Meeting up with random strangers from the internet: not exactly a recommend activity, and a practice my kids are EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN from doing. ⠀
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But...there was this one time...it worked out really well for me...⠀
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A few weeks ago a random stranger⠀@captkelseyhawaii reached out - it seemed we had a lot of shared interests - "would I be willing to in getting together to talk?"⠀
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💗 let's just say it was love at first dinner 💗 ⠀
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We had an instant connection, meaningful conversation and, ultimately, a shared passion for using our resources for good + providing opportunity for people around the globe. ⠀
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🎉 Which has lead us to a new partnership!!! We' re joining Kelsey and her father on @thetalkingstorypodcast to share a little bit of our story. AND THEN Colin and I will be partnering with them host a few podcasts of our own 😱 ⠀
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This wasn't part of our plan for the year - but nothing in has been - so here.we.go. We are looking forward to this opportunity to share some seriously inspiring stories! We hope you'll tune in!!
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From their Blog:
A decision to only buy Christmas gifts that matter sparked an idea that led one Wyoming couple on an exciting journey partnering with amazing organizations all around the globe. These are “people who love Jesus and want to use their finances to make changes in the world.”
Emily and Colin met as college students studying abroad in Costa Rica, married, had 3 awesome kids, and were enjoying professional careers. Yet they felt there was “something more” that they should be pursuing together as a team. A trip to Gambia had left them dumbstruck by the rampant hopelessness they witnessed, invoking memories of the desires they’d originally had to live and work in developing countries as a couple. Enter the infamous Christmas shopping, an ingenious idea, and the founding of Bought Beautifully, a marketplace that gathers businesses of impact from around the world and puts their products all in one space. Much like an Amazon or Etsy, Bought Beautifully makes it easy to purchase a variety of fair-trade items from a variety of organizations that all give back in some way, in one shopping trip, on one website.
(Sound familiar? If you’re a regular, you’ve no doubt heard about the sponsor of The Talking Story Podcast, Moi Moi Market, also a marketplace that serves as a one stop shop for products of purchase!).
As always, starting a business is full of road blocks, change and growth have been slow, and discouragement can easily creep in. Emily and Colin find peace in knowing what their success means. “Knowing purchases just answered a prayer…the small things are really the Big things.” Currently, Bought Beautifully is partnering with 40 brands around the globe, and Emily and Colin make sure to really connect and build relationships with each one. Brands go through an application process to ensure they are truly about giving back and serving others. Take a listen to learn more, and consider visiting boughtbeautifully.org to do some of your own holiday shopping!
Emily and Colin will be hosting The Talking Story Podcast October 12, November 2, and December 7 2020. Be sure to schedule a listen as we all learn how Bought Beautifully's products are making a difference in the lives of others. Gosh, how cool that WE can be a part of the change we wish to see in the world.
*Also tune in to hear how the spontaneous original meeting between two complete strangers with very similar passions— Emily and your host, Kelsey— is about to bring an exciting change to The Talking Story Podcast!*
Connect with your hosts on social media:
Bought Beautifully
https://www.instagram.com/boughtbeautifully/
Kelsey
www.instagram.com/captkelseyhawaii
Bob
Moi Moi Market, another one stop shop for products of purpose