Finance Business & Purpose Adina Appelbaum | International Empowerment® | Immigrant Finance®

Lasting, revolutionary, disruptive change increasingly requires getting SUPER creative about financial strategy, business and legal structures, and values alignment in this day and age, where as a society we face massive challenges to individual's rights, opportunities, and freedoms.


Social entrepreneurs with big visions like our guest in this episode, So Good Pupusas and Pupusas for Education Founder Cecilia Polanco, don't allow themselves to be put in a box. 


Instead of being restricted by the limitations of existing paths and models for social change, they create NEW ONES. They leverage what's available to create structures that allow for innovation and transformational change.


In this episode, listen to Cecilia's story of how she has followed her life experiences and purpose to create self-sustaining educational scholarships and jobs for her community, leveraging BOTH for-profit business and non-profit organizational models.



Free weekly trainings for heart-centered, mission-driven, and social entrepreneurs:

https://www.internationalempowerment.com/freegroup/ 


Learn more about Cecilia's work:


So Good Pupusas - http://www.sogoodpupusas.com


Pupusas 4 Education: https://www.pupusas4education.com 


Cecilia S. Polanco is a local Durham community organizer and proud graduate of Durham Public Schools who believes #TheRevolutionWillBeWellFed. She is a daughter of the Salvadoran diaspora and indigenous peoples of El Salvador, a long time Durham resident, and local small business owner of So Good Pupusas social justice food truck, and founder of Pupusas for Education non profit community organization. She works in the fields of mental health advocacy, food and environmental justice, economic community development, youth development and organizing, and more just philanthropic and nonprofit systems. She values racial equity and anti-racism, intersectionality, the path from DEI to liberatory systems, building bridges of solidarity, freedom dreaming around decolonized strategies and systems, radical joy and celebration, and a visionary for a healing path forward together. As a facilitator she believes in co-creating brave spaces to grapple with both having experiences and being agents of harm, channeling our inner child in our work, and slowing down to prioritize connection, relationship, and heart centered work.

For the visionaries with big dreams to change the world:



Here's one of the top questions social entrepreneurs in the making have been asking me!



Here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to be either/or.




You can have a business with a positive social mission that changes lives.




You can have a non-profit that is financially strong and profitable.




You can have BOTH a LLC & non-profit that compliment each other to support your vision.



Lasting, revolutionary, disruptive change increasingly requires getting SUPER creative about financial, business, and legal structure strategy.



Especially in this day and age when we face massive challenges to individual's rights, opportunities, and freedoms.



That’s why social entrepreneurs with BIG visions DON’T allow themselves to be put in a box.



Instead of being restricted by the limitations of existing paths and models for change, social entrepreneurs create NEW ONES.



So leverage structures currently available - like LLCs and NGOs - to build a foundation for innovative, transformational change.



Free weekly trainings for heart-centered, mission-driven, and social entrepreneurs:

⁠https://www.internationalempowerment.com/freegroup/⁠ 



Learn how to start the next big project/business weighing on your heart in my financial empowerment program for advocates and heart-centered entrepreneurs, Abundance Amplified: https://www.internationalempowerment.com/abundance-amplified

These lessons took me THOUSANDS of $$$s in investments and YEARS to learn, and eventually led me to embrace entrepreneurship:

It was 2017. I had been doing meaningful, impactful work I am super passionate about as an immigrants' rights lawyer and advocate. But something big was missing.

🔥 I felt a growing frustration starting to rage more and more inside.

🔥 I KNEW I could be doing more to help people, in ways out of the box of the current legal system — leveraging technology and new tools. 💜

🔥I WANTED to be able to express my creativity more. I wanted to get messy, innovate, and develop new solutions to some of the biggest problems.🎨

💡If only someone had walked me through these 3 lessons at the time:

1. Often, your body knows exactly what to do next, even if your mind doesn’t. Listen to what it’s telling you.

My body knew it was time to create my next dream project, which eventually became me and my husband's online business. Something was ready to get birthed inside.

As heart-centered advocates and entrepreneurs, we don’t create from our heads. Our hearts, souls, and bodies are where our greatest work comes from.

2. Pay attention to what you’re feeling most curious about. Your interests often point the way you are destined to go next.

There was a reason I kept finding myself listening to podcasts on online business & entrepreneurship. Business itself didn’t resonate with me as a mission-driven advocate. But my interests led me to the right innovative online tools needed to build my own path.

3. Frustration isn’t a bad thing. It’s a sign your energy is moving and you’re being pushed to grow into your next level.

These are the types of lessons I’m teaching heart-centered advocates and entrepreneurs how to get clear on to start their next impactful project or business in my newest financial empowerment program, Abundance Amplified: https://www.internationalempowerment.com/abundance-amplified/



Free weekly trainings for heart-centered, mission-driven, and social entrepreneurs:

⁠https://www.internationalempowerment.com/freegroup/⁠ 

What changed my relationship with money forever…

I had always conflated abundance with gluttony, thinking abundance meant having SO much that it was at the harm and expense of others. 😔

I definitely didn't want that. As a mission, impact-oriented advocate and social entrepreneur, I had zero interest in going in that direction.

But like many advocates and heart-centered entrepreneurs, this left me trapped at the other end of the spectrum: constantly struggling with money and living in scarcity. I thought this was the only option to live in alignment with my values. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Then I finally realized abundance is actually the MIDDLE point between scarcity and gluttony.💡Abundance is about having just enough that you’re super comfortable. 🌊

This is the ideal state to be in to be able to turn the focus inward from just focusing on yourself to outward so you can truly serve others and expand your impact. 💜

More of the world’s future leaders need to understand the true meaning of abundance, as well as the strategies how to tap into it in their daily lives.

The world’s future desperately depends on it.This is why I’m teaching my newest financial empowerment and business intimate group coaching program for heat-centered advocates and entrepreneurs, ⁠Abundance Amplified.

Message me on instagram @adinaappelbaum to learn more.



Abundance Amplified - https://www.internationalempowerment.com/abundance-amplified



Free weekly trainings for heart-centered, mission-driven, and social entrepreneurs:

⁠https://www.internationalempowerment.com/freegroup/⁠ 

Ever hear the saying "health is wealth?" There's a reason for that! Dig in with me to explore WHY mental, emotional, and physical health = financial health!

In this episode, we'll also cover 5 key strategies to build more financial health in your life through self-care practices.

Can't wait to hear what you think of this episode! Message me on instagram @adinaappelbaum and share your biggest “aha!” moment from the episode!

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Used to hearing all businesses are evil and just focus on profit, at the expense of people and the earth?

Let me shed some light on a small but growing movement that is changing that reality, allowing businesses to be a force for good.

In this episode, learn about the B Corp movement with guest Adrian Gershom and how to leverage business to create a better world.

With the "B" in B Corps standing for "Benefit for all," Certified B Corporations (or B Corps) are businesses that have been certified by B Lab to benefit all stakeholders and lead a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.

We discuss the role of sustainability and social justice in building a better future and various tools business leaders can use to contribute to a better world, including:


The B Impact Assessment
Working with B Corp clinics at universities
Connecting to your "why" for example wanting a better world for your children
Communicating how social justice impacts supply chains effectively, such as explaining companies' increased pricing to support living wages for workers
Business leaders educating themselves on racial justice

Adrian is a marketing and sustainability consultant, adjunct professor within Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability (MSES) Program, and Executive Chair of B Local Illinois.

As an expert in sustainable branding and marketing solutions, Adrian works with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. A particular area of focus for Adrian in this role is the use of healthy culture, corporate values, and commitment to purpose in order to position people and brands for long term success.

Adrian graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay and has completed the Next Economy MBA program from Lift Economy.

Connect with Adrian on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriangershom



Resources mentioned in this episode:

Illinois B Corps: illinoisbcorps.org

Global B Corps: bcorporation.net 

White Men for Racial Justice: https://www.wmrj.org

Finance Business & Purpose Episode 169 Racial Justice in Real Estate Wealth Building with Sara Alvarado - Sara's racial justice resources: https://saraalvarado.com/free-resources/

Next Steps

*Inspired to start a business yourself but not sure where to start? Learn more about my How to Figure Out What to Start Your Business On Masterclass here.

*Message me on Linkedin or instagram @adinaappelbaum to chat about ways to expand your business impact