Transcript:
Lorraine Schuchart:
I grew mine now for exactly that reason. My hair grows like an inch a month. I swear I’m not exaggerating. It’s just
Amy Vaughn:
my bangs that grow like that, but everything else dates. Awesome. Hello, everyone, and welcome to our weekly power lounge. This is your place to hear authentic conversation from those who have power to share. My name is Amy Vaughn, and I am the owner and chief empowerment officer of Together Digital, a diverse and collaborative community of women who work in digital and choose to share their knowledge, power, and connections. You can learn more about us and join the movement at togetherindigital.com. And today, we are diving into the power of purpose in business with our extraordinary guest, Lorraine Schuchart. She is the founder of Prosper for a purpose and a branch strategy and public relations firm that is making waves as a certified b corporation or b corp.
Amy Vaughn:
With her extensive background in copywriting and PR, Lorraine has become a master at building what she calls a category of 1 brand. Over the next hour, Lorraine will guide us through the transformative power of purpose in business. We’ll explore how to clearly articulate purpose and how it can drive brand influence, attract top talent, boost profitability, and create lasting impact. Our listeners today, you’re going to walk away understanding why a stated purpose matters, how to articulate your purpose in a memorable way, and how to weave that purpose through every aspect of your business. I don’t know y’all. This sounds pretty exciting, so I hope you’re all excited as I am to sit down and get inspired, be challenged, and empowered as we uncover the power of purpose together. Please join me in giving Lorraine a warm welcome. Lorraine, thanks for joining us today in the Power Lounge.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Thank you so much for the invitation, Amy. I’ve been really looking forward to this. I’m a big fan, and I’m excited to talk about purpose, which I could discuss forever and ever. So this is good. I will keep my answers brief.
Amy Vaughn:
Hey. You know what? We’ve got the time. I’m excited, and I know our listeners are also excited as well. You know, all of us within the Together Digital community know we’re a part of something bigger than ourselves. And I, myself, you know, being a mission based business and business owner, you know, purpose is central to what we do. So, you know and also having been a marketer and advertiser and someone who still believes while, you know, the bottom line is important, you know, we all wanna work for a purpose. You know, I think that’s something deep seated within this each, you know, as individuals. You know? So I think this is something that’s gonna relate to a lot of our listeners.
Amy Vaughn:
But first, I always love to start with having our, you know, guests talk a little bit about their career journey. What led you from a similar path, both former copywriters, yay, copywriters, into PR and eventually finding Prosper for Purpose?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Absolutely. So I will say that I’m still a copywriter and a PR practitioner. We talk about branding, and I think most people think about it as the foundations, which, of course, that’s where it starts, and people think of it as visual. But, actually, copy drives design. Right? And, your purpose drives your copy. And so I just think that, I call it the golden thread that you pull through your business. And so, I actually went to school to be a teacher. I wanted to teach writing, and I wanted to someday be a college professor.
Lorraine Schuchart:
But along the way, I was kind of redirected through all the writing courses I was taking. So I was focused on journalism but didn’t really wanna be a reporter. And so I just started taking all these different classes, marketing, advertising, and public relations, and I really fell in love with the idea of PR because it was telling other people’s stories. And so, I started out doing PR and actually nonprofit fundraising for the American Cancer Society. And then from there, I jumped over and took a job as a copywriter, which I loved and really fine tuned, my writing from a different perspective. Journalism is very different from copywriting, which is conversion writing, which is also very different from content writing. So I just loved having all these different kinds of writing, and in school, I’d studied creative writing and journalism. So there’s just many different kinds of writing, and I was learning so much, early in my career.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And so that’s really how I got started. I always went to work and the environment. So you could say I was laying my own foundation, you know, my own foundation along the way rather than what I’d be doing. So I was interested in a company and what they stood for without really being able to articulate that, if that makes sense.
Amy Vaughn:
What goes into that a little bit more, what they stood for. Do you mean, like, the companies that you were going in and working for?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. So, I felt like so I worked for the American Cancer Society, and we had a family history of cancer and I just really felt like I could bring stories of early detection and, and and work with the media and write the newsletters and raise the funds for cancer research that I could really make an impact. And in my next job, I was actually working for a newspaper and so it was kind of like, well, I don’t wanna be a journalist, but I can work within their, their copywriting and design department. So really helping support a newspaper that was bringing news to the public, that just really resonated with me. And every job I chose and throughout my career, I ended up going back and forth between nonprofit and for profit work because there were elements of each I liked. I always was kind of aspiring to what is the impact that this organization is trying to make, and how can I contribute to it?
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. Yeah. No. I absolutely agree, I think. And I love how you broke that down, copywriting as being conversion writing. It’s so true. And I’ve often said that too. In fact, I’m pretty sure I said it this morning.
Amy Vaughn:
I was mentioning to you before we came on live that I was having breakfast with my husband, and I was on a soapbox about something related to marketing. And it was really about, you know, if I wanted to do it’d be creative for the sake of being creative, basically writing for the sake of inspiring, then I would have been, you know or art for the sake of art, then I would have, like, I would have become an artist or a writer. But I always wanted to use my creativity to solve business problems or to help make people’s lives better. And so it was always for me, I was really fascinated early on. Well, not early on, actually. Like, I took a gap year in college because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. And then I started to learn, oh, there is such a thing as marketing, and you can be creative and get paid relatively well. And you can use your creativity to solve problems in the world.
Amy Vaughn:
And then you actually get to see the impact. And you said it. I wrote it down. I was like, the impact of what you have written or the ideas you’ve created and how it has helped motivate people to action. And I 100% agree with you. I think at first, you know, I was in Chicago when I started out, went back to school, and it was all about, you know, getting on big brands and getting the salary and things like that. But I think it was some of those first projects that I had the chance to work on that had depth to them or that had purpose to them that definitely stuck in my mind as well that I was like, oh, anything that has purpose behind it. I definitely wanted to learn more.
Amy Vaughn:
I was working on P and G when I was able to jump on a project that was in collaboration with Love Has No Labels, which was so awesome to get the chance to do that. I got the privilege of working with some really dynamic diverse families, on a photo shoot where I got to meet some people that I’m still connected with. And every year, those families reshare our photo shoot from that campaign, and it just makes me so happy whenever I see that. And, you know, there’s no other work that I’ve done like that that shows back up in that way. You know? And it’s so different. And so it’s kind of got that double effect, right, if it had an impact. It resonated with people. It helped solve the business problem, but it also had an important impact on people’s lives as well.
Amy Vaughn:
So I could definitely see why and how you were drawn to that. But was there for you then, like, a specific moment? Was it within, like, the cancer, you know, research in the cancer foundation that you had that moment that sparked that? Like, this is my passion. Yes.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And even before that, I think. Okay. I remember being a little girl and my parents, my mother’s aunt. Uh-huh. No. I’m sorry. It doesn’t matter. But, anyway, it was my mother’s uncle passed away, and I had 2
Amy Vaughn:
younger sisters.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And my mom said she was taking the train, and I remember going with my dad. And my mom and my 2 younger sisters got on the train, and I stayed behind. And I was really sad about that, but a neighbor watched me after school until my dad got home. And one night my dad, who was a city manager, took me to a council meeting with him and it was in the basement and I remember he told me that I could sit in a chair. I ended up sitting on the stairs. I had a book because I never went anywhere without a book, but I didn’t read the book. And I remember watching the meeting and hearing them talk about how they’re building a high school and how to make things more, you know, accessible for the residents. And I didn’t even understand every word that they were using, but I remember this feeling coming in like, oh, this is what my dad does.
Lorraine Schuchart:
He makes people’s lives better where we live. I wanna do something like that. And so I think that seed was planted in me and through different opportunities, it grew and kind of flourished. So it wasn’t one moment. It’s more like I said, it’s like that golden thread that you can really call breadcrumbs, you know, you look you can only see in retrospect. You can look back and say, this is where it started. These are the things that watered it along the way. And Yeah.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Then it fully flourished when I decided not to continue to work with other people, but to start my own agency. I had never aspired to be an entrepreneur. I was very happy working for other people, but Yep. I kept finding things I didn’t like in that environment. Some little things and then finally some really major things and decided that I just have this idea how I want work to feel and how I want the business to look, and I’m just going to create that.
Amy Vaughn:
Yep. Yep. It’s so funny, Lorraine. We were onboarding. So Together Digital does, like, peer grouping and matching for our members every quarter, and we were doing our onboarding for our new kind of, incoming peer group members. And one of the women was a long time, you know, agency, you know, person creative, you know, probably decade, decade and a half long agency veteran and was like, oh, I just have so many skills. I wouldn’t even know where to start if I was to start my own business. And, you know, I think we do kind of face that a lot oftentimes where it’s like, what is my purpose? What is my passion? What am I really good at? And I do think sometimes it’s reflecting and looking you’re right.
Amy Vaughn:
It’s a reflective practice. It’s looking back and remembering even as far back as childhood sometimes and remembering before the world got its hands on you, what really brought you joy Yes. And got you excited. And, I loved it because she’s like, I’m gonna walk away, and that’s what I’m gonna work on this weekend is just kind of really thinking back to what were those things when I was a kid before, you know, all of the shoulds of the world kind of got a hold
Amy Vaughn:
of me
Amy Vaughn:
and told me what I should be and how I should work and what I should be doing and who I should be. So I’m excited to see kind of what she comes back with as long as she
Amy Vaughn:
begins to
Amy Vaughn:
find that purpose.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Good exercise.
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm. Absolutely. And I do think a lot of folks you know, maybe women for sure, and I’m sure that there’s men out there as well, but there’s just so many systems within large organizations that don’t necessarily work in the favor of women. And so, you know, when it comes to systems or cultures within our, you know, current work environments, whether it’s we’re going back to the office or even before COVID when we were still in the office, it’s just there’s a lot that we would like to see done differently. And it is a very difficult thing to do your full time job. Plus, you know, if you’re raising a family, raise a family, and then try to work to change that and not be the one at the home. And sometimes having and running your own business might be the way. Yeah.
Amy Vaughn:
Just say it.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. No. For sure.
Amy Vaughn:
Alright. Let’s talk a little bit about this term that we mentioned earlier in your introduction, which is this category of 1 brand. Can you explain a little bit about what that means and why it is important, in the business landscape?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. I don’t know who originated that phrase. It definitely was not me, but I think I have my own take on it. And this is what I work with my clients on. And that is what you see about your industry that you don’t like, right? And so that’s why I started my business to begin with. There were things not only in my industry, but in business in general that I didn’t like? And how can you move away from that and create a different philosophy and look at, is there a paradigm shift that I can create a philosophy around. Yeah. And I think that’s how brands become category 1.
Lorraine Schuchart:
So you think I have a podcast and when I give examples about brands for good and creating category 1, I often refer to Apple and say, you know, we all had cell phones. Right? It wasn’t that they invented the cell phone, but they invented a version of a phone that we wanted to engage with. And so talk about Blue Ocean Strategy, what is no one else doing? Toms Shoes is another good example. You know, that model has been applied to all different kinds of industries since then, but it’s the buy 1, give 1. And so what is wrong in your industry? Mhmm. And for me, it was the same thing in my business, which was the purpose of business as profit. And that’s just never sure. We have to make money.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Right? We have people who are dependent upon us, all those things. But I felt like that was simplifying and also just incorrectly stating what business could be. It was limiting business. Right? So if we’re only pursuing profitability, then we’ve got these blinders on. And not that people wouldn’t care how they achieved that profitability, but you’re reporting to, in big companies anyway, your stakeholders. Whereas my philosophy was how do we look at business from a shareholder perspective or I’m sorry, a stakeholder perspective. Right? And there’s lots of other people that were thinking the same thing at the same time and even before me who were writing about it and talking about it, but realizing it for yourself creates this profound impact. You know, you see places that are prioritizing profit above people, and they can’t keep employees.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And that, guess what, cuts into their profitability because it takes so much more money to hire and train a new employee rather than to invest in the one that you have. Yep. And so I think for me, when I work with clients, I really use that term to explain how they can create their own category of 1 by looking at the paradigm shift that they want to create in their industry, and then I help them with articulating that, really. So we’re like the bridge between this big vision that you have and being able to build a movement around it, which is sometimes what it takes.
Amy Vaughn:
I love it. It’s like you were at the breakfast table with me this morning, Lorraine. I just love it. I love it. You were up there with the soapbox, with me, metaphorically speaking. I was preaching this. I was talking about, you know, I just wish businesses would start to just get their heads around it. It seems such a simple thing, but, you know, at the end of the day, like you said, it’s like it’s just so hard to just sleep behind the almighty dollar.
Amy Vaughn:
And I think, it’s just going to take time, I think, for things to prove themselves out, and I guess that’s just all it is. But it’s like being in love with the product that you provide. Right? Or the shiny object syndrome that’s just been going on forever versus falling in love with the problem that you’re trying to solve. It’s just like it’s something that comes up constantly in this podcast. If you kind of go back and listen to the last 10 episodes, I’m pretty sure we say it every other episode. And I all I can think of, and I know it sounds sounds highly idealistic of me, but it’s just I cannot help but think of, you know, in our very capitalistic society, what would our world, what would our country, what would our, culture, what would our society look like if businesses realize the role that they do play in all of those things that I just mentioned and actually started to focus and less on those shareholders and less on the profitability and more on, like, the b corps of that triple bottom line of people and the planet and profit. Right? Like, to say that, like, all of those things deserve our attention. You know, what would our future and what our world look like if businesses took that stance because they do play such an important part, in our world, in the ways in which we all live.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. It’s pretty big, and I don’t know that everybody realizes how big, companies and corporations do kind of impact, basically everything about our day to day. Right. But it’s so I don’t think it is so idealistic even though I say that
Amy Vaughn:
it is.
Lorraine Schuchart:
I don’t think it is either. And I definitely think that there is a wave towards this. You know? When I became 1,000, and that was in 2016. There are now more than 9,000 certified
Amy Vaughn:
b corps.
Lorraine Schuchart:
So they’ve been growing. And not everyone that uses business as a force for good decides to become a certified b corp because it’s a lot of work. You know? But, you know, it is. And I, you know, I guess I say that kind of tongue in cheek, but the reality is it’s very hard, and it takes a long time. And, for me, it was important, especially because I’m in the marketing world. And in the marketing world, people expect you to jump on the latest bandwagon Yeah. Or to say things that aren’t really true. And what appealed to me about the process is that they verify.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Like, you have to upload all kinds of documentation, and they’re looking at how you’re governed, how you give back to your community, your environmental impact, your employment, your impact on employees and workers. And you’re graded on all those things. And I really liked that I could say, we don’t just say we stand for these things. We actually have the certification to show it. Mhmm. But there are plenty of companies out there doing wonderful things that aren’t certified and maybe never will certify. But I think, you know, I think the concept of purpose is growing. When I started Prosper for Purpose in January of 2013, I chose the name because I felt like, well, prosperity should come from purpose.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Right? And then the prosperity that a company has should be reinvested in furthering their purpose, their reason for being beyond profit. That was kind of like my own siloed thinking. And it was really about how we can and when I started, you know, you have those informational interviews with people in your world to get their reaction. Yeah. And everyone thought that my intent was to work with nonprofits. And I said, no. We certainly can do that and help them make more money so that they can invest more into their purpose. And I did have that background in nonprofit fundraising as well as marketing.
Lorraine Schuchart:
But what I really wanna do is reach more companies and help them create that thread of purpose that goes through what they do. And Mhmm. People kinda looked at me and, you know, I had the the equivalent of the nice pat on the head and, oh, that’s
Amy Vaughn:
the nice
Lorraine Schuchart:
that you wanna do then. Too cute. Yeah. You’re so cute. Someday you’ll grow up and realize that life doesn’t work that way. But guess what? The patent is on them because Exactly. Guess what? It is working that way. Certainly not.
Lorraine Schuchart:
The trend is. Yeah. Not as quickly as I would like to see, but
Amy Vaughn:
Sure.
Lorraine Schuchart:
I think there’s a huge groundswell of companies that want to bring more purpose into their work.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. That was definitely my next question is how that has evolved, like the concept of purpose in business. I mean, have you found that to be something that is more readily accepted? Are you kind of seeing more clients open to the idea? Do you find more people finding you? Like, what does that look like since you’ve established yourself in 2013?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. Yeah. So, primarily, the first couple of years, we did what most people do. Like, unless a client was doing something bad, if they were open to incorporating some kind of purpose in their business, we would work with them. But as time has gone on, we’ve really chosen to only work with companies that have a purpose. Maybe they can’t fully articulate it, and that’s why they’re coming to us. Or maybe they’re saying, we want to do good as part of our work, but we don’t really, you know, a lot of them just can’t articulate what that is. You know? Can you work with us? But what happened was, initially, a lot of the time, people came to me and told me their marketing wasn’t working, and they were so frustrated.
Lorraine Schuchart:
They’d hired their marketing person. They’d been through 3 agencies. And I always started and this shocked me. I mean, it won’t shock you because you’re in business, but being someone who had never had my own company, I interviewed these business owners and founders and, you know, maybe successive CEOs. I would say, you know, tell me about your company. Tell me what’s special about it. Tell me why you started this business as opposed to another business. And I would take notes, and I would pull up their website, and I would say, well, look, none of that’s here.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Oh, well, people don’t care about that. Yeah. They actually do care about that. And guess what? If your marketing agencies weren’t asking you these questions, that’s why the marketing wasn’t working.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Because, you know, you have to give people something to work with, and you have to give them the things that will move the needle. People say, you know, may give me a 1000 words, 10,000 words in a conversation, and it’s my job to distill it down into those key messages that really represent what that company stands for. And as I realized that that was possible, I really wanted to double down on that’s what I, you know, I wanna do. I wanna work with people that are driven. Let me just say one thing. There are very few business owners that if you ask them why did you start their your business
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
That would answer, I wanted to make money.
Amy Vaughn:
Right. Yeah. That’s not
Lorraine Schuchart:
Why do you start a business?
Amy Vaughn:
No. No. It’s a scary risky thing. And in fact, most especially if they’re small to medium, don’t make a whole lot of money.
Lorraine Schuchart:
No. That’s true. And so
Amy Vaughn:
At the start.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. At the start. So when we’re focused on our marketing or our business choices in general on what’s going to make me the most profit
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
We actually risk losing employees and other stakeholders. Because let’s be real, people see when you’re only about money.
Amy Vaughn:
Exactly.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And if you’re frantically trying to increase your margin, you’re gonna be desperate in the choices that you’re making. So this just was, like, you know, choirs of angels singing when I finally realized, like, nobody’s marketing’s working because nobody’s talking about their purpose. Right. Even when they have it, even when they know what it is, they’re not talking about it.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. I think it’s one of those things that people seem to not quite understand. And it’s funny because we’ve all seen and heard by this point, ad nauseam, the Simon Sinek talk, the start with the why. Right? And, you know, Fred Rogers, the famous quote, once you’ve learned somebody’s story, you can’t help but fall in love with them. Like, we are human beings. We don’t just buy for the sake of buying. We buy emotionally, whether it is a car or a freaking box of cereal. It is that there is some emotional reason as to why we purchase what we purchase.
Amy Vaughn:
It’s inevitably there. There’s, like, the science behind it. There’s the data behind it. Go back to our podcast with Nancy Harhat on using, using psychology for, and behavioral science for marketing. But it’s funny because people seem to want to get to the place of marketing like Nike. And I’m like, but you don’t understand. Nike has such broad awareness, but they started with a why at one point. At one point, you didn’t know who they were, and all of their messages were very visceral and were very much about the struggle and the strife and the and the keep going and the just do it.
Amy Vaughn:
But it took so much time and effort and constant influence and a lot of money and a lot of awareness, you know, and a lot of years to just be able to throw up that swoosh and have all of that impact in that one little mark. Yeah. But you can’t just go from 0 to that little swoosh in that mark. People, you can’t just throw up your logo and get all of that feeling from everybody. Like, you have to put in the time and the effort and get people to understand what all of that emotion entails. And so you’re so right. People have to understand the why. They have to understand the story.
Amy Vaughn:
You have to bring them along in the journey, and that takes time, energy, effort, and yeah. Sorry, folks. Marketing and money.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And that’s why the companies that do invest the time and resources to do it
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Are going to be more profitable Because Yeah. When you talk to people about, well, branding is more than your website and your logo, it’s actually about how you build an experience between your stakeholders and your company, they’re like, oh, that’s too much work. That’s just too much work. We’ll talk about why we
Amy Vaughn:
started, but, like, we’re not gonna we’re
Lorraine Schuchart:
not gonna be doing that. It’s too much work. Well, yeah, it is. And, you know, I’ve seen clients that we’ve had unfortunately and this is like someone says, what do you like least about your business? This is it. When you work really hard to get all the pieces together and give them everything they need, and it just kinda goes like this. Right? Like, we can’t do everything in a business. We have a core area of strength. Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Even if we stay with a client on retainer and do the implementation of the marketing, there’s still other pieces they need to do. And it’s not easy. And, you know, most companies over time feel like, well, I’m not seeing an ROI. And, you know, so maybe we don’t need to do this thing. And that just breaks my heart because, you know, trends show Forbes, reported and other outlets have reported. They’ve done studies. And back in 2022, they started saying we’re now seeing purpose driven companies gain market share.
Amy Vaughn:
Oh, yeah.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Well, duh. Yeah. Right? We’re like, duh. Of course. Surprise. But, you know, everybody was watching. It sounds good in theory, but let’s see what actually happens. But it is a long game, just like PR.
Lorraine Schuchart:
You know, like I say, I build brands. A lot of that is PR work, which is not just media relations. There’s so much more to it, but it’s a long game. And so I always tell my clients, you can’t hire me for a month to do a price release and make some recommendations and expect an ROI. It’s just not gonna happen.
Amy Vaughn:
Yep. Read my mind, Lauren. I literally wrote down a long game here. It is. And it’s it’s I think it’s to the detriment of, you know, us in digital marketing as much as I love it. It is kind of like kids. Right? And instant gratification nowadays. Right? It’s like they just wanna watch the show right now.
Amy Vaughn:
Bring it up. And you’re back in, like, somewhere where there’s not a Netflix or Hulu, and you can’t get the kids to understand that, no, I can’t bring up SpongeBob right this second. Okay? This is how TV used to work if you had to just wait till it was on. Right? Just trying to explain to these clients, like, no. You have to let a campaign run for 6 months, and you have to be continually optimizing so we can actually learn and understand insights. But then also, like, when it comes to you and your brand and your story, like, you have to be telling it constantly. And guess what? You’re gonna get sick of it. You’re gonna be telling it so much and so often, but people are distracted, and they’re not living in your world.
Amy Vaughn:
Right. They’re busy living in their lives, in their own world, and you’re not gonna be top of mind all the time. But you need to be there and consistent enough that it does start to stick. So you’re gonna get tired of hearing it, but they’re not. It needs to be there in a way that they’re not, but enough that it sticks for them at some point. But that’s gonna take, like you said, a long time. It’s not immediate. It’s not right away.
Amy Vaughn:
And like you said, it is all about the storytelling and the purpose, and it is it’s an overtime type of
Amy Vaughn:
thing. It’s not immediate gratification. Sorry, SpongeBob fans.
Amy Vaughn:
Not how it works. Yeah. Yeah. And, you
Amy Vaughn:
Now, I get it. People, you know, they they only
Amy Vaughn:
plan so far ahead.
Lorraine Schuchart:
They can only see so far ahead. And so there’s so many other elements that impact this.
Amy Vaughn:
So, you
Lorraine Schuchart:
Now, we start with the company’s vision too. So we start with purpose, and then we go to vision. People are like, oh, you start with a mission. I’m like, no. Because mission, what you do on a day to day basis is how you achieve your vision. And it’s your purpose that drives it. So we do everything in a different order. But to me, it makes sense because we’re weaving that golden thread, and that’s where we start.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. I was gonna say that my next question is as companies are trying to define their purpose, if they are struggling there, what kind of advice do you have for those leaders who are trying to articulate their company’s purpose?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Right. So if you’re not the founder, then, you know, it’s a little bit more challenging. But you look at what the impact that your company makes in the world? So I was head of PR for Joanne Fabrics. Right? Everybody knows Joanne. This was yeah. It’s been more than a decade because, of course, I’ve had my company for more than a decade, but it was really about connecting people to their creativity wherever that was. And so they weren’t necessarily a purpose driven business, but when I was hired, I was hired because when they interviewed me, I talked a lot about that. I talked a lot about, you know, we have to be able to look at the impact that we’re making, and that’s our kind of reason for being.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Right? And when we can articulate that, that just helps us move further towards our vision. And so I think for companies, if you’re the founder, you need to spend some time, just like you told the new member, thinking about why did you start this company, what are the breadcrumbs that you can look back and see that maybe led you here? And if you’re not a founder, it’s taking that step back to look at what does our company make possible for people, and what would it look like if we could kind of take that to the nth degree. Right? So with nonprofits, it’s easy. The American Cancer Society, they would go out of not that they’re in business, but they go out of business if there were cures found for cancer. And I say cures because cancer is many different diseases. Right? And so their vision would be that cancer is 100% treatable or even never doesn’t exist at all. But for companies, it’s a lot more challenging. Right? So you think about what we make possible and what would that be in its best version of itself? And those conversations, and I don’t think it’s something a CEO should do alone if they’re not the founder, but not only with your leadership team.
Lorraine Schuchart:
What we do is we bring people together from every level of the organization. And we practice a form of appreciative inquiry, which was developed by David Cooperrider in Ohio, who’s at Case Western Reserve University. But, anyway, it’s this process that we take people through. So you have different voices at the table, and that’s something that a lot of companies tend to miss. Like, your receptionist has a lot of insight into what you make possible. Right? Mhmm. The person, you know, who is the deliverer of your programs or services or products has a different insight. And so why not bring those people together? So that’s what I would say, you know, as a place to start.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Bring people together if you’re not the founder and really have conversations about why do we exist, what is the impact we’re making. And even if you are a founder, if that’s challenging for you and you have other people on the team, it’s a good conversation to have.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Have you ever come across a bonus question? Any because this was another kind of conversation that we had, with one of our existing business owners. We have a lot of business centers within the community. It’s like, if you find you’re kind of needing to pivot your business, maybe you started it for one reason and you’re just kind of finding it’s just not landing well. You’re not finding clients, or it’s you’re just not finding joy in the work anymore, and you really wanna kind of make a shift. Do you have any advice there?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yes. So we are in the branding process. We call Brand for Good, and that’s the name of my podcast now as well. And most of the time no. Not a 100% of the time, but most of the time, you can still look at your purpose, your reason for being, and you can pivot your business without having to change your brand because your brand is based on sure. Elements of it will change. I just, we’re going through what I’m calling an up branding. We’re elevating, but it’s with a more you know, we keep focusing.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Every time we do a rebrand, which is about every 3 years because we do 3 year plans, we we really get clear on, at this phase of our business, and for me, also this phase of my journey, here’s what I want to be doing, and here’s how I feel I can have the best impact, and here’s what people are interested in. And where do those 3 overlap?
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm. Yep.
Lorraine Schuchart:
But I think most of the time, you can pivot. So, like, Prosper for Purpose, if we became a digital products company and did more than marketing, say, I brought in experts in operations or tech or whatever, the name and the essential brand could stand Right. And still be relevant for that pivot. So most of the time, you can pivot within your brand. Sometimes you can’t, and then you look back to how you can still connect your purpose. And sometimes then it’s your personal purpose to what you’re doing.
Amy Vaughn:
Okay. Very cool. Awesome. I love it. That’s helpful. Thank you. Let’s see. Our next question.
Amy Vaughn:
So, oh, and I also wanted to say for our live listeners because we always have live listeners with us during our podcast, feel free to use the chat and let us know if you have any questions for Lorraine as well. So as we get closer to the end, I will keep an eye out on the chat in case you have any as well, and then Kaylee will drop in any links that we have so that you all can connect with Lorraine as well. Once a company has defined its purpose, what are some effective strategies for weaving that purpose into every aspect of their business? Because we don’t wanna do all this great work on creating a good purpose and then sort of kind of just leaving it out. Right? I think that I’m sure people have done that before.
Amy Vaughn:
So how
Amy Vaughn:
Do you avoid that?
Lorraine Schuchart:
So we used ourselves as the guinea pig for this, and now we use it with our clients as well. We had a client a couple of years ago. Mhmm. They hired our team to be, like, their internal comms, their work with their HR, do all the things, create the systems and processes for this, and it was so good. So, basically, you take your purpose. You articulate it into your key messages. If you have an internal marketing team, they can do this for you. If not, it really does expedite the process to work with an expert.
Lorraine Schuchart:
So how can you take that purpose and turn it into what are the 5 key messages? I like 5. It’s enough that you can be diverse in your messaging, but you’re honing in on 5 key points. Yep. And how do we take our values? So we do purpose, vision, mission values. That all is part of the foundational piece. And if this is our purpose, what kind of value supports it? And so that all is incorporated into training of the existing team.
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And then we take it to our hiring process. And so when I hire, I ask specific questions related to my company values. Yep. So one of our values is integrity. And so I ask people if integrity is one of our values. Can you share a situation in which you felt that either a situation or an experience wasn’t in integrity or your own integrity was challenged and how you navigated that. And you get some really interesting insights into people based on how they answer that.
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And so from hiring to onboarding your employees to we also, have our clients take that into their employee assessments. So you’re being assessed against not only company goals but values. How do you exemplify these values in your work? And, typically, that comes not just from your direct supervisor, but, you know, from some peer reviews as well. And then from there, it’s that golden thread. So what does your company do? So how do you choose your providers? Here’s some things to think about. What do you do if you run events? Most companies, especially larger companies, bring their employees together and they’ll do different things or they’ll, you know, run , participate in consumer events or run consumer events. It’s really we look to pull that golden thread through everything the company does so it’s all aligned with their purpose. And it’s also something like we look at our strategic plans and we say, okay, if things don’t align with our strategic initiatives, even though they might be bright and shiny and maybe could give us an ROI Right.
Lorraine Schuchart:
We are really going to default to a no unless it can somehow get us further to our purpose. Guardrails for everything.
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And it’s also something that’s incorporated in the founder’s speeches. How are we bringing that forward? Marketing materials, how are we bringing that forward? So you give me an aspect of business, and I’ll tell you how we can pull that golden thread through it.
Amy Vaughn:
I absolutely love this. It reminds me a lot of how, earlier in the year, I did a talk for the Better Business Bureau to help some other businesses learn a little bit about marketing, branding sorry, brand reputation. And it was this kind of, like, inside out approach, which feels very much like what you just said, but it’s kind of like putting in that little, like, northern star of purpose inside of it, which I think is so important to embed that there first because it creates that character, that consistency that breeds that, you know, and establishes trust, which leads to loyalty and creates that reputation, which is what people want. Right? Because that’s, you know, the thing that brings them back. Ultimately, what cuts what customers want. And then also yeah. Right. As you were saying it, I was like, oh, yes.
Amy Vaughn:
What you want to say no to, we also do a goal getters workshop with Together Digital, and just for women in general, just to help them establish value based goals. And as we take the time to kind of look at our own values, we’ve talked a lot about that just even as individuals. By understanding, like, your true core values, that is such a great filter for you as a person, Yvette, to know, like, this is how I know what to say no to. But it just kinda doesn’t align with where I’m moving towards either as a goal or as a value. It just makes it easy because sometimes it’s just hard to say no to things.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And it’s hard for all of us. And I love that you said North Star because that’s what we call purpose. Purpose is always our North Star guiding us.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. Well, it keeps everything into alignment. Like, I could even see how this would fall into, like, your customer service
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah.
Amy Vaughn:
And everything. You’re creating such a consistent customer experience here as well. Right? So that people know what to expect. You know, I was also on to recommend this podcast. I was on a podcast recently called Bippity Boppity Business. Oh, fun. Hear me out for a second. Right? So fun.
Amy Vaughn:
And her whole philosophy is that it’s like the Disney angle for all things business. And I think a lot of people discount her because it sounds and feels cute, but I think it’s brilliant because, I mean, what other company in the world is bigger, doing things better than Disney for as long as it’s been doing it. Right? And what’s cool about it was, you know, as a guest, I don’t know that I’ve ever come up with some of the answers that I’ve come up with having been on other podcast before that I have been because of her her unique creative angle, you know, and lens on business than kind of looking at it through that Disney lens. So customer experience was definitely something that now it’s like it’s always been in my brain, but, like, even more than ever, I’m like customer customer customer, You know? Because it’s like, they’re the ones we’re here for. We’re the ones that we’re working for. So if we’re not thinking about them first, then why the hell are we here? You know?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. And and I will just say that when I explain branding,
Amy Vaughn:
our Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Definition of branding, it’s that circle of everything you say about yourself and everything your stakeholders, so primarily your customers, but your employees and everybody else experience. So it’s a message . Yeah. Experience, and that overlap determines your brand. Because if you’re saying a lot of stuff that Mhmm. They’re not experiencing, you’re in big trouble. But if you can deliver on your promise
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Then, you know, you’re in alignment, and you create this movement of people who are really invested in your brand.
Amy Vaughn:
Yep. Exactly. And this is people this is how people like, I’ll end up on a podcast. They’re like, oh, how do you have a member base of over 500 women who, you know, you’ve a 97% retention rate? I’m like, oh, because I care about them. I would do anything for them. Like, I do member 1 on ones and onboarding, and I have a calendar that is open to them on a weekly basis, and I want to make myself accessible for them. We do annual surveys. Like, we listen, and everything we do is, again, like, for them.
Amy Vaughn:
Now granted, that’s exactly why we exist there, our purpose, their mission. Like, our values are their values. But, you know, when you are a membership organization, that really, really should be the reason you exist in my opinion. And maybe for other businesses that isn’t when, like, they have a product or a service. But at the end of the day, I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know. Are we all that different? Alright. I would love it if you could share an example of a client who successfully transformed their brand by embracing a clear purpose.
Amy Vaughn:
I love a good transformative story if you’ve got one, and I’d love to hear what sort of changes you observed.
Lorraine Schuchart:
I think that there are a few. I’ll pull a basic one out. So we worked with a builder. So we worked with several builders, actually, but they were really invested. They just wanted marketing. Right? They were really invested in just getting the word out, getting a greater market share. But what we found out interviewing them was that they had children with some health issues that they had traced back to environmental toxins from their home. Oh, wow.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And so they had decided to incorporate into the business options for consulting and use of more environmentally safe products.
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And they didn’t really they didn’t talk about that in their marketing. And so by having many, many conversations about how this was really a differentiator, you know, and could be ultimately a purpose driver of their business, we were able to bring that message forward. So that’s a super simple example. The purpose was already there for the fact that that was part of what they did and why they did it because they knew if their children were suffering. Look. And we all probably suffer from environmental things. And just like everything, I have allergies, other people don’t. Doesn’t mean that they don’t react to a high pollen count in the world.
Lorraine Schuchart:
It just means that they don’t test as allergic to that pollen count. So I thought that that was really important. We’ve worked with a lot of clients, and I think I mentioned that, as we went forward in our business. So this was an earlier client. As we went forward in our business, you know, we don’t work with just anyone. So the clients who do find us feel like they do have a big purpose and they’re ready to share it. So it’s not as evident then, but it’s still about how do you articulate that in a way that resonates with the people that you do wanna work with. Right? And so, you know, if you were able to say we create products, that will be because we care about your children as much as we care about our own and then tell your story, people are gonna flock to you.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Right? Yep. And, and that’s what we want. Like, marketing isn’t about reaching everyone. It’s about reaching the right people.
Amy Vaughn:
Exactly.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And so, you know, I’m not a marketer for someone that just, you know, has a big new product launch that they want to take care of. But I’m a marketer for someone who wants to invest in the long game and build a brand that communicates a higher purpose beyond profit and reinvests some of that profit into furthering that purpose and getting closer to achieving their vision. And that’s who I tend to attract.
Amy Vaughn:
I love it a lot. That’s a great example. Alright. We often hear about purpose driving brand influence and attracting talent. Mhmm. Seems like a pretty easy connection to draw, but I would love it if we could talk a bit about that. And then does it continue to contribute to profitability? And can purpose and profit exist harmoniously?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. Yeah. Even the business roundtable came back and said, you know, we have advocated for decades that the only purpose of business is profit, and we now realize that there is a purpose beyond profit. And, you know, I think that that was a significant moment. Now getting all businesses to embrace it is different, but studies are showing that a business’s purpose can actually drive profitability by creating a competitive advantage. And then also what we were talking about pulling that golden thread of guiding decisions and actions towards that greater vision or purpose. Right? And so purpose driven companies can outperform their competitors in terms of customer loyalty, employee engagement, and even market share gains, which Yeah. Are showing now they can grow faster, achieve higher levels of innovation, and retain more employees, which also makes them more profitable.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And so, you know, there are reports and you can Google them and find them that purpose driven companies are experiencing higher profit margin gains.
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
So I love that. It just makes me so happy because when I think about the world, at least, you know, someone idealistic as I am and I think you are, we wanna think that the good guys are going to win. Right?
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah.
Lorraine Schuchart:
The people who care about more than money
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And it’s not to negate that profit and business is important
Amy Vaughn:
Mhmm.
Lorraine Schuchart:
But profit and purpose and planet and people. Yep. Those are all important. And so we want those companies to win and more and more consumers want those companies to win. We’re seeing consumers take a much more active role in researching the brands that they’re supporting and making sure that they’re actually walking the walk and not just saying things as part of their marketing campaign.
Amy Vaughn:
Oh, oh, well, 100%. I mean, I think I’m trying to remember the exact stat. I don’t have it. I’m actually returning. We’re turning the talk that I did about brand reputation into a workshop for some small businesses, for Cincinnati Startup Week, in partnership with the Better Business Bureau. But, I think I know it was, like, over 60% of people Mhmm. Will choose a brand based on perception. And I do see perception and purpose both being closely tied to one another. Right? Because they believe that if a brand stands for something or at least has consistent, you know, decent values or, like, is trustworthy, in other words, it stands for something, then, they’re more likely to purchase.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. And cost isn’t always the deciding factor. In fact, cost is sometimes not the deciding factor that they will choose, the brand because of its purpose or because of the perception versus the actual price instead, which is pretty exciting and cool to see. And I agree. I think, you know, I coach a lot of women. We’ve got a lot of women within the organization that, you know, talk a lot about wanting to work for a sense of purpose. They want to work for companies that have values. You know? And it’s you know, we all have to work for a paycheck.
Amy Vaughn:
That’s important. But I myself have walked away from bigger paychecks to work for companies that I felt had better healthier cultures, better work environments, more flexible work environments because I felt like, you know, there’s more currency than just my salary
Amy Vaughn:
Right.
Amy Vaughn:
Going into play.
Lorraine Schuchart:
100%.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. Awesome. Alright. We are at the last question before we go into our fun little lightning round, which it looks like we may have time for unless we have any questions from our listening audience. But looking ahead, how do you feel about the role of purpose in business is evolving, which we’ve touched on a little bit here, but if there’s anything else you wanna add. And what trends or changes should our audiences be prepared for?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Well, I think our audiences should be prepared for Gen z. I love Gen z. I think what’s happening is great. I love the millennials too. I’m not a millennial. I just love that people, you know, we’re less trustful and, of course, that’s a double edged sword. But the positive side of that is that people do more research, do more verification, and they want the companies that they work for and the companies that they buy from to care about more than profit and to do good in the world. And I think that even companies that don’t necessarily care about that and are really still profit driven are going to be forced to Yep.
Lorraine Schuchart:
To consider this because the market demands it.
Amy Vaughn:
Agree.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And I love that. I really do.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. I do too. This is the information age. It’s just too easy for people to find out what they need to find out about you, where your products are manufactured. I think Yeah. Tmoo? Is it Too? What’s the what’s the
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. Yeah.
Amy Vaughn:
That’s out there. Like, people can just figure out what you are paying your people? Where are your products being manufactured and made? All of that kind of stuff. I mean, reviews are great. I mean, granted, there’s, like, a whole bunch of
Amy Vaughn:
crazy stuff.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Like a whole
Amy Vaughn:
Whether there’s a real big
Lorraine Schuchart:
industry now with fake reviews, which is evil in my opinion whether they’re good reviews or bad reviews. It’s just wrong. But,
Amy Vaughn:
It’s all questionable now, but there’s still loads of information to be found. Yes. Right, about that. So, like, the fact that people can just kind of drill down and educate themselves, and it’s really just a couple clicks away. I mean, you’re right. There’s just a lot of stuff like reputation and things like that that have to be managed, there. It was so funny. My daughter was out of school shopping for shoes. We went back to school shopping for shoes. And she’s Gen Alpha, and she was looking at a pair of Nikes, and she’s like, oh, I don’t want these ones.
Amy Vaughn:
And I’m like, oh, why? Like, you know, what’s wrong with them? She’s like, there’s a QR code on the tongue. It’s like, oh, she’s like, I don’t want that. What is that? People are gonna scan me or something? I don’t I don’t know what that’s about. That’s what’s interesting. But the fact that she, like, did not find that cool and she did have no interest whatsoever. And, of course, our marketer, me, is like, oh, QR code. Let’s let’s
Lorraine Schuchart:
see what it is.
Amy Vaughn:
She’s like, wants none of it. I thought that was really interesting.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Yeah. That’s so Yeah.
Amy Vaughn:
Who knows what Gen
Lorraine Schuchart:
Alpha will do.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. I know. Right?
Amy Vaughn:
Case study of 1, but
Lorraine Schuchart:
I wasn’t intrigued.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. Alright. Let’s see if we can get through these in the next minute, Lorraine. Okay. Alright. Most overused buzzword buzzword in the purpose driven business.
Lorraine Schuchart:
So I think the most overused buzzword in business is actually purpose driven. So I’m flipping your question a little bit, and that is because it’s used incorrectly. I hear people say all the time, you know, we’re gonna use our purpose, and this is how we’re gonna achieve our goals. And then it turns out what they’re talking about is their purpose is profit. Their purpose is how many products we sold. Their purpose is, you know, we’re purpose driven. We define our sales goals every step of the way. Stop using purpose driven the wrong way, people.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Purpose driven, the phrase is now used to mean and this is the evolution of language. Right? You can have a purpose driven strategy to achieve anything used to be. Now if you’re purpose driven, what is your purpose beyond profit? That’s what that phrase means in today’s lexicon. Use it correctly. I love that. Commercial over.
Amy Vaughn:
It’s your TED Talk. Your superpower if you were a purpose driven superhero.
Lorraine Schuchart:
I think my superpower is a good question. Is really being able to look inside individuals and organizations.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And kind of see into their heart, if that makes sense. And then hear it back to them in language that I’ve had clients cry when we’ve presented their brands.
Amy Vaughn:
Oh.
Lorraine Schuchart:
And it’s just like, my husband’s a portrait artist, and he gets that. And the first time it happened to me, I was like, now I know how you feel.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah.
Lorraine Schuchart:
But I, you know, I didn’t make it up just like he doesn’t make up what someone looks like. You’re mirroring back to them, and it’s so powerful.
Amy Vaughn:
Yeah. A little bit of x-ray vision with mirroring power. I love it. Alright. Last one, Loreen, then we will wrap it. Coffee or tea when brainstorming brand purpose, what’s your what’s your go to?
Lorraine Schuchart:
Coffee in the morning and diet Coke in the afternoon.
Amy Vaughn:
I dig it. Alright. Awesome. Thank you so much for this, Lorraine. This is a wonderful conversation. I hope all of you feel more inspired and empowered to go out there and find whether it’s your individual purpose, your brand purpose, your company purpose, whatever that might be, please go check out Lorraine and the wonderful work that she’s doing with Prosper For Purpose. Thanks for being our guest today.
Lorraine Schuchart:
Thank you so much, Amy. Thanks for having me here in the Power Lounge. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Amy Vaughn:
Absolutely. Me too. Everyone, have a wonderful rest of your Friday. Hope to see you all next week. Until then, keep asking, keep giving, and keep growing. Take care. Bye, everyone.
