The Future of Business

Speaker 1: [Music] it's actually the future of business and it's the future of how we're showing up and and if we think about our own lives and how the work that we do we work for a big company or we maybe we lead our own company our values being at the core uh our objectives and our kbis and our bottom line is actually what cre successful business hi I'm Melanie bar welcome to the shiled experience with Melanie join me as I talk to women who have success sucessfully built it a career and business that they love we dive into the topic of how they built it and talk about everything from Having the courage to make career leaps to the details of how to lead effectively create successful teams Implement strategies for growth and Infuse Tech Innovation magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy so let's dive in thank you for joining us Natalie you are the founder of Blank Space you inspire others to live their legacy now now what led you to launch your business and how are you empowering others to live their legacy I'm really excited to be here I founded Blank Space five years ago I was in Corporate America doing this work inside of Unilever and then launched my business as an extension of that it's based on impact work and working with Brands Founders foundations I also work with funds celebrities which is fun on authentic long-term impact how are we making a difference in the world and then how does that drive us in our leadership how are we showing up and how can we create a legacy that's alive today this is something that could be as easy as why we have the jobs we do and the purpose that we find that helps us to show up at our best day in and day out how much of that is looking at ourselves for our own legacy and thinking about giving back to others so that's a great question because the work that we do is actually about tying it into everything you do I don't believe that you make money in one place and then you give it away somewhere else I believe that impact and purpose is at the center of the future of business so the companies that we want to buy for and work for and be a part of that make us feel good are building products of the future that are sustainable that have their consumer at the heart of it that are taking care of our health and wellness so that these purpose and impact pieces are tied to the core of the business and how it operates I've been doing this a long time and on early side of this work many of it was around oh this is Corporate social responsibility or something that makes us feel good like a beach cleanup where we bring all the employees but really where we are today it's actually the future of business and it's the future of how we're showing up and and if we think about our own lives and how the work that we do do we work for a big company or we're Maybe we lead our own company our values being at the core of our objectives and our kpis and our bottom line is actually what cre successful business it's so true and we show up so much more ready and it's so much more fun to be a part of those things like a beach day for someone who's interested in Ocean conservation that would be aligned with who they are yes there's a sunscreen product that is really looking at how it's affecting Coral reefs how it's made the supply chain so having pieces of cleanup and conservation as a core part of their mission makes sense we just went to Hawaii and I just learned about that and so even now here at the beaches I'm thinking about that too in our everyday lives I know it's amazing that we don't realize the unintended consequences of some of the things we love or some of the products we need but in the world we're living in today transparency is at the heart of what we're all Desiring you can see on social media a company can make a left turn and everyone both the people who are part of their tribe as I like to call it or outside of it will weigh in and call them out so sometimes I get calls from clients like that where they're in a challenging position and are really trying to dig in and think about the future of their strategy but often it's companies who want to tie this to the core of what they're doing right off the bat you believe in finding middle ground and turning conflicting viewpoints into meaningful discourse how do you Empower others through blank space to do this I love that question because Blank Space is really about that open space new ideas coming together whether you're from different viewpoints to think of solutions to make the world a better place that sense of creativity and that need for not doing it the same way as we always have is is at the core of really what you're talking about I'm even thinking like now more than a middle ground it's almost a bridge like how are we bridging these different Generations these different divides maybe what the C Suite is looking at and what most of the employees are looking for or even in the foundation work where we have families that are trying to contribute to the communities that they live in and thinking about what does that mean what does legacy mean for them and their family and how are they building businesses of of the neighborhoods that they live in it's so true because I can see how in the corporate world specific speically people are coming from different viewpoints when it comes to how the company is giving back to communities and to people this is the first time in history that we've seen CEOs and Founders be asked to be activists really when years past it was very much don't say anything political just stay quiet keep your head down focus on the bottom line and in the world we live in today in 2023 not saying anything is actually saying a lot and will get you in more trouble in many ways than having a voice this is why that deep brand work is so important upfront and thinking about your values and understanding how the company views the world so that when stuff happens they're able to easily respond in an authentic way and it's not jumping on a bandwagon and saying something that doesn't actually align and creating even more issues which again we see on social media every day and when you see that it makes you want to buy from the company when they're transparent and doing what they believe in yes yes and work there I think the future talent pool is really interested in in that I was just reading a statistic that so many of the the kids graduating today are looking at the values of a company as one of their top priorities that says so much about the community that they want to be involved in in the companies that they work for blankspace helps companies embed purpose into their businesses to create a global platform for positive ch if a company is looking to do this or review their current strategies where do you suggest they start it goes back to the founding story why a company was created in the first place or why you launched a certain product in the marketplace what was that opportunity or that Gap that you saw that needed to be filled the why behind that really reveals the passion this could be at the smallest neighborhood company that's opening its stores like a cafe to the biggest corporations that are multinationals in several regions around the world it's the why of what drives them to make their business operate well and tying that back to broader values and the mission of the brand and I'd say that it's very easy to see when this has been done and done well because you feel part of them Brands like harly Davidson have created such a community and tribe the feeling that the people have that are part of that Nike wearing the swoosh and understanding what you're a part of Adidas has done this you see people with their proud Apple stickers on their Apple computer because they just want to be a part of this tribe that was breaking through like technology on the Forefront of of connecting us being a part of that when to your point when it's done well does make you want to buy more another brand that does this so well is Patagonia who says even don't buy a new fleece from us if you've had one and you have a tear in it send it to us we'll prepare it and send it back to you and that lines up with their sustainability missions of just don't throw out clothes and be a part of overc consumption and the environmental issues the fashion industry it becomes a lot easier and these examples I'm trying to give especially the Patagonia one where it doesn't feel like oh they make their money here and then they're writing a check over here to counter something it's actually just a part of the heartbeat of the company they're being and they're living what they're saying yes and we're all thinking about the world and the climate and how can we use less plastic and how can we be more sustainable I didn't even know that they did that so it's really interesting to hear and that's great that they do that for their customers I love that it's such a out of the-box way of expressing their values and also you would think it goes against their bottom line but it actually makes their customer want to have more of their items and Longevity like a relationship with them we call brand love when you just go back and back because they have your heart magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy what is one way that you make sure to find and live your joy my company being blank space I have a big meditation practice that is enfolded into the philosophy of the company around taking a step aside thinking about things differently creating some space in your life to tackle the big things don't be so focused on the dayto day that's something that I try to use as a tool to keep me aligned myself and focused on passion because we were chatting earlier I just got back from Africa I got pulled into a project there that I'm so excited about that's working on reing and conservation and elephants it's so easy to go so far into these different topics that you pull up my heart and it's so important to stay focused on what is it that I can really do to support this how can I help build the right Partnerships how can I build the right infrastructure How can I make sure that I can help the world be a better place sometimes it requires a little bit of good boundaries and a lot of good time management because there's just so much that you want to do yeah and hearing you talk I love the name Blank Space because you're right we all need that blank space to figure out what we really want and I recently started meditating too I'll do a 5 to 10 minute but I skipped that 10minute meditation and I felt like my morning wasn't going like it normally did and I thought oh I skipped that meditation I got to go back and do it and you're right it just sets you up for the day and the night if you do it before you go to sleep even if you do 10 minutes it's so great I agree and it helps you get out of your own way so if I can create that opportunity for understanding and new ideas and listening listening is something that we could all do better currently that's the philosophy of Blank Space thinking about how I can take that method and help businesses connect to themselves and Founders connect to themselves and then each of us too who are working at these companies I think it's a really important process so I love that and continue on the meditation Journey gosh as I was saying I just got back from traveling and sometimes it's so hard you have to get back in the practice and create the space thank you for making the world a better place through blank space and for joining us today please tell us how and where we can find you oh yes blankspace works.com also Natalie burn.com both both of those are easy to find I'd love to hear from you and I'm always happy to connect with uh a founder or brand that is thinking about this so don't hesitate to reach out thank you for joining us today I'd love to hear from you reach out to me at hello Sheil it.com on our she builted website or at Sheil it on social thank you to my editor Rich draino who always makes us sound good until next time let nothing stop you from experiencing the life and business that you crave