And for our final story….
A social entrepreneur is somebody who does business for a social cause. Their bottom line includes profit as well as the improvement upon the world, especially the lives of people who are connected to the cause.
Local YYC movement maker, Carlie Rioux, is a social entrepreneur who started an international fashion company to change the lives of hundreds of women. Using an innovative beach bag design to fuel the show, Carlie is supporting local artists, loving the environment and saving lives of women who are victims of human trafficking.
The driving force behind Carlie’s cause to keep women safe stems from a childhood experience in Tiajuana where she first witnessed what poverty looked like. It was further magnified through a number of traumatic experiences she experienced as a young adult.
We don’t talk about this social issue because it’s so uncomfortable but according to Carlie, human trafficking doesn’t exist only in developing countries. It also happens to be the fastest growing industry in Canada (yes, Canada! Seriously! My eyeballs could’ve dropped to the ground when I first heard. I had to ask her to confirm several times because I couldn’t believe it). Victims are usually in a physically, socially, or economically vulnerable position. When she read the research, a pivotal thought dawned on her:
“If she - a privileged citizen of a safe first world country, could be attacked by men multiple times in her life, then what about girls who live in more dangerous places? Who is looking out for them?”
She knew that she had to step up and do something. Through further research, Carlie learned that providing work for women who came from human trafficking was the best way to help them stay out of it. In our talk, Carlie share with us how she was able to step up for her cause and keep going despite imposter syndrome and a whole slew of other fears.
Listen in to see how this girl from the prairies created an international company that shines so bright for the world.
PS. If you’re just joining in, this is an episode of the special mini series,The Hustle Series. September is like a second new year where we get to establish new routines, refresh goals and create new dreams. Taking full advantage of this new energy, fresh start vibe, I’ve collected stories of amazing individuals wh
o took the courage and leaped for their heart calling. As a result, they're now making riveting impact on positive change around the world.
They tell us about what it really took to make their vision a success - triumphs, trials and everything in between. They share candidly about how they figured out their heart calling was in the first place and what they leaned on to get this far. We especially dive deep and get real about the challenges they’ve faced. Oftentimes, we hear success stories about how there was a challenge and then ta-da! they made it….but what happened in the middle? It’s the sticky part that’s the thick of it and where we can use the most support when going for these endeavors.
The times when things seem hopeless and we’re about to throw in the towel. Maybe you run out of money and you literally can’t pay the bills. How do you know if you should keep trying? How do you manage when you wake up feeling like everything is a complete wash?
I’m so grateful to these individuals who graciously share the sticky parts of their journey with us. We learn so much from hearing about their passion, will and deep sense of resolve to follow their heart calling. Of course, we celebrate their triumphs with them cheer them on as they keep on going!
For you, I hope that these stories can be your anchor and inspiration as you daringly go for your dreams!
If you haven’t caught the first three episodes yet, go and listen to it now!