What if People Could Make an Impact Through Our Brand?

Hi everyone, it's Sue.
I'm excited to blog today because I'm reading a great book that really underscores the reason we started this project. It's called
It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Stand For by Roy Spence, Jr.

The premise is that the most successful businesses are driven by purpose. They have a mission that is clearly stated and everything they do supports that mission. Examples that the author uses include large companies like Southwest Airlines and Wal-Mart. But even a one month-old company like ours can take away some important lessons here.

The big question posed in the book is "Why do you do what you do?" with the answer determining every aspect of how you run your business. It was surprising to hear that the author, who has run an ad agency for over 30 years, has worked with many large and small organizations who, sometimes after decades in business, have no idea what their purpose is. Many companies have fancy mission statements, but I'm learning that fancy is not always better - you need to articulate your vision in very simple terms so that you can keep the message clear and consistent.(ie. the book talks about Wal-mart's vision: To offer products at lower prices so people can live better. Period. And Southwest Airlines is equally as straightforward: To offer more people the freedom to fly with low fares. End of story.

This principle is what we based our business model on here at bread + butter (without having had the privilege of reading the book first!!). We only knew we wanted a purpose-driven brand beginning from Day One, and we wanted to define everything we did within that framework. In fact, our purpose came before our product. We wanted to help feed hungry people (bread + butter, helping fill bellies). We assumed others would want to help too. We thought that if we could provide a quality product and donate a considerable amount to that cause, that people might want to help make a difference in their communities through our brand.

But hey, can't our customers just write out a check to a food pantry? Sure. And we hope that they will. But our products provide a vehicle for them to take additional action, receive something that defines that action, and hopefully feel good about that action. So put simply, we're trying to empower our customers to make a difference through our brand. We didn't articulate it quite that clearly on Day One, but this book has helped me understand that as our working mantra. And anything that doesn't support that gets tossed out.

I will have Tom read it next, and we'll share what we learn with Katie & Emma. Okay, that's all my little brain can handle for one day. More tomorrow of course.

-Sue

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