Become a Purpose-Driven Company by Giving Back Authentically with Jennifer Bernheim

27. Become a Purpose-Driven Company by Giving Back Authentically with Jennifer Bernheim

“When you authentically lead with a commitment to give back, you can change lives.”

—Jennifer Bernheim

OnPurpose PR

Podcast Transcription

Hello, I’m Michael Kurland, CEO and Co-Founder of Branded Group. Welcome to the #BeBetter Podcast. To me, our company’s mantra to “Be Better” is more than a tagline; it’s a culture that permeates our organization, propelling our team to Be Better to each other, our customers and our communities as well as to ourselves. Each week on the #BeBetter podcast, I interview leaders who authentically exemplify how they are being better in their professional and personal lives.

I’m grateful to retailers like Burlington Stores who have partnered with non-profit organization Delivering Good to keep members of their communities warm through the Burlington Coat Drive. Through this program, over 2.3 million coats have been collected to date, making a significant impact for those in need of a warm coat. Learn more about Burlington Stores at burlington.com.

Michael Kurland (00:00):

Welcome to another episode of the BeBetter podcast. I’m your host, Michael Kurland. Today, joining me is a very special guest. Someone who’s been with Branded Group and Michael Kurland since pretty much the inception of everything, including this podcast. We have Jennifer Bernheim, owner of OnPurpose PR. Jennifer, welcome to the show.

Jennifer Bernheim (00:30):

Great, thanks. Nice to be here.

Michael Kurland (00:33):

So I’m super excited to have you on. We have so much to talk about. Let’s dive right in. This is the season on gratitude. We’ve been talking about gratitude and all the things that are synonymous with gratitude. I think something that’s a really big to both you and I is the give back initiatives that Branded Group has started. So tell me a little bit more about OnPurpose PR and tell me why give back is important to OnPurpose PR and then let’s get into how it morphed with Branded Group.

Jennifer Bernheim (01:07):

Sounds good. OnPurpose PR a boutique PR consultancy, and we work with CEOs who want to make a difference, who want to give back and who want to build that strategy into their communications plan and really use it as a brand differentiator. I think that’s what we’ve done pretty well together over the past six years or so and giving back, I think also goes hand in hand with gratitude, right? So if you’re very grateful for all that you have, you’re much more likely to give back and if you give back, you’re much more likely to be grateful. So I certainly think those two go hand in hand and you obviously exhibit both personally and professionally.

Michael Kurland (01:50):

Okay and I appreciate that and yes, I totally agree, but tell me why is it important to you, Jennifer? Why is giving back important?

Jennifer Bernheim (02:00):

Good. Thanks for asking. So as I was preparing for this podcast and really reflecting about why that same question is giving back important to me and it really goes back to some of my earliest childhood memories of volunteering. I remember asking my parents to bring me to nonprofit events. They would drop me off and I would just volunteer. So I’m sure you can’t picture that, but

Michael Kurland (02:25):

Okay. I can actually. I’ve known you for so long. I can see that.

Jennifer Bernheim (02:28):

So in the good old days of Phone-a-thons, I used to volunteer for the MS Society and sit there for a couple hours at night and just make those phone calls and ask if people wanted to donate. That was one of my earliest give back experiences and I helped with their walk-a-thons. When I think back to that, I also think of how it’s built my skillset to be able to speak, to be able to event plan, et cetera. Where that came from that inspiration. I’m really not quite sure, but from then giving back has always been very important to me and my PR firm was not focused on giving back at first 10 years ago. You know, when you get started, you take anyone or any work that will come your way and hope for the best, but we really were able to carve out our niche over the years and work with some really amazing CEOs who want to give back. I think about all the projects, like really preparing for this podcast gave me a great opportunity to reflect on all the projects over the years, some of which you were instrumental in even before Branded Group through your previous employer. So we can talk about those examples as well.

Michael Kurland (03:39):

Sure. I’m looking forward to diving in and to all that and audience, just so you guys know, I’ve mentioned Jennifer numerous times on the podcast and she’s been instrumental in the podcast as well as just Branded Group’s culture and social give back initiatives. Let’s go back to, we just celebrated our seven year anniversary. You’ve been here for pretty much all of that. Let’s go back to year one when you and I had just started working together again. I had just finished the first year and we turned this profit and we’ve talked about this numerous times, but this is like a really good insight, deep dive and a little walk down memory road here. I called you and I said, I’m just, I’m not feeling, I’m not feeling great about what we’re doing here.

Michael Kurland (04:28):

We have this company and it’s my biggest vehicle to make a difference in the world. Let me give you guys all a background on my give back platform. It wasn’t quite as much as “Hey Mom and Dad dropped me off at a MS Walk-A-Thon.” But you know, in college I joined a fraternity and everyone thinks fraternities are all about drinking and partying and there is something to that, but they also make sure that they build in philanthropy to their to their yearly give back. So every student, at least at Lynchburg College and at least nationally at Phi Delta Theta, you had to do, I want to say a requirement of 16 hours a semester of philanthropy. It could be whatever you wanted it to be, anything pretty much qualified.

Michael Kurland (05:19):

So we were a bunch of athletes in my fraternity. I don’t know how they let me in, but the rest of the guys were all like track stars. So they always wanted to go swing hammers and so we’d go down to these properties in Lynchburg, Virginia, through Habitat for Humanity. I didn’t even know it existed. And that was always like the place where we’d go get our hours. Because you could spend eight hours on a build site and get half of your hours done for the whole semester. So I digressed, but that’s what really instilled in me the want to give back and when we started talking about it, Jennifer, it was, “Hey, like I’m not feeling good. I want to do more. I want to be socially responsible and like give something back.” That’s when we came up with a One-for One. So let’s talk a little bit more about that. That was mostly your brainchild, right.

Jennifer Bernheim (06:12):

But definitely a partnership. So I remember this conversation very clearly. And before the phone call, at one time you’re visiting and I remember talking through and you said you were going to volunteer for Habitat. I said, no, wait, wait, let’s put something together and formalize it even further. And so then I did that for you. I wrote this outline, I gave it to you and you said, okay, now can you do it? I really didn’t anticipate that at all, but it was our first dive into to working together and to giving back. So we wanted to make an impact. Your company was obviously new to the industry and what better way to stand out than to also give back and it was sincere and it was authentic and I think that’s why it has worked so well.

Jennifer Bernheim (06:58):

I really think you built it into your culture rather than bolting it on later. Right? So from the very beginning, this was a really important part of your culture. So the One- for-One program, I guess, the logistics of it behind the scenes, where for every completed service call, you donated or volunteered one minute of time with Habitat for Humanity, and then your company grew so much and I love when you say, we would have had to have somebody full time to keep on pace with the volunteering efforts. So we’ve pivoted a bit this year because of the growth, but I’m sure you could speak to this too, but your clients have come to know Branded Group for this initiative, yes?

Michael Kurland (07:39):

Oh, absolutely. It’s synonymous. How our clients actually reach out to it, not all of them and you know, some of the new ones, I think it’s something that has maybe gotten a little with the pandemic and things of that nature, a little lost in the shuffle, but over the course of the last six years that we’ve had this program in place, we’ve got some clients that reach out and say, Hey, how many hours did we, were we responsible for this year? And that’s what led us actually to do updates on a yearly basis. We’re at now at the point where we’re going to start doing them on a quarterly basis. But to your point, we’ve grown the program so much that we would have had to have hired probably three people full-time just to do service hours, 40 hours a week to complete the amount of hours in the last year.

Michael Kurland (08:28):

To me that’s successful and thank you for pointing out the other thing that you just said was it was authentic, right? Like I never came to you and said like, Hey, I’m trying to look for some, some kitschy sales pitch to like increase business. No, I want it to, I want it to give back. Because I felt a hole in my heart of what was I really doing? I didn’t feel complete. And we were able to put that on paper and kind of just like ran through that really quickly, but I really want to touch on that. That was very important because I mean, working with me for all these years, you know, I’m a pretty, I want what I want and it’s gotta be perfect too before I’m going to agree to something and you nailed it with that program of one minute of service to give back.

Michael Kurland (09:19):

Then the fact that we were able to integrate that into our company at the end of year one. I think we had six or seven employees at that point, all of them to buy in and now ever since what, we’re seven years in,  it’s part of when we onboard our new hires. It’s talked about like, we do service and you’re not required, but you know, it’s encouraged to be willing to give some of your time when you join Branded Group. So anyway I think that’s great, but let’s talk about how it’s kind of morphed into what it is now.

Jennifer Bernheim (09:56):

Sure, sure thing. So I do want your listeners to know that over those six years or so, your team has volunteered over 2000 hours, which I think is quite impressive and that was just one give back component. You’ve also raised funds for food drives and also distributed over 7,000 pounds of food through Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, et cetera. And I also want to talk about the good work we did during the pandemic, but I digress. So what was your question?

Michael Kurland (10:31):

Yeah. So, so let’s talk about where the One –for-One program has gone now.

Jennifer Bernheim (10:37):

So we’ve had all this growth, right? All of this giving back and we unfortunately can’t hire someone just to volunteer. So we said, how can we pivot? Well, there’s a big need right now, right. With food insecurity. So that was top of mind for us and we started to brainstorm our next initiative and we had done some work with Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County quite successfully. They’ve been a good partner. And we said, what about for every service call we donate a meal. So that is how we’ve pivoted and that will give us the opportunity to donate a lot of meals over the next year or so.

Michael Kurland (11:14):

Exciting stuff. And, you know, we’re still involved with Habitat for Humanity, and now we’re also donating meals. So before we start going into the pandemic, I want to touch on the one thing that when we started adding in the other partners that we aligned with, so we’re now aligned with Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County  and Suffolk County. And we’re aligned with Orange Coastkeepers, which it’s more than just a beach cleanup. So I don’t want to disservice them by saying that, but I’d like you to talk a little bit more about those organizations, why we chose to partner up with them, if you could.

Jennifer Bernheim (11:56):

Sure. We knew from the beginning that we had to find causes that aligned, right? You need to carve out your lane because otherwise, as you saw every request that comes through for a donation or give back, you kind of get sidetracked and your efforts get diluted. So I’m very big in advising clients to choose one, two, three causes and staying within those lanes. And we did outline those really years ago. And I also try to align with a bigger picture, which is the UN Sustainability Goals. So our goals locally aligned with the global sustainability goals about providing sustainable housing, supporting life underwater, et cetera. So we look at the bigger picture worldwide and think about what can we do at a local level to make an impact. And that’s how we chose the organizations that we partnered with. I think another thing, I’d love for the listeners to take away from this call is that every organization, regardless of size can find some way to give back.

Jennifer Bernheim (12:58):

And you don’t have to start with global goals, but start with what are the needs right in your backyard and within your own community. And we were obviously able to do that. You have some smaller, I don’t want to discount them smaller initiatives though with really local organizations for filling backpacks for kids who need school supplies to go back to school or supporting families who might not be able to give gifts to their kids for the holidays. So you really also look right outside of your office and say, what else can we do to give back?

Michael Kurland (13:31):

So two things you mentioned there the smaller givebacks, because there’s been some organizations that have reached out asking for donations or service time and we don’t like to say no, but I’d like to touch on that for a second. Let’s go back. You mentioned something else about two seconds ago and it was right before you started talking about the smaller organizations and it just slipped my mind. What were you, what were you saying right before that?

Jennifer Bernheim (14:02):

Just about any size organization should be able to give back looking in your own, right?

Michael Kurland (14:06):

Yes. That’s it. I wanted to touch on that. Sorry, sorry audience. It’s before 9:00 AM in California and I don’t really do well before 9:00 AM. I think that’s a good point that you brought up and I want to be able to say if you guys are out there listening and you’re thinking of starting your own company and you’re like, well, what can I even offer? What can I do? I want to make sure you know you can give back and it doesn’t have to be money. It can be just something as easy as donating 10 hours a year of your time or your employee’s time and integrating that into your culture from start and as your company grows, sure, you can grow with those initiatives. But don’t think that because you’re such a small company, maybe you don’t have all this time because you’re focused like all your energy and time and effort on growing on the business. Make sure you build in some time for giving back and you can do that and you don’t have to do it just through writing a check.

Michael Kurland (15:08):

So I thought that was an important thing that you did say.

Jennifer Bernheim (15:14):

Can I add to that really quickly? Like, you know, a solo entrepreneur, a consultant, I have a couple other consultants that work with me, but I still give back on my own. It’s not a big initiative that I pushed through the organization or social media or anything, but I give back endless hours through our local PTA because I have three younger children. We also have a family give back initiative. So in addition to on-purpose PR I found it OnPurpose family. So I teach families the same thing that I do for businesses, which is how to give back as a family, where to start, because oftentimes there are so there’s so much need that even thinking about giving back, I feel like can kind of be paralyzing, where do I even start? Right. So for us, it was helpful, as we just mentioned is to kind of carve out what lane you want to give back in or what organizations are most important to you. But also if you are starting a company, it’s just important to remember that there’s some great data around purpose driven companies and I loved this finding from Deloitte that said purpose driven companies grow three times faster than their competitors. Right. So if you are starting a business, think about that.

Michael Kurland (16:26):

Three times faster, that’s impressive!

Jennifer Bernheim (16:28):

Three times faster. Then I think about your growth and do you think Branded Group would have the same brand awareness today if you had no giveback?

Michael Kurland (16:40):

I don’t think so. I don’t think so. That would make me a different person because then it wouldn’t have been important to me and I wouldn’t have been as focused on it and the company would be strictly profit over purpose. Right. We keep talking about purpose over profit these days and that’s really what Branded Group is. We are trying to make a difference. We’re trying to build future humanitarians for the next generation. Right. That is our purpose.

Jennifer Bernheim (17:16):

That’s a really good point. I’m glad you brought up your vision for sure.

Michael Kurland (17:19):

I think that’s really the end game. Like what I want for all of the people that actually work for Branded Group is to be better humanitarians when they leave and hopefully they all leave at some point because they’ve like gotten a better job or a better career or whatever. They’ve grown so much at Branded Group that they’re ready to tackle it and when they do get out there and do that, I mean, I hope they don’t all leave, but yeah, if they’re ready go and they find a better opportunity, I hope that we’ve instilled a little bit of better humanitarianism in them. And I think what you just said too, about what you personally do at OnPurpose is good for the audience to hear. If you are starting out and you don’t know where to start, something as simple as a food drive for a Thanksgiving or it doesn’t even have to be Thanksgiving because I’ll tell you, I’ve learned through the years that Thanksgiving is the least time that they need the food they need because everyone’s doing it. They need it year round. So if you do a food drive and you just do a canned food drive and bring it down to your partner with your local food pantry, everyone is so grateful for anything and the ability to do a Christmas drive or a holiday drive to make sure families have no presents under their tree.

Jennifer Bernheim (18:41):

Right. And I love the idea actually of off season giving too. because as you said, like giving is plentiful around the holidays but also thinking like Christmas in July or holidays in July, like what can your organization do or what can you do? And you know our family gives back to the children’s hospital through a toy drive, but I purposely chose the summer because that’s when their greatest need was. Right. So over five years, our kids have collected and donated over 2,000 toys, which you have participated in as well. But when we bring those toys in September, they always say, thank you, we have nothing left. So thinking about the needs of your organizations around you, even outside of the holiday time is important to them.

Michael Kurland (19:25):

I know we’re jumping all over the place, but I want to highlight that you are instilling in, you know, I’m trying to build teacher humanitarians to Branded Group you’re building future humanitarians through your family. I mean the work that Jennifer’s children do for this toy drive every year, it’s amazing. They’ve been doing it for five years now, you said, and the fact that you guys have done 2,000 toys for the children’s hospital is just, you know, kudos to you and family for that.

Jennifer Bernheim (19:58):

Thanks. I believe it all starts at home. But let’s go back to, if you are an organization, how you wanted to get started, do you mind if I give a few concrete tips?

Michael Kurland (20:05):

Not at all, let’s do it on some data.

Jennifer Bernheim (20:09):

Good. So of course you definitely want to assess your own culture, right. So if you’ve never talked about giving back before to your employees or your team, take a pause before you roll out an initiative in looking at your mission and your vision and the purpose of your organization, as well as your values. And Mike and I, we did this years ago through a formalized workshop. And that’s where we came up with the vision and the values that are still standing strong today. After that really think about what issues matter to you personally, because that is when the give back is authentic, right? That’s why it worked for you is Habitat was also very important to you and you can maybe survey employees too about what organizations might be important to them. And then also just taking the time to research those potential nonprofit partners.

Jennifer Bernheim (21:01):

What have they done over the years? I always reach out and have an interview if we’re going to partner, because you want to know what are the best practices for other corporate partners that you’ve had before? What works well or not so well, and really just getting a feel for that nonprofit. Because I will tell you not every nonprofit is automatically the best fit for your organization. So if you take anything away from this call, make sure you do your research first, before you start to partner with another organization or if you’re going to formalize your program. And then also making sure that there’s a way for you to measure that partnership and evaluate it over time. Like for Mike and Branded Group, six years in, we had to evaluate how do we need to pivot because of the tremendous growth of the organization. So those are just a couple tips if you want to go ahead and get started.

Michael Kurland (21:52):

I want to add one more to that and that’s be creative. When you start out as  a small company, you’re going to reach out to these nonprofits and it was true for us as well is they’re just going to tell you, you can write a check, you can just send me a check for $5,000 and we’ll do  some sort of team building day. They all have some sort of team building day that you can do and they’re great things to do. They asked for some sort of donation, right, but be creative. Because initially like we spoke about before Branded Group didn’t have $5,000 to donate year one to Habitat for Humanity. And I had to drive down to the local Orange County chapter and sit down and have a meeting with these guys and tell them, look,  I’m not trying to just cut you a check so that I can say that I donated $5,000 to Habitat for Humanity.

Michael Kurland (22:45):

I’m trying to build a program with you guys. And I actually worked directly hand in hand with their volunteer full-time staff. And that’s how they helped us create the One for One program because they already had volunteers in place, but they couldn’t backfill a lot of the volunteer hours, especially at their REstore locations. And I said, well, we’ll take those then. And so that’s how we initially started off in because we built a relationship with them of back filling those REstore volunteer hours. Then they were like, okay, you guys are great. You guys are actually showing up and doing what you’re saying. You guys get first pick of any open volunteer hours that are opening in Orange County. This was in year two. Then we built such a good partnership that now we have the ability to just go in and they’re like, Oh, Branded Group, you’re one of our longest standing partners. And we didn’t have to cut this big check to get higher up on their list of the people that they trusted. So that was a long-winded way of saying be creative.

Jennifer Bernheim (23:46):

No, but that’s a great point because you identified what is the pain point or what is the real need of that organization? It was for people to fill volunteer roles in their REstore. Right. So it was a great partnership because you can maybe write a check right then, but they also had this need. So it was a really good fit. So yes, make sure you encourage your listeners to ask those questions and to get creative. And if we can think about that right now too, and getting creative during the pandemic. If you don’t mind, if we talk about the give backs that we do.

Michael Kurland (24:15):

What a great segue. I was just going to say it. So go ahead. Let’s talk about the virtual 5k, your brain child, which I love, I wish I ran a faster time, but go ahead.

Jennifer Bernheim (24:32):

So we’re amidst of pandemic and you stay true to the course of still wanting to give back because the need was really greater, greater than ever. And at the same time you had to balance on the other side of the coin that you had laid off 75% of your staff. So you weren’t going to write a big check.

Michael Kurland (24:52):

Right – we furloughed.

Jennifer Bernheim (24:53):

Correct. Terminology and listeners do know he brought back that staff and more. But, it’s really important to know because you didn’t push that aside because of the strain on the organization. Instead, we got creative and we did that through the virtual 5k as you mentioned, and we just set that up through Run Signup and sent all the details out to your team and to your vendors, clients, you know, externally as well. So what we try to do instead was to motivate others, to really give back collectively to Second Harvest, right? And to make that donation. And it was a nominal fee, I think, of like $20 to participate. And you got your run bib and you can tack that on and take your pictures on social media, but it was such a great way to bring your team together even when they were physically apart. And even those who were furloughed still participated in this. And then you had clients participating as well. And it benefited a nonprofit. I mean, it was just a win all around I think.

Michael Kurland (26:02):

All around it was, it was.  I hate to say it was probably my most fun give back that we’ve done, but it really was because it was in June of last year and we were knee deep in the beginning stages of the pandemic and nobody knew what was to come. There was no hope on a vaccine at that point. Everything was shut down. California was just getting ready to think about reopening some outdoor dining and people needed something uplifting at the time. It was just like pretty dark part of the pandemic. Right. There was no sports, I don’t think at this point still. So it was just like, I mean, was just everyone glued at home watching CNN and probably over serving themselves beer or wine at night, nothing else to do, watching Netflix.

Michael Kurland (26:54):

So, we, we came up with this creative way and kudos to you. I was like, yes, let’s do it. And we made it so you could walk or run or, or bike, whatever you want to do. And we did it over the course of a week and snap a photo and then we did it so you could raise money and it was like, Hey, if you want to donate cool, if you don’t, if you want. And I sent it out to all my buddies and my family, and I think we had 40 or 50 people participate in it. So we did it, we raised like $2,000.

Jennifer Bernheim (27:32):

For sure and it was our first go at it. It was $2,000. It was set up on the backend to basically go directly into the bank account of the recipient organization. We didn’t even touch the money. So it’s great. It just goes right to where it needs to go. But we did have a great deal of participants. I also thought it was a great idea on your part extending it for the week. I had only thought, Oh, like a weekend, but people are busy and they have other things to do. So I think if you are considering a virtual event, extending it over the course of seven days is great option as well. I will say from that experience, I can add race director to my list of skillsets. But I use that Mike as inspiration in our own town and then we did a 5k for Weston to benefit our food pantry and that was a great success as well. Then I used it after that for a global client that is located in Wallingford and we partnered with a local nonprofit called the Spanish Community of Wallingford and because of their reach, we had participants out of the country. I mean, it’s just been a great opportunity for so many clients and for nonprofits.

Michael Kurland (28:45):

I’m serving on an advisory board for one of our nonprofits, The Priority Center. We just had our meeting last week and I definitely brought it up as well. So I don’t know if that’s going to get vetted exactly the same way, but they were very interested in the idea because they’re looking for creative ways to raise money during the pandemic. Right. So, we digress.

Jennifer Bernheim (29:08):

Okay. Well, I also was hoping if you don’t mind, if we could just talk about why we even do this, like why we even give back and how it’s so good for us. So, I mean, what effects maybe have you seen or how do you feel differently? You just gave back on the day of your seven year anniversary for Branded Group. And I remember being pretty jazzed up after you went there that morning.

Michael Kurland (29:30):

So if you guys listened to the last podcast with Dr. Gillian Mandich, I had told her that I’d given back and I got like a little high about giving back and it was a little bit selfish. And she mentioned with all of her statistics that it’s proven that when you give back, you get a volunteer’s high and I didn’t list it until a week ago. So I mean, selfishly, I really love giving back because I feel good and I get a little energized by knowing I’m helping. I don’t know if that’s because I’m a servant, I’ve got some sort of a servant in me. Chris Schembra called me a servant a couple of weeks ago. So, I think that I’ve got a little bit of servant in me and it makes me feel better.

Michael Kurland (30:17):

But like, again, going back to the long-term thought process when I was starting Branded Group and we were turning a profit in year one and I could do all the functions of the business and do them well, and I was turning a profit, I was still empty because what was I leaving on this earth? And then this is where we came in and was able to get the purpose over profit. We read the book, Conscious Capitalism, the John Mackey book and it just really inspired me like, well, let’s be better in business. So that’s my personal, why, you know, and you, besides learning how to do the telethon at 12 years old.

Jennifer Bernheim (31:03):

I really think I just enjoy it and the same with you. I think servant leadership is part of who I am as a leader, because you can’t encourage others to do something that you’re not doing. Right. And especially as a parent, I think it’s key to show my kids how to be able to give back in the community. But the research shows like what Dr. Gillian said you do get that little volunteer high, the same way that maybe when we’re working out, it connects you to your community. It gives you greater purpose to volunteer. Research has shown it even helps to combat depression and anxiety. It makes you happier. Like there there’s so many benefits to volunteering or giving back as an individual. You kind of think, well, why, why wouldn’t you? But then think about what that means for your organization, happy employees, right? Absolutely higher employee retention. And then you share what you’ve done with the greater audience. And you’re also, I think, getting loyalty from your clients and from your industry, et cetera. I mean, Mike, now you’re being called just to speak about these programs and your Be Better mantra. Like it’s part of who you are. So I just think there are so many benefits to giving back, like personally and professionally, and then for the greater good.

Michael Kurland (30:00)

So was there anything else that you wanted to touch on for a give back during our time here?

Jennifer Bernheim (30:05):

I think we covered a lot and it was a really great opportunity to talk about the growth of your program and how we’ve established it and pivoted over time. And hopefully listeners have a few key takeaways of how to get started, but in gratitude, I’m grateful that we’ve had this partnership over the years and all of the good that we’ve done to give back because I’m sure it has made a difference along the way.

Michael Kurland (30:30):

I will say I’m grateful for our partnership for sure. Branded Group wouldn’t be where it is today without all of your hard work like I said in the beginning and I want to just reiterate now I’m grateful to OnPurpose PR and Jennifer Bernheim for everything that she’s brought to the table for us, because without her we would not be where we’re at. So thank you, Jennifer, for everything you do, but you’re not getting off the hook that easily. So if you were to say you were an expert at anything for our audience, what advice would you have for our audience to become an expert at said thing?

Jennifer Bernheim (31:05):

How is it that I listened to every single episode and hear this question and never thought to prepare for it? I don’t know. So you’re getting me on that one. I guess it’s similar to a call yesterday, what is your, what is your superpower to and I said right now during the pandemic, I, I don’t know if I’m an expert at being a mom, but I try really hard and I try really hard to lead by example. So I hate that. I didn’t think about that question cause you know, I don’t like being caught off guard.

Michael Kurland (31:33):

I’m glad. I’m glad I got you expert mom, you’re an expert.

Jennifer Bernheim (31:35):

Maybe just leading by example and leading authentically and living authentically, or walking the talk, I guess I should say, especially when it comes to giving back.

Michael Kurland (31:45):

I love it. I love it. Well, Jennifer, thank you for coming on. Been looking forward to getting you on for a while now and hopefully we’ll make this one of many appearances. If the audience wants to get ahold of you, how can they do so?

Jennifer Bernheim (31:58):

Sure. Through LinkedIn, Jennifer Bernheim or JBernheim@onpurposepr.com.

Michael Kurland (32:03):

All right, Jennifer. Well, thank you so much and audience until next time.

I’d like to take a minute to thank you, our valued listeners. My intention is for this podcast to inspire you, in some way, to be better.  Change starts from within and radiates outward. Therefore, start with being better to yourself and only then will you recognize how to be better others and your community. Thank you for joining us today! If you want to learn more about Branded Group, then visit us at www.branded-group.com. From our website you can follow us on social media. Also, always feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn. Until next time, Be Better.