25 Businesses that give back in extraordinary ways

There’s an immense number of community involvement ideas for businesses and being not profitable enough to give back is simply not an excuse. As you can see from the list below, there are many examples of businesses giving back to the community that don’t involve money.

Support people undergoing cancer treatments

As a former foster child and then homeless young adult, it is extremely important to me to give back to the community that has supported my success. Our cancer cleanings are now also extremely close to my heart since my daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia last year, and I’ve been able to see firsthand how critical cleaning is to oncology families.

Laura, Founder of All Star Cleaning Services

Organise a virtual TED-Talk-style fundraiser

Organizing a virtual ted-talk-style fundraiser where the audience comes to learn and gets to leave motivated and inspired is a valuable and creative way to give back. Having the virtual attendees donate money to an organization of choice or even have business owners that have been poorly affected by the pandemic join in to hear other business owners and experts advise on how to survive through these tough times. Putting on such an event would take minimum investment, would allow everyone to stay safe, and would have the potential to help so many people.

Brandon Monaghan, Co-Founder of Miracle Brand

Make others pay in donations to pick your brain

I think this idea is a win for everyone involved; I get to share my knowledge, donators learn useful information that they can apply directly to their business and their money goes to the people needing it the most right now.

Jon Zacharias, CEO and Founder of The Search Guy

Encourage employees to volunteer and pay them for it

A philanthropy initiative that we offer at Boundery to all of our employees is encouraging each individual to spend 3 workdays out of the quarter to volunteer at a charity or organization of their choice whilst being fully compensated. This initiative allows employees to choose where they would like to allocate their volunteer hours and spreads awareness of new charities and organizations within our offices. 

Separately from Boundery, my wife and I work closely with the organization Casa de Amparo, which has a mission to help kids affected or at risk of child abuse and neglect. With the current state of our country due to the pandemic, we have been very active by connecting colleagues and business owners that might have extra resources to donate to the charity. We are reaching out to all of our connections because the kids desperately require all basic supplies. Connecting people and utilizing your network might seem like a small action to take but sometimes is most impactful.

Jason Akatiff, Co-Founder of Boundery

Kindness is a language everyone understands

This quick-turn-around high-level emergency work had the taskforce translating a range of documents including:

• Airport guidelines for quarantine and for people arriving to NYC
• Anti-eviction informational newsletters to various communities who might have landlords looking to take advantage of the COVID-19 situation
• Directions for how to use various work-from-home technology and apps
• Alerts for various apps that deliver push-notification news
• Community news alerts for various minorities living in New York who might not speak Spanish, English, Mandarin, or Russian

Languages included: Arabic, Bengali, Tibetan, Greek, Spanish, Dari, Farsi, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Igbo, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Punjabi (India), Punjabi (Pakistan), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Pashto, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese, Yiddish, Yoruba, Chinese (China), Chinese (Hong Kong), Chinese (Taiwan).

Phil Shawe, President & CEO of TransPerfect

Reward the community heroes

The first project was a smaller scale, paying $200 to a locally owned coffee shop to cover five dollars of 40 orders for that day. We created a small business card-sized positive message saying we are all in this together and to enjoy their gift from the granite and marble depot.

The next project we did was asking the community to nominate a local teacher who was going above and beyond while working remotely and teaching their students virtually. We got tons of nominations from the community and decided on one winner. The owner of granite and marble depot and myself met with the teacher at a locally owned food establishment, where they covered the cost of the entire dinner for the teacher’s family.

The final and most exciting project was donating five granite countertops to local heroes regardless of their position. We were in a two-month campaign asking the community to nominate local heroes from grocery store workers to first responders. We selected five winners and are just in the works of selections and installing the completely cost covered granite countertops.

Kylie Knur, Project Manager at JJR Marketing

Weekly donations to the most caring organisations

We’ve now reached our 120th consecutive week of donations!

Monica Eaton-Cardone, Co-Founder and COO of Chargebacks911

Donate one mask for each purchase

Here are the organizations we’ve donated masks to so far:

– Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center, San Pedro

– Lompoc Valley Medical Center

– Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast

– The Bridge Fund of New York Inc.

– Baltimore Donation Hub

– Gold In Fight

– REACH Air Medical Services

– Chinatown Service Center

Brandon Chopp, Digital Manager at iHeartRaves

Support minority-owned businesses

We also host networking events, Melanin Village Market Places, and our annual awards ceremony celebrating small businesses in the area. When Black Panther was being released, I bought out the theatre for Black-Owned Businesses and their families to experience what Black excellence looks like.

Alexis L. Williams, Owner of Aloha Glamour

Financially support low-income entrepreneurs

We do community outreach as a part of our annual Thrive Camp – an event where we bring in our employees from around the world to our Texas headquarters to do local volunteer work. We have also partnered with Kiva, a non-profit organization aiming to help low-income entrepreneurs in more than 80 countries. We give monetary help to those striving entrepreneurs to maximize their potential, including farmers or women in Africa selling goods. 

I believe that when you are at a point where you’ve gotten so much, it’s that chance you have to give back to people – to get them to the same place as you are.

Matt Bowman, President at Thrive Agency

Raise funds to make other people’s lives better

As part of Progreso Relief, an informal group of people who came together to help the community, we raised funds and fed over 1,200 families suffering from the loss of income in our city when COVID hit. We provided packages of food, sourced through local stores to keep more of the money in the community, and delivered them following strict safety protocols, supervised by a retired nurse, to needy families and individuals. Donations came from Mexico, the US and Canada.

When tropical storm Cristobal hit the area and flooded many homes, we again raised funds and worked with local restaurants to provide meals to over 400 people while they were staying in temporary shelters, and then used the remainder of the funds raised to provide gift certificates through a locally-owned hardware store to help people purchase materials and tools to repair the flood damage to their homes.

I was the first president of the Merida English Rotary Club, the first English-language Rotary Club in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, and spearheaded a project to put computers in the computer labs in Progreso, Yucatan, where they currently have no computers for the students to share. That’s right, zero computers in computer labs in 2020! Teachers currently bring their own laptops and teach the students via projector, which is really no way to learn computer skills effectively.

David B. Wright, President of W3 Group Marketing

Feed the hungry together with your employees

Gabe Abshire,  CEO of Utility Concierge

Make giving back part of your brand

We donate at least 3% of profits to advocate for better infrastructure support and maternal health programs.

– 1% global – to combat the global maternal health crisis

– 1% local – to provide local support and resources for new mothers (first-time and experienced) suffering from anxiety or depression related to a postpartum mood disorder

– 1% sustainable – to advocate for high quality paid family leave for all

Selah Rhodes, Founder/CEO of DARITY

Offer your skills for free to those in need

Especially due to the pandemic, a polished online presence is more essential than ever in business. That includes having a website that’s optimized to get positive results.

Yet, not all business owners are marketing experts so achieving that professional online presence is challenging.

To help business owners in that position, I’m offering value-packed website audits at no cost and with no obligation. These are done manually by me, a professional SEO copywriter and brand strategist.

The audit reports contain expert recommendations on everything from the quality of website copy to SEO to branding to overall UX. They pinpoint exactly what improvements need to be made so that business owners can either make the changes themselves or have an objective game plan if they choose to hire a professional to help.

Nia Gyant, Founder of http://niagyant.com

Fuel up health care workers with delicious pizza

Dave Parsons, Manager, PR & Communications at Donatos Pizza

Offer your products for free to those on the front lines

Additionally, CELSIUS is offering first responders and healthcare workers a case of product if they DM the CELSIUS Instagram page @celsiusofficial with proof of their ID. The brand has dropped off over 7k cases of product.

John Fieldly, CEO at Celsius Holdings Inc

As a BIPOC women-owned and certified B-Corp company, we have been using our business as a force for change and social good in our community for years. During the pandemic, we have been making our great sanitizing and cleaning products available to first responders, doctors, and nurses on COVID-19 frontlines, nonprofits, and to those in need both on a local and national level. 

All you have to do is reach out to us at team@drbrite.com if you are a frontline hero, a nonprofit, or someone in need, and we will be able to help you.

Dr. Paris Sabo, MD, COO at Dr. Brite

Give equal housing opportunities to the underprivileged

We do this because vacant properties become a habitat for criminal mischief and lower the property value of surrounding homes. We believe that homeownership has many positive impacts in our community relating to mental/physical health, our youth, and participation in civic duties such as voting.

We believe that it’s unfair to deny a family the opportunity to turn a house into a home based solely on their past financial hardship without making an attempt to fully understand their current financial position.

Paul Logsdon, Founder of Logsdon Home Buyers

Encourage attendees of fundraising events to open their wallets

We donate the bartender(s), alcohol, beer, wine and all the mixers so they can keep their costs down. We also assist in getting their Series 15 Special Event License for the event since it has to be submitted to the city and state for approval. Having alcohol served is always good for the auctions.

We have worked with some of the biggest charities in AZ and enjoy seeing them succeed.

Dave Forman, President at Pour Masters

Bring the community together to help turn business ideas into reality

Through my organization, I spearheaded the Salisbury-Rowan Black Business Pitch Contest. As an entrepreneur, I personally know the struggles of finding funding and resources to build and grow your business. Therefore, I reached out to local black business owners and asked them to sow monies into the pitch winner and to be pitch judges. Also, I asked other black businesses to provide business services to the pitch winner. 

Within 24 hours I received verbal commitments for both monetary and service packages for the pitch winner. The response was so overwhelming that my pitch committee was able to award service packages to 2nd and 3rd place winners as well. The pitch contest audience was also able to participate and vote for their favorite pitch! It was truly a collective effort and a great way to bring our community together and sow into a local black owned business.

Tonya Cross, Accessory Designer at Accented Glory

Collect donations for women’s shelters

For the public, I set up three different donation day/time slots they could drop off sites at the office. After two weeks, I collected all the donations and dropped them off at the shelter, along with a check from the company. We duplicated this with a food bank and a veteran center. All were contact-free, which made people feel safe and gave them a chance to contribute. 

Laura Fuentes, Operator of Infinity Dish

Set internet for underprivileged families

So, whenever we can, we set up underprivileged families with internet for free. It’s just our way to pay it forward and thank our community for supporting us. 

Sean Nguyen, Director of Internet Advisor

Instead of spending on advertising, donate

We support youth charities because we know not all young people get an equal chance in life, and our mission is to make hiring about skills and talent not about who you know or bank of mum and dad – we want our candidates to have an equal shot at working in the tech and media industries.

We partner with Work for Good to help facilitate our donations.

Lucy Smith, Founder & CEO of DigitalGrads

Show your love and support to the elders

The reason why we are volunteering is that we want to appreciate these elders who gave their best to build Singapore over 40 years ago. So by helping them save a meal or two weekly we help to ease their finances as well.

Cyrus Yung, Director of Ascelade

Years long dedication to help homeless people

Getting to experience his warmth and see how much he prioritizes his volunteer work has inspired me to continue serving dinners to the homeless and volunteering with the Sunday Streets mission without fail for many years now. No matter how successful I become, my family, my companies, and I will always give back to the most vulnerable in our community.

Nerissa Zhang, CEO at The Bright App

Conclusion

Looking at these businesses that give back is impossible not to feel inspired. Their selfless social responsibility proves that community involvement ideas for businesses are not limited to donating money.

The businesses giving back to the community are most often the smallest local businesses in our communities and not the large corporations. That’s because the businesses that give back have big hearts but not necessarily deep pockets.

You can be a one-man band, and still, help more than a company employing 1000 staff does.

36 quotes about business growth to motivate you

Conclusion

Understanding a global culture

The challenges and benefits of working in this global culture and the effects of a business’ worldview all prove the importance of cross-cultural communication.

Cross-cultural communication refers to the communication between participants from different cultures. Even within the same country, different locations can have cultural differences. Communication styles, standard norms of turn-taking in conversation, and accepted methods of address may all differ. 

So, before getting into the workplace and the effects of cross-cultural communication, it’s necessary to understand cross-cultural communication and inclusion while keeping several things in mind. 

Each of us needs to develop our knowledge and understanding of our own cultural background and biases. Without this understanding, we take many things for granted. This will undoubtedly lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. We also need to cultivate open-mindedness of other cultures and ways of doing things. Keeping these points in mind, let’s proceed.

9 aspects that prove the importance of cross cultural communication

For businesses to thrive in the global economy, it’s becoming increasingly vital to be aware of the importance of cross-cultural communication. Those businesses that successfully navigate and harness the differences and similarities between cultures can create more resilient interconnection and interdependence. 

Accordingly, the importance of cross-cultural communication in business plays its role in increasing productivity which helps businesses to thrive and increase their profits. So, let’s go through some of the greatest benefits of improved cross-cultural communication in the workplace and see how they drive success.

Communication and trust

Good cross-cultural understanding improves communication between people from different cultures. Consequently, it fosters greater trust.

When employees or customers are aware of potential differences and similarities, they’re likely to pay closer attention. They’ll think more about what other people are saying and doing. This is important to minimize misunderstandings and to consider what the other side is actually trying to communicate.

When employees or customers demonstrate an understanding of each other’s cultural background, greater trust is built. This creates a feeling of being a team and it enhances collaboration.

Increasing productivity and profits

Improved communication and trust promote greater productivity of all. The improved communication between colleagues boosts productivity in numerous ways, including reducing misinterpretation and a better understanding of strategies and goals.

With greater trust, participants can focus more on their aspect of the common work. All without the worry of whether the other participants are fulfilling the requirements of their respective tasks. Furthermore, greater trust also promotes collaboration and a sense of unity amongst team members.

Incentives

Another reason why cross-cultural communication is important is that it impacts the understanding of the different incentive drives of participants. By applying good cross-cultural understanding, we cater to these various incentives and create an inclusive environment. Consequently, there is an improvement in productivity when the participants are appropriately incentivized.

Appropriate incentives make employees or customers feel more valued because they recognize that attention has been paid to their relevant cultural norms.

Creativity

With a larger pool of cultural influences and views, creativity is improved as well.

Because of the greater variety in cultural influences and views, there are more inputs to any creative endeavor. This cultural diversity is important because it provides a larger selection of possible solutions to any problem or challenge faced in the workplace. 

Also, a better cross-cultural understanding is important to develop open-mindedness. It promotes the understanding that there’s more than one solution that’s suitable for any given situation or challenge.

With rapidly changing markets and fast-paced lifestyles, improved creativity and problem-solving can provide a business with a noticeable edge.

Human resources

The importance of cross-cultural communication and understanding has its part in a business’s human resources department as well. When they have the ability to recruit globally and successfully integrate international talent, a business can make use of the most talented people, irrespective of their location. 

Not only would such diversity improve productivity, but it would also have a positive impact on the company’s image. It demonstrates that they value ability and talent wherever it comes from.

Challenging the status quo

Cultural diversity means that more questions are asked between participants as they seek to ensure effective communication and understanding. This results in the challenging of the status quo which often leads to potential improvements that would have been missed in a monocultural environment.

Moreover, frequent improvements often mean more efficient workflows, which can also drive greater success within the workplace.

Local needs

In utilizing cross-cultural communication and the application of a diverse talent pool, businesses can adapt to regional requirements with greater finesse and understanding. By making use of the relevant knowledge from within their global workforce, they’re better equipped to adapt to and understand local needs, habits, and requirements.

Demonstrating such local understanding could be a primary determiner of success in a local market. By catering to local culture, your business is almost certain to have a competitive edge over any rivals.

A great growth opportunity

While there are numerous challenges that occur when different cultures interact, there is a great opportunity too.

Ideally, the development and implementation of cross-cultural communication should take place from the top of the organization. When the leaders set an example and demonstrate their awareness and adaptability, they pave the way for everyone else in the organization to follow suit.

The benefits of effective cross-cultural communication, not only toward success and profit, can be immense. It generally outweighs the challenges posed and has major long-term benefits.

To start the development of cross-cultural communication, keep the above in mind. Remember to actively listen to all participants. And, always pause before reacting, in case there has been a cultural misunderstanding.

Customer relations and market expansion

Understanding different cultural expectations around service and communication directly impacts customer satisfaction across international markets. Businesses that recognize cultural preferences in everything from negotiation styles to communication frequency can create more personalized customer experiences that feel natural to local consumers.

This cultural attentiveness helps prevent embarrassing marketing failures that often occur when companies try to use the same approach worldwide. Research shows that customers are far more likely to become repeat buyers when they feel a company respects their cultural context and speaks to them in culturally appropriate ways.

Conclusion

Society’s integration with technology and the resulting development of global culture has placed greater pressures on business. It highlighted the need for developing and training cultural understanding and the importance of cross-cultural communication. Therefore, breaking the cross-cultural communication barriers in the workplace goes a long way towards increasing success. 

21 business role models who inspire entrepreneurs

You’ll notice this list is made of just as much female business role models as male ones. Sadly, for this to happen we had to make extra effort to get the names of the ladies found below. 

Namely, more than 80 entrepreneurs were eager to share their business role models with us, and only 2 of them had named females that inspire them. In fact, the bigger portion of them didn’t care to look past the most famous billionaires on the planet (Elon Musk and his likes). What was surprising was that even women were dropping this type of names. 

So we had to try again and look specifically for female role models in order to make this list in compliance with our stance for gender equality.

The reason we’re sharing this with you is to encourage you to seek inspiration in the secret powers women in business have just as much as you do in men. You’ll learn so many new business lessons, and find new aspects of business to be passionate about and lead you ahead.

Alan Mulally

My business role model is Alan Mulally. From writing this piece about him a few years ago, I have been lucky enough to start up a relationship with him as he read it a few months ago.

I have had the chance to ask him my question which is, “Why don’t more people run companies like him and other highly successful leaders?” since the things they focus on are almost exactly the same. His answer was that it is hard. You have to be a loving human but also hold people accountable to the standard that was set.

Bill Flynn, Growth Coach/Teacher at Catalyst Growth

Anita Roddick

She’s also very brave in speaking what she thinks and I can see myself in her. In fact, I’ve always dreamt of having a team where everyone can speak their concerns and ideas without feeling bad about it. Anita has always inspired me to be ethical and see the business world in a humanitarian sense. 

If I could still get the chance to meet and ask her a question, it would be, “Would you be pleased to receive a gift box from The Body Shop if you weren’t the founder?”

Valentina Lopez, Co-Founder of Happiness Without

Gordon Ramsay

But nonetheless, Gordon is an entrepreneurial rockstar and has amassed a fortune from his restaurants, TV work and books! I think the thing that inspires me most about his journey is his tenacity and ability to adapt in the face of adversity. He was on a path to become an elite footballer, but after suffering injury, made a change into cooking, and is now one of the world’s most formidable chefs.

He spent hours upon hours, often working late into the early hours of the morning practising his cooking techniques so he could become the best. I admire this work ethic so much, and it inspires me to push through my recent Type 1 diabetes diagnosis aged 33 and continue with business to make it work (despite recent world events).

If I could ask him one question, it would be “How do you motivate yourself to work the long hours, and maintain the quality and enthusiasm that you do?”

Chris Panteli, Founder of LifeUpswing

Marie Forleo

My female business crush is Marie Forleo. I love her for her creativity, vulnerability and her ability to write copy! Marie has taught me the value and skill of being yourself. She dances at the drop of a dime and doesn’t care who’s watching. I, myself, also like to shake a leg on the dance floor. The way she has been able to grow her business, offerings and followers has been magical. She also gives away a ton of valuable content for free. And every episode of Marie TV is a burst of energy.

I would ask her, “How did you find your Niche? What one thing were you judged for that turned out to be your Super Power? What was one thing that they told you not to do, that was just what needed to be done? Would your 6 year old little girl be proud of who you became?”

Tajuana Hill, Owner and Operator at Mimosa and a Masterpiece

Robert Kiyosaki

When I graduated I didn’t get a job and started my own business. I had read all his books and audio programs and one of the things that stuck with me was that you don’t get rich buying shares, you get rich selling shares. What he meant by that was build a business and sell the shares. 

20 years after that seminar and one of my businesses is about to IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange. I stopped my operational capacity at that business 2 years ago also taking his advice to use your business to buy property. I am now flipping houses and building a rental portfolio to create passive intergenerational wealth. 

I actually did meet him again 2 years ago at the New Orleans Investment Conference. I didn’t ask him a question, I just thanked him for everything he had done for me.

Steve Keighery, Founder of Home Buyer Louisiana

Rachel Hollis

Rachel Hollis is my favorite business role model because of how raw and real she is. We’ve never met, but I feel like I know her and that she cheers me on my journey.

She’s taught me to stay true to my authentic self. She reminds us just how capable we are on reaching our goals. She’s taught me that it’s okay to be vulnerable on your entrepreneurial journey.

Rachel has a tattoo on her wrist that says “mogul”. Her story has reminded me that we all have to start somewhere. She’s struggled and has had her own setbacks, yet she’s still succeeding. She owns her own company, is a best-selling author, and hosts conferences on tour. She’s a huge inspiration to women all over the world.

If I could ask Rachel a question, I’d ask her how she attains a healthy work life balance? She has four kids, multiple businesses, and constant press and media tours. As someone whose business is growing, I’d like to obtain a healthy work-life balance myself. How does she get it all done?

Also, I’d ask her what my “word” should be for my wrist tattoo. Ha!

Autumn Grant, Owner and Founder of The Kind Poppy

Keith Cunningham

He’s taught me a lot about how to think strategically in my business, be long term focused, and focus on internal processes and improvements we can use to grow.

One of my favorite sayings from him is Growth is about what happens internally. That inspired me to spend less time thinking about sales, sales, sales and more time focusing on people, processes and strategic moves.

If I got a chance to meet him I would ask him what is the #1 habit he looks for in team members to make sure he hires the right people for his companies.

Brice Gump, Founder and Owner of Major Impact Media

Sara Blakely

Most of us grow up to fear failure, and that keeps us small. But if we turn it around and make failure something to aspire to, it helps us take more risks in business and ultimately, to innovate more. Sara’s phenomenal business success based on innovation is a great testimonial for that.

If I met Sara, I would ask her what her proudest failure was, and what she learnt from it.

Bianca Riemer, Founder of the Leap into Leadership program and hypno coach

Evan Spiegel

My takeaway from that story and his career trajectory generally, is to believe in myself, my team and what we are working towards. When you combine smarts with hard work and a solid business instinct, you’re destined to go far. Be adaptive and flexible, but always keep your goals in mind and don’t get distracted by the small stuff.

If I ever met Evan, I would ask him what his process is for analysing new ideas that his employees bring him. I can imagine that every day he is bombarded with suggestions and proposals for new revenue channels and modifications to their current operations. How does he analyse such proposals and make a decision? I’d love to know his process, and whether he acts more off of instinct or is data-driven.

John Ross,President & CEO at Test Prep Insight

Joanna Gaines

Her mellow temperament and loving personality have taught me that you don’t have to be unscrupulous to succeed in business and in life. On top of that, she showed me that you can have a family and be present in their lives while also having several ventures under your belt.

If I ever meet her I’d probably lose my cool and my ability to think and ask her some stupid question, and later regret it.

Claudia Henry, Founder of Twelve

My father

He taught me three primary lessons that help me every single day: listen more than you talk, negotiate fairly, and treat everyone – no matter who they are or what they do – with respect. 

Those lessons have been passed down through the generations and have been the foundation for what’s kept us in business since 1904.

Tim Spiegelglass, Co-Owner of Spiegelglass Construction Company

Emily Weiss

She has inspired me to be focused, determined and hire talented people who are experts in their field so that they can help bring my vision for Dr. Brite into reality. 

If I got a chance to meet her, I would ask her how and why she decided to scale from online Instagram launch to storefront?

Paris Sabo, MD, COO at Dr. Brite

Kate Kendall

I admire her for her leadership, fierce work ethic and determination. If I could ask her one question, I would ask “What sparked your initial interest in entrepreneurship?”

Jordan Smyth, CEO & Founder of Gleamin

My parents

They never worried over customers they felt were trying to pull one over on them. I specifically remember a day when a customer came up to the counter and complained that the machine did not dry their clothes. It was maybe the equivalent of $1.25. My mom apologized for the inconvenience and gave the customer their money. After they left, I noticed the customer taking their clothes out of the dryer and it looked dry – it didn’t have that wrinkle look you get when clothes are finished in the wash. 

I asked my mom why she just gave up the money when it was clear they were lying. She said something that stuck with me till this day. She said that for us it was the equivalent of running the machine for a few minutes. For that person, it was the difference in maybe having clean clothes for the first time in weeks. That if they were asking for that money back, maybe they really needed it. It’s made me more empathetic running my business these days.

Hana A., Owner of Giftsfor

Mellody Hobson

Mellody Hobson is my business role model. She doesn’t seek the spotlight but has a magnetic personality and passion that captures everyone around her. She comes from a very humble working class (and Midwest) background like myself. I’ve loved watching her rise up and break so many stereotypes. 

I’ve had the chance to present to her recently but didn’t have a “real” conversation. If I had that opportunity, I would love to dig into how she is raising her 7 year-old daughter in light of all of the opportunities more accessible to females and minorities. Also, I’d like to ask about times she was ready to give up whatever she was she was doing. I believe knowing the hardships one encounters (not always public) and the way they overcome shows such true character.

Kelly Parthen, Co-founder of Bean Sprouts

Mike Adenuga

The Nigerian billionaire, Mike Adenuga, is my business role model. I admire how his modesty overshadows his riches. Nothing more strikes my core than watching someone rich and powerful yet bowing down. 

I learned about Mike Adenuga’s modesty, but when I read in the papers that he once went to his knees and lay face down before somebody he was much wealthier than, I made up my mind to be like him.

Matt Scott, Owner of Termite Survey

Michelle Obama

I’ve learned from her that no matter how humble your beginnings, what matters is to discover your passion, be true to your own heart, be kind to others, and walk the walk. She inspires me every day as I run Speakfully, an HR tech tool to ensure a healthy workplace culture, and to bring a more positive, just, and fair work environment to our corporate communities.

If I ever got to meet her, I would ask what has helped her when she felt most depleted to continue forward.

Jana Morrin, CEO and Co-founder of Speakfully

Reginald F. Lewis

He inspires me because he was unapologetically himself at all times. He embraced his culture and always remembered his beginnings. He didn’t cower under pressure or when people questioned his confidence, and he was thoughtful and decisive. Somehow he ‘knew’ his time was limited and he accomplished a great deal before his death (much like the late Chadwick Boseman). 

If I had the chance to meet him, I’d ask him what he thinks is the most important characteristic or skill for success in business. And whether he believes business people/entrepreneurs are born or made.

Michelle Y. Talbert, Esq., Founder/Chief Curator at Her Power Space

Arianna Huffington

Even before I became an editor, I am fond of reading a lot of books and news made by famous people. One of my great inspirations as an editor is Arianna Huffington, the founder of one of my favorite sites, The Huffpost. 

She was my great influence because by reading all her contents and books, I was inspired to build up my own career. Aside from being a founder, she was also an editor, columnist, author and a businesswoman and I just can’t imagine how she had struggled all these roles together all at once. 

If ever I will have a chance to meet her, I will thank her for being an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs and writers like me. I will also take this opportunity to ask her for advice and tips on how to handle all the challenges with grace, and how to keep on hoping despite the setbacks one has to face in building her own business. 

Samantha Moss, Editor and Content Ambassador at Romantific

Richard Branson

My business role model is Richard Branson for obvious reasons. Business should be fun. It should be about creating something that doesn’t exist by bringing together people of various backgrounds to grow and progress with the idea itself. It can be a beautiful thing and after reading Richard Branson’s autobiography for the 4th time, it’s clear this is how he approaches life and business. 

Whether it’s circumnavigating the globe in a hot air balloon or breaking the US to England crossing boating record, the man knows how to have some fun. When I make decisions or even go back to the basics of why we do what we do to begin with, I recall his experiences to remind me that business is a creative process that should be filled with the love and cooperation of a multitude of talented individuals.

If I have the chance to meet them, I’d probably inquire about societal problems he thinks are the most important and how he’s going about solving them. I’d also ask what he believes to be the point of life. A bit more in the clouds but an important question nonetheless.

Rishav Khanal, CEO of inPerson

Chelsea Clarke

My current business role model is Chelsea Clarke, a female business owner and the founder of Her Paper Route. This year alone, she’s on track to bring in nearly $500,000 (in a pandemic!) with her blogging businesses. 

But my reasons for looking up to her go a little beyond just the income generated. She’s truly a visionary in the blogging industry, and her approach to growing her own platform, as well as other blogs that she then sells, has helped me understand that every website is a valuable piece of online real estate. And just like fixer-uppers, you can turn a dead blog into a profitable one! 

She’s a true inspiration for me and has pushed me to think bigger when it comes to my own online business. If I would get a chance to meet her, I would ask her: “What is the one non-negotiable task that you do every single day that has greatly impacted your business growth for good?” 

Ana Skyes, Founder of The She Approach

Conclusion

You may have started reading this list thinking you don’t have a business role model. But slowly, as you progressed through it a few names of people that inspire you came to your mind. The good thing about business role models is that you can have them as many as you want. They can change as you reach different stages in your entrepreneurial journey. Or it can be one role model forever. There’s no wrong or right in having business role models.