Shownotes:

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Luke Faccini, founder of The Sponge that specialises in helping the next generation of business owners rebrand with purpose.

About Luke Faccini

In 1999 he started his professional brand design journey since then he has helped thousands of people put their brands on the map. While beginning as a trained graphic designer, the entrepreneurial drive took him on a path of transformation. He has experienced first-hand the impact that purpose and values have in business and the connection to brand story. Having had a “purpose moment” that transformed his outlook on business, The Sponge obtained B Corp certification in 2017. Luke is a firm believer that business can and should be a force for good. His purpose is to help good businesses become a better brand by all means necessary, this includes a book, an online program, and helping to grow the GoodNorth good business community.

BIG IDEA 1

“Until that point in my life, I hadn’t actually thought about the true cost.” (6:14)

Luke felt that his life was like a hamster wheel, just making money and spending money. One day he watched a documentary “The True Cost of Things”, an exposé, showing how everything works within the fast fashion industry, how that affected people, and in that moment he said “I’m going to start doing things differently”. He decided there and then that he will no longer work for brands that were involved with that type of abuse. Since then he has made a concerted effort to work only for brands that have a positive impact in the world. This decision forced him into firing clients and imploding his business, to practically starting everything again from scratch.

He built an app that was designed for people that were conscientious to tell the community which brands are actually having a positive impact. From his research, Luke found an organization that certifies good ethical business practices. Following his own beliefs, he began the process of getting The Sponge B Corp certification. His vision is to help businesses on a large scale to have more positive influences in the community. He mentions that he has very good clients that trust him to help and guide them on that journey. The opportunity to collaborate with others, to solve the wicked problems in the world, and being involved in a community over and above business.

BIG IDEA 2

“It's not what you do. It's what your intent is.” (13:37) 

Luke explains how B Corp certification works. The company cannot be good in just one attribute, it needs to be decent as a sum across all things. It helps business leaders to think about aspects of their business, that they may not have considered before.

What he is passionate about, is helping embrace and encourage people to get involved, but also providing a benchmark to improve as a team.

Luke’s ley advice is when you find yourself at an event, you shouldn’t ask people, “what do you do?” As this will put you in a ladder of you comparing yourself to someone else. Instead of asking that, say what are you passionate about? You will immediately see the difference in how people will respond. This line of conversation can lead to sharing something, which can bring on collaborations, eventuating in creating solutions to problems quicker.

BIG IDEA 3

“Simplicity is the key because it's not the story that you tell. It's the story that they tell.” (27:24)

 Luke commented that a common mistake that companies do is making themselves the hero. By doing this you push people away because subconsciously there is only one hero in a story. People think that there is one audience for their message, this isn't the case. As a company, you have different levels of buyers and that will differ, expand, and extrapolate based on how many different products you have. You might have multiple buyers for different products and therefore multiple audiences.

 To conclude Luke talks about what he would like people to do differently. This is for any business leader to find the single relevant impact that makes sense for their business, that can be integrated into the way the company operates. If they can find that one part for their audience and embrace them, at whatever stage they're at, then they will fall in love with the business. Simplicity is the key because it's not the story that you tell. It's the story that they tell that makes the difference.

 Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast produced by Social Mediology.

 You can connect with us on Facebook at @SocialLightsPodcast and find future episodes at socialmediology.com.au/sociallights.

Thanks for your time and stay inspired,

Kate vanderVoort

Episode Links

You can find Luke Faccini and more on The Sponge at:

·     https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukefaccini

·     https://thesponge.com.au/

·     https://www.instagram.com/thespongeau/

·     https://www.facebook.com/TheSpongeAU

·     https://goodnorth.co