Social Change Leaders Podcast

“What really draws me to this business is the power we have as women to change the world.”   - Casey Gromer     More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net As you continue to grow your business, do you struggle with how to grow your team?  Do you know how to use team members the most effectively? How can you build an effective team even for a small business?  We get into all of these topics and more on this episode with C-Suite Boutique Founder and CEO, Casey Gromer.  Co-host, Stephanie Malon-Rufi, has a conversation with Casey about her work building a business catering to women CEOs by offering a custom business blueprint, strategic growth planning and fractional integrator services.  Through our conversation with Casey you will: Learn about what a fractional integrator does and how it may benefit your business Understand the difference between a visionary leader versus a fractional integrator style leader Hear Casey’s unique approach to delegating, something many entrepreneurs often get wrong Learn tips for making you first hire(s) and how to set them up for success in your business Listen to best way to use your team even if you are a start-up business Understand how part-time expert help can be invaluable as you grow your business Hear Casey’s passion to changing the way we ‘do business’ recognizing that many of the systems supporting business growth are broken and don’t support  the additional responsibilities many women have within their households and communities    More about Casey Gromer:  Casey is host of Female Founders Breaking Boundaries podcast where she encourages women to ditch traditional, male-dominated business advice in favor of more realistic, workable ways of running their business while still achieving success. As founder of C-Suite Boutique, Casey and her team currently serve women entrepreneurs as Fractional Integrators.  Casey Gromer, C-Suite Boutique Casey Gromer on LinkedIn

More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net  Do you experience entrepreneurial burnout? Are you constantly running around wearing all the hats and putting out fires? This episode is a replay of a workshop that co-hosts Stephanie Malon-Rufi and Traci Warnberg-Lemm presented as part of Twin Cities Start-up Week.  In this episode, they  walk you through an assessment tool that will help you identify: areas in your business that need better systems in place the types of support you need to keep the business on the right track good time management skills that work and how to maintain good boundaries if you are properly managing your health and well-being In this episode we reference: Free download: Building a Business That Doesn’t Burn You Out Spark Good, Stephanie - Spark Good Social Motion, Traci - Social Motion

“The number-one thing that you will have to sacrifice to be great, to achieve what you are capable of, and to execute your plans, is your comfort.” -Brian P. Moran & Michael Lenningston, 12 Week Year More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net    Have you started to think about planning your 2023?   Now is the time to decide when you will be doing this important part of getting ready for the new year.   In this episode, co-host Stephanie Malon-Rufi goes solo and talks about the annual planning process she does for herself and with her clients. In this episode, you will: Understand why reflection is a powerful planning tool Learn about the importance of reconnecting and refining your vision Hear about the book 12-Week Year and some of the key takeaways Stephanie recommends implementing in your planning and execution process Understand the necessity of setting goals along with a detail action plan Hear key tips to stay on track with your action plan and how to measure your progress Learn about the personalized annual planning package Stephanie is offering to listeners this year! In this episode we reference: 2023 Annual Planning Package with Spark Good Spark Good, Stephanie - Spark Good

“Start every morning with deliberate thinking and thanks giving!!!” -Invajy   More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Have you fallen out of practice with your gratitude routines and habits? This is the time of year when we take time to connect with loved ones, get ready for the holiday season, and reflect on the things we have gratitude for.  Sometimes in life, we have to ‘dig a bit deeper to final gratitude.  If you have traditionally had a gratitude practice you may have fallen out of practice with it. In this episode we discuss a few ways to spread gratitude to others which puts us in the mindset of appreciation and can help us feel more grateful as well.  In this episode, we reference:  Episode #062: Being Grateful Because of 2020 Episode #011: The Importance of Building a Practice of Gratitude Traci Warnberg-Lemm, Social Motion Stepahnie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good Is Your Business Impacting Social Change? Quiz

More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net  The Social Change Leaders Podcast is 3 years old!  To celebrate, some of our former podcast guests are back giving social change leaders updates, lessons learned and some inspiration. In this episode, we will hear from Nancy Meyer, Elaine Rasmussen, Brenden Kumasari and Ann Price to share updates on their work in the social change landscape and ecosystem to effectively do social change, fund it, communicate the value, and evaluate community efforts.  In this episode we referenced: Episode #024: Moving the Money: Connecting Investors and Underestimated Entrepreneurs Episode #070: Better Communication to Scale Your Idea and Have More Impact: Expert Tips from Brenden Kumarasami Episode #116: Engaging Communities to Evaluate Social Change   Episode #120: ‘INTRA’preneurship - Leading Organizational Change from Within Community Possibilities Podcast: Understanding the Why and How of Social Change with Traci Warnberg Lemm Stephanie Malon-Rufi: Social Enterprise as a strategy for social change Traci Warnberg-Lemm, Social Motion Stepahnie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good Is Your Business Impacting Social Change? Quiz  

More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net  The Social Change Leaders Podcast is 3 years old!  To celebrate, some of our former podcast guests are back giving social change leaders updates, lessons learned and some inspiration. In this episode, we will hear from Carl Young, Bukata Hayes and Stacy Wells who all share updates on the work they are doing in the community around racial equity and how the equity leadership space has evolved. In this episode we referenced: Episode #5: A Community Based Approach to Mental Wellness Episode #8: Increasing a Community's Consciousness and Capacity to Address Race Episode #40: Thoughts from Minneapolis: How did we get here? Where do we go from here? Traci Warnberg-Lemm, Social Motion Stepahnie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good Is Your Business Impacting Social Change? Quiz  

The Social Change Leaders Podcast is 3 years old!  To celebrate, some of our former podcast guests are back giving social change leaders updates, lessons learned and some inspiration. In this episode, we will hear from Felicia Boone, Sarah Turino and Jory Mickelson who all shared updates on how they are integrating wellness, self improvement and continuous learning while doing social impact work.     In this episode we referenced: Episode #30:  Wellness + Self Care Series: Finding your Body-Mind-Spirit Connection Episode #32:  Wellness + Self Care Series: Writing as Self Care Episode #78:  Tilling the Soil for Equity Leadership Jory Mickelson Poem/Song Traci Warnberg-Lemm, Social Motion Stepahnie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good Is Your Business Impacting Social Change? Quiz

More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net    Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you.                                       John O’Donahue   How do you renew yourself and your life? How do you deal with new rhythms in your personal & professional life? Co-host Traci Warnberg-Lemm shares some of her thoughts about an article she stumbled across about self-renewal and shares some important questions social change leaders should ask themselves when new rhythms show up in life.  In this episode you will: Hear how all leaders have times in life where they are in need of self-renewal, clarity or re-inventing Listen to Traci discuss an article by Jordan Kassalow about the power of self-renewal   Consider how renewal for social change leaders and social entrepreneurs might require different lenses and questions  Ask yourself a few questions that may trigger some new thinking, ideas to help you refresh and renew your role as social change leader In this episode:  Social Motion, Traci - Social Motion  Article, The Power of Self Renewal

More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net  Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish.  They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”   Bill Drayton   Is your business impacting social change?  Did you know that it can?  In this episode, co-host Stephanie Malon-Rufi talks about how a social impact business is a growing model becoming more widely used.  However, not all know how to integrate this model into their own business.  In this episode you will: Understand what a social impact business is Learn about how a traditional business model differs from a social impact one Hear how growing consumer trends make a social enterprise a financially good move Learn three actions you can take immediately to create more social impact in your business Take Stephanie’s New Quiz - Is Your Business Impacting Social Change In this episode we referenced: Stepahnie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good Is Your Business Impacting Social Change? Quiz 5 C's For Successfully Building a Social Change Business: https://www.socialchangeleaders.net/episode/126 https://www.socialchangeleaders.net/episode/127 https://www.socialchangeleaders.net/episode/128  

“The gap between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.”                                                              -Gandhi More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net  The Social Change Leaders Podcast is three years old!  We look back at some of our lessons learned, and share our reflections on what are some practices and things that have helped us sustain this effort. In our conversation, we discuss: How we met and determined to launch a podcast over 3 years ago Some of the stats from the podcast including listeners from 86 countries around the globe Bulleted list of some of our lessons learned from doing 3 years of podcasting   Mentioned in today’s conversation: Social Change Leaders Quiz Traci, Social Motion Stephanie, Spark Good

Note to self: Don’t measure your progress using someone else’s ruler.                                                             -Anonymous       More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net     Are you feeling the end-of-the-year crunch? Do you have some goals that you haven’t finished yet or maybe haven't even started working on?  It is the last quarter of the calendar year and for many this is a time when we start to push to get our goals accomplished.  In this episode, Stephanie and Traci talk about how to approach this last stretch of the year so that you can accomplish important goals but also so you don’t burn out.  Through these tips you will: Learn the importance of celebrating accomplishments  Understand how to prioritize Know how to be realistic Be challenged to think about how you spend your time Learn about how to measure your progress Be encouraged to write down your action steps and timeline Think about how you will stay accountable to this work   To learn more: Traci Warnberg-Lemm, Social Motion Stephanie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good

More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net    "The big aha for me, having studied populations of the long-lived for nearly a decade, is how the factors that encourage longevity reinforce one another over the long term. For people to adopt a healthful lifestyle, I have become convinced, they need to live in an ecosystem, so to speak, that makes it possible. ... The power of such an environment lies in the mutually reinforcing relationships among lots of small nudges and default choices."   -Dan Buettner     Do you consider the impact of ecosystems in your personal and professional life?  Co-host Traci Warnberg-Lemm shares some of her thoughts and observations from her month in Greece in this solo episode. She shares how the culture in Greece has mutually reinforcing habits and practices that support health and wellness in individuals and communities.  Listen as she considers how her lessons, observations and insights from Greece might challenge us all to build similar ecosystems. On this episode you will: Hear a little bit of history about the Greek God Asklepius and why the symbol of snakes are used in modern day medicine Listen as Traci shares a bit about the Mediterranean diet and how it is central to life in Greece Understand a bit about the Greek ‘hours of common silence’  Hear stories of modern Greek hospitality and how that value has roots in ancient civilization  Hear about the value of spending time outdoors Listen as Traci shares a few unique Greek traditions and its impact on creating community connections and linkages Consider what ecosystems might better support mutually reinforcing relationships To learn more about Traci: Social Motion, Traci - Social Motion 

Everybody wants what it looks like, not everybody wants what it feels like.  - Jesse Ross Jr.   More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net How can real change be made to move us to more equitable and inclusive workplaces?  What does knowledge of self have to do with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work?  Listen to our inspiring conversation with Jesse Ross, CEO of Mr. Jesse Ross.  Jesse is a DEI consultant, executive coach, and international speaker.  He is also a community activist living and doing the work in Minneapolis. In our conversation you will hear: About Jesse’s background in organizational development as well as human development and how he uses that in the DEI consulting work now How DEI work within organizations and companies requires expertise in change management, conflict resolution and interpersonal communications  Jesse describe the importance of self cultural awareness and the blind spots we all have How Jesse supports teams in organizations he consults with Jesse explain the value of approaching challenges and change with curiosity  Jesse’s perspective on the importance of change happening inside ourselves and then looking to others before trying to adapt and change Jesse describes the importance of having clarity on one’s own core values     More about Jesse : Website, Jesse Ross Jesse is a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant, executive coach, and international speaker who has delivered over 400 speaking engagements at colleges, conferences, and corporate and nonprofit companies, with a large number of Fortune 500 companies. Jesse offers training, workshops, evaluations, assessments, and strategy development for your school, business or organization. Jesse has been engaging his audience with his Morning Minute call-to-actions on his Instagram and LinkedIn page since before our world went into civil unrest. Jesse Ross’ Black Wealth Redistribution Project  

Radical simply means grasping at the roots. -Angela Davis More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net   Is the social impact of your business more of something that makes you feel good or is it integral to your work?  How integrated are your social change efforts into your business operations?  In this episode, co-host, Stephanie Malon-Rufi, addresses how you can go deeper with your social change work and how you can more closely align it with your business vision.  In this episode, Stephanie discusses: The three main ways you can have impact through your business The need to think about the bigger social change that you want to be a part of with your business The concept of ‘effective altruism’ and how it relates Why you might want to rethink you food drive activity for something that has deeper impact and a greater connection to your work and vision How you need to put ‘skin in the game’ with your social impact Five questions to help you think about how your can better integrate your social impact with your business   In this episode, we reference:  Stephanie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good SCLP Episode #92: Collaborating to Promote Equity and Transform Healthcare, A Conversation with Ivelyse Andino, Founder of Radical Health More about Stephanie Malon-Rufi Stephanie Malon-Rufi, Owner of Spark Good, is a business consultant and leadership coach working with entrepreneurs who want to build their businesses to be a vehicle for social change.  Stephanie has a passion for sparking good in the world with having  20+ years of experience working with social enterprises, start-ups and nonprofits and an MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship. She specializes in the areas of strategic business planning, revenue growth, marketing & communications and helping entrepreneurs be the leaders they want to be.  She also co-hosts the Social Change Leaders Podcast, geared for social innovators with tips, actionable ideas, and stories to inspire from the front lines of social change. 

If you don’t build a social business model that includes paying yourself (the leader), then you are not building a sustainable business model.   - Stephanie Malon-Rufi More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net   Do you bring home a regular paycheck from your social business?  Do you have a plan to be paid regularly from your social business?  Do you want to have a sustainable business that lasts and can grow?  Many social entrepreneurs do not pay themself or do not pay themself enough.  In this episode, Stephanie Malon-Rufi, owner of Spark Good, goes solo and talks about why it is critical to have a plan to begin paying yourself from your social business.  You can earn a living and use your business as a vehicle for social change! In this episode, Stephanie discusses: Common reasons social business owners do not pay themself Some simple questions to ask yourself if you are not paying yourself at all or not paying yourself enough How to start paying yourself (or paying yourself more) Why it is important to pay yourself if you want a sustainable and strong social business Some resources to help you get started   In this episode, we reference:  Download the Social Business Check-Up Stephanie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good SCLP Episode #137: Conquering Your Money Mindset Blocks