In the Business of Change by Elisa Birnbaum

Author:Elisa Birnbaum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 2018-04-26T04:00:00+00:00

Rebel Nell employee and designer, Azzie, making jewelry.

CREDIT: REBEL NELL

There’s no set time frame for the program, but most women average two to three years. It often takes a full year just for a hire to get a handle on her finances, emerge from survival mode and set goals — whether to return to school or pursue a career. (For many it’s the first time anyone has asked them what they want to do with their lives.) It’s often a roller-coaster ride, Peterson says, with two steps forward, one step back. “We always say, as long the train is moving in the right direction, we’re good.”

Their holistic model may sound exhausting, but Peterson is confident it’s the only way, saying, “A job is not enough.” That may be true, but some would argue that their strategies make it hard to scale. Peterson is convinced it will happen, just on their timeline. “My goal is definitely to scale but at a pace and size where we’re still able to maintain our culture; that’s the secret to our sauce.”

The tricky part is appeasing prospective investors with that attitude, specifically foundations who want to see them hire 50 or 100 women — and soon — before they agree to provide any support. “Just to satisfy these number quotas, that doesn’t work,” says Peterson. Never mind the fact that to reach that goal they would need many more resources, which, of course, they can’t provide without the funding. The catch-22 isn’t a unique one. “It’s a common frustration with a lot of social entrepreneurs out there,” says Peterson.

The good news is that they do have current investors who believe in what they’re doing and haven’t placed many restrictions on their work. And Peterson is looking forward to a bigger space and increased sales, which will organically allow her to take on more women — when the time is right. “If we hire five to ten more women in next five to seven years, that would be big success for me,” she says.

As for lessons learned, Peterson is clear on one important one, scale or no scale. “Get an accountant,” she says with a laugh, adding that otherwise you’ll end up paying a lot more money digging yourself out of your mistakes, which you’ll inevitably make. And for those working in difficult situations that require a lot of emotional energy, don’t forget to celebrate the little moments. “We put so much pressure on ourselves to think of what we could do and what we haven’t accomplished,” she says. “You need to reflect on the good moments, to pause and realize what it took [to get there].”

Scale is a topic of debate at Liberty’s Kitchen in New Orleans too. The multifaceted non-profit helps vulnerable youth in the city through job and life skills training. The Youth Development Program (for youth between 16 and 24 who are out of work and out of school) trains young people in food preparation, while the café serves as the training ground and as a means of generating revenue for programming.

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