Tell Me Something Good #2

Welcome to the start of a new week. Like the weeks before it, this last week has certainly had its ups and downs, but for me, it’s been a better week. I think it’s because I had a lot more conversations around good news!

I’ve made some excellent connections with other professionals this week because of my work on the Tell Me Something Good newsletter. I have stories to share with you from new connections!

Want to make the most of this newsletter? Then be sure to reach out to the professionals and companies I link to here. The best intro you could have is one that includes a bit of positive professional news! 

And why wouldn’t you want to connect with them? These stories are evidence of the good work they’re doing!

Onto the good news!

Focusing on B2C Instead of B2B

Gareth Dean, the co-founder of Non Plastic Beach, shared some wonderful results from their recent pivot with me. Non Plastic Beach offers sustainable, effective and affordable alternatives to plastic for kitchen and bathroom use. While they sell direct-to-consumer, their primary focus has been B2B sales to wholesalers. 

Due to quarantine, they’ve seen a steep drop in B2B sales and have also had to furlough their operations manager. How could they make things work? By thinking outside of the box. 

Non Plastic Beach took a serious look at their consumer sales and revamped their website, bundled products, increased digital advertising spend, and tweaked their SEO. They’ve doubled their consumer sales without running and sales or discounts! 

Supporting the Rapidly Expanding (in Some Industries) Workforce

Skedulo, a deskless workforce productivity software, has done so much for their San Francisco community and beyond. They recently hosted a blood drive in their vacant office space.

To better support their customers who need to rapidly increase their workforce, they’re providing additional user licenses at no cost through June. They’re also providing free SMS capabilities to their clients for better customer communication until the end of June. 

To support COVID-19 testing centers, Skedulo developed a capacity-based appointment booking system to help end patient queues and overbooking. The software is available to any testing facility for free through the Salesforce Marketplace. Wow, way to make an immediate difference!

Volunteering How You Can, Where You Can

Lexie Janney at Merritt Group, an integrated strategic communications firm, didn’t let quarantine keep them from their annual spring volunteer push. Every year, Merritt Group dedicates a whole week to volunteer work, which they call Spring Into Service Week.

They’ve volunteered at food banks, ran food drives, and planted trees in local parks. Stay-at-home orders meant they had to pivot their approach, but they were determined to make a difference in their community this year as well. 

They shipped food items to our local Food for Others warehouse, recorded storytime books for children in the Northern Virginia Family Services’ HeadStart program and mailed hand-made cards to Cards for Hospitalized Children. 

“Even though we weren’t able to interact face to face, being able to do virtual offerings was a great way to have more employees, and even family members, get involved.” Lexi said.

Supporting Nonprofits with Content Engagement

Nonprofits fall into the category of organizations especially hard hit by the quarantine. Most nonprofits rely on in-person events to raise awareness and fundraise. Grapevine6 has made a generous move to support nonprofits, starting with the Providence Healthcare Foundation. 

With free training and access to the Grapevine6 content engagement platform, the Providence Healthcare Foundation continues its online fundraising efforts. Patients of the nonprofit healthcare facility are recovering stroke victims, amputees, and others suffering from complex medical conditions.

Their mission is to help these individuals go home as quickly as possible and integrate back into their communities.

Grapevine 6 was inspired by the work the Providence Healthcare Foundation does and actually donated access to the engagement platform prior to the COVID-19 quarantine. Understanding the quarantine impact, Grapevine6 is extending this generous access to other nonprofits. Please contact Paul Odnoletkov [email protected] if you’re interested.

Pro Bono Small Business Consulting Task Force

Will Bachman, the managing partner of Umbrex, a global networking community connecting 650 top tier independent management consultants in 30 countries, decided he could help small businesses impacted by the stay-at-home orders. He asked his members if they would be willing to volunteer and provide free advice to the small businesses in need.

He received a resounding “Yes!” and Umbrex formed the Pandemic Task Force. The task force offers pro bono advice for owners and managers of bars, restaurants, theater groups, cultural institutions, yoga studios, nail salons, gyms, and other organizations that have been impacted or shut down by the pandemic.

On top of all of that, Will and his members created a pandemic playbook where business owners and managers could get written advice. You can read that here. 

Journaling for Reflection

Rhyana Ebanks Babb, founder of the P.L.A.N.N. Wholesome Empowerment Group, started a virtual journaling group called Journal to Joy on May 1st. The goal of the 28-day course is to help explore and manage emotions at different life stages and contexts. Participants are experiencing reflective moments and working through deep-rooted emotional responses.

For many, this journaling group couldn’t have come at a better time, but the skills they’re learning will help them in the future, whatever that future looks like. 

***

I’d love to feature your good news next time! No news is too small because in business, it’s the small consistent actions that move the needle. Let me know what you’ve got going on! 

Defiantly yours, 

Ruthie

P.S. The fourth season of The Defiant Business Podcast has started! The podcast is available on 8 different platforms and features fantastic businesses and professionals like those featured in this newsletter. Subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts!