Listen. I’m not the biggest TV watcher out there. In fact, I didn’t buy my first TV until I was in 30s and I gave it away within a year of purchasing it. I’m even more out of the loop when it comes to reality TV. So it’s safe to say that I’m a bit under a rock when it comes to pop culture related to TV…Or, I prefer to describe myself as a 90 year old grandma that has recently chosen to hook herself to the quiet birdwatching bandwagon with her 70+ year old dad on the front driveway (where I actually am currently sitting while typing this).
My second caveat is that I get a lot of recommendations (THANK YOU!) for businesses and folks that I should look into for the Capitalism for Good project. I spend a lot of time creeping around, looking at Instagrams and websites and asking the folks around me if they know about the people in their cities. It’s a baseline built out of “is this person actually an a-hole? Or are they actually known for being pretty great?” kind of vibe check. I try not to go tooooooo deep because then the overbearing side of me takes over and tries to control the conversation leading the guest into what I want them to talk about. It’s better for us all if I let my curiosity lead us into the conversation in a genuine way where I get to learn about these folks and their stories in real time.
That’s how Generous Coffee Co. made it on my obnoxiously big spreadsheet, but I’d failed to write down who told me about it. So, here I am, googling away and watching Instagram and sure enough, the company passes the vibe check. Community give backs = big check. Accessibility & inclusion = check. Stable enough to be around for a bit = check. People seem to like them and support them = check. I open up my email and type away. I get forwarded to Ben Higgins, the Co-Founder. He agrees & books a time to talk to me.
Cue phase 2 of research: I do some googling to check out his LinkedIn and see if any articles pop up namedropping him. And lo and behold, there are lot of clips. And articles. And all sorts of things because he’s made a name for himself in The Bachelor world. So I call up the biggest The Bachelor fan I know, Shannon Masterson, also of Interview #1 in the Capitalism for Good project fame, to ask her what she knows about Ben & Generous Coffee Co. and she uses her most practiced big-sister voice to say “Yeah. I know. I told you about him. You shut it down saying that reality TV isn’t your thing…” So here I am to eat my words that dismissed him because of this piece of his background. And also to ask some questions about why Shannon Masterson recommended him and ask some questions that she wants to know so she can follow in his footsteps a bit.
And man am I eating my words here today because I’m truly, honest to god, blown away by Ben. I mean, all of the folks in the Capitalism for Good project are worthy of praise and have so much for us all to learn from and Ben is no different. I just had no idea about the breadth and depth of his dedication to capitalize on his values for such a positive impact. There’s so much there that we didn’t even scratch the surface.
Things I want to talk to him more about: Accessibility. Inclusion...
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