Starting and Growing a Purpose Led Business
Andy Stephenson | Starting and Growing a Purpose Led Business
Described by Richard Branson as "someone who reminded me of my younger self", in his latest book "Finding My Virginity", Andy Stephenson is the founder of subscription business Weekend Box, providing engaging activities for children and parents, conveniently through the letterbox.
In this talk, Andy shares the ethos and approaches that catapulted Weekend Box from an idea to help his niece and parents, to becoming a thriving business. He discusses making the most of your USP, embedding values into your culture, and turning an every-day problem into a business opportunity. Andy is now the Chief Digital Officer for the Lanchester Group in charge of scaling all of the group’s digital companies and brands.
“If the thing you’re doing doesn’t make money, then it isn’t a business.”
Key Highlights
0:55 “If the thing you’re doing doesn’t make money, then it isn’t a business”
2:00 The decision to quit a job and start a business.
3:20 Learning from the graze business model. No marketing needed really as long as the product is good. So he applied the same thing and made Weekend Box.
4:10 What inspired Weekend Box and it’s growth. Explains how he got into Richard Branson’s book.
7:50 Having a purpose in your work discussion. Andy really wanted to help parents and kids bond and connect. Connect to the thing/cause is necessary to get anywhere.
10.30 The stresses and strains on starting a business.
11:40 Handwritten, no branding with the first packages.
12:45 Define & Uphold Strong Values.
13:00 Got a mentor who’d done it all before that he could speak to when he was confused or needed clarity.
13:30 Embedding culture values in one of his sites, learning from a mentor.
“You can change the world in small tiny ways. Leaving it better than you found it is changing the world”
15:30 Resolving a high staff turnover...
16:00 Hiring people and interviewing in alignment with company values.
17:30 Hitting targets and living values. Quarterly review, “are you living the values?” as well as discussing targets and performance. He’d ask if people were living the values of the company and see if they’re a good “weekend boxer”.
19:00 Triple bottom line business structure – profit to keep the lights on, profit for people and the planet.
20:10 Living brand values and turning it into a USP – example of using SFC sustainable developed paper & card (which is cheaper and better for the planet than recycled materials would you believe. No bleaches are used which are used in the recycling process).
22:20 People in the business came up with their own ideas now e.g. give excess boxes to charities for underprivileged kids.
22:50 Tiny Lives Charity collaboration, someone in customer support suggested creating a Weekend Box for kids that are brothers or sisters to premature babies. Hard to understand and kids want to play but parents are stressed worrying about their newborn so did a Weekend Box for those kids to help them navigate that journey.
“It’s easy to say you’re not all about the profit when you’re not making any.”
💡 Key Lessons
Find a business model that inspires you and enables you to deliver your product or service to your customers. In this case, learning from Graze Box and solving a problem for busy parents.
Make your values clear and visible to remind you when you make decisions. As your business grows, it will support you to maintain the philosophy and build a culture that reflects your approach and your mission.
You can change the world in small ways. Even as a for-profit business, you should care about people and the planet. Doing good isn’t just for charities and social enterprises.
💭 Coaching Questions
How are you embedding your values into the fabric of your company culture?
What existing profitable businesses can you learn from to inspire your business model?
How are you positively impacting people and the planet?