

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00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:41.920
people on our website today our collar
necklace and our Demi necklace, there's still

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two of our best sellers, and
they were our best sellers seven years ago.

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And we just designed, you know, these unique products that still if

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00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:53.839
you're wearing them, you know someone
you could be in an airport in Chicago

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00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.839
and someone would say, oh,
my gosh, is that Nicola necklace?

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00:26:56.920 --> 00:27:03.119
Like they just they're branded well.
And so I think we learned that and

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00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:07.039
put that into action and kind of
created these unique designs where we combined kind

383
00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:11.759
of paper beads, horn local anacholy
cow horn and bone. Don't worry,

384
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.720
they always have to preface us and
we talk about horn and bone, their

385
00:27:15.799 --> 00:27:19.799
cow horn and bone. So the
the recycled materials that would otherwise be in

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00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:26.400
the garbage and we've repurposed them into
beautiful beads that our women create that sell

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00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:30.359
in our jewelry line. And what's
been really fun about that is when we

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00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:34.160
expanded to Dallas, which I'll talk
a little bit about now because that really

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00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:38.319
kind of jives with the evolution of
our product line. We were selling in

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00:27:38.359 --> 00:27:42.559
twenty fourteen. We were selling in
several hundred boutiques across the country and had

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00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:48.359
some national accounts, and the business
was growing, and we had an incredible

392
00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:53.279
community leader in Dallas and ask us, why is this not in our city?

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00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:56.519
You know? And it was funny
because I was thinking, well,

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00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:59.559
it's not in your city. Because
this is something that works in a Gurian

395
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:03.200
villages in Uganda, I don't know
how it would pump work in a urban

396
00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:07.240
context in America. But actually that's
an interesting point, like I wonder,

397
00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:10.920
you know, if there's a chances
could work here. And she said,

398
00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:15.400
well, here's the deal. Our
foundation supports all these great nonprofits that are

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00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:21.559
rehabilitating women in Dallas who've been formally
impertrated actually traffic, and women in poverty,

400
00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:23.279
and they were going back to prostitution, back to poverty, back to

401
00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:26.359
jail, even though they had these
great programs, because they just didn't have

402
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:32.359
an economic alternative. They had no
pathway to employment, and because they had

403
00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:34.920
been so highly marginalized, you couldn't
just throw these women into a job transition

404
00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:40.400
program like they needed flexible hours so
they could continue to heal. They needed

405
00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:42.559
people to believe in them and kind
of hold their hands through their first work

406
00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:47.319
opportunity, and that's something we believed
we could offer, and so we did

407
00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:52.000
this pilot in Dallas, and I
mean everything transit worked. Basically, it

408
00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:56.599
scept for a living wage because we
were still having the women make our mass

409
00:28:56.640 --> 00:29:00.680
market products and that sold for under
one hundred dollars that we sell on our

410
00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:04.680
website and in our store, and
we wanted women to make a fifteen dollars

411
00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:08.160
living wage in Dallas. So that's
when we pitched this to Nemon. Marcus

412
00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:12.799
and I had a ten minute meeting
with the CEO of Memen's and Dallas and

413
00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:17.519
said, hey, look, we've
got all of these nonprofits in Dallas who

414
00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:19.880
want to refer women to us in
their program who need a job, and

415
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:22.640
we want to put one hundred women
to work, and in order to do

416
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.480
that at a fifteen dollars an hour
living wage, we've got to sell more

417
00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:32.000
expensive jewelry, like would you help? And no one knows this about Nemon

418
00:29:32.079 --> 00:29:34.000
Marcus, but I mean, they
are incredible and their CEO is one of

419
00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:37.599
the most amazing women I've ever met, and she said, you know what,

420
00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:41.279
let's do it and we'll help you
along the way. And they launched

421
00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:47.519
us in every single store nationwide in
twenty sixteen and I didn't realize until a

422
00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:49.880
little bit later that it was really
unprecedented for them to launch a new brand

423
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:53.640
through their store. And what made
that jewelry so unique and that's really the

424
00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:57.359
time, you know, in our
brand that had been in boutiques across the

425
00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:02.880
country really hit the national stage and
they helped kind of get us there.

426
00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:07.880
And what made those products unique is
we just combined all of these beautiful beads

427
00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:11.880
that our women were making in Uganda
with kind of higher end gym stones and

428
00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:17.079
pearls, and they were all fully
assembled in Dallas, so it had that

429
00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:21.839
local impact and to make that product. So we had this unique product line

430
00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:25.440
that still looks like a cola,
but it was more elevated and expensive,

431
00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:29.119
and that really took the jewlry line
to the next level and I think allowed

432
00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:33.240
us to fuel our business to help
so many more women in just one year

433
00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:36.519
in our partnership with me means we
had one hundred and seven women into Alasco

434
00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:40.680
through our program in about four hundred
women in Uganda. So it was an

435
00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:45.920
exciting impact and that's kind of how
the product and kind of our business has

436
00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:51.960
evolved. I think that is what
we call brilliant problem solving is what I

437
00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:55.200
would call that just plain brilliant problem
solving. And the fact that you were

438
00:30:55.240 --> 00:31:00.559
able to really enlist the heart and
soul of New and Marcus is incredible.

439
00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:03.680
Do you have any other sales outlets? So I think you sell on your

440
00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:07.720
own website and then through NEMA Marcus
any other sales outlets we knew we actually

441
00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:11.119
sell on local boutiques still around the
country, so we are all of our

442
00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:15.279
products two hundred and ninety five dollars
up are exclusive to Nieman Marcus, so

443
00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:21.279
we exclusively sell through every name of
Marcus store, online and catalog, every

444
00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:26.000
distribution channel for them, and they
have an exclusive on those elevated products.

445
00:31:26.079 --> 00:31:30.200
But anything under two hundred and ninety
five dollars is sold in our store in

446
00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:33.920
Holland Park and Snyder Plaza and Dallas. We have a store online. We

447
00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:38.279
have great online sales, so definitely
go visit our website. It's a great

448
00:31:38.440 --> 00:31:42.400
kind of guilt free persons when you
need to buy, gives their teachers,

449
00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:47.359
gives their holiday presence. You can
do that. And one hundred percent of

450
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.960
our profits as a nonprofit or reinvested
in our mission, so it's the same

451
00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:55.240
as giving a donation, which is
pretty exciting. But then also we sell

452
00:31:55.359 --> 00:32:00.680
these amazing boutiques around the country,
so you know, if you're in you

453
00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:05.759
know, different places Monkeys than Copper
Penny and these great boutique chains that have

454
00:32:06.039 --> 00:32:09.640
you know, worked with us for
years, with Sterria and their national catalog

455
00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:15.279
as well as their stores and yeah, a lot of great kind of mom

456
00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:17.640
and pop stores that were the first
ones to adopt our mission. We're still

457
00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:24.200
retailing in those as well. Well. I find it it's when I listened

458
00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:28.759
to you talk, I mean this
from both standpoint of those and you Gonde

459
00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:30.960
as well as those people here in
Dallas. I find it a little more

460
00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:35.799
than compelling that the creative hands of
women are literally powering the revenue of this

461
00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.519
project. There's something about that when
I first looked at you as a business

462
00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:45.319
that I found really compelling. Thank
you. Yeah, it's it's been.

463
00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:50.559
It's incredible. And I think what
is so fun about Acola and really being

464
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:55.240
the first brand that's kind of hit
this level of scale that gives a one

465
00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:59.880
hundred percent back, not ten,
not one percent, not five percent,

466
00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:04.599
not one for one, but transparently
as a nonprofit, all of our revenues

467
00:33:04.680 --> 00:33:07.799
go back into just fueling our social
mission to help more and more women in

468
00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:12.359
need. And I think it's so
neat. When you buy the necklace,

469
00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:14.880
you're like, oh my gosh,
all of these beads are made by women

470
00:33:14.920 --> 00:33:19.759
and you've gotten it's asseymboled in Dallas. Even our distribution centers run into Second

471
00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:22.960
Chance Job program, So even the
way our products are packaged makes an impact

472
00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:25.839
on women's lives, and then all
of that money goes back. Like it's

473
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:30.400
just a great feeling. It's a
huge impact, and women are touching our

474
00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:32.960
products and their lives are changed changed
at every single point of our value.

475
00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:37.920
Chaine, I did want to distinguish
that for our listeners if we can.

476
00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:42.279
Brittany, So I certainly have read
and understood that one hundred percent of your

477
00:33:42.359 --> 00:33:46.359
revenues go back. My thought profits
revenues. Yeah, yeah, that's and

478
00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:52.319
that's that's different than profit. So
can you crisp that up for our listeners

479
00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:55.519
so they really understand what you're doing. Please, this is amazing. Yeah.

480
00:33:55.720 --> 00:34:00.559
So actually, and people are just
blown away when they realize there's products

481
00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:02.759
that Newmans that do this or you
know, in the kind of stores that

482
00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:07.799
we're selling and with the quality.
But we are fully a nonprofit. We

483
00:34:07.880 --> 00:34:10.559
do not have a business subsidy or
we run the business through a nonprofit framework.

484
00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:15.400
So when you buy a coll of
jewelry, it's the exact same thing

485
00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:19.920
is if you gave us a donation, which is pretty amazing that you can

486
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:22.840
feel really great about the purchase you
made, but all of that goes back.

487
00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:27.599
All of the revenues, not just
the profit. All of the revenues

488
00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:30.960
go back into our mission to help
more women in need. So again,

489
00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:35.320
if you if you buy a nicole
and necklace, it's the same thing if

490
00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:40.079
you gave twenty five dollars to Red
Cross or It's United Way or the same

491
00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:45.559
thing. So it's you get a
beautiful product and you get to transform women's

492
00:34:45.639 --> 00:34:51.480
lives in a fully transparent way.
Well I'm going to park that for just

493
00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:53.039
a second, because I do want
to get more into your actual business model

494
00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:57.920
and peel that back a little bit
more, so I'll save my other set

495
00:34:57.960 --> 00:35:00.639
of questions that are going to come
to that and just second, and I

496
00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:04.599
do want to get a little bit
more at this whole second Chance job program

497
00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:07.239
that you mentioned earlier. I don't
know if that's related to what you said

498
00:35:07.280 --> 00:35:12.039
before about the women that you were
helping who had maybe been in through trafficking

499
00:35:12.400 --> 00:35:19.119
situations. Would you distinguish that for
us second Chance program we give women work

500
00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:24.920
opportunity in Uganda and seven different villages
in northern and Eastern Uganda through either making

501
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:30.440
the beads that go into our jey
or assembling our necklaces, or packaging them

502
00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:35.800
and distributing them. And here in
Dallas, we give women a second Chance

503
00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:40.639
job program their first work opportunity coming
out of tough situations, and they are

504
00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:45.840
able to assemble our jey for Nam
and Marcus at an average of a fifteen

505
00:35:45.880 --> 00:35:51.079
dollars and how we're living wage,
which is pretty amazing. And then they

506
00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:53.519
also have a chance to kind of
grow in leadership and work in our distribution

507
00:35:53.719 --> 00:36:00.440
center where they can learn kind of
hard skills like inventory management and customers service,

508
00:36:00.639 --> 00:36:02.639
and we're also trying to create a
pathway where they can work in our

509
00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:07.000
store as well, so they can
kind of grow up through our program or

510
00:36:07.199 --> 00:36:12.360
transition to another work opportunity, and
once they've kind of gained their confidence back,

511
00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.480
they've kind of seen the value of
generating income and what it can do

512
00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:21.639
for their family and will help them
transition into something that they're really passionate about.

513
00:36:21.719 --> 00:36:25.480
So, yeah, it's the second
chance job program for women in Dallas,

514
00:36:25.559 --> 00:36:30.800
and it's the only work opportunity for
these women we work with in Uganda.

515
00:36:30.199 --> 00:36:34.360
It's a little bit different in both
places. Okay, So Brittany,

516
00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:37.519
hold on, just hold on.
I heard you talk about this before,

517
00:36:37.599 --> 00:36:39.440
but I didn't catch it then.
So here's what I think is brilliant about

518
00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:45.760
that particular point is not only are
you really empowering transition in women in Uganda,

519
00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:49.519
but back here in your own backyard
in Dallas, to women who have

520
00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:53.559
gone through horrific situations and just may
not have any access to somebody who could

521
00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:59.360
give them a chance. And I
am now even further blown away by you,

522
00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:00.920
and you are going to station that
I can see that you're really working

523
00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:07.320
on both ends of the spectrum.
It's really really amazing. Well, it's

524
00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:09.800
all because of our partnership with Meman, so our entire Neman Marcus line,

525
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:14.039
which is in every single one of
their stores, online and catalog. It's

526
00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:20.880
fully assembled by women in Dallas,
so it's offered huge opportunities. Again,

527
00:37:20.960 --> 00:37:23.320
one hundred and seven women went through
our program just this past calendar year.

528
00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:29.199
And yeah, it functions more as
a second chance job program here, so

529
00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:32.840
we're really just looking to help women
have that first work opportunity and get them

530
00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:36.760
back into the workforce in Dallas,
Whereas than you've gonda, we are the

531
00:37:36.880 --> 00:37:39.719
only opportunity, and so women generally
staying in our program for years and years

532
00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:45.599
because there's no other place they can
generate income. And so yeah, both

533
00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:50.480
are equally as important for each place. So it strikes me when I think

534
00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:52.840
about what must go into being able
to support those women and you mentioned you

535
00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:57.079
know, even just being able to
care for them and hear their stories and

536
00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:01.239
give them you know you and just
emotional support. I can't even imagine what

537
00:38:01.360 --> 00:38:06.840
it must the crew that it takes
to be able to provide that program and

538
00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:08.480
the different kinds of skills that it
takes to be able to do that,

539
00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:13.880
and that's why, you know,
we have so many people. When we

540
00:38:13.960 --> 00:38:15.920
started to grow rapidly, they said, why don't you take a part of

541
00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:21.639
this for profit? You could tap
into venture capital, you could get you

542
00:38:21.719 --> 00:38:24.679
know, better financing, and you
know also they said, look like,

543
00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:29.559
on my side, I've worked for
this for fourteen years and this my life

544
00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:31.639
building this, and I'll never have
any equity in the company because it's a

545
00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:35.599
nonprofit and all of it goes back
to a mission, and I'll never have

546
00:38:35.679 --> 00:38:39.519
any ownership even and They'll never be
this kind of exit where I can kind

547
00:38:39.559 --> 00:38:44.280
of cash out on anything that I've
done. It's it's really just for the

548
00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:49.960
women, and we've intentionally structured it
that way, and it's pretty unique.

549
00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:55.000
And there's not many certainly no retailers
at our skill as a nonprofit, you

550
00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:59.440
know, competing and these kind of
larger retailers, and that's why we're the

551
00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:02.159
first to be able to say,
hey, same as a donation, one

552
00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:07.119
hundred percent of our revenue goes back
into our mission to help more women,

553
00:39:07.760 --> 00:39:09.960
which is really exciting. It is
exciting, and I do want to talk

554
00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:14.119
more about that after this break And
here we are just in time. I'm

555
00:39:14.119 --> 00:39:16.639
Alis Cortez, your host. We've
been on the air with Brittany Merrill Underwood,

556
00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:21.119
who is the CEO of the Acola
Project. It's a nonprofit social business

557
00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:25.000
designed to empower women and disadvantage communities
through training, employment, and holistic care.

558
00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:29.159
She joins us today from Dallas,
Texas. After the break, we're

559
00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:31.679
going to get more into her business
model and how it scales and how she's

560
00:39:31.719 --> 00:39:35.960
inspiring other initiatives through it. Stay
with us, We'll be right back.

561
00:39:47.159 --> 00:39:52.760
It's your world. Motivate, Change, Succeed. Voice America Empowerment dot com.

562
00:39:57.679 --> 00:40:01.360
Alice Cortez is a speaker and engage
and development catalyst. She designs and

563
00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:07.960
delivers professional development, leadership and engagement
workshops and can bring her expertise to your

564
00:40:07.079 --> 00:40:13.400
organization. She will help ignite meaningful
development within your workforce that will increase employee

565
00:40:13.480 --> 00:40:16.960
engagement, performance and retention. To
learn more or to invite Elise to speak

566
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:22.480
to your organization, please visit her
at www dot Elisecortes dot com. She

567
00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:29.360
would welcome the opportunity to help get
your employees working on purpose. Are you

568
00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:34.039
ready to tackle the rules of business? He may think you're doing everything by

569
00:40:34.119 --> 00:40:38.000
the book, following your own best
practice bilies bringing in endless consultants, only

570
00:40:38.079 --> 00:40:43.360
to find that your business is not
moving forward. That's where you need to

571
00:40:43.440 --> 00:40:47.360
stop and figure out where things are
going wrong. Enter Business Rules with host

572
00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:52.440
Peter Feinstein. Peter and his guests
will break it all down for you to

573
00:40:52.519 --> 00:40:55.199
help you and your business succeed.
Listen Wednesdays at eight a m. Pacific

574
00:40:55.280 --> 00:41:01.119
Time eleven am Eastern Time on Voice
America Empowerment. The White House Doctor Makes

575
00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:06.920
House Calls. Listen every week for
House Calls with Doctor Connie Mariano. Doctor

576
00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:09.960
Connie has served as the White House
Physician under three US presidents. Now she

577
00:41:10.119 --> 00:41:15.360
joins the Voice America Empowerment Channel to
help you enrich yourself physically, emotionally,

578
00:41:15.519 --> 00:41:20.800
and spiritually. Our guests will include
professionals from a variety of fields who will

579
00:41:20.800 --> 00:41:23.159
bring you tips that you can apply
to your own life. Listen for House

580
00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:29.320
Calls with Doctor Connie every Thursday at
four pm Pacific time seven pm Eastern Time

581
00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:34.400
on the Voice America Empowerment Channel.
Follow us on Twitter for more great ideas

582
00:41:34.679 --> 00:41:46.960
at Voice America Empowerment. This is
working on Purpose with Elise Cortes to reach

583
00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:52.239
our program today. Please call in
to one triple eight three four six nine

584
00:41:52.360 --> 00:41:55.679
one four one. Again, that's
one triple eight three four six nine one

585
00:41:55.800 --> 00:42:01.440
four one. You may also send
an email to a lease a LSB at

586
00:42:01.599 --> 00:42:12.960
Oliecortes dot com. Now back to
Working on Purpose. Thanks for staying with

587
00:42:13.119 --> 00:42:15.960
us, and welcome back to Working
on Purpose. If you're just tuning in.

588
00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:19.719
My guest is Brittany Merrill Underwood,
who has made an extraordinary impact through

589
00:42:19.760 --> 00:42:22.519
her dedication over the last fourteen years
to transform the lives of impoverished women and

590
00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:28.400
families through the Acola Project. It's
a nonprofit social business design to empower women

591
00:42:28.760 --> 00:42:31.800
and disadvantage communities through training, employment, and holistic care. I'm your host,

592
00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:37.800
Alis Cortes, So for this last
bit of time together here, Brittany,

593
00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:40.280
I really want to make sure that
our listeners understand your business model and

594
00:42:40.320 --> 00:42:43.599
how you've been able to scale it. And I know there are people out

595
00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.239
there who have some semblance of business
knowledge and savvy. Here saying, hold

596
00:42:46.280 --> 00:42:49.960
on just a second, one hundred
percent of your revenues. How in the

597
00:42:50.039 --> 00:42:52.079
world does Brittany eat? How does
she put a roof over her head?

598
00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:58.320
How does she take care of her
staff. So would you help distinguish for

599
00:42:58.480 --> 00:43:02.679
us how you do that. Yeah, So what's great is in deciding to

600
00:43:02.960 --> 00:43:07.119
keep our entire business in the nonprofit
frameworks that one hundred percent of our profit,

601
00:43:07.360 --> 00:43:13.400
our revenues and profits and go back
in pushing our social mission forward.

602
00:43:13.559 --> 00:43:17.360
So that includes operating costs for our
business and our nonprofit. But the way

603
00:43:17.400 --> 00:43:22.679
we're able to make that work is
we actually raise donations as a nonprofit to

604
00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:24.800
fund all of our social services.
So that's why we can do it in

605
00:43:24.920 --> 00:43:30.440
so many different categories maternal health and
family strengthening and small business creation, water

606
00:43:30.559 --> 00:43:35.920
wells, training centers, and we
raise the money to do that part of

607
00:43:36.039 --> 00:43:38.880
the work we do, and our
donations are restricted to our social services and

608
00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:43.760
then our business. What's really great
about jewelry is you can mark it up,

609
00:43:44.199 --> 00:43:47.599
so we're able to kind of mark
up in our cost of goods the

610
00:43:47.719 --> 00:43:52.159
jory and be able to cover our
operational costs as well as the living wage

611
00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:57.639
employment for women, as well as
our ability and capacity to kind of grow

612
00:43:57.719 --> 00:44:00.800
it to help more women and need. So it's a pretty unique model.

613
00:44:00.840 --> 00:44:07.719
It's a hybrid but within one organizational
structure, and it's interesting because I really

614
00:44:07.800 --> 00:44:13.400
believe it's kind of the nonprofit of
the future because we have a pathway to

615
00:44:13.440 --> 00:44:16.039
self sustainability as a nonprofit. We
have an earned income stream. There's a

616
00:44:16.119 --> 00:44:22.199
certain threshold and I think it's at
ten million in revenue that we can fund

617
00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:27.199
all of our social service programs as
well through our profits because we won't have

618
00:44:27.280 --> 00:44:30.679
shareholders since we're a nonprofit. So
it really exciting on that side. And

619
00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:36.280
if you're wearing your business hat,
it's really exciting because we're sort of the

620
00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:40.840
first and this again at this scale
that reinvests all of our profits in our

621
00:44:40.920 --> 00:44:45.920
mission versus just you know, giving
back one percent or one for one or

622
00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:51.360
five or ten. We can reinvest
all of the revenues and profits that we

623
00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:55.000
have to further our mission, which
means it just grows and grows and grows.

624
00:44:55.159 --> 00:45:00.800
So that's kind of the structure.
So technically, if you're total dork

625
00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:05.320
like I am, and I love
social innovation, our exact organizational structures.

626
00:45:05.320 --> 00:45:08.440
We're a nonprofit with a mission related
enterprise, so that would be kind of

627
00:45:08.480 --> 00:45:14.320
structurally, but we're very much just
a five oh one C three. So

628
00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:15.199
I want to talk a little bit
more about that I have a few more

629
00:45:15.239 --> 00:45:17.679
things that I want to peel back
about how you scaled and such, but

630
00:45:17.880 --> 00:45:22.119
I want to get to this notion
here that when I think about, you

631
00:45:22.199 --> 00:45:24.519
know, what impact you're having on
in some of the students that both you

632
00:45:24.599 --> 00:45:29.159
and I touch, And as we
both said earlier, we teach at the

633
00:45:29.159 --> 00:45:34.119
Southern Methodist University, and I know
that this high impact hybrid model that you've

634
00:45:34.119 --> 00:45:39.599
been working through is also really having
an impact on the millennial population coming into

635
00:45:39.599 --> 00:45:42.960
the workforce. They see this as
well, that's something that I could do.

636
00:45:44.039 --> 00:45:49.440
That's you are literally shedding light on
a possibility a business framework that I

637
00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:52.800
think is probably very appealing to that
to that generation. So can you speak

638
00:45:52.840 --> 00:45:57.639
a bit to any organizations that maybe
that have been inspired by your model that

639
00:45:57.719 --> 00:46:00.679
are out there that you know,
or is students that you that you know

640
00:46:00.760 --> 00:46:04.400
have that have done something kind of
similar. Yeah, a lot. There's

641
00:46:04.440 --> 00:46:07.960
actually a great new everyone should check
it out, Vickery Trading Company and they

642
00:46:08.079 --> 00:46:15.159
do children's clothes and they are able
to employ women refugees in Dallas through doing

643
00:46:15.280 --> 00:46:17.599
that. And she came to me
when she was starting it, the social

644
00:46:17.639 --> 00:46:20.840
business, and she said, I
just don't know what to do should it

645
00:46:20.920 --> 00:46:23.199
be a for profit or a nonprofit? And I kind of sent her some

646
00:46:23.400 --> 00:46:28.679
Stanford Social Innovation Review articles that like, help you think through what are your

647
00:46:28.760 --> 00:46:31.159
goals? Is your mission your most
important thing? Is it? Is it

648
00:46:31.559 --> 00:46:35.840
sort of your primary motivation or is
it your secondary motivation? And how do

649
00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:40.119
you decide what organizational structure which means
so much. It really determines where your

650
00:46:40.159 --> 00:46:45.840
revenues go. And she ended up
deciding to do it as a nonprofit And

651
00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:52.159
the greatest struggle we've had, and
what's hard about having a rapidly growing business

652
00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:55.480
within a nonprofit framework. If you
look at Goodwill, they're a highly profitable

653
00:46:55.559 --> 00:47:00.840
nonprofit. They're the same structure we
are, but they don't have a rapidly

654
00:47:00.880 --> 00:47:05.159
growing retail business, and they're sort
of about the whims of in that framework.

655
00:47:05.239 --> 00:47:08.239
So our biggest hurdle was how do
we get the capital to grow because

656
00:47:08.280 --> 00:47:13.119
obviously, you know, our business
is making money, but not enough money

657
00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:16.159
to kind of facilitate a full NME
and Marcus launch right, And we could

658
00:47:16.159 --> 00:47:21.079
have raised money and donations to kind
of build capacity for that, but we

659
00:47:21.159 --> 00:47:23.559
also wanted to restrict those to our
social services, so our donors really knew

660
00:47:23.559 --> 00:47:28.199
where their money went. So there's
this new thing called impact investing, and

661
00:47:28.239 --> 00:47:31.079
it's something we've totally tapped into.
And our model wouldn't be possible without this

662
00:47:31.800 --> 00:47:37.719
sort of explosion in the social finance
space. But it's where philanthropists as well

663
00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:43.280
as banks and others are saying,
how can we actually use our capital to

664
00:47:44.039 --> 00:47:47.159
make investments in organizations that have a
social impact. And so we've done that

665
00:47:47.320 --> 00:47:52.960
through impact investment structured as low interest
lens. So when we expanded in the

666
00:47:52.079 --> 00:47:57.159
Nemans, we had this incredible bank
come to us and they said, you're

667
00:47:57.239 --> 00:48:00.320
never going to be able to do
this without financing. We said, but

668
00:48:00.400 --> 00:48:02.480
we're a nonprofit. We you know, we we can only take on debtor

669
00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:05.679
donations. And they said, okay, well we're going to give you this

670
00:48:05.880 --> 00:48:08.840
capital, repay it in five years, and they did it at point zero

671
00:48:09.360 --> 00:48:15.280
seven percent interest, So we're just
repaying the principle, which is incredibly generous

672
00:48:15.320 --> 00:48:17.239
because they knew and they wanted to
help us achieve our mission, and they

673
00:48:17.280 --> 00:48:22.519
knew we wanted to, you know, reinvest that money into our into our

674
00:48:22.559 --> 00:48:24.800
into our mission to help more women, and so we've kind of grown that

675
00:48:24.920 --> 00:48:29.960
way. So it's it's been.
I kind of sometimes explain it to people.

676
00:48:29.960 --> 00:48:31.760
I feel like we're going up Mount
Everrus with a toothpick. We are

677
00:48:32.280 --> 00:48:38.119
trying to grow a business with it
with very little resources because we wanted to

678
00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:43.400
go back to the right place,
and we have limited ability to access capital

679
00:48:43.480 --> 00:48:46.000
because of the organizational structure we're in. But we've been able to make it

680
00:48:46.119 --> 00:48:52.599
work and it's never stopped us from
saying yes to big opportunities. So again,

681
00:48:52.760 --> 00:48:55.440
I love inspiring students and others to
kind of think in bigger ways and

682
00:48:55.599 --> 00:49:01.320
say it's possible to kind of take
the best says nonprofit and the best of

683
00:49:01.440 --> 00:49:07.000
the business world and then to harness
you know, capital markets to create change

684
00:49:07.079 --> 00:49:09.280
and how do you do that?
And you can come up with a lot

685
00:49:09.320 --> 00:49:15.719
of creative ways to kind of blend
thotes to have a high impact. Your

686
00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:20.559
business documen is is quite impressive.
It reminds me that I probably should have

687
00:49:20.559 --> 00:49:23.039
asked you why were you a business
major at SMU or a communication what was

688
00:49:23.079 --> 00:49:29.039
your wast the journalism major? So
no, okay, that's amazing. It's

689
00:49:29.079 --> 00:49:32.360
really even more impressive. Thank you. I went back and got my master's

690
00:49:32.400 --> 00:49:37.760
degree in international development. But I
still Yeah, I've had to learn as

691
00:49:37.199 --> 00:49:40.880
I go, and I've had incredible
advisors, our board chairs and Kip Kendall,

692
00:49:40.960 --> 00:49:45.280
the former CEO and founder of Container
Store, and he kind of was

693
00:49:45.360 --> 00:49:51.440
one of the pioneers of the conscious
capitalism movement with his actual roommate in college,

694
00:49:51.480 --> 00:49:54.119
John Mackie, who started Whole Foods, and they started this idea of

695
00:49:54.239 --> 00:50:00.840
businesses that also care about people and
give back and why he became our board

696
00:50:00.960 --> 00:50:04.840
chairs. He said, You'll are
doing something even more incredible. You're creating

697
00:50:05.480 --> 00:50:08.880
a business to give back, not
just a business, creating a business and

698
00:50:08.960 --> 00:50:13.119
thinking about how can I give back
also, which is also incredible. But

699
00:50:13.920 --> 00:50:19.280
what we're trying to create with our
new model is a business that's only purpose

700
00:50:19.400 --> 00:50:24.280
is to give back. That's why
it's created and sort of harnessing capital markets

701
00:50:24.360 --> 00:50:29.480
to propel a mission forward. And
it's been really exciting and that we just

702
00:50:29.559 --> 00:50:32.440
kind of learned as we go,
but had incredible mentors that have helped us

703
00:50:32.519 --> 00:50:37.000
kind of think through all of this
really well and really blessed to have that.

704
00:50:37.320 --> 00:50:42.039
I really appreciate that, right we
really have to be able to get

705
00:50:42.400 --> 00:50:46.119
a hand up from people who have
skills and abilities and temperaments and qualities that

706
00:50:46.519 --> 00:50:51.199
complement and extend our own. And
I think that's brilliant that you've been able

707
00:50:51.239 --> 00:50:53.800
to tap such incredible sources to help
you with that. Brittany, that makes

708
00:50:53.840 --> 00:50:59.079
even more sense to me. We're
almost out of time, so I want

709
00:50:59.119 --> 00:51:00.960
to get two more things out of
if I can before we dash one.

710
00:51:01.280 --> 00:51:06.800
I'm really wondering how in the world, and this is I know it's probably

711
00:51:07.079 --> 00:51:09.119
too much to ask in this amount
of time, but just scaling your business,

712
00:51:09.199 --> 00:51:12.679
I mean you I think you said
something about what did you say,

713
00:51:12.840 --> 00:51:16.039
five hundred or something stores or anyway, I want to understand how it is

714
00:51:16.119 --> 00:51:21.119
that you've been able to scale this
production to be able to have the impact

715
00:51:21.239 --> 00:51:24.639
and the reach that you've had.
Yeah, we're really lucky that we started

716
00:51:24.679 --> 00:51:29.159
to grow, I mean the name
and Marcus opportunities when we really took off,

717
00:51:29.840 --> 00:51:31.400
and I mean we were growing slow
and steady up till then. I

718
00:51:31.440 --> 00:51:35.119
mean there's really one foot in front
of the other and adding new stores and

719
00:51:35.159 --> 00:51:37.800
boutiques every year. But Neiman's really
put us on the map and we became

720
00:51:37.840 --> 00:51:40.960
a top ten Jory ran at Meiman
Marcus in our first season, so that

721
00:51:42.280 --> 00:51:46.280
really repelled us forward and was very
exciting. But how we've been able to

722
00:51:46.320 --> 00:51:51.320
scale. We built an incredible infrastructure. You know, I worked for you

723
00:51:51.400 --> 00:51:54.239
know, ten years to put these
pieces together, and I remember, like

724
00:51:54.360 --> 00:51:59.199
year three or four, there were
some other organizations that started when we did,

725
00:51:59.280 --> 00:52:01.599
and they really took coth and I
remember thinking like gosh, like we're

726
00:52:01.679 --> 00:52:06.360
doing great stuff, Like why is
you know this is just going blow and

727
00:52:06.480 --> 00:52:09.440
it's not you know, taking off
like they are and they're not around anymore.

728
00:52:09.920 --> 00:52:14.639
And I realized the reason for that
is they grew before they were ready

729
00:52:14.679 --> 00:52:20.519
to grow and before they had that
kind of crucial infrastructure in place to do

730
00:52:20.639 --> 00:52:22.320
it well. And I think we
were really blessed that when we got the

731
00:52:22.400 --> 00:52:29.119
Neeman's opportunity, we've we had already
you know, we've been on the ground

732
00:52:29.159 --> 00:52:31.280
and you've gone to for you know, ten years at that time, and

733
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:36.159
we were able to build on what
we knew to create an even bigger impact.

734
00:52:37.559 --> 00:52:39.480
Okay, so distribution channel makes a
huge difference. Totally get that.

735
00:52:42.440 --> 00:52:44.639
The next thing I want to ask
you is, you know, when I

736
00:52:44.719 --> 00:52:46.639
think about what you've already done,
You're thirty three years old and you've already

737
00:52:46.679 --> 00:52:52.599
had an incredible impact across the world
now, but I am curious. I

738
00:52:52.639 --> 00:52:55.079
mean, I'm somebody who's been investigating
how people experience meaning and their work and

739
00:52:55.079 --> 00:52:58.519
their lives for years. I'm writing
a book about that. I host to

740
00:52:58.639 --> 00:53:01.840
show what is it that you ache
to do in the time on the planet,

741
00:53:01.920 --> 00:53:07.159
what's next for you as you continue
along. I am so committed to

742
00:53:07.239 --> 00:53:12.880
this mission and I would love to
see it grow. And I mean people

743
00:53:12.960 --> 00:53:15.519
ask all the time, are y'all
going to stay in Uganda and in Dallas?

744
00:53:15.679 --> 00:53:19.639
You know? Are you are to
grow outside of that? And I'm

745
00:53:19.679 --> 00:53:23.400
so passionate about helping women start businesses
in their own country that they locally own

746
00:53:23.519 --> 00:53:28.239
and run. And I think we
can help do that through our supply chain

747
00:53:28.360 --> 00:53:32.280
and encourage other businesses to start up
and give them buying power and you know,

748
00:53:32.480 --> 00:53:37.199
help them get on their feed and
really tap into the global market.

749
00:53:37.280 --> 00:53:39.920
And so I just see this growing
and growing and I'm committed to this.

750
00:53:40.639 --> 00:53:44.440
And I remember I had a mentor
of mine and you've gone to after the

751
00:53:44.559 --> 00:53:47.039
Orphanage project, and we had learned
some hard lessons through that, and I

752
00:53:47.159 --> 00:53:50.320
just said, like, what am
I even doing? I feel like I'm

753
00:53:50.400 --> 00:53:52.119
hurting more than helping. I was
twenty five years old and a little bit

754
00:53:52.159 --> 00:53:57.320
disillusion and he said, Brittany,
that's a problem with your generation. You

755
00:53:57.440 --> 00:54:00.400
never stick to something right, something's
hard, and bounce to the next thing.

756
00:54:00.519 --> 00:54:04.599
And he was like, I challenge
you to commit to this country.

757
00:54:05.239 --> 00:54:07.239
You know, you're twenty five now, you've been working here for you know,

758
00:54:07.360 --> 00:54:10.800
six years. What if you committed
to this country, what would you

759
00:54:10.840 --> 00:54:15.679
be doing at sixty, sixty five, seventy you know, what kind of

760
00:54:15.800 --> 00:54:20.960
change could you have then? And
how much will you've learned? And there's

761
00:54:21.000 --> 00:54:25.119
so much value to that, to
committing to something and to continuing to innovate

762
00:54:25.199 --> 00:54:30.559
and make it better and help it
grow. And I'm committed to that and

763
00:54:30.639 --> 00:54:36.599
I really see that as my purpose
in life, and it's my passion.

764
00:54:37.239 --> 00:54:44.679
Talk about taking constructive criticism. Well, Brittany, that's fantastic. Okay,

765
00:54:44.840 --> 00:54:45.960
Well, I always like to give
my guest, if you will, a

766
00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:49.440
bit of the last word here.
So we're down at the closer of the

767
00:54:49.480 --> 00:54:52.119
show, so say, you know, in about thirty seconds here, So

768
00:54:52.320 --> 00:54:55.599
knowing this show is all about helping
listeners across the globe more meaningfully and productively

769
00:54:55.599 --> 00:54:59.679
connect with their work. What would
you like to leave the listeners with today,

770
00:55:00.199 --> 00:55:02.159
I would just say, I mean, again, I think I've learned

771
00:55:02.199 --> 00:55:07.119
this through this journey, is we
are so much more than we know.

772
00:55:07.400 --> 00:55:09.079
The women that I work with are
so much more than they know. I

773
00:55:09.119 --> 00:55:14.920
think every person who's listening to this, there's so much inside you and that

774
00:55:15.119 --> 00:55:21.280
can change the world and transform and
create. And I think just dive in,

775
00:55:21.719 --> 00:55:23.440
you know, take that risk,
you know, take that first step

776
00:55:23.519 --> 00:55:30.480
of faith, and don't be afraid
and stay committed and persevere, and amazing

777
00:55:30.639 --> 00:55:35.159
things can happen. And so just
I've seen that with so many people,

778
00:55:35.239 --> 00:55:39.000
and again women in our program who
come through some of the most difficult situations

779
00:55:39.280 --> 00:55:45.960
just sort of this rebirth where they're
you know, unlocking their potential in the

780
00:55:45.039 --> 00:55:50.400
world. And it's amazing to see
and I've experienced that and just hope everyone

781
00:55:50.519 --> 00:55:54.000
on this radio show has the courage
to do that as well. Wonderful way

782
00:55:54.000 --> 00:55:57.599
to finish, Brittany, I want
to thank you so very much for joining

783
00:55:57.679 --> 00:56:00.159
me on the program, and it
has been an absolute privilege to have you

784
00:56:00.239 --> 00:56:04.519
here and hear your story. Thank
you, Thank you so much. If

785
00:56:04.559 --> 00:56:07.159
you want to learn more about Brittany
Merril Underwood and the works she and her

786
00:56:07.199 --> 00:56:09.159
team are doing at the Ocola Project. Visit their website. It is a

787
00:56:09.280 --> 00:56:17.119
Coola project dot org, so that's
a Kola project dot org. Next week

788
00:56:17.159 --> 00:56:22.159
we'll be on the air with tahar
Ali and hear about his incredible life story

789
00:56:22.239 --> 00:56:24.719
and his message about failing our way
to success. So see you then.

790
00:56:24.800 --> 00:56:28.519
Remember that workers at least one third
of our life, So let's work on

791
00:56:28.599 --> 00:56:37.400
purpose. We hope you've enjoyed this
week's program. Be sure to tune into

792
00:56:37.599 --> 00:56:43.800
Working on Purpose featuring your host Elis
Cortes, every Wednesday at six pm Eastern

793
00:56:43.880 --> 00:56:47.440
Time three pm Pacific Time on the
Voice America Empowerment Channel. This week,

794
00:56:47.719 --> 00:56:50.760
find your life's purpose at work