We live in fast-paced times, and in an ever-changing marketplace business owners must be able to adapt readily. The Pivot podcast, hosted by Stephanie Redcross West, features interviews with successful vegan business owners, keeping you up-to-date on topical issues & how the pros are handling them.
Jay Barrett is a globally experienced human resources professional and an empathetic and passionate advocate of veganism. With a commitment to fostering a more compassionate and sustainable world, he strives to reduce society's reliance on animals for food, materials, testing, and entertainment. After dedicating 12 years to the fashion industry, Jay embarked on a new path as a consultant, merging his passion for veganism with his expertise in human resources.
Jay is currently on an entrepreneurial journey, establishing a business and brand that creates opportunities for others. As the visionary behind Culture Canopy, a human resources consultancy, he focuses on collaborating with purpose-driven clients who aspire to make a positive impact on the world, particularly within the realms of social impact, veganism, sustainability, and animal advocacy.
Culture Canopy is at the forefront of developing people-centric, sustainable, and holistic human resources initiatives and services. Their approach is tailored to each organization's unique ambitions and goals, ensuring a perfect fit. Jay and his accomplished team design compassionate and effective people strategies, providing transformational human resources solutions to enhance employee performance and elevate their overall experience.
In this episode, we delve into the fascinating concept of fractional HR and how it empowers organizations with invaluable access to expert guidance and services. Jay also shares profound insights on strategic planning for future growth, encouraging organizations to embrace scalability and evolution over time. Don't miss this opportunity to gain unparalleled wisdom and learn how to shape a brighter future for your organization. Tune in and be inspired by Jay's extraordinary journey, brimming with passion, purpose, and meaningful impact.
Get to know Jay and Culture Canopy better here: https://www.culturecanopy.com/
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When you're leading people, your role is to determine what your team needs, because everyone is different. Some people need more structure, some are good with ambiguity and the freedom to go and figure it out. And some people want to know, ‘This is exactly what I need to do. These are the kinds of boundaries that I work with.’ It's finding that happy medium that works with everyone.
– Jay Barrett
Show Notes
🙋🏾♀️ [00:43]Today's topic is HR: how to create a culture within an organization that supports people and our ethical standards.
👨💼 [03:09] Functional HR: James is passionate about working with organizations that are growing.
🍀 [07:23] HR is helping you bring your vision to life: internal systems, team dynamics and contexts for navigating, so everyone in your team is set up for success.
✌🏾 [10:12] Two most important HR aha moments for Stephanie.
⚠️ [12:44] The one-year annual performance process is not enough to build a good team: talent nurture, workforce planning, communication channels, regular feedback and talent management that speaks with the culture.
2️⃣ [16:28] Two reviews per year: when business is changing, multiple reviews are needed.
⚡ [19:05] Keeping communication and collaboration boundaries clear: importance of having specific time and space for one-on-one meetings to discuss what the team needs.
🥅 [21:57] How consistency and process helped Stephanie’s team to get the same type of support for everyone in her team.
🌟 [23:33] Leading a team means determining what your team needs.
🛣️ [25:28] Remaining agile and be prepared for changes: don’t be rigid - you are on a journey.
😎 [27:23] HR consultancy and James’ pro bono support for organizations in animal and vegan advocacy space.
🏆 [30:46] You need to be prepared for pivoting: don’t forget to refine and look back on your achievements.
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Maria Cebrian is a three-time entrepreneur and with 14 years of experience in the digital and wellness industries. After selling her second company, she set out to build the most sustainable supplements on earth after learning about the impact of this industry on animals and the environment. Every year, the US supplement industry kills 24 billion animals and creates 1.8 billion plastic pill bottles.
In 2016 Maria and her co-founder Hava Horowitz wanted to simplify and complete vegans’ nutritional needs with sustainable and ethical supplements that have no impact on the planet.
In this episode of Pivot, we speak to Maria, the co-founder and CEO of Terraseed, about her entrepreneurship journey and how the business became what it is today.
Terraseed has partnered with the non-profit Animal Save Movement to make a petition to the FDA to implement more transparent regulations for supplement companies, which would mandate companies to disclose if their supplements contain animal byproducts. Terraseed has secured almost 5,000 signatures and is on a mission to gather 25,000 signatures to pass them along to the FDA.
Maria shares what it takes to revolutionize an entire industry by transforming the way things are done to truly make an impact on the world.
Get to know Maria and Terraseed better here: https://terraseed.com/
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I truly believe that a company or a startup is an extension of who we are…we are absolutely connected. I'm very spiritual in that way. My recommendation is that you build something that is 100% aligned with who you are, as a human being. Because if there's no alignment, when you start bumping into all these challenges and all issues, it’s really hard. This is brutal, especially when you have a physical product. So if your business is not 100% aligned with you, and without a very clear mission that you can hold on to, is going to be very difficult.
—Maria Cebrian
Show notes timestamps
💊 [00:43] How vegan businesses can disrupt industries: what it takes to lead a revolution in the supplements industry.
🤦♀️ [02:24] So many ingredients in supplements come from animals: building something that is totally different from what you can find in the market.
😲 [05:30] A lot of supplements have animal ingredients: the supplement industry kills 24 billion animals a year, mostly fish.
🧪 [08:56] Lack of transparency and scientific approach in the supplement industry.
😇 [12:42] Maria’s biodegradable package for supplements: journey and tests to create compostable tubes for their products.
🎯 [16:03] Building a mission-driven business is inspiring you to take the extra mile.
✌️ [17:56] The two keys to a resilient and positive mindset.
✍️ [20:46] Online petition to include info on animals in supplement facts labels.
💎 [24:47] Build a business that is 100% aligned with who you are.
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Brett Christoffel is the Founder and CEO of All Y’alls Foods. All Y’alls Foods was born from Brett's love of cows. After spending over 40 years consuming them, it hit Brett that he loved all animals as much as he loved a dog or cat, so he stopped eating meat and became a vegan.
As a native Texan, Brett takes pride in his state. When he learned that one of Texas' most substantial contributions to the world is beef, he decided to support changing that by launching All Y'alls' first product: It’s Jerky Y’all, in May of 2018.
In this episode of Pivot, Brett describes his journey from avid carnivore to becoming vegan and founding his plant-based snack company in Texas, USA.
Brett shares his story of vegan entrepreneurship and what it was like launching a plant-based food brand in Texas, a state whose second-largest export is beef.
Get to know Brett and All Y'alls Foods better here: http://www.allyallsfoods.com
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Things have changed and people are seeing it. 90% of all plant-based foods are eaten by people who still eat meat - so it's happening, people are trying it, people are sampling things. Whether it's from a health perspective, Planet perspective, or compassion for the animal perspective, more and more people just keep coming to it. And what's great is no matter why they come to it, at least it impacts all three areas every time.
—Brett Christoffe
Shownotes timestamps
⭐ [01:45] All Y'alls Foods is a mission-driven plant-based proteins company that is based in Texas.
⏪ [04:24] Two books that changed Brett’s life: meatless Monday was fun for him until he realized that diet and diseases are related.
☎️ [09:05] It all started at Grapevine Main Street Festival: calling vegan grocery stores to move forward and scale.
💲 [11:01] Selling ⅔ retail and ⅓ online: the ways consumer packaged goods are usually distributed.
🐮 [14:12] Getting out of animal agriculture to different field with great success.
📈 [17:35] Vegan business perspective and margins: why Brett uses only organic soybeans.
🫘 [21:36] All certificates All Y’alls Food is working on: no GMO.
🤓 [24:14] Vegan business challenges: world is changing and 90% of all plant-based foods are eaten by people who still eat meat.
🎶 [26:24] What he is most proud of: “Damn, it feels good to be a vegan.”
🎯 [28:15] Getting things right: working hard and being happier than ever.
Links:
Song ‘Damn, It Feels Good to be a Vegan”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F55n7DGRCXE
Supporting Rowdy Girl Sanctuary: https://rowdygirlsanctuary.org/
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
As the founder of Sexy Fit Vegan, and previous trainer to celebrity athletes like A-Rod, Ella has built an international audience to include 60k followers across her social platforms serving the world as a speaker, author, podcast host, and coach. She believes that our bodies and overall health deserve the same commitment, love, and dedication as all other aspects of life. While entrepreneurs have earned accolades, achieved massive success, seemingly conquering it all, many of us have neglected the one asset that can’t be bought–our HEALTH. In this episode, Ella shares ways that we can stop playing small with our health and offers ways to embrace movement, design plan-based nutritional plans and return to our spiritual roots.
Get to know Ella Magers and Sexy Fit Vegan better here: https://www.ellamagers.com/
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“We get addicted to the doing and the doing and the productivity, and thinking that's the only way we're worthy of walking this planet. So coming back to that space of taking a breath–we don't have to be doing something every moment of every day. What can we do to start to make some time for ourselves to find that peace in just simply being.”
– Ella Magers
Shownotes timestamps
👙 [01:18] We can build businesses to be sexy fit vegan.
🗝️ [02:34] Bringing veganism into the mainstream since 2013: holistic health is the key.
☯️ [04:12] What holistic health is to Ella and how to achieve it.
👁️ [05:17] Be an observer: detach from what you think you are and approach yourself with curiosity and compassion.
🧘♀️ [08:59] Ella experienced complete burnout: then, finding peace in just being.
🔁 [13:46] Build consistent habits: programming our minds through repetition.
3️ [15:24] Elle’s morning routine in three steps: a foundation of self-care makes self-discipline different.
🎙️ [16:51] Here and There podcast changed Elle’s approach and addiction to productivity.
🌟 [18:35] Practicing a present-moment awareness: anxiety doesn’t lives in the present.
😇 [21:37] Allowing yourself to feel all emotions: getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
✌️ [23:32] A 22-day transformation system: disrupting the patterns that aren't serving us.
🥰 [27:12] Being connected to people is so important: don’t isolate yourself.
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
As Chief Nerd at The Modern Health Nerd, Theresa “Sam” Houghton is helping plant-based, functional and better-for-you CPG and DTC brands understand their customers and create better content.
Sam is a graduate of both the Bauman College Nutrition Consultant program and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate program and uses this expertise to bring a unique perspective to content marketing.
In this episode, Sam shares how a realization about what most brands are missing in their content marketing processes led her to pivot her business, becoming better at what she does in the process. Sam will share these insights to help you connect with more people and better serve the customers you already have.
Sam will explain why you should stop chasing SEO terms for the sake of traffic and start creating content that will genuinely interest and serve your customers. You can stop trying to ride the wave of short-lived trends and create content that will benefit your business in the long term!
Theresa “Sam” Houghton is helping plant-based, functional and better-for-you CPG and DTC brands understand their customers and create better content. Her writing appears regularly on NutritionStudies.org and the Upside by VitaCost and has been featured on Green Queen Media. She has been a guest on several podcasts and YouTube shows, including Vegan Visibility with Kathleen Gage, Behind Their Business, Chef AJ Live and Let’s Eat with Mark Samuel.
Get to know Sam Houghton and Modern Health Nerd better here: http://modernhealthnerd.com
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"Do a review of your own values and your own purpose and your own goals–what you really want to accomplish with your business. And then if you have already looked at your audience and done the research, go back and review it. If you need to, update it and refresh it, because your audience might have changed. The audience you thought you were going to serve might not be the audience that you're serving."
— Theresa “Sam” Houghton
Show notes timestamps:
🙃 [00:40] Content marketing can sound like ‘everything marketing’ at times.
🛣️ [03:15] Sam’s journey started with a food blog, to health coaching, to content writing: she is doubling down on the long-form written content because it can do a lot for brands.
🙏 [05:53] The business meetings with God on a daily basis helped Theresa a lot.
☝️ [08:00] Knowing your goals, your customers, and their goals: video, written content, short and long content marketing.
▶️ [11:46] Where to start: know yourself and your brand then do a customer research audience discovery.
🏃♀️ [15:21] Content marketing is a long game, do not let anyone tell you otherwise: don’t do what everyone is doing.
🦺 [19:30] Authenticity as a marketing tool, you cannot fake it.
🤔 [24:13] To do SEO videos or not?
🤖 [26:14] Some of the SEO topics will resonate with your audience, but write for people, not for search engines.
🦄 [29:54] Don’t turn your brand blog into a personal blog but going slightly in that direction will connect you with your authenticity.
🎯 [34:29] Don’t push down what your heart is telling you.
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Fit Vegan Coaching began when CEO Maxime Sigouin found himself looking for ways to raise funds to support his fiancée's cancer treatment. Fit Vegan Coaching has since helped over 500+ vegans completely transform their health and bodies.
On a mission to help the world get lean, thrive and bulletproof their health, Fit Vegan Coaching (FVC) is fighting misconceptions about building muscle, improving body composition, and increasing performance as a vegan.
Maxime truly believes in reaching out to people to help them achieve a healthier and better life and avoid suffering from diseases that could have been prevented. He is also an incredibly successful entrepreneur - FVC has grossed over 7 figures in its 2.5 years on the market.
Maxime joins us to share his journey from looking for a way to support his fiancée to running a successful vegan business. He'll discuss the challenges and rewards and share why it has to be about more than the money.
Get to know Maxime and Fit Vegan Coaching better here: http://www.fitvegancoaching.com/
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“What is the thing that just burns inside of you–that if you don't do, you don't feel like it's worth living? That's how I feel about it. If I'm not doing this thing, why am I on Earth? There's no need for me to be here if I'm not pursuing this thing actively.”
— Maxime Sigouin
Show notes timestamps
🤩 [01:02] Maxime helped over 500+ vegans completely transform their health and bodies.
🤯 [02:04] Being laid off from work due to Covid and having a partner with cancer: the birth of Fit Vegan Coaching.
💪 [03:33] Helping people in transition as well as vegans to achieve good body composition.
✌️ [04:26] Program is the combination of education, performance, and result: tailored workout and meal plans.
🧠 [07:19] Following the plan and working on mindset issues is 90% of the work FVC works on.
📈 [09:56] Investing all money into a mentor and implementing feedback from members into the program.
🎯 [12:08] Implementing only scalable feedback: trials and errors in learning from clients.
⚖️ [14:03] Finding balance in a coach-client relationship: setting the expectations from the start.
🎙️ [17:02] Consistent posting on SM and cold outreach: podcasting and being a podcast guest retained a lot of leads.
🏁 [21:52] Three tips for people who are at the beginning of their business journey.
🚦 [22:56] Advice for the people at the crossroad: money doesn’t solve every problem.
✨[25:32] If I’m not pursuing my passion, why am I on this Earth?
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Innutri, a company founded by entrepreneur Adrian Krahn, has a mission to be an “ethical health improver” – to protect the lives of people, animals and the environment. Innutri’s products aim to maintain and improve people’s health and quality of life while taking an ethical, long-term approach–for the sake of this generation and those to come. Innutri’s latest development, Innutri Soft Gums™, are an innovative new alternative to traditional nutritional supplements. Innutri Soft Gums™ are a healthy, ethical, vegan option for anyone who struggles to swallow pills or capsules – or who’s looking for a more enjoyable way to get the extra nutrients they need.
In this episode, Adrian shares his journey to veganism and the challenges of bringing an innovative new vegan product to market. Adrian also shares some of the key lessons he’s learned along the way like always staying open to the views of others and remembering that there is no straight line in one’s life.
Get to know Adrian and Innutri better here: https://www.innutri.ch
🗣️ Quote
I would rather have 100 customers, who really value my product and pay a lot of money, than have 1000 customers who don't really value it, and I have to push them to buy it. So I would always go for the niche - find the right niche where you can actually create a community where they really love the product, and they do the marketing for you.
--Adrian Krahn
Timestamps
😇 [00:43] Every business has bumpy times – that is the measure of our growth.
🛣️ [03:37] Adrian’s journey from getting familiar with vegan food, to consulting for pharmaceuticals, to developing vegan gummies.
😎 [07:14] Different approaches to building a business; starting from scratch–developing the technology, building the machine, finding a producer, and bringing it to market.
🎯 [08:43] Technology, solving problems for your customers, and getting out there with a specific story.
👀 [10:26] Why it is better to focus and find your niche.
🤔 [11:46] Doing private labels vs building your own brand.
✨ [13:00] Many business owners miss the opportunity to leverage LinkedIn.
💶 [15:09] Doing business in Europe is much more complicated due to regulations and multiple languages.
🤩 [17:06] The power of diversity in a business team: different views can bring things to the next level.
🥗 [22:15] Veganism has been trendy in Switzerland for years: the vegan market is strong and climbing.
🖥️ [24:11] Tools nowadays offer testing the market even before having a physical product.
🤝 [26:22] Benefits of working with startups and small businesses: learning from feedback.
⚠️ [30:51] Adrian’s tips on how to make short-term and long-term decisions.
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live-streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Virchew is NA’s first plant-based food brand for dogs, founded by veteran entrepreneur Laura Simonson. Virchew is supported by industry-first nutrition programs focusing on skin, digestive, and senior-related solutions. Companion animals in Canada and the United States number over 100M and Virchew has built an extraordinary foundation that will lead to new ways to feed, care for, and live with companion dogs. Its 100% plant-based, dehydrated, preservative-free, locally-produced dog meals and treats - the first of their kind in the industry – are distributed through Virchew HQ, a sustainably designed and healthy workplace, with a set of core values that challenge all to 'do the right thing.'
In this episode, Laura shares with us the “a-ha” moment in a small town bookstore that inspired her to start on a vegan dog food journey. We’ll discuss how Laura and her team stood strong and pushed forward with their vision even when the pre-pandemic world didn't seem ready for plant-based dog meals and treats and how awareness and demand are now growing through consumers who want to live better.
Get to know Laura and her business, Virchew: https://www.virchew.com/
🗣️ “Keeping up a very strong vision for me has always been at the heart of my experience. And then definitely follow the good advice of people that say, “Get the strategy in place.” Or find the person that can do that with you. That is powerful - if we can accept that kind of assistance, because entrepreneurs, sometimes we do our own thing. WE are gonna do it. No, we can't. We don't know everything. It's impossible. Get the right people around you that support what you see.”
— Laura Simonson
Show Notes:
👠 [01:01] Vegan female entrepreneur journeys can be slightly different.
🐕 [02:30] Laura is an animal lover who grew up with dogs: The book, “Vegetarian Dogs and Cats” stuck with her.
🤩 [04:11] Creating a brand name that rocks took her a few years: when virtue became Virchew.
💚 [06:07] Food for dogs that is changing the world: what we put on the plate, we put in our minds - why would it be different for dogs?
👩💼 [10:44] Business model Laura chose: it is important not to lose the product quality because it is a prevention for health issues.
🎯 [14:51] Keep strong vision strong, get your strategies in place, and get the right support system around you.
✅ [19:27] Power in being flexible and leaving ego at the door in building the business.
🏪 [23:01] Opening a sample shop and production in the same place: providing a retail feeling to customers.
👁️ [24: 30] Big eye opener for Laura about the vegan community and her business.
🦮 [28:00] Silver lining: who are the core customers and what is the bond between businesses and customers.
🐶 [30:00] Amazing customer relationship, veterinary programs, and food development.
🌸 [32:25] 90% of Virchew’s capital has come from women.
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Serial entrepreneur, Bobbi Giudicelli, founded Read The Ingredients with her eldest son with the mission to help people eat clean, find their energy and live their passion. Bobbi’s journey from severe eating disorders to Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) food choices brought her to co-found this latest venture.
Read The ingredients offers the cleanest full-meal (breakfast/lunch), baked and packaged products on the market. Bobbi is also the author of "Freedom From A Toxic Relationship With Food" which shares her struggles with food issues and offers support to others who struggle with their relationship with food.
Get to know Bobbi Giudicelli and Read The Ingredients: www.rtifoods.com
“I can't stress that enough: if you're gonna go into different industries—it is all about the inner workings of the industry—It's all about who you know, it's all about aligning yourself with vendors and partners and employees. Who are the right people? Building relationships is the key to a successful business. I don't care what product you have, I don't care what you're doing. If you can't build successful relationships with vendors, with customers, with employees—don't even bother.”
—Bobbi Giudicelli
👩💼 [03:38] Boobi has been in service and product industries for the last 50 years: building multiple businesses driven by passion.
🍽️ [06:24] Fixing the relationship with food and eating disorders and creating a new business because there was no clean, gluten-free packaged on-the-go food!
🤝 [09:30] Going into a business in different industries: learn everything and build relationships with vendors, customers and employees.
🦄 [11:49] Having a unique product: How to get the attention of our target market?
🔑 [15:04] Why customer service is key: transparency and integrity in building relationships with clients.
🌸 [19:23] Relationships are at the foundation of everything in life: Freedom From a Toxic Relationship with Food is a book about our relationship with ourselves, food, events and others.
🤔 [21:55] Being more yourself in business and private life: questioning relationships and being conscious.
📈 [23:12] Conversion to subscription rate is high within the company: struggles to find the target market but highly attractive to the habitual eaters.
🛒 [25:53] Creating customers: as a tool to convert them into subscriptions.
😇 [27:04] Marketing agencies and learning curves: clean eating and clean products are adding health to your life.
⚡ [29:20 Kickstarter campaign: getting RIT foods into retail will mean a lot to the whole vegan community.
🤓 [31:14] Helping people address the health issues related to food: relationships with food sometimes aren't even our own choice.
💡 [32:57] Tips on how to build a business around a niche.
😎 [36:45] Marketing needs alternative solutions and needs to be very dynamic.
__
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Motion Manor is an animation studio that wears its values on its sleeve. They offer a completely transparent breakdown of what being ethical means for the studio, what that means for its clients and what its climate objectives are for the future. They only work with purpose-driven organizations, like B-Corps, social enterprises, non-profits and vegan brands and they reinvest a portion of their revenue into the creation of video content and strategy for causes supporting sustainability, the climate, and animal welfare.Anthony Green has found joy in his work again. He and the Motion Manor team are excited to change the world with video, one audience at a time.
Get to know Anthony and Motion Manor better: https://www.motion-manor.com
“I just always have it ingrained that we can do more. It is possible, it should be possible to run a successful business that actually builds ethical values into it from the ground up. Not only who you work with, but how you generate the work, how you treat your clients, how you treat people, how you communicate, how you act as a business. That should be a value throughout everything that you do. So that's really what started the initial journey of saying, “No one wants to do this, but we're going to prove it can't be done.”
— Anthony Green
SHOW NOTES:
🎬[00:39] Anthony pivots his business to ethical outlet for animation and creative motion picture designs.
🧠 [02:51] Average day: thinking and a lot of decision making in terms of the creative strategy before actual creating.
😤 [04:36] Anger as the starting energy for solution: greenwashing vs. real real ethical company.
🌈 [07:07] It all started from a 100 hours workweek and feeling hollow: finding his values and implementing them in his new business.
🎯 [14:55] Brand clarity emerged when the hidden vision and value were found and followed: video has a power to change the world.
🎞️ [17:57] What Anthony is working on: all types of animations and engaging videos.
💸 [20:21] Mistakes people make when investing in animation: investing too soon is like scaling a broken message.
👉 [22:09] Video is not going to fix a problem that you actually have: strategy first, campaign and leveraging video content wisely.
🎥 [23:42] Usage of videos for service-based businesses: choosing short versus long video content.
⚠️ [28:07] Building a business that is out of alignment with your values will be a terrible experience: communicate your message with a focus on transformation.
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🤗 Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
The Luxury Vegan is the world’s only concierge transition service for the vegan lifestyle. Dominique Side helps individuals live a more compassionate lifestyle by easing them into veganism in every aspect of their lives. Being vegan is so much more than food. Dominique also focuses on fashion, beauty, household items, interior design, eco-friendly travel, and so much more. It is Dom’s mission to show her clients that you don’t have to sacrifice your current lifestyle when transitioning to a more conscious one. As the co-founder of the 7-figure entrepreneurial multiplex Vgn Bae, her mission is to inspire and support other change-makers and influencers to transition to a compassionate-based vegan lifestyle, without compromise.
Dominique is also a music artist, recording studio owner, vegan fashion showroom founder and creator of Houston’s first vegan grocery store.
Get to know Dominique and The Luxury Vegan: www.theluxuryvegan.com
“The thing that separates the ones you admire from everyone else is THAT thing. And everyone asks, “What is that?” You listen to all the talks, you go to all the seminars, you take all the classes, you follow all the inspirational people, you read their books, you're like, “What is The Thing, the key, what is that secret?” And it's not a secret. They're just consistent. And they keep showing up and doing the thing - the uncomfortable thing over and over and over again. That's what makes them different.”
—Dominique Side
SHOW NOTES:
🎬 [00:39] The balance between running multiple vegan businesses and raising a family.
😲 [02:37] Dominique wears so many business hats: from escrow company, founding school, online grocery store, to Vgn Bae music production, renting cars, and investing in properties.
🎙️ [04:45] “Let’s build a studio!” –Pivoting during the pandemic all the way to a 17,000 square foot studio.
💽 [07:50] Vgn Bea Music Group produces urban pop, gospel, and latin pop artists.
😇 [09:20] The compassion mindset within her business: ideals behind a vegan lifestyle are infused into every business decision.
🤩 [12:42] Balance is a fine line: Dominique’s children, family and business partner are her support system.
🎥 [14:40] Having her children present while she is working provides them with understanding about her passions, work and expenses.
⚠️ [17:32] Ask and accept help from others: building a team within your infrastructure is important just as a team amongst your inner circle or community.
🎯 [20:49] Dominique had to learn about being agile and flexible because production is unpredictable and the pivot brought new challenges.
👀 [24:58] Examine if your hesitation is rooted in logic or in a fear of failure, putting yourself out there, or success.
🤗 [30:42] Luxury Vegan is Dominique’s concierge style consultancy helping people transition to a compassionate mindset.
🎶 [32:20] Dominique is a producer, singer, and composer working on many projects within Vgn Bea Music Group.
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but unsure of how to take actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
“I see being a rebel as a positive positive thing, that you aren't just taking things as they are. We grew up in this belief system where eating meat is natural and normal. I very much grew up with that. I had to rethink that. I had to challenge that, in a way, to rebel against it and look at other ways of doing it. And not just follow my heritage and the way things were. I really want to inspire everybody else to come on board and question all these things and be part of it—this idea of being rebellious and rethinking things, changing the world and making it a better place.”
—Todd Sinclair
▶️ [00:39] From growing up on a dairy farm to being a trilogy author. Uncertainty turned into an opportunity.
🤓 [03:02] Personal reinvention: echochamber of thoughts during lockdown inspired him to write books.
👨💻 [08:22] Becoming an author and publisher: learning all about books, business and building a team.
👔 [10:03] Building a team for the first time: motivating and learning from the mutual relationships.
🤩 [14:51] Rebel Vegan concept and finding his tribe: rethinking the world’s ways to make it a better place.
🥣 [18:58] Rebel Travel guide: inspirational book about the history and future of veganism and travel.
📚 [22:50] Todd loves feedback from readers and plans to republish and update his books.
⚠️ [25:16] Perfectionism have you stuck? Find the support and just try—it will make you learn and grow.
🎙️ [30:32] Todd is preparing a podcast about vegan coming out stories.
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
After reading, “A Diet for A New America,” by John Robins, Anthony Cotter transformed his life of addiction and homelessness. He went back to school and committed himself to nutrition, mindfulness, health, and wellness. His organization, Whole Life Goals, helps connect individuals seeking guidance with certified professionals ready to support them in reaching their Movement, Meals, Mind & Money goals.
"I focus more on really finding the right Certified Professionals to join “Whole Life Goals”. I want to build a good family, good people that are ready to serve and want to serve and that's their passion. I want to help create a healthy workforce, because that's what we really need. We need healthy people, teaching other people to be healthy."
🤩 Building a business around helping people fulfill their lives. 00:43
👦 Anthony was raised to be vegetarian but then faces struggles and hard times. 02:51
🧘♂️ His diet changed his path: yoga, meditation, veganism, and money merged. 04:54
⭐ Practice of being mindful is like being vegan - it becomes your natural state. 06:39
4️⃣ The four M’s: movement, meals, mind, and money. Getting help from certified professionals for shopping, meal plans or anything. 08:57
✨ Whole Life Goals: Creating a community of people focused on holistic health and wellness. 11:49
👔 Job opportunities and marketing tool: matching professionals with clients. 14:38
🤝 Business model: Anthony is building both sides of the market - certified professionals and visitors. 17:30
📈 Changing and improving our products, sites, and offers makes us better in business. 20:58
⚡ We need healthy people, teaching other people to be healthy. 22:57
🌞 Look at those four aspects of life. Whatever you focus on is going to grow. 24:45
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
If I didn't care about animal testing, or plastic packaging, or what is that, what is my customer going to do with this box now that they're done with it and if I didn't care about ingredients, it'd be so much easier. I could just be whipping together some products, putting them in very traditional packaging, which are readily available, and putting them up on store shelves. But it's not what I want to do. I want to build something that is sustainable in the fact that it's also helping people. It's getting them away from inundating themselves with chemicals, that, a lot of it we don't even have control over, they just come into our environment naturally. So if we can take control over certain areas of our life, and eliminate that. That to me is a good choice that we can all make.
Show Notes
🌺 Vegan businesses that are environmentally conscious. 00:43
🧼 Skin issues made Angie create her own soap and home detergents. 02:49
👩💼 Journey of creating an established business while solving personal issues and bad packaging. 04:27
🧴 Impactful moment for Angie: Replacing plastic bottles with nature-friendly packages. 06:37
😇 Stand in your own voice: moments of questioning your strength. 09:13
🌞 Feedback from customers: appreciation and value customers can see. 13:00
🌎 How do I add to the life of the planet: Angie’s views on sustainability and pollution. 16:21
📋 Angie loves to narrow down her day into three main things and those are not only business-related. 20:51
📦 Tangie’s distribution center: new learning curves and control of low waste packages. 25:16
📈 Faith moment in future steps of your business. 29:19
👉 Learn easy ways to reduce your own waste room by room at www.wastefreepledge.com. 31:11
✅ Analyzing all the professional services every quarter. 33:51
😎 Angie would love to find a mentor who is about three years ahead of her on the path. 36:27
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⭐Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
We offer the vegan community a pathway for integrating all of the issues of social justice and environmentalism, with their passion for veganism and animal rights. And what we're offering the education community is the opportunity to bring these important ethical issues into their classroom in ways that don't have to be polarized, that don't have to be controversial, but can actually be oriented toward how we solve these underlying problems that we face in the world.
Our goal is to educate people to be solutionary. That is people who can address unjust and unsustainable and inhumane systems and devise and implement solutions that are good for everybody, meaning all people, animals, and the environment.
💡 We need the tools and identified solutions so we can drive change in the world. 00:43
🌞 The course that changed Zoe’s life: she discovered a way to change the world through humane education. 02:28
🤩 Reasons behind Zoe’s founding of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE). 06:40
😇 Bringing vegan issues into the mainstream: the first graduate programs about animal rights, social justice, and environmental protection. 08:17
🎓 In addition to graduate programs, IHE offers free resources, short courses, and solutionary guidebooks. 13:08
🌟 The education system is the root system underlying all other societal systems: transforming systems as the Solutionaries. 16:17
😎 What is the main principle behind becoming the Solutionary. 20:15
🏫 San Mateo County, California embraced the Solutionary approach for all their schools. 21:24
🌎 Sometimes we don’t know how our future can look: connect with Zoe. 24:22
🌺 Do things differently, become a Humane Educator or a Solutionary: free webinars on structural racism. 25:26
🤗 Keeping motivation going: comprehensive humane education brought Zoe many amazing people who are working on improving the world for everybody. 27:53
👉🏾 Structural Racism Webinar Series: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/structural-racism-free-3-part-webinar-series-registration-251346633547?
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
"Particularly in the line of work that I'm in, podcasting, I've discovered that it is almost a partnership between you and the customer. They are on the journey with you. They're part of your business, too. My early customers especially, and all the customers I've got now, actually shape what I do and how I do it - all the time."
🎙️ When is the right time to become an entrepreneur: podcasting as a business model. 00:43
🎧 Two years in podcasting: The Bloody Vegan Podcast shows that veganism is part of every walk of life. 02:59
😅 Why Jim used the word Bloody for his vegan podcast and how he became a podcast entrepreneur? 05:48
🤩 Podcasting is a great medium that brings us together. 07:48
✨ Jim worked in retail leadership for big companies but a love for podcasting made him start his company. 08:44
🍏 Leaving Apple without burning bridges: pursuing his passion. 14:31
👨💻 Excitement followed by denial, frustration and questioning: being comfortable with the flow. 16:01
🎯 Customers are shaping your journey: partnership between entrepreneur and customers. 21:39
🚧 Roadblocks are gifts: find a network in your field - it is so helpful and can be inspirational. 24:32
⚡ In collaborative business relationships we can leverage each other's audiences and grow together. 28:29
➡️ Entrepreneurs, you really don't need a full-time employee in the beginning. 30:08
🌞 “Your business plan doesn't have to be set in stone” - be prepared to change it according to your customers. 31:46
😎 Jim offers list of services for building podcasts. 32:37
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Let's just do things better. And let's turn this around ourselves, rather than being kind of the martyrs of our own story. Let's fix the world instead of destroying it. Let's come together - our world is worth saving. But we're the ones that got to save it, it's down to us. So that is the message behind the Earthlings story.
📖 Using fiction as a form of vegan activism. 00:44
😟 Illness in the family raised Ray’s awareness for veganism. 02:51
🙃 Ray’s activism through books: Earthlings trilogy and reverse speciesism. 04:20
🙃 Ray didn’t market her book as a vegan book: reaction from omnivore readers is instant. 07:22
🎯 Earthlings is a climate fiction trilogy: a child friendly, humorous book that is raising awareness and not traumatizing. 09:54
📚 Dominion is a bit darker and the third part Land of Hope and Glory will have two alternate endings. 12:39
😇 Books educate different generations. 14:16
🌞 Youth of today are really open to change the world. 15:57
💬 Books can create dialogue and discussion.18:03
😉 The perfect way to make the most non-vegan, vegan. 19:02
📣 Awareness is the first step towards a solution: make your voice heard. 20:40
🌳 A carbon neutral author: Ray’s books are printed on recycled paper and she plants a tree for every copy sold. 22:12
🤔 Ebook is the only option of the trilogy available on Amazon. Book signing and events. 25:40
💡 Young girl named Peridot with magick powers sees the world as it is: a lightbulb moment for readers. 29:06
🆙 Climate fiction is a popular category but vegan fiction is still a niche genre. 32:53
🔜 We really have to change the way we act toward animals and people. 34:09
❗ Bad things we’ve done are not in the past, they are still happening all over the world: make our voices heard. 35:39
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
Perhaps the most positive way to be a vegan advocate is just by being who you are.
I think we're at a time now, where it's so important to look inward, think about and then act upon what is truly of greatest value to us.
I invite everybody to learn as much as you can, and be inspired to go vegan or to speak up and advocate for veganism in your own unique way.
SHOW NOTES
🤩 Joanne is one of the most compelling vegan advocates. 00:47
🆙 Raising awareness about where our food comes from and being empowered by your choices. 02:53
🤷♀️ There's a place in the movement for everyone: how to be a vegan advocate. 05:32
🤗 Compassion Arts Festival: using the power of the arts to get the message across. 08:55
📚 Vegan Voices book excerpts from Curtis Vollmar, Thomas Jackson, and Lynn Sylvan about vegan activism. 11:35
😒 Changes and challenges in the past few years: activism fatigue. 15:44
🔋 Activism is important but it is just one aspect: doing things we love, finding balance, and energizing. 17:25
🎯 People's awareness is starting to shift: we are impacting our planet with our choices and behavior. 21:33
☀️ Shifts in dialog, changes of habits, networking, and the vegan movement: we have the power. 25:30
⚡ The power of the consumer: it's so critical and it is making a difference very quickly. 27:20
💎 Be connected with as many people as possible, learn and act upon what is truly important to you. 29:23
🥑Learn about the path that people have taken with Vegan Make a Difference. 31:26
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session, so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo and Fix It.
⏩ Fashion as the next vegan revolution. 00:43
🤩 For Annick the food side of transitioning was so simple, but the transition to vegan fashion was not. 02:15
👝 Getting people interested in veganism through cool fashion items. 04:10
🌵 Great innovation is happening in vegan fashion: Nepal cactus leather, apple leather, pineapple, banana leather, etc. 05:48
🍎 Big fashion brands and small ones are using new vegan leather commercially. 08:19
🧠 Don’t you want a really progressive approach? 09:45
🔗 Opening up many lanes of communication and different ideas. 11:10
👏 A multi-pronged messaging approach to create a support network. 12:04
💻 Building the business of immaculatevegan.com 13:53
💥 How Immaculate Vegan was born from a few events. 15:30
😇 “There are so many things you can do that you may not think you can do.” 18:45
😎 Risky and not-that-risky approaches to business: find a way to try. 19:03
👠 Premium vegan fashion focusing on the USA and UK marketplaces. 19:46
🎁 Gift guides for the festive season: surprise people with how great vegan stuff is. 21:35
👛 A positive change discussion about veganism can start with an apple leather wallet. 22:30
🙌 Be willing to try your ideas out and be focused about it. 23:45
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
Once you get to the point as a solopreneur or small business owner where you want to scale up, as soon as you want to hand something off, you need a system in place to do that. What we found was that we have lots of small clients come to us, and they want to hand things over to us, but they don't really know how to do it. Or they're quite scattered and their processes aren’t efficient. And so we spend a lot of time with clients talking about how we can help them streamline things. This is kind of a sideline to what we do in supporting vegan businesses...we actually find and create systems and process documents for our clients in order for us to be able to work efficiently for them and with them. So, the efficiency side of things is definitely something that small businesses don't think about enough.
Notes:
🙋🏾♀️ Sam is a resource for all vegan entrepreneurs out there. 00:44
🛣️ Sam’s journey to entrepreneurship: from becoming vegan overnight to activism. 03:34
🦓 How Sam founded Zebra Admin for helping entrepreneurs and small business owners. 06:51
🤓 What the business model of virtual assistant services as a full business support and partnership looks like. 08:51
👉 How Sam shifted her role from solopreneur to team leader. 10:46
🎯 Entrepreneurs need a phased approach to grow their businesses. 12:39
🔝 Vegan businesses are held to a much higher standard and customer experience. 14:06
🔎 Small businesses don’t pay enough attention to efficiency. 16:30
📝 Marketing is important, but having documented processes is crucial. 17:58
☮️ Turning chaos into calm tagline. 19:24
🌺 If you own a vegan business, people need to know it is a vegan business. 21:35
🤩 Tips on how to organize your tasks: don't be afraid to delegate. 23:06
😎 Vegan business networking:: “If you want a vegan to do something for you, there'll be one somewhere.” 26:30
🌞 Seeing the vegan world coming alive is so inspiring. 29:48
👌 Sam and Stephanie have the same passion and vision. 31:33
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
“The idea of the VeganNation ecosystem is to have one app, one technological platform to connect consumers, businesses, organizations—anyone that has anything to do with plant based and sustainability—and bring them into one ecosystem. It starts with a directory to list all the businesses—not just the food-related ones, but also fashion, health, wellness, cosmetics, accessories—the entire lifestyle that it takes to sustain what we're doing. That will transition in the future into a full marketplace to buy and sell all those products. A digital wallet [is provided] to enable payments between businesses and consumers, empowered by our global loyalty program. That is the essence of Greencoin, the digital currency that we launched. That will be the economic engine of this global movement.
People around the world, any conscious consumer...regardless of where they are [can be involved]. When they are part of this ecosystem, when they're participating, when they are actively helping to build this economy, and using all aspects of the ecosystem, from the directory to the marketplace to the wallet incentivized by the Greencoin, that is really the true building of a borderless vegan nation.”
🤓 As the vegan movement goes forward, we need systems, institutions and ways to collaborate with each other. 00:43
🍀 We are bringing vegan businesses and communities into one ecosystem, and helping to drive this ecosystem forward as a true global economy. 02:38
🚵♂️ The first pivoting moment in the journey of VeganNation and the rising of the vegan ecosystem. 03:58
🍀 Having a global community to help each other in all spheres of life. 08:27
⚡ Standing together in global vegan economic power. 10:10
💰 Every currency in the world is used to drive consumer behavior and VeganNation is using it to preserve Amazon forests, help animals and so much more. 12:25
📱 VeganNation 2.0 app and business directory. 14:25
🌳 Plant-based values, sustainability and thrivability: the tree example. 16:03
🍄 The underground network of trees of mushrooms and how that connects to blockchain technology. 18:03
🤩 The first uses of the app will really be the directory, finding businesses, payment and loyalty. 19:04
🏞️ Being like a river is the key for startups. 22:32
😷 The major pivot VeganNation had during COVID. 24:33
😇 Isaac has two methods to deal with huge challenges. 27:44
📣 A major part in driving veganism forward is on TikTok but also on other social media. 29:44
😃 Power of music, power of smile and positive spiral. 32:08
💚 VeganNation app 2.0 is going to be reissued on November 15th. 33:51
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
“I've been told that if you have your own business, you're working with top big brands that everyone knows, and you're making great money, then you're successful. It was really interesting to get [to that place] as fast as I could, and then realize that I didn’t feel successful because I didn’t feel fulfilled.
At the same time, I was on my personal spiritual journey of becoming fully vegan, of starting to meditate, reading spiritual books and really feeling that, actually, my work is not aligned with what I truly care about on the inside, and [thinking about] how I could find a way to bring those two things together?”
🆙 Elevating the entrepreneurial profession. 00:46
👠 Nikki worked in the fashion industry for more than a decade but her values were not met. 03:00
🙃 Success and different visions of success: what does success mean to you? 06:40
👀 Things are not so obvious: Nikki found a holistic approach to the internal and external parts of consulting. 07:38
🕴️ It all starts within: “Our businesses are an expression of us.” 09:03
🎯 Entrepreneurs have to accept imperfections and listen openly. 12:19
😩 Fear of being judged: “I realized that no one has time to judge. No one cares.” 13:06
⚡ “Making a leap and taking the first few steps can really inspire a ton of people in so many different ways.” 14:47
✍️ A 5-minute journaling routine in the morning with three simple questions. 16:51
🗓️ Seasonal reviews: create space for things you want to do and let things evolve. 18:17
❌Nikki scrapped the long-term plans: having flexibility and vision instead is more important. 21:45
💡 Creating ideas and simplifying the execution of those ideas to really make a difference. 24:05
📄 One-page Business Canvas. 26:35
🤩 You are not alone: align yourself with people who are transforming themselves, who are making a change or have already done so. 29:51
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
“My biggest ambition for this firm is to help people imagine themselves as part of something much bigger than they currently see. I think the hypothetical vegan...who is buying stocks of Beyond Meat and praying, might think that there are one or two businesses out there that align with their values, when in reality, there are thousands.”
“I hope [I can help] people look at the companies in their portfolio and go, “It never really occurred to me to think about cell phone towers as a vegan business opportunity”—[but they are!] Here are these companies doing amazing work, bringing connectivity to people, creating economic opportunity in rural spaces, all sorts of great stuff—[and they also happen to be vegan!]”
💰 Sloane comes from a family of professional investors. 02:53
😞 Crisis in 2008 showed a deep bankruptcy of trust in the investment industry. 04:47
😎 Defining new values for the investing world and creating a new investment landscape. 06:41
🤩 Setting up a list of good companies and getting deep into projects they are supporting. 10:27
💸 If people don't trust in the investment solutions that they have access to they don’t invest. 13:25
🤔 Companies we support today might not be aligned with vegan ethics in years ahead. 14:47
🌟 What you have to give up to find the real deal. 16:10
🤓 Learning to look at businesses through a different lens and finding ones that delight us to invest in. 19:22
🤯 Example: seeing cell phone towers as a vegan investment opportunity. 20:51
⚠️ Vegan traps: food is not our only opportunity. 22:16
🎙️ Free money with Sloane and Ashby podcast. 23:44
👂 Helping people build savings capability and listening to clients better. 24:08
🍄 Toxic relationships with money: start getting comfortable with discussions about money. 27:07
💵 There is too much shame wrapped up in money. 28:45
🎯 “Believe in yourself and create your own place in an industry that you would like to be a part of.” 30:40
🙋🏾♀️ There's opportunity out there for us as vegans in every industry. 33:03
“Sometimes we forget and fall into our routines. And food is totally a habit. Food is a learned habit. Our diet is very much a learned skill that we build over time and we grow with. We change, and we may start cooking with new ingredients. Or maybe we have a food allergy that comes up from time to time, and then we have to start using different foods because we are consuming one thing for a long time and our body's resisting it.
There's a saying that if you find one recipe in a cookbook that you use and love, then it has been worth the purchase. Because that can be something you return to weekly. Or [maybe it’s because] you found one thing that inspired you to cook something in a new way.”
👋🏽 Welcome, Dreena! 02:00
😎 Being vegan before it was cool--it wasn't a welcoming place to be. 03:15
🍽️ Her first cookbook was released in 2001, and a second one in 2004. 04:29
🧄 "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan" cookbook: all the different cuisines and flavor variations in veganism. 06:31
🥑 Dreena almost stopped writing but then she released "Let Them Eat Vegan" and "Plant-Powered Families" 07:12
🤔 The challenges of using a business approach when you are a creative person. 09:29
✌️ Finding the balance between a vegan life track and a vegan professional track, and what that means for building a vegan economy. 12:01
😇 Dreena has helped many families by introducing veganism and children's dishes. 13:27
👩🍳 Dreena’s Kind Kitchen cookbook is released in August: practical easily accessible recipes, FAQ section, nut-free recipes.16:31
💃 Eating healthfully can become part of our lives: batching, prepping, and Dreena's tips to help with everyday life are great.19:22
🍲 It’s important to shape solutions that are manageable for the everyday vegan lifestyle: not all people enjoy cooking. 21:03
🙃 The period of going from the old to new creates challenges for most people transitioning to veganism. 22:32
💎 "The only constant in life is change. We're always changing." 23:46
🤗 Cookbooks help us reconnect and look at food differently. 26:32
🥗 Food is a habit: Our family members remind us of the food traditions we have created. 27:27
❄️ Tips: freezing hummus, pasta sauce, or soups and remaking them with new flavors. 29:27
🥣 The best, most delicious meals in a bowl. 30:58
🖥️ Contact Dreena through her site. 32:25
💚 A lot of women struggle with worthiness: you really do have worthwhile gifts to share! 33:43
🤩 Seeing ourselves outside of ourselves is a great perspective for growth. 34:53
🥒Cucumbers for a snack will go great with hummus! 36:16
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
When people donate they want—and deserve—to know where their money is going. They need full transparency and they need to know the impact their money is making. As many of the young people we work with put it, “What's in this for me?” Aren't we all in this together, and shouldn’t we all be able to win? I realized that the current charity model made it impossible to answer those questions. Charity has been around for 200 years and the way it is done hasn't been touched. So it's time for a change.
😇 Stephen has pivoted many times, always disrupting the giving space in a positive way--he is currently working to help solve child hunger in North America. 03:00
😎 Learn about the sustainable model Steven has created around giving: the donor gets full transparency and wins more than they put in. 04:36
💚 The Vegan Experience offers donors a discount app and buys children’s meals that go directly into charities’ hands. 07:07
🤗 Building a homeless shelter and a feeding-people-model transformed into The Vegan Experience thanks to the vegan community. 08:18
🤯 One out of five children go to school hungry in Canada and the USA. 11:35
🌞 This is a collaborative model plus charity: the idea is to feed hungry kids in North America and then use the profits to help others. 13:58
💲 How The Vegan Experience shares its profits and reinvests in the vegan community. 15:40
✨ Use The Vegan Experience app to buy a meal for kids in North America and save 15% on purchases with more than 300,000 vendors. 19:11
🥗 An eye-opening experience: vegan food is providing so much energy! 21:18
🆚 Key idea: everybody must win more than they put in. 25:21
www.theveganexperience.ca
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
"I feel like every single decision I make is empowering me because I get to decide how I spend my money. I get to decide what businesses I'm going to support, I get to decide what kind of world I want to create. I get to do that not only with my food choices but with every single choice I make in my business. And if I don't like a company’s practices, or how they're sourcing product, I can make a decision about [how—or whether—to work with them]. And through that decision, I can influence how companies are going to move forward. Because it's all about the bottom line for them—it's about keeping a viable business. And that means gearing the business toward consumer choices." ~ Risha Walden
🤩 Vegan interior design is Risha’s passion. 02:17
🤯 The interior design industry commonly uses animal products, but as a vegan interior designer Risha has managed to align her personal ethics with her business. 03:03
💪 “Every single decision I make is empowering me because I get to decide how I spend my money.” 07:03
🤔 Being a vegan designer means asking questions about furniture not many people have asked before. 09:52
❓ The power of questions: change will not come by wagging a finger at people. 12:13
🌱 Why is it important to ask so many questions? “I’m planting a seed.” 13:38
🤷♀️ People warn, “You're going to alienate your clients.” But believing in my own work is more important than that risk. 16:34
😇 Risha talks about raising awareness about food to byproducts of all other animal industries. 19:52
🙌 Vegan Interior Design Week is a free panel event in November. 21:16
👍 Meeting so many people and communities online has been instrumental for Risha and her work. 25:28
👑 Risha’s advice: Don't be afraid to use the word “vegan” in your business and messaging. 27:36
💎 We can change the world and we can create the world we want through our choices. 28:57
Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
Louisa Nicholson is the brain behind Every Vegan Recipe, and in this episode of PIVOT she shares tips and experiences that will be invaluable to other vegans looking to start up a new online business.
https://www.everyveganrecipe.com
🥑 Every Vegan Recipe is a user-friendly platform and network for publishing and sharing plant-based-only recipes. 02:42
👌 The importance of making sure that the customer experience in your business is exceptional. 4:42
🗓️ How the launching of “weekly recipes” helps to bring the Every Vegan Recipe community together, and tips from Louisa on planning ahead. 6:15
🎀 The details on how a longer launch timeline gives Louisa enough time for fine-tuning. 07:24
🎯 How this feature-rich platform allows people to find out everything they need to know about the transition to vegan eating, plus how it helps recipe creators to gain needed visibility.11:01
😇 The advantage for recipe creators: no need to build and market a standalone site -- they can now submit recipes to Every Vegan Recipe! 14:17
🆚 Info on building a subscription-based business: the Bandcamp vs Spotify model. 17:06
🔎 ‘Testing the waters’: “There's nothing like actually launching and seeing what happens.” 21:33
✨ Buying the experience: why it’s important to realize that people are looking for more than just content or an item. Discussion on the fact that expectations for quality customer experience are growing. 22:22
🛣️ Why It’s important to spend your time with customers and create a two-way street in your business right from the beginning. 24:52
🤔 Figuring out the difference between what you think your customers would like and what they actually want. 26:08
🧱 Discussion on an iterative approach to building a business. 27:40
🧘♀️ What a day looks like for Louisa. 29:11
🤩 A caution: Resist reacting to anything instantly, especially assumptions about the news and success stories. 31:57
👉 Reframing how you think about creating your business: “Don’t wait. It will not be perfect but do it.”
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Thanks for listening to Pivot, our vegan business interview podcast. This is recorded as a live streaming session so I hope you’ll join us for future interviews as well! If you are feeling inspired, but wondering how to take some actionable steps to improve your business, I invite you to explore our two premium paid podcasts, Going Solo or Fix It.
MEET OUR GUEST:
Originally from Catalonia, but resident in the UK for several decades, Jordi is a vegan Zoologist specialising in animal behaviour, who has been involved in different aspects of animal protection for many years. In addition to scientific research he has worked mostly as an undercover investigator, animal welfare consultant, and animal protection campaigner.
His most notable work achievements have been his involvement with the first successful prosecutions under the Hunting Act 2004, the exposé of trail hunting as a false alibi for illegal hunters and his participation in the campaign that led to the ban of bullfighting in Catalonia.
Under the pen name J.C. Costa, he has published a novel titled “The Demon’s Trial”, in which he explores many of the dilemmas animal protectionists face.
He has been an ethical vegan for over 18 years and in 2020 he achieved notoriety for securing the legal protection of all ethical vegans in Great Britain from discrimination, in a landmark employment tribunal case that was discussed all over the world.
He is also the author of the book "Ethical Vegan: a personal and political journey to change the world" to be published at the end of 2020.
Learn more about Jordi's book (or Buy The Book): https://septemberpublishing.org/product/ethical-vegan/
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordi-casamitjana-36586a15
FB: https://www.facebook.com/veganjordi
TW: https://twitter.com/Jayseecosta
IG: https://www.instagram.com/jayseecosta/?hl=en
YB: https://www.youtube.com/user/Jordiwasp
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Gabriel Zhanay is a vegan leadership and fitness coach. An expert on mindset and leadership, his story of transformation from depressed, self-loathing man to inspired and compassionate vegan leader has touched 1000’s of lives with his daily posts. He runs his online coaching company, Vegan Fitness Redefined, with his wife Anna Zhanay - and they mold vegans into fit vegan heroes who empower and inspire others as positive examples of health, fitness, and leadership.
They both are DEEPLY committed to helping the planet and making the biggest positive impact with their lives.
Gabriel truly believes that Veganmainstream's listeners WILL be inspired by his authentic and laid-back approach to fitness and leadership. Especially in a year when most people disconnected to their positive energy and HOPE, Gabriel's gift is being able to EMPOWER others and help them reconnect with their true potential, not only in their fitness... but in their lives! :)
Gabriel and Anna love helping their audience REALIZE that by becoming stronger, healthier, and more powerful in their mind and bodies, they’ll create the biggest IMPACT possible with their vegan businesses as leaders and positive examples as well!
FB - https://www.facebook.com/gabriel.zhanay
IG - https://www.instagram.com/gabrielzhanay_/
FB group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/veganfitnessredefinedcommunity/
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An award winning business and aspiring BCorp, BReD is a 100% plant-based bakery situated in the world-class ski and bike resort of Whistler, BC, Canada. The concept is farm-to-table and seasonal, sourcing the finest ingredients as locally as possible. The only bakery you can ski to, located in the original village – Creekside.
They specialize in organic naturally-leavened sourdough loaves with an emphasis on ancient grains, and sourdough cinnamon buns, as well as a range of other sweet and savory baked treats.
They also serve locally roasted direct trade espresso coffees and specialty beverages. They plant a tree for every coffee we sell through our partner charity, Trees for the Future.
The customers include local families buying their weekly bread but also visitors who want a grab-‘n’-go snack and coffee to fuel them on their mountain adventure.
https://edsbred.com/
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Vox Vegana was founded by Aaron Abolition in January of 2020 and was initially an effort to form an all-vegan choir for live performances to raise money for animal rights.
As a result of the lock down, Vox Vegana took the opportunity to branch out and connect with vegan musicians everywhere for the purpose of collaborating on vegan-message-specific projects.
Over the course of the first year, collaborations have taken place between vegan musicians in Canada, India, Belgium, and the US. You can sample some of that work on their Soundcloud page.
Website: https://linktr.ee/AaronAbolition
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After over twenty years as a ballroom dancer Robert Schwartz took his experience of making difficult things easy and created a clean and easy to use home sprouting system, Organic Sprout Box. Sprouting is taking seeds and introducing the process of germination by adding moisture. Rehydration then takes over and the metabolic processes resume making the seed a powerhouse of nutrition.
He personally used sprouts to lower his triglycerides from 295 to 130, the LDL from 176 to 119 and the A1C from 6.2 to 5.1 in a three month period. The environmental benefits are just as stunning. No top soil, fertilizer, or pesticides used. Greatly reduced pollution from packaging, refrigeration and transportation. Almost no food waste as the entire plant is eaten. His biggest hope is that organic sprout box kits will be in urban nutritional wastelands so the populations there can have fresh healthy organic food every day.
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As a vegan SEO Specialist, Hartej understands what your website and business need in order to rank on the higher pages of search engines. His success with vegan businesses is just one example of how our strategies can grow your traffic month after month. His network of over 200 vegan websites, will ensure that your dominance in the market niche will be respected by Google.
Alongside SEO, he offers Google Ads management using an algorithm which is set to learn your industry and the actions of competitors and customers. This will work to drive down your costs and increase the presence you have on the web.
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hartej-kahai/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/yourveganmarketer/
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Ecco Bella was originally founded as one of the first cruelty-free companies. Now, the company has created the ultimate vegan science base skin care products with a vegan collagen booster dietary supplement to challenge the animal collagen market.
WB: aveganbeauty.com
Support Business Growth:
wefunder.com/new.earth.beauty.inc
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MEET OUR GUEST: Heather is a food safety expert with a twist. She teaches restaurants and hotels how to be more inclusive. Serve more people, earn 10-15% more, and risk less. The trouble is plant-based or even vegan food is often not safe for people with allergies (even milk, egg, fish and shellfish) - I show them how to manage safety, communicate well and provide excellent customer service and free marketing opportunities.
In 2019 she had a severe allergy attack, she thought she was dying, terrified. The doctor at the hospital told her to avoid milk, or she could have a worse reaction next time. She was already vegan, a food safety auditor and travelled a lot for work. She was terrified to eat. It showed her how it must be for those with severe allergies, excluded or anxious about eating out.
She started noticing good and bad businesses, and how they can do better, be more successful and how much good will is available from these unique individuals.
She wrote a book on the subject in lockdown and interviewed 50 experts, including financial and marketing experts, all saying the same thing. It's really important in todays trends (vegan, plant-based revolution, allergy, environmental and health crises, and of course Covid), food service businesses need to move with the times. Especially in the UK the law is tightening later this year and allergies are in the press.
A big win or sign was going to #1 bestseller in the restaurant category on Amazon Kindle. The launch party was also brilliant with guest speakers and the lovely Jim Moore MCing (Bloody Vegans Podcast).
Heather is now at the pivotal point, does she just do this from now on or stick with a bit of standard auditing to keep her foot in the standard way of doing things.
https://heatherlandex.com/
Vegans can get my book at cost book.heatherlandex.com coupon code at check out VEGANSPECIAL It reduces it to 12USD or less.
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Guests: Brenda Morris, Stephan Kerby, and Justin Manning
Description: Join panellists Brenda Morris of Humane Investing, LLC, Stephan Kerby of KMF Advisors and WildHeart Nutrition, and Justin Manning, Vegan Financial Advisor for a discussion all about vegan investing. Whether you’re brand new to investing or looking to make changes to your portfolio that will be good for your future, the animals, and the planet, you won’t want to miss this session. Each panelist will bring their unique perspective and discuss the challenges, potential strategies, and timeline for the vegan investor.
Brenda Morris
https://humaneinvesting.com/
https://veganfinancialprofessionals.godaddysites.com/
Social:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-a-morris
https://www.facebook.com/HumaneInvesting
Bio:
As more and more vegans look for better ways to invest for the future, the momentum to invest humanely continues to grow. We have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference by demanding accountability from the companies in which we invest. Since most of us need to invest to make sure our own finances are sound, we encourage you to do so while making a difference---for animals, people, and the planet---at the same time.
I have been doing animal activism and advocacy for two decades. I encourage everyone to consider going vegan and have been doing outreach with the Vegetarian Society of Richmond since the 1990s. I founded my financial planning practice to encourage fellow vegans to use their investments to influence companies in a positive manner with respect to animals and have been determined to raise the bar for funds that are purportedly “sustainable” and “ethical,” as I strongly believe that they should consider animal rights and animal welfare in their investment process.
Stephan Kerby
KMF Advisors and WildHeart Nutrition
www.youarethechange.net
Social:
www.facebook.com/WildHeartPlants/
www.facebook.com/youarethechangenow/
www.instagram.com/wildheart_nutrition/
www.wildheartplants.com
Bio:
Stephan Kerby entered the profession of financial advising in 2000 after a wide range of life experiences created a desire to learn more about personal finance. As he worked and traveled, Stephan contemplated how to manage his family’s finances and ensure that his investments were aligned with his ethical principles and love of animals. This process uncovered a passion for educating himself and others on the topics of standard investments, socially responsible investing (SRI), and financial planning. Because of this passion he authored a book titled : “You are the Change. A beginners guide to social responsible investing.” He has spoken in many parts of the country, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Ohio. Stephan became the first advisor in the United States to earn the new Chartered SRI Counselor (CSRIC) designation through the College for Financial Planning.
Stephan is also the Co-Owner of Wildheart Nutrition that is a vegan supplement company with the goal to end single use plastics. All the packaging and material is made with 100% compostable plant material. This cutting edge technology will reshape the supplement industry while substantially reducing the use of plastics.
He and his wife Amber enjoy hiking with their children and dogs, foraging, and plant-based cooking.
Justin Manning
Vegan Financial Advisor
www.justinmanning.com
Social:
www.linkedin.com/in/justin-manning/
www.facebook.com/justinmanningcom/
www.instagram.com/justinmanningv/
www.twitter.com/justinmanningv
www.youtube.com/
Bio:
Justin has been an entrepreneur his entire life, specializing in helping clients live healthy lifestyles. As a virtual financial advisor, Justin’s home office is located in Langley, British Columbia Canada. Through video conferencing, Justin helps businesses, families, and individuals with their financial planning insurance needs throughout Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. He helps Canadians all across Canada with their financial planning investments, through his investment partner JustWealth. Justin represents many of Canada’s largest insurance companies, providing his clients with access to multiple options in the marketplace. He helps his clients save time and money, giving them peace of mind in the process.
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Guests: Sandra Nomoto and Ana Mexia
Focus of panel: Sandra and Ana have both niched down their services and prioritize working with vegan and sustainable companies, it might be interesting to focus on that—the pros and cons to this approach and how other vegan professionals can transition to a vegan client roster while still paying the bills.
Description: Join us for our upcoming panel discussion, Vegans in Copywriting with panelists Sandra Nomoto, The Content Doctor, and Ana Mexia of Copy That Co, both professional copywriters and content creators who focus on working with clients who align with their ethics. The discussion will cover topics such as marketing, how niching down your services can work to your advantage, and being a part of a community.
Sandra Bio: “The Content Doctor” Sandra Nomoto is a content writer and editor for cruelty-free businesses, and copyeditor, ghostwriter, and book formatter for authors. After earning her university degree, she worked in the public relations industry for 13 years. During that time, she launched Conscious Public Relations Inc. at the age of 25. Over the 10 years in business, Nomoto was awarded the 2009 Volunteer of the Year by Women In Film & Television Vancouver, earned B Corporation® certification, and contributed to eWomenNetwork Vancouver earning the Best Social Media and Community Engagement Award. She has served on the boards of the Vancouver Short Film Festival and Vancouver Mural Festival. Nomoto authored The Only Public Relations Guide You’ll Ever Need in 2019, and writes on vegan lifestyle at SandraNomoto.com and for Cold Tea Collective.
Ana Bio: She is a professional copywriter and content creator. Her niche is sustainability—she works with sustainable businesses to help them reach wider audiences and spread the word about their products and mission. She strives to grow awareness about the climate crisis by working with businesses who are aligned with her values. And using her writing skills to help them grow. On her site, she has a blog where she writes about sustainable living, climate change, environmental injustice, plant-based eating, etc. hoping to create an impact and be a source of quality information on these issues.
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Pleese is a plant based cheese developed by New Yorkers specifically to melt on pizza. Pleese is all natural, made from bean and potato proteins and crafted using traditional methods. Pleese is so good that people can't tell the difference and is approved by the world's harshest food critics - kids from NYC.
They were supposed to run a test launch with their products in cafeterias last April, and needless to say the pandemic / lockdown completely changed those plans. They had just produced the first commercial batch and when these venues closed they didn't know what to do. So, they turned to Facebook and asked people if they knew any restaurants that wanted to try vegan cheese for pizza. The response was overwhelming and they went from zero prospects to 45 in two weeks. They finally launched in September to an overwhelming response. So much so, that they have been having trouble keeping up with the demand ever since.
WB: https://www.pleesecheese.com
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The purpose of VeganHealthPack.com is to help people pay more attention to their health. Our subscription boxes contain nutrient-rich foods with new themes every month, helping people consume foods that provide them more essential vitamins and minerals and shift away from junk food diets.
The business actually started off as an all-natural hangover solution. Shortly after departing my marketing role with another company, I had my first 625 units of artichoke leaf extract powder shipped to my house in North Carolina. While traveling through South America, legend has it that this cured hangovers. I tried it and it worked so I decided to start a business out of it!
The day it got approved to sell on Amazon, the FDA ruled that hangover cures are illegal unless they are registered as drugs. My business idea stopped in it's tracks.
Shortly after, I founded Vegan Health Pack as a monthly subscription box that help people get all-natural sources of B12, Calcium, Vitamin D, Iron, Zinc, Protein, and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. I brought together many companies products and sold it as a subscription box. Through covid, many of them couldn't supply the product anymore.
So I came across and article where artichoke leaf extract was clinically proven to lower cholesterol vs. a placebo. After speaking with marketing and branding experts, I've pivoted the company to turn the business into natural plant-based foods that help with cholesterol, heart health, and I have ambitious plans to build out a line of natural WFPB products that people can eat and enjoy.
I'm sure there are many pivots ahead, but it's a lesson that the original plan you have in business is always changing and, in my opinion, for the better. To help people give up junk foods and pay attention to their health through plant-based foods is a great direction to now be headed in.
WB: VeganHealthPack.com
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Vegan Launch combines investment crowdfunding and eLearning so vegan-friendly retail investors can “vote with their investment dollars” to grow ethical vegan, environmental, and health businesses.
Millions of investors are searching for companies that match their vegan ethics, yet only 1 in 200 vegan founders succeeds in raising capital. Investors and founders lack education in early stage finance. 99% of investors are left out, and 99% of vegan founders will fail.
Vegan Launch provides free mentoring for vegan founders and online public access to vegan deal flow for investors to create turbocharged growth for the vegan sector. Marketing of public investments helps expand cultural adoption of vegan values while growing market demand for vegan enterprises.
Since 2001, founder Mark Winstein has focused on public investing for environmental and social progress. Previously, he co-founded a national environmental group and built a for-profit conservation business. Mark went vegan 2016 and never looked back!
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/veganlaunch/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/veganlaunch
YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KooJak9hw4KeYdKaaHteQ
TT: https://twitter.com/veganlaunch
WB: https://veganlaunch.com/podcast/
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Jess McKay Puppets makes professional hand puppets for film/tv/web and stage projects. All puppets are made using 100% vegan materials. Jess McKay is also a SAG-AFTRA puppeteer, and the creator of Probably Witch, the internet’s most musical witch.
In his industry, there is a huge blind spot: feathers in puppets. Ostrich feathers are a very common building material. It takes at least 40 turkeys to make one big bird costume.
Jess sees a direct parallel between the use of fur in fashion and the use of feathers in puppets. He has been speaking up for animal rights in the puppet industry and working to make using feathers taboo.
He has been developing feather alternatives and sharing his finding with the industry. He has already made some waves, and lots of people agree with him. He has received so many messages of “I just didn’t know” and “I never thought about the birds”.
Another big issue for Jess as a puppeteer is that he will not participate in any shows that promote animal abuse. This means pretty much no cooking shows or commercials that promote non-vegan goods or services. This sets him apart from most other puppeteers in the industry. He also speaks out against this abuse, which angers other puppeteers in the industry. He has been told multiple times that his vocal activism costs him work, and he considers that a form of anti-vegan bias and discrimination.
WB: www.jessmckaycompany.com
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Ghostwriter turned international bestselling author Mitali Deypurkaystha, aka 'The Authority Creator,' transforms coaches, consultants, speakers, and entrepreneurs into thought leaders by becoming published authors within 90 days. Featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, she's helped her clients generate over $5 million in revenue.
In 2009, she adopted a rescue cat, and she witnessed sentience beyond what she believed animals were capable of showing. She realized that we're duped into believing animals are dumb as this suits certain industries. She became vegan in 2013. In 2021, inspired by the growing number of vegan business leaders and entrepreneurs, she decided to focus on serving these inspirational people by helping them to raise their authority. She envisages a day soon when eating and using animal products will become archaic, but that can only happen if the world's vegan voices become louder. She's made it her life's mission to make this happen.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/MitaliBookPro/
TW: https://twitter.com/MitaliBookCoach
IG: https://instagram.com/mitalibookpro
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitalibookpro/
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An entrepreneur residing in Charlotte, NC. Ussery started her career in Charlotte interning with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and Duke Energy. She then lived and worked for 20 years in Detroit, MI directing internal and external communication activities for C-Suite executives in statewide government and private global companies. She partnered with Erika Boyd to co-create the Detroit Vegan Soul restaurant brand in 2012. The pair own and operate two restaurants and have provided employment opportunities for many people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to work and advance in the food industry.
Website: https://www.DetroitVeganSoul.com
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We’re Kakadu Creative – a full-service, ethical, sustainable, cruelty-free design agency with a track record of 5-star customer service. We specialise in helping you to engage with your customers and stand out from your competition so your business can grow.
We’re a small team of creatives with a mission to make a positive impact on the world through creating the best work for businesses like yours.
We know that no two businesses are alike, which is why we don’t believe in copy and paste templates. And which is also why every project is a team effort, with you at the heart of it.
We put planet before profit and support other businesses with the same ethos. Everyone has a part to play in creating a sustainable and ethical world. But nobody ever said it had to be with boring, generic design.
http://kakaducreative.com/
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Heidi has been vegan for almost 7 years. In 2016 she accidentally started her plant based meal prep business which has evolved into educational workshops, writing an e-book (vegan bible), vegan lifestyle coaching and now business coaching. Her love of sharing vegan food with others inspired her to mentor other vegan women to start their own small businesses. She also moved down to Mexico during covid and became the first vegan business in town as well as started an all-inclusive vegan bed and breakfast where she could serve her food piping hot with like minded friends!
Website: La Casa Amarilla
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MEET OUR GUEST: Gloria is a vegan blogger who decided to cook vegan meals for the community. When Covid hit she had to switch up the strategy so she decided to do cooking demos via zoom. She did a small catering with masks and social distances enforced. Since Covid started she has been doing a mix of online vegan cooking demos and small catering for customers.
Gloria turned to zoom for the cooking demos. She has also created online cooking class on Eventbrite.
She is a blogger and she works full time as a Nurse’s Aid in a local hospital and do her vegan cooking as a side job to generate extra income.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/soulfulvegan72
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MEET OUR GUEST: Sarah Eastin is a Professionally Trained Vegan Hospitality Consultant and Plant Based Chef who helps Restaurants and Hotels in Colorado and beyond fulfill the demand for creative plant-based cuisine. Her services include detailed menu consultation, recipe development, vegan-oriented press and assistance with plant based alternative food sourcing.
Since 2018, Sarah has supported restaurants by organizing pop up dinners, conducting training workshops on plant-based culinary arts, providing kitchen-standards consulting and vegan product launches. She is a leader in the Colorado vegan community and manages regional operations for an annual international hospitality event that promotes mainstream restaurants to vegan customers.
As a long-time vegetarian, now vegan she struggled for many years to find plant-based options in her community and when traveling. Now that many people are going vegan for their health, the environment and for the animals she recognizes that hospitality services may need some assistance having the best cuisine available in this changing food landscape. She can help your establishment do just that!
WEBSITE: https://saraheastinhealth.com/
Never Miss An Episode - WATCH NOW: Pivot! A Free Vegan Business Interview https://veganmainstream.com/category/podcast-pivot/
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MEET OUR GUEST: Former corporate executive, Nivi Jaswal, has had quite a journey from marketing mayonnaise to becoming a Mayo Clinic certified coach. The milestone of that journey was her Ketogenic diet and the various structural biases she faced in the corporate world being a young, ambitious & high-achieving woman of color.
After healing on a whole foods plant based diet, Nivi started her non profit The Virsa Foundation. A Bachelor’s in Psychology and an MBA in Consumer Behavior Marketing has enabled Nivi to develop a unique nonprofit that is committed to ethical responsible behavior-change research, coalition building and campaigning with a focus on Intersectional Veganism. From underserved rural women artisans in India to low income underserved women of color in the U.S, Nivi’s work celebrates the Divine Feminine.
Nivi is passionate about Intersectionality in Veganism. She believes that systemic racism, gender biases and systemic speciesism are very, very closely connected. She wants Jiviniti content to stand for that and for the vegan movement and other social justice groups to understand the need to unite and align the objectives.
WEBSITE: https://www.thevirsafoundation.org/
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Pioneering pastry chef Fran Costigan, chef, author, and Director of Vegan Baking and Pastry at the Rouxbe cooking school, is internationally renowned as the authority on vegan desserts. Dubbed the Queen of Vegan Desserts for her groundbreaking work.
Professionally trained, Fran was a chef in both traditional and vegan pastry kitchens before moving into teaching 25 years ago.
Fran is a professional member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, ACF: American Culinary Federation, Les Dames Escoffier, and the Association of Food Journalists, Fran is a proud to serve on the advisory boards of the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, Main Street Vegan Academy and the Vegan Trade Council.
Her cookbook Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy-Free Desserts is available in German, French and Italian editions, and follows the classic, More Great Good Dairy Free Desserts Naturally.
Website: https://francostigan.com/
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MEET OUR GUEST: I am a vegan lifestyle coach educator certified as master in Mainstreet Vegan Academy. I am also a licensed psychotherapist in CA and AZ. I am part of a group Private Practice in LA and a national program providing tele therapy. I offer individual and group sessions I am also a certified dance movement/therapist and expressive arts therapist.
I have had bariatric surgery in 2012 when I was not vegan. I lost 150 lbs. When I wanted to transition to vegan after visiting a Farm Sanctuary I could not find support. I had to do a lot of research and figure it out myself. This inspired me to delve deeper and I attended Vegan Mainstreet Academy in Dec 2019.
My business specializes in people who have either had bariatric surgery or are interested in transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. I work with eating issues, eating disorders in my psychotherapy practice as well. And of course I am thriving as a bariatric vegan myself.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/bariatricvegan
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MEET OUR GUEST:
Our mission is to help people eat more plants and less of everything else. We believe that no one should feel judged for how they eat, so part of our mission is to maintain a supportive, kind, inclusive, non-judgmental, and helpful community. We celebrate human imperfection and we like diving into the messy bits of life.
TW: https://twitter.com/cfdgirl
FB: https://www.facebook.com/cfdgirl/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/cleanfooddirtygirl/
WEBSITE: https://cleanfooddirtygirl.com/
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Meet Our Guest:
Main Street Vegan Academy trains and certifies Vegan Lifestyle Coaches & Educators in exciting real-time courses that cover every aspect of the vegan lifestyle. Our respected faculty prepares committed vegans with the skills to succeed as a vegan coach, influencer, or entrepreneur, and we provide post-course support and networking. Our graduates hail from 30 countries and their businesses include vegan retailing, manufacturing, food service, fashion, education, and more.
Since its inception in 2012, I took great pride in Main Street Vegan Academy's being in person in NYC, complete with field trips. We've shifted to Zoom and it's been wonderful, so post-COVID we'll offer the course both ways.
The big pivot for me was having a business at all. I've been a writer since my teens and my first book, Compassion the Ultimate Ethic: An Exploration of Veganism, came out in 1985. I never expected to be in business, but the 2012 publication of my book, Main Street Vegan, sparked a podcast, a production company, and Main Street Vegan Academy. That's when I learned that the key to a successful pivot is acceptance, to lean into the new way, the new phase, and not stay stuck.
Website www.mainstreetvegan.net
Meet Our Guest:
Liz Gary is a plant-based foods educator, food writer, digital media designer, and emerging ePublisher with her first book for print, Black Belt in Tofu.
With over 25 years experience working as a foods educator and ten years mastering the plant-based diet, Liz has uncovered a timely and valuable recipe for success. It’s an expansive and impressive menu of new food options that promote a healthier, cleaner, greener future while providing incredible culinary joy and satisfaction. Nothing left to be desired, she proves you can just about have it all again plant-based.
A two-time PETA Activist award winner, Liz Gary has pioneered foods education programs at every grade level and mastered the art of bringing community groups together to share and discover the joy of plant-based foods.
Website: https://veganculinarymemoirs.com/
Never Miss An Episode - WATCH NOW: Pivot! A Free Vegan Business Interview https://veganmainstream.com/category/podcast-pivot/
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Meet Our Guests:
We’re on a mission to empower those who want to promote a sustainable and plant-friendly future. We believe that by providing people who want to positively shape the world with the right skills and knowledge, we can create a community of change-makers, influencers, and innovators.
Therefore, if you’re someone with a passion for supporting your community, giving a voice to the voiceless, or benefitting the environment, then our v-learning platform is for you.
Website: https://www.vegansisters.org/
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Meet Our Guest:
I'm a Family Nurse Practitioner that is an expert in plant-based nutrition. In my primary care organization I started a Plant-Based Outpatient Nutrition Program that in the past year has successfully transitioned to virtual in 2020, reaching over 200 families. I also run Nurse Eugenia Nutrition at which I do 1:1 health coaching and carefully organized group programs to help folks with the last 10% of their health journey. My specialties are in weight loss, PCOS management, diabetes reversal, and cancer prevention. I love hearing from my patients and clients DAILY how the information they've learned about plant based nutrition has improved their health and lives.
Social: @nurseeugenia (IG)
Website: https://www.nurseeugenianutrition.com/
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Meet Our Guest:
Aline Duerr of Vegan Interior Design, an educational platform teaching interior design students and established interior design businesses how to include a fast-growing conscious market into their customer base.
Her interior design business used to be very much face to face and one on one before COVID-19. From March onwards, not only did the commercial interior design work that she used to do for over 8 years drop, she also had a 2-year-old toddler at home again every day who wanted to be entertained. Rather than seeing it as a problem, she took this situation as an opportunity to finally turn my face to face client focused business to an extended educational platform teaching international interior design students and established interior design businesses about how to include a fast growing conscious and vegan market into their customer base and widen their skill set. To complement the courses, she wrote and published a book called 'Vegan Interior Design' which has been highly successful all over the world since its launch in October 2020. This 'forced' pivot from a small face to face service based company to an educational platform actually enabled her to reach a much larger audience and create an incredible network and community within a very short time; to help designers all over the world progressing the vegan interior design movement; to reach non-vegan designers, students and 'every day people' by educating them with her book, her courses and resources; to be filmed and featured in a new vegan documentary explaining that veganism is not only about food and fashion and to organise the world's first Vegan Interior Design Week ever in 2021. This pivot gave her a push to become the leader of a vegan movement and she is very grateful for it.
Social: IG: LinkedIn: Vegan Interior Design
Facebook: Vegan Interior Design
instagram: vegan.interior.design
Website: www.veganinteriordesign.com
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Meet Our Guest:
The VeggiDome keeps vegetables fresh out on your table throughout the week. This new category of food display introduces a unique way to keep healthy plant-based food available. A unique change for the modern kitchen.
VeggiDome is no longer able to sell the VeggiDome at festivals, Home and Garden shows, and VegFests because they were all canceled. Now they show and sell them online exclusively and through word-of-mouth
Social:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/veggidome
FB: https://www.facebook.com/veggidomel
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Veggidome
@veggiDome
Website: https://veggidome.com/
Never Miss An Episode - WATCH NOW: Pivot! A Free Vegan Business Interview https://veganmainstream.com/category/podcast-pivot/
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Meet Our Guest: Darren Cavanagh, a Vegan Film Director and Video and Digital Marketing Consultant.
He helps vegans, plant-based businesses rapidly grow their brand online to boost profits with video & digital meat-free marketing content and strategy minus the meltdown.
He has 27 years of experience producing video and digital content and helped some of the top entertainment clients, including Disney generate over $3 billion in box office revenue. 5 years a vegan he now dedicates his life and business to help the vegan business movement grow and thrive.
Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-cavanagh/
https://www.facebook.com/TheVeryCreatiVegan/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Howtogrowyourveganbusinessonline
https://www.instagram.com/theverycreativegan/
https://twitter.com/verycreatiVegan
https://www.youtube.com/c/DarrenCavanaghTheVeryCreatiVegan
Website: https://theverycreativegan.com
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MEET OUR GUEST:
Founded in 1997 as the nation’s premier vegetarian/vegan/eco travel agency, Green Earth Travel, LLC, remains on the cutting edge of destinations with conscience offering a wide-range of travel options for those who care about the planet. Today Green Earth Travel, LLC and travel expert, Donna Zeigfinger, company President/owner, focus on Volunteer Vacation packages and Adventure Travel – specializing in arranging individualized excursions Donna's years of travel experience, outstanding customer service and behind-the-scenes savvy bring to life your fantasy dream vacation. Whether for a weekend or several weeks - just let your imagination be your guide!
We are pivoting to more domestic travel in 2021 and hope to go back to international in 2022.
Linkedin: Donna Zeigfinger
Facebook: Green Earth Travel
Twitter: VeganTravel
Instagram: greenearthtravel
www.vegtravel.com
Never Miss An Episode - WATCH NOW: Pivot! A Free Vegan Business Interview https://veganmainstream.com/category/podcast-pivot/
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MEET OUR GUEST:
As more and more vegans look for better ways to invest for the future, the momentum to invest humanely continues to grow. We have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference by demanding accountability from the companies in which we invest. Since most of us need to invest to make sure our own finances are sound, we encourage you to do so while making a difference---for animals, people, and the planet---at the same time.
I have been doing animal activism and advocacy for two decades. I encourage everyone to consider going vegan and have been doing outreach with the Vegetarian Society of Richmond since the 1990s. I founded my financial planning practice to encourage fellow vegans to use their investments to influence companies in a positive manner with respect to animals and have been determined to raise the bar for funds that are purportedly “sustainable” and “ethical” .
https://humaneinvesting.com/
MEET OUR GUEST:
After years of struggling with fibroids and ovarian cysts and multiple surgeries, Rebecca had a pre-cancer diagnosis. She was at her wits end and started researching the connection between growths and diet. Person after person shared how cutting out meat had changed the state of their health. She chose to start eating a live plant-based diet and everything changed. She averted a fourth surgery and any other treatment, left a career in consumer marketing and was certified in plant-based nutrition. Her former professional journey included modeling, acting, sales, marketing, and health education. Twenty plus years later after a fatal diagnosis, Rebecca has dedicated herself to offering wellness solutions to help women transition from a low-nutrient Standard American Diet (SAD) to a nutrient-dense dynamic lifestyle through plant-based living. She is a health supportive chef teaching plant-based culinary classes and providing personal chef services. Rebecca teaches a culinary camp for kids, is a public speaker programming consultant. experience as a health supportive chef includes nutrition coaching, public speaking and program consulting. She is committed to impacting health outcomes through her service to women and moms as they reach their personal and family health goals. Rebecca is a program director at Wellness in the Schools which teaches kids healthy habits to live and learn better in schools.
IG: @plantrichlife
FB: The Plant Rich Life
www.plantrichlife.com
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MEET OUR GUESTS:
My Nutrition Nurse is a brand new Whole Food, Plant Based online multi-media academy with live coaching helping people adopt the only known nutritional approach to reverse disease. Co-Founders Sherry Kari Baum, RN, MSN and Misty Young, both Certified WFPB Nutritional Therapists.
Misty Young, LinkedIn
My Nutrition Nurse, Facebook
youngmisty, Facebook
@mynutritionurse Instagram
My Nutrition Nurse Twitter
www.mynutritionnurse.com
MEET OUR GUEST:
Besa moved to the USA 17 years ago and has been working in the medical field as a Sonographer in hospital and clinical settings in NYC for 15 years. During this time, she has seen the devastating health conditions that we have in our country.
She is a passionate Health and Life Coach, and a licensed Food For Life Instructor by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
She is the founder of “Be So Alive,” where she helps clients to enhance their health, and she speaks on the power of plant-based diet and lifestyle as a way to reduce the risk of disease and improve overall health.
Social:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/besoalive
IG: https://www.instagram.com/besoalive/
Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/besamartini/
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/besa-martini-1b0237191/
Website: www.besoalive.com
MEET OUR GUEST:
Cody Stubbe is from Omaha, Nebraska and just last Spring founded her company Wholistic Dish, which provides educational services on whole food plant-based lifestyle. Cody is a Food for Life instructor and a registered nurse and uses this combination of skills and knowledge to help others learn how powerful nutrition is in the prevention, management, and possible reversal of chronic disease.
She started her nursing career as an open-heart surgery nurse and has seen the devastation that the standard American diet has done. She now enjoys helping people prevent heart attacks through eating delicious healthy food! As a nursing instructor, Cody has a passion to teach others in healthcare the powerful researched benefits of a whole food plant-based lifestyle.
Social: https://www.facebook.com/wholisticdish
https://www.instagram.com/wholisticdish/
Website: https://wholisticdish.com/
MEET OUR GUEST: I'm a professional copywriter and content creator. My niche is sustainability—I work with sustainable businesses to help them reach wider audiences and spread the word about their products and mission.
I strive to grow awareness about the climate crisis by working with businesses who are aligned with my values. And using my writing skills to help them grow.
On my site, I have a blog where I write about sustainable living, climate change, environmental injustice, plant-based eating, etc. hoping to create an impact and be a source of quality information on these issues.
Social: @anamexial
Website: www.copythatco.com
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Pivot! A Vegan Business Interview Series
Watch Every Interview: https://veganmainstream.com/vegan-business-interviews-get-inspired/
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Meet our guest:
Jasmin Singer is a writer and activist living in Los Angeles. She is the author of the memoir, Always Too Much and Never Enough (2016), which tells her story of finding herself through juicing, veganism, and love, as she went from fat to thin and from feeding her emotions to feeding her soul. In 2016, Jasmin was named by The Advocate Magazine as one of “40 Under 40 People to Teach Us About Each Other.” From 2010-2016, Jasmin was the Executive Director for Our Hen House. In September, 2016, Jasmin joined VegNews Magazine as the Senior Editor.
Social: Facebook: Jasmin Singer
Twitter: jasmin_singer
IG: jasminsingerauthor
https://www.periscope.tv/jasmin_singer/1kvJplknYrgJE
Website: ourhenhouse.org
Never miss an interview or broadcast:
Pivot! A Vegan Business Interview Series
Watch Every Interview: https://veganmainstream.com/pivot-a-vegan-business-interview-podcast/
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MEET OUR GUEST:
We are the only 100% vegan food delivery/catering service in central Ohio. We provide freshly made vegan meals that are delivered to you by the chef who made them; no delivery service or middleman. Our goal is to educate our community on the benefits of a plant based lifestyle, showing that vegan dining is not only healthy for you but also extremely delicious.
As an African American man my hope is to reach as many POC as I can and share with them the many benefits of converting to a plant based lifestyle. It's better for their health, better for the planet and better for their children's future.
Social: Facebook - @CBIVegan
Instagram - @cbivegan
Twitter - @t_vegan
Website: https://www.cantbelieveitsvegan.biz/
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Subscribe To The Podcast: https://lnkd.in/eFPMfCx
Watch Every Interview: https://lnkd.in/eiCb57W
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Meet our guest:
Vegan Culinary Memoirs provides plant-based foods education programming and ePublishing services for education, the food industry, and community groups.
https://www.facebook.com/Vegan-Culinary-Memoirs-106296144469028/
https://twitter.com/veganculinarym1
https://www.instagram.com/veganculinarymemoirs/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgarysandiegoca/
Website: www.veganculinarymemoirs.com
Meet our guest:
Herbivore Clothing is the original vegan lifestyle brand. Since 2002 we've been working to make veganism look good! From our store in the Vegan Mini Mall in Portland, OR, we promote compassion for all - regardless of species. The oppression of one is the oppression of all. Vegans are Radical.
Social: @herbivoreclothing,
https://www.facebook.com/herbivoreclothingcompany/
Website: herbivoreclothing.com
Meet our guest:
Since 2011 we have been creating organic, USA made, sweat shop free apparel for the ethical vegan. We believe in becoming a billboard for veganism whoever you go, and we help activists do that by providing fun and slightly snarky original hand-drawn designs on more ethically made clothing.
Social: CompassionCo on IG, FB, and Twitter
Website: http://www.compassionco.com
Meet our guest:
Upton's Naturals is an ethically vegan food brand best known for meat alternatives such as Seitan and Jackfruit. Our mission is to make delicious vegan foods that are simple and accessible.
Fortunately for us, food production is an essential business, so we were able to continue operating. Of course we had to implement social distancing requirements which meant some changes to the way we operate, but outside of some new safety precautions the core business wasn't impacted.
Shortly after shelter-at-home orders were implemented, we started using our social media platforms to uplift other vegan businesses by hosting regular live interviews with business owners on our Instagram account.
Social: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook: @uptonsnaturals;
https://www.linkedin.com/company/uptonsnaturals/
Website: www.uptonsnaturals.com
Meet our guest: Kathy Hester is passionate about making healthy eating accessible and delicious. She runs the food blogs Plant Based Instant Pot, Healthy Slow Cooking, and talks about online PR and video at https://kathyhester.com. She’s sold over 150,000 books to date, does cookbook PR and teaches people how to love live video!
Kathy started doing live Facebook videos a few years ago and noticed it forged a strong connection with her audience. She took those skills and started doing live online cooking classes and live social media video work with brands.
Web:
https://plantbasedinstantpot.com/
https://healthyslowcooking.com/
https://kathyhester.com
Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyahester/
https://www.instagram.com/geekypoet/
https://twitter.com/geekypoet
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSlimQ0-WTAnSOYw70JnLDw/
https://lnkd.in/dGeejv7 https://lnkd.in/djBHRdn
https://lnkd.in/d_jSEDF
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Meet Our Guest:
JL FIELDS is a vegan chef, health coach, and a consulting chef consultant to food, health, and wellness brands. She is the founder and culinary director of the Colorado Springs Vegan Cooking Academy and a Master Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator.
JL is the author of several cookbooks: Vegan Baking for Beginners, Fast & Easy Vegan Cookbook, Vegan Meal Prep, The Vegan Air Fryer, and Vegan Pressure Cooking. She is the co-author of The Main Street Vegan Academy Cookbook with Victoria Moran and Vegan for Her with Virginia Messina.
Social: LinkedIN: https://lnkd.in/dRtDkNA
Facebook: https://lnkd.in/dCB884Z
Instagram: https://lnkd.in/dNa874a
YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dTENQ2N
Twitter: https://lnkd.in/dsyjbVS
Website: https://jlgoesvegan.com
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Meet our guest:
We are based in Chennai, India and specialise in freshly made, plant based, minimally processed, protein rich, reasonably priced food that we deliver to offices and homes. Our food is drawn from various international cuisines.
We have turned into a takeaway only business until further notice.
Social:
FB: https://lnkd.in/d9M5FE8
IG: tamutamuchennai
Website: www.tamutamu.org
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MEET OUR GUEST: Debbie Zimmerman, DBA PhytoFit, LLC, is a Lifestyle, Wellness and Health Coaching business. I empower and inspire individuals to embrace a whole food, plant-based diet to prevent, reverse or halt chronic diseases caused by the Standard American Diet. I'm a Food for Life Instructor, and a wellness expert having spent the last 30 years as Wellness Manager for Polk County Schools, creating a healthy culture for its 14,000 employees.
Website: https://phyto-fit.life/
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MEET OUR GUEST: After battling years of severe allergies and a life threatening chronic illness, Katy, The Fake Vegan, was determined to find healing and opted for holistic healing practices. Her wellness site was created to explore alternative lifestyle techniques that can be easily incorporated in everyday life. Her passion for personal healing motivates her to share her 10+ years of health and wellness knowledge with others to promote community healing leaving behind her 8+ year corporate career.
As a certified plant based nutrition coach, wellness guide and chronic illness advocate, The Fake Vegan is dedicated to creating holistic sustainable healing within the black community and for people of color. To The Fake Vegan, health is about endless mental possibilities, spiritual depth and the physical exploration of no limits. Together, we can heal.
website: www.thefakevegan.com
IG: @_thefakevegan
Twitter: @_thefakevegan
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MEET OUR GUEST: Malka Kafka has been involved in creating food tech startups. She takes care of taking actions for equal access of people to resources such as work, health, food and pays great attention to the aspect of responsibility for the world - what I eat, where the products come from, how to produce food according to the principles of sustainable economy. She was the hostess of the culinary program in Kitchen + (Canal+). She is a co-author of a culinary book and a columnist, repeatedly invited as a culinary expert to TV programs.
https://telaviv.pl/en/
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MEET OUR GUEST: Ebony McCormick, a native of Florida moved to Atlanta to attend Clark Atlanta University. She studied accounting and proceeded to work in a fast, upscale environment as a financial assistant. She coached and mentored several clients, assisting them with their short and long term financial goals.
Ms. McCormick, who’s also the CEO/Founder of Cha’Rose Vegan Cosmetics, the Healthy Dining App, and the Vegan Girls Night Out Tour 2020; is known to capitalize as an entrepreneur. She has a deep passion for the kitchen, embarking upon her culinary skills. Without a doubt her son, the athletic Leo, and PeTA Kids Cutest Vegan Kid Runner Up 2019 enjoys his mother’s love for cooking the most. Ms. McCormick is zealous in her movement to raise awareness and consciousness of mankind. What better way to take advantage of life than to be excited about educating, motivating, and touching all walks of life.
https://charose.life/
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MEET OUR GUEST: Jason Schramm is a vegan web developer and Founder of Veg Groups, where he builds websites to help people go vegan or stay vegan. Since going vegan five years ago he finally found a meaningful passion to utilize his technical talents: helping people to make compassionate lifestyle choices. He has built VegEvents.com to connect people with other vegans by finding events near them, and VegMealDelivery.com to make it easier for people to get plant-based meals delivered to their door. He launched VegMovies.com to help people find a plant-based and animal-friendly movie to watch.
Websites:
Veg Groups: https://www.veggroups.org/
VegEvents: https://www.vegevents.com/
VegMealDelivery: https://lnkd.in/dzNpm8c
VegMovies: https://www.vegmovies.com/
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Meet Our Guests:
Ellen is the author of 6 vegan health and fitness books including, Eat Vegan on $4 a Day, Vegan Fitness for Mortals, Vegan Sex and Vegan for One. When Ellen's entire speaking career for the next year was cancelled, she pivoted and turned her real estate experience into her next career, partnering with her vegan boyfriend and 35 year-veteran of the Sarasota real estate market, Troy Funk. As a real estate agent, Troy had weathered many market crashes and took on the grueling job as a broker for the fastest growing real estate company, Realty One Group.
https://vegcoach.com/
Troy is a self-taught vegan who came to the movement trying to solve a family member's health problem. He coincidentally discovered Ellen at the Portland Vegfest where she spoke in 2016, and invited her to speak at local vegan potlucks he organized not far from where they both lived in Sarasota.
https://www.realtyonegroup.com/
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Meet Our Guest: Geoff Palmer, a 57year old, 35yr Vegan is a Natural Bodybuilding and Natural Physique Masters Champion, the Owner of Clean Machine Plant-Based Fitness Nutrition, author, national lecturer, vegan patent holder and 2 Time NEXTY Winner for “Best Supplement of the Year” in 2016 & 2018.
Geoff was selected #40 of the “Top 100 Most Influential Vegans” by Plant Based News.
Geoff created the First 100% Vegan Bodybuilding Competition in the World.
Geoff will also be featured in 3 Vegan Documentary Films. Clean Machine donates 10% of sales every quarter to organizations that promote a plant-based lifestyle.
https://cleanmachineonline.com/
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MEET OUR GUEST: BotaniCuisine is a plant-sourced dining outreach business promoting plant-based/vegan food as abundant, delicious and fulfilling. Sales of plant-sourced foods, especially meat and dairy options, continue to skyrocket in popularity. Plant-sourced foods provide outstanding benefits for health, environment, resource and wildlife conservation, food security, and respect for all those with whom we share the Earth.
https://www.botanicuisine.com/
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Meet Our Guests:
Gabrielle Darvassy is the Executive Chef and curator of B’Gabs Vegan Kitchen. B’Gabs was established as a wellness space that not only provided plant-based nutrition but provided educational classes ranging from deep meditation, holistic nutrition and herbalism. Gabrielle’s unique model of inclusion has gained recognition for superior food ingenuity to most recently community service initiatives by the Obama Foundation. Gabrielle’s passion to ensure that all people regardless of economic demographic should have access to health and nutritional options leads her service charge of giving. It is these passions that continue Gabrielle’s pursuits in obtaining continued education and forming alliances with those whom which to eradicate food insecurity.
http://bgabsgoodies.com
Christine is the owner of Smackdab Chicago, a Chicago-based cafe with vegan options. “This lovely little company of ours was born in 2015 from our shared vision to offer the Chicago community real, handmade food and amazing service from the heart.”
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Meet Our Guest:
Taylor Wolfram, MS, RDN, LDN, is a private practice dietitian, health writer and consultant based in Chicago, Illinois.
She has expertise in vegan nutrition, uses a Health At Every Size® approach and believes everyone has a right to body autonomy and respect.
https://www.taylorwolfram.com/
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Meet Our Guest: Nora Kramer
Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp is a summer camp for social change that has been training aspiring activists to make a bigger difference since 2009. YEA Camp runs weeklong overnight leadership camps for progressive teens and tweens to build their knowledge, skills, confidence, and community to make a bigger impact on the social justice issues of their choice. In alignmnent with the camp's values of respecting people, animals, and the planet, all the food at YEA Camp is vegan. YEA Campers have gone on to do amazing things, like getting Meatless Mondays in their schools, doing voter registration drives and even getting a new polling place added at their college campus, raising thousands of dollars for great causes, organizing protests and climate strikes, and lots more.
http://www.yeacamp.org/
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Meet Our Guest:
Courtney Garza is a passionate vegan that brings her love for journalism, creativity, helping local businesses, and animals altogether with her compassionate social media agency that she co-founded with her business partner Christina Bluford, Sprinkles Creative to aid businesses with their branding strategy. Courtney also owns and operates VEGWORLD Magazine, an international vegan lifestyle publication, as the Editor-in-Chief to curate and promote plant-based stories from vegan products, services, and individuals from all walks of life.
http://vegworldmag.com/
Meet Our Guest:
Bubbie Staron is a long-time vegan who decided to intertwine her passion for helping people with her passion for helping animals. After confronting her own health issues, she learned all she could about plant-based eating and nutrition and is now a licensed Food for Life instructor. She works full time at her county’s department of social services and also just launched her new business, The Plant Based Heart, after her plans to offer classes at her full-time job was interrupted by the pandemic.
https://www.theplantbasedheart.com/
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Meet Our Guest: Sherimane Johnson is a Vegan Chef, owner of two vegan eateries (Night Owl Vegan & NaturallySweet Desserts) and certified Vegan Nutrition Coach who specializes in helping her clients attain their goals of adopting a vegan approach to eating and life.
Having overcome the life-altering impacts of Type 2 diabetes with a plant-based diet and vegan approach to life, her results encouraged the creation of products and services to help others do the same.
Today Sherimane offers individual coaching and virtual cooking classes while her vegan eateries provide weekly meal delivery service.
https://nightowlvegan.com/
https://naturallysweetdesserts.com/
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Meet Our Guest: Juan Bautista Piqué
The company "Un Mundo Vegano" ("One Vegan World" in spanish) starts as a response to make it easy for people to experience veganism in latin america. Juan Bautista Piqué, founder, was a heavy meat eater and one day changed his diet (after feeling much better physically and emotionally without eating meat), but without knowing "how to do it". Un Mundo Vegano helps people experience veganism in three areas: #1 - Information and Education: through online courses and "one on one" assessments / #2 - Products: informing of vegan products and soon distributing also products / #3 - Places: informing people of places to eat a delicious vegan meal.
http://unmundovegano.com/
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Meet Our Guest:
Cindy wants you to be Trimazing—three times better than amazing! After improving her health and fitness through plant-based nutrition, losing 60 pounds and becoming an adult-onset athlete, she retired from her 20-year firefighting career to help people just like you. She works with people and organizations so they can reach their health and wellness goals.
Our health and wellness is closely tied to the health of our environment. Cindy incorporates zero-waste and sustainable practices throughout her programs. You’ll see it IS easy being green!
Cindy Thompson is a certified Health Coach, Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and Firefighter Peer Fitness Trainer. She is a Food for Life Instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Rouxbe Plant-Based Professional, teaching people how to prepare delicious, satisfying, and health-promoting meals. You can find Cindy at Trimazing! Health & Lifestyle Coaching
Additional info about classes/COVID-19 response: https://trimazing.com/events/
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Meet Our Guest:
Diana Edelman is the founder of Vegans, Baby, whose mission is to make vegan life easier, and vegan dining more approachable and attainable. She does this through Vegansbaby.com, which serves as the definitive guide to vegan dining in Las Vegas; a vegan guidebook to Las Vegas; organizing a vegan dining month in Las Vegas which has recently expanded to other cities; curated events and chef-driven dinners; hosting local and international tours taking people on culinary vacations (her Las Vegas tour was named as one of the top vegan tours in the world by Travel + Leisure); and a new podcast -- The Good Fork -- talking to leaders in the plant-based movement. Diana is a partner with the James Beard Foundation and Life is Beautiful, curating vegan dinners and activiations. She also provides consulting to restaurants who want to expand their plant-based offerings and audience, as well as private coaching to businesses.
https://vegansbaby.com/
MEET OUR GUEST:
Vegannoying chronicles the tasty, rapidly growing vegan food opportunities through sharing photos, podcasts, and articles. From nutrition to “becoming vegan” to “How can my restaurant/cafe offer more plant-based options?” Vegannoying provides content, discussion, and targeted consulting for virtually all personal and professional vegan matters.
Meet Our Guest--> Kirti Yadav
I am a Clean Eating Evangelist and have already inspired 3500+ people across India. I love to share one simple mantra " Eat Right, KuKClean" and you will see all the problems disappearing.
It's actually that simple.
I lost 27 kgs of Weight which inspired me to start "KUKCLEAN" so that I could help not only women but also men who are struggling with sedentary lifestyle disorders where weight loss is the most important issue.
While I was losing weight, I started my first startup "Plattershare" and learned the meaning of the word "STARTUP" for the first time. I learned one more thing that motherhood should not be treated as a career break but a search for that career which you wanted to do.
Motherhood taught me to run a business, run a family, and nurture a soul with healthy food and upbringing.
So at KuKClean, My second startup, I promote and spread health via Eating right Program to Corporates, schools, and colleges and I am on a mission to build a healthy next generation and change our generation.
https://kukclean.com/
Meet Our Guest-->
“The Content Doctor” Sandra Nomoto is the Managing Editor of TruHavn, an online magazine on the science and benefits of plants and fungi. After earning her university degree, she worked in the public relations industry for 13 years. During that time, she launched Conscious Public Relations Inc. at the age of 25. Over the 10 years in business, Nomoto was awarded the 2009 Volunteer of the Year by Women In Film & Television Vancouver, earned B Corporation® certification, and contributed to eWomenNetwork Vancouver earning the Best Social Media and Community Engagement Award. She was a founding member of the Vancouver Short Film Festival, which she helped grow from 2005 to 2015. Nomoto authored The Only Public Relations Guide You’ll Ever Need in 2019, blogs on vegan lifestyle at SandraNomoto.com and for Cold Tea Collective, and serves on the board of the Vancouver Mural Festival.
Website: thecontentdoctor.co
Meet Our Guest ---> Shawn Stratton, is the founder and director of the International Vegan Film Festival and World Tour. He started the festival in 2018 to inspire, educate and entertain audiences with vegan-themed films from around the world. Shawn is also an international leadership consultant, professional speaker, bestselling author, Ironman and Ultramarathon competitor.
International Vegan Film Festival
The International Vegan Film Festival is a, first of its kind in the world, annual film event. Now in its third year, the festival kicks off every October in Ottawa, Canada. The festival showcases vegan-themed films from around the world covering a wide variety of topics. Some of these include animal rights, health and nutrition, ethics, sustainability and climate change.
Since 2018, the International Vegan Film Festival has had a world tour. This tour allows anyone to sign up as a host: from there, the host gets to pick where and when they would like to have their own Vegan Film Festival screening. It is a great way to build the local vegan community, interact with friends, and raise money for a cause or a business all while watching great independent vegan films.
https://www.theivff.com/
Meet Our Guest---> Sachin A. Shah, PharmD, FAHA, is CEO of VeganMed and dedicated to creating a world where medications, supplements and cosmetics contain no animal-derived ingredients. As a pharmacist and research scientist, he has published over 50 scientific papers which have generated over 1 billion media impressions in outlets such as NPR, BBC News, and USA Today. He is a former TEDx speaker on “managing the mind” and enjoys nature hikes with friends.
VeganMed, Inc aspires to create a world where medications, dietary supplements and cosmetics do not contain any animal-derived ingredients. For manufacturers, they offer the only proprietary “animal-free” certification program that incorporates lab testing. For consumers, they host a marketplace allowing worry-free shopping of independently verified animal-free over-the-counter products, and individualized, custom made animal-free prescription products. https://www.veganmed.org/
Subscribe to Pivot! A Vegan Business Interview Series on Soundwise