As someone who’s gone through the social enterprise journey, what advice would you like to give to other people who are keen to get started?

I think that if you’re looking to support other things, you need to find something that means something to you. For me, all of our charities have a homeless connection. When I was 16, I was homeless, and I lived in a refuge. And for me that’s a real driver. It’s the thing that gets me up and it’s the thing that keeps me going.

You can pick any charity you want or, or pick anything out of the sky, but if at the end of the day it doesn’t keep you going when the times get tough, where are you going with that? So I think that it just really needs to have a personal connection to you somehow.

That would be my biggest advice. 

What have been the keys to measuring and communicating your impact or success through The Hope Initiative?

Well, that for us was actually really easy. The more bangles we sell, the more good we are doing. So that’s actually a really easy one for us to measure. More bangles, more charity gifts. Up we go. 

That’s great to hear because you can just automatically be like “This is what we’re doing” and that’s so empowering.

We have a target on the wall and we are literally just climbing up and up towards that number. It’s a million charitable gifts by the end of 2025.

I’m interested in knowing what other projects are happening around you that you find really inspiring, that you think are doing awesome stuff…

The guys at Beddown. Norm is doing the most phenomenal work. I think that his initiative to repurpose car parks when they are being unused is phenomenal. The fact that nobody has thought about that before. Brings tears to my eyes and obviously being someone that has had nowhere to go before that really struck a nerve with me. When I met him I was really taken aback by his authenticity and his reasons for doing what he’s doing. And again, you know, the personal connection, that’s his motivator. It’s his driver; the situation with his father. I just think that that is the thing that keeps him getting up and soldiering on. So I’m really chuffed with the work he’s doing. 

Are there any books or podcasts that have really helped you on your journey that you’d like to suggest to our listeners? 

Absolutely. I think that if you’ve got some time, Kerwin Rae’s Unstoppable podcast is one of the best I’ve heard. He interviews entrepreneurs from across the globe who are the best in their field. And it is not just one particular theme, it’s just people that are kicking absolutely butt in their field. And I think that it is one of the best resources I’ve come across. 

Thank you very much Cascie!

Thank you so much for having us. I would really like to see our bangles on the wrists of your listeners because I know they are people that are changing the world, so I’d love to give them a special offer code that is “Boom”, which they can use at the checkout at anytime in the future. If anybody looking to buy a bangle, you will get a 15% discount on the checkout. Thank you so much for supporting us.