The Purpose Playbook Podcast - Ep 15 - Combining Purpose & Profit with Yunus Social Business CEO Saskia Bruysten

Ep 15 - Combining Purpose & Profit with Yunus Social Business CEO Saskia Bruysten

06/16/20 • 39 min

I met Saskia a little under 10 years ago at a conference focused on social entrepreneurship and social business in London. She is one of those people you don’t forget in a hurry, and I’ve been following and admiring her work ever since. She is the co-founder of Yunus Social Business, a philanthropic venture fund that turns donations into investments in sustainable social businesses that provide employment, education, healthcare, clean water, and clean energy to over 9 million people around the world.

Saskia describes her purpose as “changing the powerful animal that is capitalism for the better.” The problems she is solving are big, messy and complicated, but her infectious passion for these issues is what carries her through.

In this episode, we talk about how Saskia came to work with Professor Yunus; and the thoughtful, type-A process she created to get there. We talk about the importance of combining profit and purpose in business, as well as advice she has for those who are interested in pursuing a similar path.

#PurposePlays from this episode:

Revisit your Purpose Statement annually. Once a year, remind yourself of your purpose and evaluate how you are or are not living up to it, and how you can recommit to this statement in the year ahead.
Don’t underestimate passion. If you choose to dedicate your career to a social cause, choose something you are very passionate about because it’s the passion that will help you stay focused and committed when the going gets tough (because it will).
Surround yourself with people who share your purpose. Whether it’s colleagues, employees, a mastermind, or a group of likeminded changemakers, these individuals can help re-energize and re-inspire you in moments you are struggling.
Make conscious choices. Once every few months, do the research to determine if there is a more sustainable alternative to the products you are using or buying. You don’t have to do this for every purchase, but focus on the items you buy a lot of.

Links:

Yunus Social Business

For intrapreneurs: Business As Unusual

COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs

The Good Guide by Marieke Eyskoot

Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

#PurposePlays from this episode:

Revisit your Purpose Statement annually. Once a year, remind yourself of your purpose and evaluate how you are or are not living up to it, and how you can recommit to this statement in the year ahead.
Don’t underestimate passion. If you choose to dedicate your career to a social cause, choose something you are very passionate about because it’s the passion that will help you stay focused and committed when the going gets tough (because it will).
Surround yourself with people who share your purpose. Whether it’s colleagues, employees, a mastermind, or a group of likeminded changemakers, these individuals can help re-energize and re-inspire you in moments you are struggling.
Make conscious choices. Once every few months, do the research to determine if there is a more sustainable alternative to the products you are using or buying. You don’t have to do this for every purchase, but focus on the items you buy a lot of.

Links:

Yunus Social Business

For intrapreneurs: Business As Unusual

COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs

The Good Guide by Marieke Eyskoot

Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

Previous Episode

Ep 14 - How to practice purposeful money management with Financial Planner Natalie Taylor

Natalie Taylor is a Financial Planner and Public Speaker. Her personal purpose is to help people cultivate a plan for their finances based on their values and goals. In other words, Natalie helps individuals, couples, and families invest their available funds in what provides the greatest amount of fulfillment, not just financial return.

She has been a financial planner for over 15 years and a lot of her work is dedicated to making professional financial advice more accessible and relevant to a broader audience. She spent 7 years working for FinTech startup, LearnVest, and recently opened her own financial planning practice to work with individual clients.

In this episode, we talk about Natalie’s earliest money memories, how she fell into financial planning, the values she and her husband optimize for, and the advice she has for people who are navigating the tricky but fulfilling balancing act of parenthood, entrepreneurship, relationships, and life in general. What I love about Natalie is that she walks the talk, which makes her such an incredible and relatable example of the power of purposeful financial planning.

#PurposePlays from this episode:

Align your money management strategy with your values. Identify your values: 1) what is most important to you, and 2) how you live your life. Use your values as a filter when determining how to prioritize your spending and saving, what to invest in, how to make trade-offs in your budget, etc. I recommend using Natalie’s Values Guide for this process (available on her site).
Create margin in your life. Build in time and space so you are not scheduled back to back to back. Sometimes you have to grow at a slower pace than you want to, so you can continue to make intentional decisions and show up as your full self. It may require you to detach self worth to productivity, but it will ultimately help you live in greater alignment with your purpose.
Create margin in your budget. This gives you the flexibility to make spontaneous decisions and enjoy life in the moment instead of living for “some day”.

Links:

Natalie’s website (be sure to wait for the pop-up to receive the Values Worksheet)

Article on Teaching Kids About Money