I remember once having a conversation with someone during which I said that, other than God, I believed that business had the most power to change the world.
In my view, businesses that have decided to put people over profit are changing the world. I want to be a part of that change, so my business is partnering with Restavek Freedom to help bring an end to child slavery in Haiti within our lifetime. We donate a portion of our profits every month to sponsor the salary of a Child Advocate.
In an extremely competitive and saturated industry, where the number of companies has shrunk by 20% in the last 10 years and regulations have all but eliminated the ability to survive as a small player, our business has been able to flourish. I attribute our success in no small part to our decision to start giving small and to being open to giving more.
We have the photo of our Child Advocate posted in our office and we remind each other on our team that our success is not just personal, but is connected to saving the lives of children. I cannot emphasize enough what a deep and penetrating effect this has had on our corporate culture. Our team cares about doing their best, not only because of what the result will be for themselves, but also because of the far greater impact the result will have on others. This has spilled over into our relationships with our clients, many of whom become energized by becoming part of a relationship that makes the world a better place for children.
I believe that success is always a byproduct of chasing significance, but significance is not always a byproduct of chasing success. Our mission, quite honestly, is not about how much money we can make, or how big we can get, but rather about how many children we can save in this world by doing the very best we can in our role.
We are humbled and excited to be a part of what Restavek Freedom is doing in the lives of children in Haiti. We couldn’t be more thankful and happy to be in the position to help.
By: Shawn Smith
Shawn is the founder and CEO of Dedicated Commercial Recovery, and can be reached at shawn_dedicatedcri@dedicatedcri.com.
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