Meenakshee Kuntz, General Manager at The Good Shop, DARES TO BE who she really is. An inspiring, ambitious and empowered woman who goes to great lengths to lead her team to new heights. Her passion for creative innovation and sustaining a circular economy echoes in every action of the social enterprise: The Good Shop. The company thinks of global impact and tailors their process design to have an efficient model as a second-hand shop. In my interview with Meenakshee, we dived into the thinking process, variables, success and challenges faced by the company. I invite you to tune in to the podcast episode on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast.
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What is The Good Shop?
The Good Shop is a social enterprise engaged in a circular economy. They rely on donations from people, from you the member of the community. Donations in terms of clothing, book, toys, shoes, household appliances, furniture and so forth. Their intentions and actions are rooted in faith and authenticity.
As a citizen of our Island, we can do our small part by donating things that are no longer serving us but could be of great help to others. Donating at The Good Shop can be your option.
Their Engagement
The Good Shop is engaged in a triple bottom line:
Education
Employment
Environment
Their aim is to cultivate a poverty-free generation for its community by providing education to those in need. The enterprise also caters for its environment by extending the life of goods that would have been left in landfills and cause pollution. In addition, The Good Shop goes above and beyond to give a chance to souls who have the desire to be employed.
Value over Culture
The Good Shop believes in value over culture.
Instead of following a micro-management or paternalistic management style - The Good Shop prioritise value. The company handles empowered people. People that are skilled and talented, with years of experience in the field. They've joined because they believe in the company's values.
As Meenakshee Kuntz says: "These empowered employees are playing their half-time." They've repurposed their professional expertise for something which is bigger than their lives.
What makes the Good Shop even more special?
The Good Shop welcomes people who wouldn't normally find a job because of:
Intellectual impairment
Physical impairment
Low education due to poverty or early pregnancy
Addiction
Homelessness
Prison
These employees are on their own resilience and kickback journey. Meenakshee highlighted how the company doesn't believe in inclusion but instead values empowerment and integration.
Meenakshee Kuntz: "It requires a lot of humility from a business owner to recognize formulas you thought were not working and re-engineer that with your reality. So, that’s one of our challenges."
The Good Shop has opted for a 360 review when it comes to the professional, personal or performance review. Meenakshee shared how their employees don't necessarily define and identify with the values they've started their journey with. As they meet with other elements in their experience, their values are redefined in their life.
Meenakshee Kuntz: "We privilege a lot of experience learning in what we do. We try not to interfere with their work. So, what we came up with are our morning check-ins."
Together united!
At The Good Shop, the employees are from different social and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, what brings them together obviously cannot be culture but instead value.
Meenakshee Kuntz: "In most companies culture looks like the leader. Culture reflects the leader's background and experience."
Faith-based Company
One of the things that compelled me during my visit to The Good Shop was their morning prayer. As I waited at the door, the employees gathered together while holding hands to pray. It felt so pure and beautiful. As a faith-based company, its values reflect; respect, humility, stewardship, resilience, innovation and integrity.
These values represent who they are and what they do. They act with love which transpires in every project that they do. Even the shops feel like home. If you get a chance to visit, you’ll understand why.
Locations
The Good Shop has various shops around the Island, located in Calebasse, Rivière Noire and Rose-Hill.
To discover more about The Good Shop visit their website.
I also invite you to check out Meenakshee Kuntz's LinkedIn. She has a chronicle called DARE TO where she handles inspiring topics with humility.