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

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

Ever feel like you’re banging your head on the wall, trying to figure out what you should create a business on?

Here’s how to get past one of the biggest barriers to ever starting your business!

In this episode, listen to 3 of my top strategies to figure out what to start your business on, so you can finally getting clarity and have certainty of what direction to focus your energy.

For YEARS, I was stuck in this stage of trying to figure out what to start a business on. I was dying inside to create a business that would give me and my family more financial options and increase my impact. I desperately wanted to expand.

I just didn’t know where, how, or WHAT to start, filling me with so much frustration and pent up energy.

🎉 Once I finally got clear on the magic mix — applying unique life experiences & professional skills to provide a solution for people facing a specific problem — I FINALLY got unstuck.

If I had stayed stuck in that never-ending cycle of trying to figure out what I should even do a business on, I would have missed out on SO much, such as:

✨A creative outlet with constant growth allowing me to help 100s of people.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧The option to afford children, and for my family to make the choice to have my husband leave his job to take care of our daughters.

🏡Being able to buy our dream home….the list goes on.

💥This is why I’m putting on a new masterclass, How to Figure Out What to Start Your Business On, to help you with getting clear.

🌟It includes my favorite strategies on how to get crystal clear on your business focus from the start so you can build a solid foundation.

Enroll in the Masterclass How to Figure Out What to Start Your Business On⁠ directly at: https://www.internationalempowerment.com/product/how-to-figure-out-what-to-start-your-business-on

Message me on instagram @adinaappelbaum to learn more!

When we were struggling with finances after my husband immigrated to the U.S., the HARDEST PART was not knowing the big picture of what we were supposed to even focus on. 🖼️

It was like trying to put together a puzzle without knowing the picture on the box. 🧩🤯

It took me years to figure out the core elements of wealth building and financial empowerment to get us on the right track

I realized that 👁️vision and 💜heart are key parts of building a strategic plan for your finances.

Learning the below core strategies helped me and my family go from living paycheck to paycheck with no way out to ➡️➡️➡️becoming confident investors, property owners, and business owners.

Time and time again I always come back to these three key strategies with my financial coaching clients.

The top 3 strategies to build wealth:

1. Wealth systems2. Money growth3. Money mindset emotions & support

Which one are you paying the least attention to right now?

What’s been your biggest challenge so far in that area?

Message me on instagram @adinaappelbaum to share and I’m happy to reply with some quick financial tips, my gift!

Part of tapping into your entrepreneurial heart is realizing you’re ALREADY an entrepreneur.



You don’t need to have a business currently.



If you’re at all wanting to tap into your entrepreneurial heart inside, trust me, you’re ALREADY an entrepreneur.



Listen to this episode to hear 4 key steps how you can TAP FURTHER into your inner entrepreneurial heart that’s already here by clearing the space and energy needed to allow it to EXPRESS itself & CREATE.

You have an entrepreneurial heart if something inside dreams of creating, innovating, serving others with larger impact, having a business, getting to work for yourself, creating solutions for some of the world’s biggest problems….

It may be that in your job you are an innovator. A leader. A disrupter. A thought leader. Developing new ideas, projects, programs, and solutions.



This was me before I started my very first online business.



I had already been behaving as an entrepreneur for years as an immigration attorney by creating new innovative projects and programs.



I only realized it years later after I had already started an online business...



Once I saw I had always been an entrepreneur at heart, it felt like my chest BLEW open. 💥



A huge weight had been lifted. I no longer had to start from scratch.



This allowed me to go from feeling financially trapped to seeing endless potential. It gave me the shift I needed to go to my next level, buy our dream home, & build the family I previously thought I couldn’t afford.



Ready to hear more? Listen to this episode to learn how to tap into your inner entrepreneurial heart and set yourself on a path of financial empowerment and expansion.



🚪 Once you open the door, whether it’s seeing that you already are an entrepreneur at heart, or opening the space to allow it to come through, you never look back. It’s like learning to ride a bike. 🚲



The door and possibilities only open further and further. 🌟



Join my newest hybrid financial empowerment & business strategy program, Wealth Alchemy for Entrepreneurial Hearts 💜



➡️ Pre-sale beta pricing available for a limited time: https://www.internationalempowerment.com/wealthalchemyDM with any questions @adinaappelbaum, my inbox is open 🥰

Here’s a controversial opinion: profit and meaning go hand in hand.

Traditional approaches to business focus on profit first, without people and the environment being part of the equation.

In this episode, learn how to develop a completely different approach to business that balances people, planet, and profit.

Our guest Lisa Geason-Bauer joins to lay out fascinating business concepts in this area around sustainability, Triple Bottom Line theory, the B corp movement, stakeholder capitalism, and the interconnectedness of all systems.

Lisa is the president of Evolution Marketing, a Wisconsin-based woman-owned Certified B Corporation® specializing in the area of sustainability consulting, impact storytelling, environmentally responsible creative design, and ethical marketing.

Lisa is a sustainability, ESG practitioner and has been helping companies tell their impact stories for over a decade.  As a consultant she has worked on projects in supply chain sustainability, social sustainability (i.e. workforce engagement, culture and DEI), renewable energy, energy efficiency and the green building space.  Lisa is a co-founder of B Local WI and the current Chair.  She is also the Vice Chair of the Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington County Workforce Development  Board.  In 2023, Lisa was part of the first cohort of US & Canadian B Consultants to complete the new B Lab US & Canada Trained B Consultants Program.

Lisa on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisageasonbauer/

Evolution Marketing on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/evolution-marketing-llc/

Evolution Marketing: https://www.greenmkting.com/

Resources mentioned in this episode:

UN sustainable development goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

2022 Global impact report from B Lab Global showcasing the impacts of the B corp movement and stakeholder capitalism: https://infogram.com/1te9x6k1pgzx0lbwo7490melglizo4md81

B Lab Global: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us

B Lab US & Canada : https://usca.bcorporation.net/

About the B Impact Assessment (tool is free):  https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment/ (you only pay if you want your score to be verified)

2018 Article on the 25th anniversary of the phrase “Triple Bottom Line”: https://hbr.org/2018/06/25-years-ago-i-coined-the-phrase-triple-bottom-line-heres-why-im-giving-up-on-it

Choosing between meaning and money is a trap.

Have you found yourself feeling stuck needing to decide between the two?

Perhaps you’ve been told:

>> You can only give back once you make a lot of money. 

Or rather:

>> That if you focus on money, you are greedy, selfish, and not prioritizing serving others.

But having to pick meaning OR money is a FALSE CHOICE.

I know because I've experienced this inner dilemma in my own journey.

In this episode, for the first time I am sharing my own personal online business story, and the journey I've gone on in "the Meaning vs. Money F*ckloop" -- a belief construct that keeps us restricted in thinking that we must choose EITHER meaning and following our purpose OR money.

From my nonprofit career journey of focusing only on pursuing meaning to my family's financial struggles and feeling like I had to choose between the two, to starting an impactful online business and learning how it can be both/and - meaning and money - listen in to hear my MOST vulnerable episode yet.

Sharing my experience of struggling in and eventually busting out of the Meaning vs. Money F*ckloop, I touch on the shortcomings of the traditional approach to business that prioritizes profits over people.

In this episode I show you how I learned to blend core business strategies and skills with a focus on purpose and impact to develop a more aligned approach to business, finances, and life.

An approach that balances BOTH meaning AND money.

Listen in to learn how to overcome the false choice of needing to pick either meaning or money for good so you can build a life that aligns with your purpose and has financial peace of mind.

>> I'd love to hear what is your #1 takeaway from my story? Share with me on instagram ⁠@adinaappelbaum⁠!

>> If you're interested in working together on developing a business balancing both meaning AND money, apply to join the Illuminate Digital® Business Impact Accelerator:

https://www.internationalempowerment.com/illuminatedigital