The Capitalism for Good Podcast is all about how we make and spend our money to benefit the greater good (and how that benefits us right back). We’re talking to 100 business leaders about how they are using their businesses, both small and large, to make a positive difference in their communities.
Lindsey McCoy is the founder and CEO of Plaine Products, a company selling refillable hair and body products, is an example of a leader that took an idea, found a partner (her sister), and made it happen. This circular product business model seems like it’s from the future of sustainable products. It’s simple: buy a hair and/or body product from Plaine Products either online or in store, order another when you’re ready for a refill, rinse out the empty one and put it in the same box the new one came in, and then ship it back to be cleaned and reused again.
Like a lot of us, she believed growing up that if you wanted to do good in the world, you didn’t go into business. Instead you went into government or nonprofit. Luckily for her, and for all of us, she grew up Plainearned that you can do good with business these days. Like many of the leaders interviewed to date, the influence of the world around them is strong. Lindsey and her sister are the daughters of a small business owner. She married a man from the Bahamas and got an up close and personal look at what happens to all of the plastic trash in our oceans when she moved there. She studied political science and nonprofit management to better learn how to make an impact on the world around her. She took all of those experiences that shaped who she is as a person as the foundation for Plaine Products.
Her realistic approach to building a business on her own terms while determined to make a positive impact on the global community. A lot of people would advise a company to wait until they hit a revenue goal Plaine incorporating a donation component. Plain Products did that from the get go. A lot of people would advise to opt for a cheaper product. Plaine Products refused to skimp on quality. A lot of people would advise to seek out investors to increase capital. Again, Plaine Products did not. And it’s paying off. She walks us through the process of finding product and packaging manufacturers that were a good fit for the company, what it’s like to partner with your sister (a real yin & yang combo), business structure and management philosophies, the impact of building in donation components to the financial structure, embracing imperfections (a lesson I sorely need to learn), and more. There’s so much to learn and inspiration to gain from this interview with Lindsey and I can’t thank her enough for taking the time to talk with me.
Shout outs to:
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