- As long as I can remember, giving back
volunteering,
making a difference is something
that always felt like a must for me.
When I first started thinking
more about
how much of my spending was in support
of local businesses, I went
looking for a resource that would help me
and I didn't find one.
[♫]
I founded Intentionalist
because I believed that everyday decisions
about where we eat, drink and shop
are opportunities to intentionally connect
with and spend money in support of the brick
and mortar small businesses
at the heart of our communities.
[♫]
When you first come to Intentionalist.com
you are prompted to explore.
The site is set up so that you can search
for what is it, a coffee shop?
Is it a nail salon?
And then you also have the opportunity to select
whether you're looking for a woman owned
or veteran owned or LGBTQ owned or native
owned or disability owned or BIPOC owned
small business.
[♫]
- Welcome to Queen
Care, I'm so glad
you got an opportunity to come today.
My name is Monica C Matthews.
I am the founder and CEO of Queen Care Products.
Queen Care is very special to me.
It actually was created to support
the nonprofit work that I've been doing
in the Seattle community for the last 25 years.
Life Enrichment Group is that nonprofit.
We focus on positive academic
and mentorship, support for youth of color,
and our programs are in several Seattle
public schools
in the community at large,
and I needed
a way to have that work continue nonstop.
And so I created this
for - profit company for that main reason,
and to teach young people about entrepreneurship,
how to make and sell the products.
Marketing is something that sometimes
small business owners don't prioritize
that line item in our budgets.
Right.
Because there's so many other things
that need to happen. Right?
I guess this call from Laura like, hey,
you don't know me, but I run this business
Intentionalist
And it was created to support small businesses
like yourself
and I had to ask her a few times like, wait,
am I hearing you correctly?
You're actually in business
to help other businesses. And she was like, yes.
And that was the start of
a very fruitful relationship.
[♫]
- My name is Chera Amlag, and we're at Hood
Famous Cafe and Bar in Seattle's
Chinatown International District.
I think
as a small business owner,
you get a lot of different
entities or people that will come in
and say, hey, or pitch something to you.
And, Laura, it was very different.
The thing that
I love about Laura, and also I think why
so many other businesses gravitate towards
the Intentionaist is she walks her talk,
and when she talks about really being intentional
with how we spend and the ways that those
small decisions
that we make with our spending every day
cumulatively adds up.
And the impact
that can have in our economy is huge.
- The reality is that if every adult
between the age of 25 and 85
shifted $50
in spending to local businesses, collectively
our spending would be $300 million.
And that's the difference
between whether the local businesses we love
survives
or not.
[♫]
- We all need to be more intentional
about where we eat, drink and shop
if we want to continue to live in communities
where small businesses survive
and hopefully one day thrive.
I love what I do so deeply.
It's hard to put it into words, and it's because
it's such an incredible opportunity
to try to contribute to reinforcing
the social fabric of our communities,
to facilitate belonging
that we all deserve to experience
wherever it is that we live.
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