Heredes:
hey, welcome. Ladies and gentlemen, we've been chatting for you know, it feels like hours already, sharing all the hot tea that I think if you dm colin um, he'll send you the hot tea. Hot takes for the non-profit, rena, I think are we doing that, Colin?
Collin:
We'll have to see. We'll see if I'm getting DMs.
Heredes:
Colin, I heard you were starting a Patreon on the side just for the hot tea, hot takes. Director's cuts of the podcast.
Collin:
Well, we talked a little bit earlier about how this is a triple Enneagram, 7 episode.
Callie Himsl:
Terrible idea Terrible. So, sorry to everybody.
Collin:
If I get some DMs, we'll see.
Heredes:
Yeah, hashtag 21.
Callie Himsl:
If anybody can follow this conversation, the spider web of this next 45 minutes.
Collin:
It'll be more of a game. I think, yeah, it's more of a game for you to try out.
Heredes:
This is the Enneagram Renaissance. I mean the nonprofit renaissance, ladies, and gentlemen so we welcome you today.
Heredes:
This is the Enneagram Renaissance. I mean the nonprofit renaissance. So we welcome you today. Fun times and helping organizations to our leaders, to our organizations, to our friends, to our creatives, to our C-suites, to our pastors, to our directors. Thank you for listening, thank you for the comments, thanks for sharing what you think the good, the bad and the ugly. We appreciate you and thanks for listening. Subscribing it's been such a joy. Keep recommending the guests, the friends and how we can help you go further and grow faster. That's our heart and that's why we do what we do. It's been such a fun ride and, colin, we've got a friend here today. That's been all over the world and we've been kind of chatting it up right now I don't know how much because we have hours and hours. I blocked out four hours for today. Tell me, colleen.
Callie Himsl:
Everybody's favorite on a Friday afternoon.
Collin:
Oh yeah, no, we're ready, we're prepared. Well, no, I mean, you've heard her already. You've probably seen her if you're watching the video, but today's guest is someone who's like we said. Her journey has taken her around the globe. She's a trailblazer in social entrepreneurship and enterprise and just has so much expertise in sustainable business models, branding, marketing, and so we think there's going to be some pretty invaluable insights and a lot of fun, a lot of laughs along the way. So the voice you've been hearing is Callie Hemsel, so please welcome her, callie. It's so good to have you.
Callie Himsl:
Thank you. Thank you for inviting me and thank you for being entertaining on a Friday afternoon. It's the energy I needed.
Heredes:
Is that where we are? Is that where we are, callie? Really, is that what this is? Wow?
Outro:
No, listen we didn't give.
Heredes:
the top of the bio is wife of one and mother of two. Is that correct? Yes, okay, I just want to make sure.
Collin:
Is that a clarification?
Heredes:
you usually make.
Collin:
Well, because I want to make sure.
Heredes:
Because if we're that entertaining, that doesn't mean she's just having a break from her kids and her husband.
Callie Himsl:
If we're like just screaming in my face, yeah are you at home right now?
Collin:
are you at home right now? I am at home, but my kid.
Callie Himsl:
I can't, I can't complain too much because my kids they go to daycare, uh, every day, from basically nine to five, and it is incredibly expensive. So I will pay a complaint about that, but I get a break sure child care is wild callie.
Heredes:
I'm going to start here because you know, in the recommendations, if there are friends who've recommended you like you got to talk to callie, you got to meet callie, you got to meet cal, I was like, okay, we'll meet callie. So here we are, uh, from orlando, minnesota, california, haiti. I mean it's, you've dominated the west, apparently. Here we are from Orlando, minnesota, california, haiti. I mean, you've dominated the West, apparently. Tell us who are you and where are you, and let's start there for our audience.
Callie Himsl:
How about that? That's it. That's a good question. You know, back in my 20s I'd probably say I'm not quite sure where I am right now, but now, as a mother of two, 40 a wife of 40 in a few months let's clarify um, I am in orlando, uh, right now.
Callie Himsl:
So, yeah, I grew up in minnesota. I grew up in a small town, um called avon, um, avon, and the ironic part about that uh, I'll digress for a second here is that, um, I grew up like always wanting to travel the world and get out and do amazing things, and the name of the town is called avon. I end up naming my first daughter nova, and I go for like six months. So then somebody says you know, it's avon's fell backwards and I was like the very thing I've been running from my whole life. That's like a whole therapy session. I think I don't know how that came to be.
Outro:
Yeah, your hometown is so deep in your head.
Callie Himsl:
How did that happen? But to any Avon people listening, love you guys. But yeah, like literally a town of like 1,100 people. If you started dating somebody you had to ask their last name to make sure you weren't related like everybody. Everybody knew everybody, but it had great, it has great family values. Very, very blue collar, very, like you know, work hard, integrity and that taught me. That taught me a lot. But I did always have this like desire. You know, if you're watching National Geographic or you know you see these commercials or whatever. It is like I was a kid and you're just like, oh, there's this whole world out there like I need to explore, um. So I got a degree in graphic design, moved to san diego, um, and then yeah, how, how far north in minnesota is avon, are you like?
Callie Himsl:
up in canada or it's like, so exactly central, so like very very central yeah yeah, from the twin cities like an hour and a half, like west this is just for collins, geographical, you know, you know.
Collin:
Condition yeah, because I I definitely know where the twin cities are on the map, and I so. Yeah, this is all making sense because I do know that.
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, there's a land of 10,000 lakes, they call it, so you just gotta follow the 10,000 lakes. I hear.
Collin:
There's a few pretty great ones out there, hey, oh all right, sorry, I apologize.
Callie Himsl:
I apologize so california california, here we go.
Heredes:
How far is it from the Wawa's on Culver's Apple?
Collin:
Do they have a Bucky's up in Minnesota?
Callie Himsl:
Which one?
Collin:
Do they have Bucky's up there?
Callie Himsl:
You know what they should, because there's a lot of land, but no, I think that's still mainly in the south. Yeah, not yet.
Heredes:
If you hear that Bucky's Bucky's Looking for sponsorships, Either you're going to edit all, for either either you're gonna edit all these out or you're gonna get sponsorships from bucky's. Why was it?
Callie Himsl:
back to you. Here we go, okay. So, uh, yep, here we go. Um, yes, I, we have something called casey's, uh, and we have little dukes, I think I feel like I've heard of casey's little dukes sounds just.
Collin:
That's an incredible name for whatever that is. Little dukes. Is it like a bucky's or?
Callie Himsl:
um no, definitely not as impressive, but then again, nothing's really like a bucky's right, that's true that's true.
Heredes:
Yeah, that was colin's drummer nickname Little.
Collin:
Dukes? Yeah, one Duke, two Dukes, little Dukes. I promise I'm done and I promise we will edit that part.
Heredes:
Go ahead, no we will not. No, we will not.
Callie Himsl:
No, keep it in. We need more sponsors. Yes, went out to California, worked in corporate and worked as a designer there, um and um, I became a Christian uh at that time. Um, I I'll bring bring the conversation down a little bit, but, um, I let me let me think here. So I moved there 2004, maybe 2004,. 2005,. Um, and then worked in corporate, um and became a Christian uh around 2010.
Callie Himsl:
Um, and a lot of the reason for that was that, um, my brother uh had passed away. So he was my only sibling Um, and he uh passed away very suddenly and kind of like a freak work accident, um as a mechanic. So that happened and um, you know, people always say, you know, I was 25 at the time, right, like you, you like barely comprehending life, you know in general, um, and so that happened and it really. People always say life is short and you know all of those kinds of cliches. But when you you really experience it and you face it, you begin to have what most people would have in like their you know, midlife crisis of like, okay, like, but I was 25 and I was like, faced with all of this, like realism, um, and I began to think like, okay. One, like is God real? And if he is, like this is going to happen to me someday, Like I want to know you know what's next? Um. And then two like what is this purpose? Like what's the purpose of life, what's my purpose, and really all that existential crisis going through all of that, um, you know, it's, uh, I was just having this conversation, um, recently, cause I feel like in your twenties, a lot of times is right, it's like kind of your experimental era. You're like getting kind of crazy.
Callie Himsl:
Some people choose to you, you know, to partake in certain activities. Um, you know, and like begin to, you know, search out who you are and try to find yourself. But for me, you know, I had done a lot of partying, whatever, but the, but it was like I didn't need, I no longer needed to like that, that outlet to go find myself. It was more just like, oh, this is really real, like let me, let me figure this out. And so, um, yeah, so I became a christian. And then, just like any good christian, you start to do missions, uh, which is like really kind of wild number two step number two go save the world.
Callie Himsl:
um, and then step number three, you realize there is no saving the world. That's not like a real thing. Interesting what?
Outro:
What.
Callie Himsl:
But I went to. I started working with YWAM Youth with a Mission Like mind you, me too, me too, you did, yeah, yeah.
Heredes:
So I went to Mexico a lot, oh nice Nice.
Callie Himsl:
I never did like the full classes. They were just like you're a Christian here, go build houses in Mexico. And I was like, yeah, this is amazing.
Heredes:
My family went in deep. Like I was born in Brazil, raised there, but it's called Jocum Jovem School, uma Missão, ywam. It's the same thing, same American organization and same thing same American organization. And are they American, us or maybe I don't know I'm assuming so. I don't know, but as a matter of fact, my sister is still and has done work with them as of recent. So shout out to YWAM. Sponsored by YWAM, Call us up.
Callie Himsl:
They'd probably be us to sponsor Usually they're like making a ton of money yeah.
Heredes:
That's what I meant. That's what I meant. Colin, have have ai fix that for us, please. Thank you, totally sorry. No, no, you're great exactly that's so interesting.
Callie Himsl:
yeah, I, there's so massive, a lot of people have interaction with them. But, um, I, I, um. So I was going to mexico building houses, still working my corporate job, and then, um, again like any good Christian, where's, where's, like the missionary, like capital of the world, africa, right? So you're like, oh, I must go to Africa. This place is incredible. So went to Africa, I went to Kenya, um, and it really was incredible, um, as a culture.
Collin:
Up until this point it was a lot of like short-term missions, what probably one week, two week type stuff. And then africa did africa start as that sort of thing? Or yeah, you were.
Callie Himsl:
You were just like I'm all in, I live here now well, I think, I think I think I would have if, if I was given the option and I'm glad I wasn't given that option and yet again, like I'm like, you know, like six months into being a Christian, you know, don't speak any other language like have a degree in graphic design, like it was pretty wild, but it was very eye opening and I think a lot of people have a similar experience. Short term missions we can get into that as well later in the conversation but the, you know, the idea is not necessarily that they're the best or that we've been doing them the best for hundreds of years, but they do open a lot of doors for people to experience different things. And then a lot of times, you kind of have again that like existential crisis where you begin to think like whoa, the world is so different, um, and look at things through a different lens. Yeah, so, um. So I did two weeks there.
Callie Himsl:
Um came back and that's when I, you know, was in my corporate jobs, like in my cubicle, like ah, I can't do this anymore, like I'm like going nuts, and so I began um like calling, interviewing with different organizations, and I had had um called some people I had, uh, worked with in the past and they said we're going to haiti, would you like to go to haiti? And this is so embarrassing, but I'll admit it for everybody to laugh at me is I literally thought haiti was in africa and I was like africa, yeah, I've been there, let's go. We're going back. We're going back so embarrassing, uh I was.
Collin:
That was. That must have been a shock. You know, you get there and you're like wait a minute.
Callie Himsl:
Similar it's pretty similar there's no elephants? There's no, yeah sure wow, I'm just right by florida. I didn't know that. Um so so, yeah, so that that was pretty crazy Cause I did. I said, okay, like, do you want to go to Haiti? I said, yes, let's go. I went, I came back and then I said that's it, I'm moving to Haiti, uh, and. I think, I'm about 27 at this time.
Heredes:
So okay. So time out, time out, time out. You landed in Port-au-Prince for the first time, fair Port-au-Prince for the first time, fair. You get in the airport there. I've been there. How was that? Give me the 30 second. How was that?
Callie Himsl:
You know how that was. That's why you asked it. I need our listeners to know how that was.
Heredes:
Because and you wanted to move back, because it's a 50-50 split on like I need to get a return flight right now. Or God does something in your heart to say I need to get a return flight right now. Or God does something in your heart to say I need to stay here because, wow. So give our listeners kind of that perspective.
Callie Himsl:
You know, I haven't thought about it for a while. Now that I'm trying to relive that moment in my head, I'm going to lose all my street cred because I think I cried. I think I cried in the airport.
Heredes:
I believe you.
Callie Himsl:
We are going to get stabbed and die, okay.
Collin:
So it wasn't like, oh, this is so beautiful. It was like a what I? What have I done?
Callie Himsl:
the airport is wild. Well, at least it was at that time because it was before. They've done a lot of construction since then, it like. But you would land and you had to, like you did the stairs right off of the plane and so you were like kind of on the runway, but there was, everybody was everywhere, and then you had to get on this like makeshift shuttle and then go to the airport. I mean, and you and they didn't give you visa paperwork before you like filled it out on the ground. So there's like hundreds of people, it's like 120 degrees, everybody's shouting, everybody's yelling.
Callie Himsl:
You've never heard this language before. Like oh, I like have goosebumps right now. No, you're just like this, like stupid white girl from minnesota, and you're just like oh my gosh, and everybody's, you know pulling bags and this and that, and like oh my god, they warned us about. Like what do we do? Like you're just in fight or flight, like I think I cried so lame. And I remember the haitian guy who's our friend now, ron. He picked us up and he's like chill as heck man. He was just on the phone talking to somebody like yeah, yeah, go here. And I'm looking at him like how does he not know how. Is he not concerned for us anyway, you you did.
Heredes:
You live there. If I'm correct, correct me if I'm wrong eight years yeah, so. So then that's a lifetime that's a lifetime, so tell me, okay, you went back why and how did that happen?
Callie Himsl:
okay, yeah, so I think I I spent, you know, the week and a half there, whatever, and it it really did have those moments where I was like holy cow, this is, this is just wild. Like you don't. You've been there, like, but if for anybody who hasn't, it's these experiences like you can't even begin to imagine, like your entire world view is shifted within a matter of moments and it's in the way you didn't know people ate a certain way or talked a certain way, or they hugged a certain way, and these warm cultures like I'm from a german culture, like we, my grandma, don't even hug me, you know, and it's like these warm cultures that are like blunt and my husbandation now, so I can say all these things but they're blunt and they're, uh, passionate and they're aggressive and they're touchy, feely and lovey and like it's just, and you're just like I don't know like your brain has like completely shifted from like how you understood life to like what the possibilities are now, and it's wild.
Heredes:
You caught up. You caught up on your hugs immediately A lifetime of hugs in haiti.
Callie Himsl:
That's the name of your documentary yes, hugs from haiti or 90 day fiance?
Heredes:
no that sounds that sounds more like it, we've been together like 11 years okay. But that's going to be in the promo, colin. This is the promo. Welcome. This is Callie. 90 Day Fiancé.
Collin:
Your 90 Day Fiancé. Wife of one. I've literally never heard anyone say that phrase. Wife of one Like you are. You are the only one. I've never.
Callie Himsl:
I just I don't you know, yeah, is that a common thing to say?
Heredes:
Maybe in Brazil you guys need to get out more.
Collin:
Is it like in Brazil? Guys need to get out more like you know. Is it? Is it like in brazil? Is it like? Is it like opposite of like of like mormon, where it's like the, the women have like multiple husbands or like I don't know? I'm just curious. Help me understand educate us yeah, so um, or if you want us to move on, let's let us know in genesis 26 no, we're not talking about that that.
Heredes:
If wife of one is a problem to you, colin, we'll talk with HR after this Way to turn it around.
Collin:
All right, okay, okay. So eight years in Haiti.
Callie Himsl:
Eight years in Haiti, eight years in.
Collin:
Haiti Found the love of your life and then, after that, you decided to come back, stateside, as it were.
Callie Himsl:
And so how do we go from there to kind of to where you are now? Oh man, okay, so so it was like therapy Mickey Mouse.
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, right, okay. So I went down with an organization that did church to church partnership. I was with them for about six months, um, and then when I was living there, I was learning the language, I was getting to know the culture. I was like really again like having that world shift, uh, you know, in my mind, but not only about like culture and you know these, these big things. It was also about like missions and like how we were doing things and what people really thought about foreigners and how, like, when you, you really like.
Callie Himsl:
And that's why it was important to me to learn the language too, because I was like I, like real, as an extrovert. First of all, I was like somebody, please talk to me. And then, secondly, like I was like just so interested in like okay, but what do you really think? You know, like type of a thing. Um, so it became yeah, so, so I began to be like okay, like we're handing out these bags of rice every day, but what did you know? And then we leave and then another van comes of other people who think they're saving the world, and all these things are really complex and like they are what they are. But I got turned on to this idea of social business and that is a that's like something at the time that we didn't really even have a word for yet. So it's important to note. I think in this conversation to the the, a lot of people um, can you take him outside my dog's claws?
Heredes:
um a lot of people will be right back, right back after this break from my dog sponsored by just like people building houses. No, hey, start us there cali I, I do want to hear that I forgot what I was talking about no when it, when it clicked in your mind as a social kind of like the, the work, or social business, or when did it click when did you see when? Did kind of like, uh, what God was doing, when the entrepreneurial, when the artist in you, when, when did all that come together?
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, yeah. So the important note I think a lot of people associate Haiti with a natural disaster, and that natural disaster was an earthquake and that was in um 20 times. So people were a lot of money was coming into haiti. A lot of things were happening in haiti, um and I'm sorry it was 2012, but it's january 10th 2012, um but so a lot of foreign aid, so much foreign aid was coming into haiti, and there's all of these case studies about it and it's a very, it's very much used as an example of what went wrong during that time. And so it was like foreign aid was coming in and it meant like, okay, we're going to buy people rice, we're going to buy people water, we're going to like whatever, but there wasn't necessarily this thought about a long-term solution or long-term sustainability.
Callie Himsl:
And so there are a few people in the country. One of them was Shelly. One of them, uh, was Shelly, shelly, jean, and she had started, um, something was called the parent project at the time and moved to Papillon, and so what she was doing was this, this kind of this new idea? I guess you could say, uh, about training people in artisan like how to make jewelry, how to make all these different things, um, and were being employed and poverty, you know, was being eradicated and these people had dignity and they had jobs for the first time, they were learning soft skills, and so I had gone to I think I like visited the workshop. It was fairly small at that time, maybe only 20 people or so. So after I left the church to church partnership, I began working with her and that's where I spent the majority of my time in Haiti.
Collin:
So that kind of started for you in Haiti then, or was that kind of okay, so so you started doing that, and then at what point did did that kind of lead you back here?
Callie Himsl:
At what point did that kind of lead you back here? Yeah, well, it's a little complicated, but yeah. So I was working there. I fell in love with this idea of like, oh my gosh, business could, like, alleviate poverty, and a lot of people, I think, were starting to put those pieces together and this idea of social business, social entrepreneurship, really began to come to light, and other people throughout the world were doing it or were able to now put a vocabulary with it. So, really, it's using business as a means to either alleviate poverty or help to solve a social issue.
Callie Himsl:
You don't have to be a nonprofit, you can be a for-profit. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about what that looks like. Um, I always say talk to your tax person, like. It really just comes down to what paperwork you want to do, um, but you can be a nonprofit and you can sell goods. You can be a for-profit and you can do social good, like, and so it really just depends on what your goals are. Um company. So I was able to. I call it the glory days of Haiti, because it was just a really incredible time where, like I said, a lot of money was coming in. We can debate on a later podcast about where that money went. But the point is is like there was there was hope and there was excitement and there were things happening in the country, and so I had the privilege of working with some really incredible people. Some former presidents came down. I got to work with Secret Service, which was so cool. Vogue was there. Donna Karan of DKNY yeah.
Heredes:
Yeah, you can't just say I work for Secret Service and just keep going, right, colin?
Callie Himsl:
Well, because I work for Secret Service, we have a clause.
Heredes:
I know Now, you told us, so it's not a secret. So tell me more.
Callie Himsl:
No, we can't, Because I don't want to say it, because it was Bill Clinton and they're trying to tell him that he was part of the Epstein thing.
Heredes:
I don't want people to think I was involved in this. I'm glad you heard that promo tune into the podcast for the non-profit renaissance let it be known.
Callie Himsl:
Let it be known, no connection no connection, but I mean, regardless of your uh stance, it's pretty cool to see a president, a former president, yeah, yeah, all right, we'll talk offline after this.
Outro:
No, I'm kidding, just mess around.
Heredes:
I love that.
Callie Himsl:
Go ahead. I don't even remember what I was saying. Go ahead, colin, you were going to say something.
Collin:
Well, so let's talk about, let's kind of lean into social entrepreneurship social enterprise, because this might even be. I mean, I remember when you and I first talked it was even a newer idea for me, and so it's probably it might be a newer idea for some who are listening. You gave a pretty good description. It's a fairly simple idea. Again, using business as a way to make an impact in the world. Yeah, is there a distinction between someone, a social entrepreneur, and what they're doing and just like a typical nonprofit? Would you say a typical nonprofit is a type of social enterprise or is that kind of like a different thing, like a different headspace or mindset focus? What would you say?
Callie Himsl:
That's a good question. Nobody's ever asked me that before. That's a good question. Nobody's ever asked me that before.
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, I mean, I think, what your intention it all comes down to like why does the entity exist? So, if it's a business or a nonprofit or a not-for-profit or whatever you want to call it, like why does it exist? Like what's the end goal? And like I think about do you remember, like Now we Can All Age Ourselves like Tom's Shoes you know that was, that was like one of the first age has an entire closet just dedicated to tom's, one of the first to come out, to be like that, really opened up, like the mainstream, to say, like, wait a second, we can. We can still function as a society and buy our cool shoes and do what we want to do, but we can also do good, like within that. So I think it really just comes down to, um, what your end goal is.
Callie Himsl:
For sure, a lot of times nonprofits are set up to solve like a social issue, essentially, Right. Um, I think like my biggest takeaway would be that that somebody would take away from this part of the conversation would be that you don't have to be a specific type of person to give back, and I think that's what we're told a lot. We have to be like a missionary or we have to be a social worker or something really specific, and I think people who are bookkeepers have an incredible talent that I don't have. Like people who can do construction, like whatever it is, whatever your talent is, there's a space and a place for you to give back, and I think, like, whether that is for a nonprofit, whether that's to your neighbor or whoever it is, like you don't have to be a specific person with a specific skill set, like, at the end of the day, today you go out and you do something good and that's like the whole point of it.
Collin:
So, at the risk of sounding super lame, right, you could, you could kind of say like it's, it's not a phase.
Collin:
It's a lifestyle type of thing, right, so would that be a you know? So for those who are, who are listening, it sounds like what you're saying is, it's not even necessarily like this whole like venture, that you know that if you're kind of like, well, I don't know, or I don't have, or I don't want to, like, start something, to then like enact this right, like, so it's like you know there's a way to do this. And now does that go beyond just being someone who donates? What's the difference between like okay, well, I just want to be someone who donates my money. Is there like a distinction there? So talk to someone who might not be in the place where they're saying I want to start an organization or I want to start a business with this particular thing, I say, good, don't, you're very wise.
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, I'm not sure if the world needs another non-profit, uh. But I mean and that's what I'm like like trying so hard to articulate and I'm not sure how to say it but like the sense of like I did it right, like I did like the christian missionary thing. I left everything, I sold everything, I moved to a developing country and I lived with no hot water and electricity and all these things for so many years and like got all this trauma from it. But like I did it and I lived it and like on the other side of that I realized like you actually don't have to, I'm glad I did and it was for me and it really was who I believe God created me to be, and like absolutely was who I believe God created me to be, and like absolutely.
Callie Himsl:
But my hope would be, if you are that donor and you work at a bank and you are just trying to send your kids to college and that's what you're doing and you want to like help somebody to get to Africa on their mission trip, like you need that too.
Callie Himsl:
Like it all kind of works in unison and I think that God uses us at different times and in different areas and in different seasons for that skill set. I think it's just important to listen to what that inside tuition is inside of you. I remember at a Bible study before I had all of these experiences, I was like talking about missions and whatever, and I remember saying to this girl I said you mean, if somebody knocked on your door and said do you want to move to China tomorrow? You'd say no. And she was like no, why would, would I? And I was like I thought everybody felt like that and she was like no, and that was eye-opening for me because I was like, oh, I should probably listen to this like maybe I need therapy, like I don't know what.
Callie Himsl:
What's? What's wrong with me? China?
Collin:
not everyone is like yeah, uh, so, so where did where does someone start then? Right? Or like you know, what does it look like for you to help someone with this? Or to work with a business? Right, because it seems like a lot of times you'll come into, you know a business, will hire you to consult and kind of like, help them figure out. How do we use this to create? This impact Like what is that? You know what's the process for somebody?
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, thanks for asking. You know, when I was, I had resigned from my position at the organization around 2018. And I had all of this like life experience, but I had no like actual credentials, I would say like in the American eye, and so I put myself back in school, um, and ended up getting a degree in community advocacy and social policy, um, through the school of social work, and it was such a therapeutic experience for me because, you know, you're having these papers that are like just the most like in-depth intellectual, like why does poverty exist and how do we, like you know, get rid of it, and all these, and like it was so therapeutic because I was like, oh my gosh, this is what I've been experiencing every day for eight years, you know. And like the funniest part is like you're, you have to like peer review, you know. And like this 21 year old is like I went to bucky's the other day and think you know like their life experiences.
Callie Himsl:
It's just like, oh my gosh, like, and you just like saw five people die on the street, like so it's just wild. So it was really, really, uh therapeutic for me to to gain that, but also really helpful, uh, for me as well, because I had this degree in graphic design and communications and then now I had this degree in social justice, essentially so really beginning to pair those two. During my time in Haiti, I was able to travel a lot outside of Haiti as well and go to a lot of different conferences for people who were like-minded, and when I realized during that time, too, was like, oh, even though we're in different countries and different cultures, we're all experiencing so many of the same problems, trying to help alleviate some of these social issues. And so I naturally fell into this area of consulting. I walk alongside of them, for wherever they're at, there's some people who are just thinking about starting a business or a nonprofit, or they see a social issue that they're passionate about they want to help on. Maybe that means I connect them to a nonprofit that already exists. Maybe I help walk them through what that looks like.
Callie Himsl:
A lot of my skill set is in branding and marketing, so I use this analogy a lot, where maybe somebody's like in Cambodia, they're rescuing women from sex trafficking and they're teaching the women how to make bracelets and the bracelets are sold to help, you know, bring them income so they don't have to move back into this area of sex trafficking, and but their website's terrible and nobody knows they exist and so, like they're never going to sell a bracelet and these, you know. So the women are not. You know, there's not, it's not a sustainable model. So a lot of times it's like it really and maybe you guys have this experience you think it's just setting up a website or whatever that looks like.
Callie Himsl:
But it's really helping that that completely depleted and exhausted nonprofit people who are wearing a hundred different hats and doing a hundred different things, people who are wearing a hundred different hats and doing a hundred different things. You're showing them what they can be. You're showing them like, oh my gosh, I can be just as good as any brand. I can sell something that actually and you help them develop their story and you help them communicate all of the things that they've experienced over the years, because people need to hear these stories. They're incredible and it's a way to be a liaison to connect the two worlds. Right, you know, maybe that person in Kansas who's you know again working at the bank, trying to get their kids into college or whatever, but they have a passion and like they can buy the bracelet. Right, you're connecting these two worlds that would never have been able to connect before.
Collin:
Yeah, would you say that a lot of businesses that you work with kind of already have, like, the desire to make the impact, or they're even like they're already working towards it, and it's just a matter of like, well, you know, of helping them actually put that into action or helping them see, maybe, blind spots where it's like you know, I see what you want to do. This is stopping you. How do we get from here to here?
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of it becomes kind of therapy, right, because if you, if you're a nonprofit leader, like and you're hearing this like you're not alone, like I know you're wearing 100 different hats, I know that you're like absolutely exhausted at night, like things are keeping you awake and you know your self care is coming last, and I think like so much of them is just like being in tears, being like I put my heart and soul into this, like now what do I do? And again that that helped like that idea of like helping somebody see themselves anew for the first time, to be like I can. I can do this, I have been doing this. Um, it's so special.
Collin:
Yeah. So to encourage those out there nonprofit leaders, if you're in a place where you're struggling or maybe you're beginning to kind of doubt the vision that you had, a lot of times, it's not necessarily that the vision wasn't there, the vision wasn't the right one, it's just sometimes you need somebody to help you kind of take where you're at now and move forward. And I think that's one of the benefits of working with someone like you, callie, or working with an agency like Verse is being able to have someone who says, like we've been here before, man, we can specialize in this. You specialize in your vision, you specialize in what the impact that you've wanted to make in your heart for years and years and years and let some other people come in and help you do that thing. It's huge, it's impactful.
Heredes:
Cal, thanks for sharing. We love partnering with artists, creatives, who have the worldview and experience that you have, so I appreciate you sharing from that experience and from that heart, which is important. Where do you see? You kind of answered throughout our time together, but where do you see the future of social entrepreneurship heading, particularly with nonprofit growth, with community impact? And what's kind of your pulse, what's your feel and where's it going?
Callie Himsl:
Good question. I think it's only going to grow. I think, um people are looking for authenticity, um people are looking for purpose. Uh, not to sound like a boomer, but you know, like the generation, the generation that.
Heredes:
Okay, mom Okay.
Callie Himsl:
Yeah, I feel like the generation that is like the millennials and like coming up, you know, it's like that idea of like wanting to live a life on purpose. I think it's only going to grow and I think that the idea again is like you don't have to reinvent the wheel, like you can already do what you're doing and you can do it well, and like you can focus in on one small thing and like, push in, push into that, like don't. I feel like people get paralyzed sometimes where they think that they're going to get to a stage to get ready to give back or to move into that life of purpose and I it does, it doesn't happen. Like we're no better than anybody else. I didn't do anything better than anybody else, like I just like did this stupid thing because I was 27,. You know what I mean. Like.
Callie Himsl:
So I don't want people to get stuck to think like that people who are quote, unquote, unquote like changing the world are doing some amazing, like amazing things are any different than anybody else. They're not like everybody. Like whether they're trust me and I've worked with, like whether you're a massive corporation or you're a small little non-profit with three people like everybody's, just everybody, learning as they go and like nobody has it together more together than anybody else. Most basically nobody has it together. So everybody out there else, most basically nobody has it together. So everybody out there is doing a good job, good job.
Collin:
And we're going to end it right there the world is burning.
Callie Himsl:
No one has it together.
Collin:
And we'll see you guys next time.
Heredes:
No, Colin, you claim you have it together, bro, Like you've told me I've heard your episodes that you have it all figured out and it's told me.
Collin:
I've heard your episodes that you have it all figured out and it's, it's, it's the facade I put on to feel better about myself. And you know, I guess we're, I guess we're all doing therapy today.
Heredes:
Sponsored by better help.
Collin:
I don't think there's been an episode where H hasn't declared a sponsor that we have that we don't actually have.
Heredes:
There's a madness.
Outro:
There's quite a bit of you know we got 30,000 sponsors.
Heredes:
They're in the pipeline.
Collin:
They're in the pipeline.
Heredes:
Real talk before Kellen wraps up. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate that. We love laughter. Laughter is whatever therapy and medicine for the soul, or chicken soup for the soul one of those um, so yeah, chicken that's old school right there I know it's like now we're really dating ourselves my mom just became a became a raving fan of this podcast.
Heredes:
With that one mention, she's like I think we should listen yeah, they're probably looking to sponsor yeah no, seriously, thanks for sharing, thanks for, uh, how can um before colin kind of wraps us up and how can people find you? How can people connect with you? Uh, if they're listening, if you're listening and you're hard connected, you know, with, with kelly's heart and kind of her mission and her passion, where can they find you?
Callie Himsl:
yeah, I would love to connect with you Um hear about whatever stage you are at, either personally or as a business or nonprofit. Um, we have a company called Hark Creative Council H-A-R-K. Creativecouncilcom. Um, you can get in touch with me right out there.
Collin:
Awesome Well, you heard it here so much incredible wisdom, and I mean again, someone who's lived the life this isn't just, you know, this sounds like a cool idea Someone who's been there, who's done it. And so Callie, again, like H, is saying thank you so much for joining us and thank you for listening week in and week out. It's a pleasure to have you every time. So, thank you so much. We will see you next time on the Nonprofit Renaissance. See you later.
Outro:
Thanks again for listening to the Nonprofit Renaissance. We hope it ignites a renaissance in you and helps you go further and grow faster. Be sure to share, rate and subscribe, and if you'd like to recommend or be a guest on our show, send us an email at podcastatversecreativecom.
