You don't have to be a scientist, sustainability expert or charity to be a hopemaker – how this coffee shop, retailer & Beyoncé are making an impact

Would you like to do something that creates an impact in this world but are waiting for the right job or right degree to take action? Read this.

Last November I sat down for a coffee at Kings Cross, London before attending a morning seminar nearby. It was raining, as it often does in London, so I chose the nearest coffee shop that was open at 8 am. It turned out to be a place called Redemption Roasters. 

Whilst I was waiting for the arrival of my oat flat white, crafted by the skilled hands of a barista, I let my gaze wander across the posters on the shop walls. I quickly learned that the coffee roastery was on a mission to help prisoners and law offenders steer clear of trouble. 

Redemption Roasters teaches barista skills to prison leavers and people at risk of offending to make sure they get employed. They host barista academies in two UK prisons as well as at their headquarters and help the trained baristas get employed at one of Redemption Roaster’s coffee shops or at another coffee shop. 

They do all this, even though they’re just a coffee shop. 

I stopped to think, how often do we miss the chance to make a meaningful impact because we’re not a charity, a non-profit or a scientist in sustainability issues? Are we waiting to be nominated as a caregiver before we can start caring? 

I come from a highly educated country. In Finland, approximately 40 percent of the adult population have a higher education degree. To stand out from the majority of CVs, you need a PhD. And to claim expertise on anything in my country, you are often expected to show a degree, licence, certification or qualification. My country is a great example of the trend of specialisation, meaning that expert jobs become niche (hello, quantum computer software developers) and therefore claiming expertise requires a high level of specificity. And whoever tries to claim expertise without the required credentials, is easily disregarded as a fake. 

I fully accept and encourage education and high-level expertise when it comes to jobs where a small mistake can produce severe damage. If someone is about to operate my heart they should have years of training and experience doing so and the appropriate qualifications under their belt. And becoming the president of any country should be left to those who hold a relevant degree. I don’t think people should lie on their CV or fake expertise they don’t have. 

However, the demand for specialisation and higher and higher levels of education can also hinder us from seeing our potential as capable human beings. If we believe we must be extremely qualified to do anything meaningful, we easily spend our entire lives educating ourselves, suffer from imposter syndrome and fail to take action on the things we care about. We lose an aspect of our humanity that is instinct and intuition-driven rather than intellect-driven. 

When it comes to areas where we have natural human abilities, such as human interaction, caring for nature, helping others, sharing knowledge and skills we’ve acquired, it’s often our instincts and passions that create a positive change instead of the degree we completed to gain credibility. 

A coffee roastery can make an impactful change if they decide to. And so can a pop artist. 

Beyoncé as an impact-driven business

For those of you who follow pop culture, this will be old news, but Beyoncé recently became the first black female artist to hit number one on the US country chart. This is interesting because black artists have not had an easy time succeeding in country music. Why? Because it’s a genre dominated by white people in cowboy hats (like Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton & Tim McGraw). And if it wasn’t for social media, Beyoncé’s number one status might never have happened (even though Bey is often seen wearing a cowboy hat these days). 

The story, as told in detail in The New York Times, goes like this. 

On Sunday, February 11th, 2024, Beyoncé introduced her two new country singles, Texas Hold’Em and 16 Carriages, in a Super Bowl advertisement. On Tuesday, February 13th, a random American called Justin McGowan requested a US country music station KYKC to play Texas Hold’Em. The station responded with a no, stating that they don’t play Beyoncé because they’re a country music station and she’s not a country music artist. McGowan got upset and started a social media frenzy about the rejection, posting an image of the refusal email on X and calling it racist. In his post, McGowan pleaded his X followers to bombard the radio station with more requests. Eventually, the station changed their mind and allowed Beyoncé’s song to pass the seemingly tight criteria for country music. And in return, Texas Hold’Em climbed to the top of the charts and broke records. 

Now, what does this story have to do with impact and hope? It reminds us of the power of creatives and artists in making change in this world. And making it through their chosen form of art and not just by attending charity galas or using their fame to speak about important issues (though that’s important too). 

Art can be a transformative force if we so decide. 

Since establishing herself as a solo artist and building her repertoire beyond her early R&B days, Queen B has chosen a path of social impact and devoted songs, music videos and albums to black cultural heritage. In 2020, she relased a film titled Black Is King, to accompany her presence in the new Lion King movie. According to Variety, she collaborated with a range of researchers, experts and artists to understand and describe the African diaspora. The timing of a lot of her work on black culture, has, intentionally or unintentionally, coincided with the Black Lives Matter movement. 

It’s unlikely that Beyoncé wasn’t trying to use her most recent genre shift as a way to trailblaze herself to the country music scene. When first introducing her new singles at Super Bowl, she made a joke about how her new releases would “break the internet”, which is exactly what happened. She might have been planning this move since 2016, when her first debut to the country genre, a song titled Daddy Lessons, was rejected from entering the Grammy country music category.

Beyoncé is not the first or last artist to take a political stance. But she’s an example of an artist choosing to do so even when she could probably make the same money just releasing music that sounds good and twerking on a video. Given her status, her choices have an impact. 

How Patagonia chose a strategic location for their outlet shop to support a rural area

When it comes to businesses on a mission, Patagonia might be one of the most famous examples. The outdoor clothing brand is best known for its commitment to the planet by redirecting all profits to a climate trust fund and a non-profit combatting climate change. 

One of their lesser-known success stories was their decision to open an outlet shop in the remote mountain town of Dillon, Montana, US in the 1990s. As far as great shop locations go, the company could’ve likely afforded an outlet space in a place with higher foot traffic than this 4000-inhabitant small town. But according to an article by Fast Company, the founder Yvon Chouinard wanted the people who live in this area surrounded by wildlife to have access to affordable outdoor wear. Now, this outlet is considered a Patagonia pilgrimage that makes outdoor tourists stop there. The brand also sponsors local climate initiatives in the area. 

Even though Patagonia has a bit of a cult-like following as a brand, this example serves as a reminder that any brand in any industry can make choices that impact something other than their revenue. In this case, revenue has followed the action and not the other way around. 

But can we consider ourselves do-gooders if we’re also making a profit?

So the difference between Starbucks and Redemption Roastery, between Justin Bieber and Beyoncé and Primark and Patagonia is not expertise, wealth or access. They all have a position that allows them to make choices according to their desires. What differentiates them is that some of them are guided by a mission beyond personal wealth and gain and others aren’t. 

Now, I’m not saying these brands are samaritans, obviously, they’re making money as well. The whole point of a successful business is to make a profit or at the very least – make ends meet. 

One could also argue that the only reason they’re on a mission is because they already have an established business that is making money. This could of course be true as well. 

We know that brands that have a powerful mission also get a strong fan base of people excited about that mission. So we could argue that a lot of brands are working on a mission because they want that fan base and fame. Sure. But does it matter? 

Do the intentions need to be pure and innocent for someone to call them purposeful? 

Not if the intentions are creating a real-life, visible and data-proofed positive change. 

There’s a difference between so-called greenwashing, i.e. making something look like you’re on a sustainable mission but not actually taking the steps necessary, and mission-driven businesses that are contributing to positive change. 

We don’t have to become Mother Theresa before we can make a difference. We don’t have to renounce our selfish, egoistic human natures before we do something good  – instead, we can take action despite these human traits. 

This all brings us back to the most essential ingredient in creating hope in this world. That is, taking action. 

Being a hopemaker doesn’t require much more than having the right intention – how to identify yours?

Taking action applies to individuals, non-profit organisations, scientists, experts, artists and commercial companies. Thinking about mission statements, writing manifestos and powerful impact statements should not be your primary activity. Doing something should. Taking a stance, and completing even a small action, is the only way to make a change on a personal and professional level. 

You can choose between three different types of hopeful missions: 

A) creating a mission-driven project, company or charity OR 

B) doing charitable work on the side of whatever else you’re doing OR

C) changing things wherever you have the power to do so.

Option A means your entire project, company or creative work is striving for a mission. Your business or project exists for doing good in this world, it’s a vehicle for the change you want to see in this world. For example, you research happiness to make people happier, you create an eco-village to introduce people to sustainable lifestyles, you start a restaurant that makes use of near-expired goods as ingredients or you initiate a fundraising for underprivileged children. 

Option B means you work to make money for yourself (and maybe others), and then spend some amount of your money or time on a charity or cause you care about. This is what Leonardo DiCaprio is doing with his foundation that supports initiatives fighting climate change or what IKEA is doing partnering with UK charity Shelter to campaign for the cost-of-living crisis. 

Option C means you use your current circumstances to create change. Let’s say you work for a big corporation that is by no means a do-gooder or you belong to a friend group where nobody cares about the planet. You can change things from within by becoming the leader you’ve always wanted to have, or by sharing your own sustainability actions with others as inspiration. You can make a change in the communities where you belong.

If you’re unsure of what your mission could be and what it would look like, it’s okay. These things don’t need to come fast. Focus first on the doing before deciding on any major career move or investing all your savings on a property for a new business. 

(Also, if you need help, my 1-2-1 coaching is designed to answer these questions and set you on a solid path.) 

Identifying the mission you want to work on means going out into the world and getting involved. Whether it’s picking up garbage on beaches, helping immigrants learn a language, caring for the elderly or planting trees, do it. Do it for the cause. Do it even if you don’t know if this is the cause you care about the most. Do it for the experience, do it for the people you’ll meet, do it for feeling something. 

Don’t get another degree thinking about it. Don’t wait for a permission to take action. Don’t keep wondering what other people will think about you. Don’t finesse your website over and over again. Don’t get stuck following other people’s missions. 

Do something for the sake of action. 

It’s only through action that you’ll receive answers, find the right networks, hear inspirational stories, and connect with your intuition about whether this will be right for you. And, the best part is, that by taking action you’re already making a difference. 

A recommendation from the writer: If you enjoyed this post, I’m sure you’ll enjoy my online course. It teaches you how to become the most hopeful person in the room and take actions that support a positive future for yourself and for others. Read more here.

Become the hope you wish to feel in this world.

With kindness,
Aurora