Why I Love My Job

Posted by Brian Thivierge on

Waking up to an alarm used to be hard. I really needed that coffee and was looking for motivation. Yet waking up is easier and coffee is shared with friendly co-workers now and well, I found that motivation in a brick & mortar, repurposed building in the Jack London Square neighborhood of Oakland, CA and within a purpose driven company. I manage this office with pride and enjoy my duties as a community officer.

I love the impact my job has on the world. Just by coming into work and committing to my job and my company’s mission, I make a difference in the world. I may have saved a charitable organization from having to close it’s doors. That organization may be housing, inspiring or keeping safe the world’s next Gandhi, Mother Theresa or Steve Jobs. I know that we might save a small business enough in fees that they can hire another full-time employee. That is HUGE to anyone in the unemployment line!

I work with great people doing great things. I am connecting with new non-profits and causes that inspire me and meeting community partners that have enough passion to save entire little leagues and school music programs! It’s just getting better and I’m so happy to be a part of this movement. I am proud to say I work for Ethix Merchant Services, a socially responsible company.

 

Brooke Thivierge

CCO- Chief Community Officer & Office Manager

Ethix Merchant Services

 

The Not So General Election

Posted by Brian Thivierge on

 

Vote with your business

Just a few short days until our next general election.  Everybody, well almost everybody, gets a vote.  Not everybody feels like they have a say.  Democracy gives us a chance to choose every 4 years but each and every day we are making choices that probably have a greater impact on our economy, our culture and our collective health than the ballot that we cast.  If I think about my day, I can choose to get up at 6am instead of 7:30am and have time for a swim or a trip to the gym before work.  Then I can pick between the kale and eggs in my fridge or the really amazing (and I mean really amazing) chocolate croissants that are just a quick stop on my way into the office.  Hmmmmm??????  Bike or drive, lunch box or restaurant… it goes on and on and, when I think about it, these are all economic decisions.  What products will I buy and what industries will I support?  Am I funding the problems or driving resources into areas where people are looking for solutions.  The thing is that we live in a economy that is shaped by a cultural and political system rather than a culture that is shaped by an economy.  I think that means that our real voting power lies in how we spend our time and our money.  How we allocate our resources.  The great American thing about that is it brings us back to the fact that we really do live in a democracy even while our politicians butt heads and behave like arses in Washington.  Vote with your business, vote with your wallet, vote with your feet and your facebook friends and your page fans and then tweet tweet tweet away and vote some more.

And while you are at it.  Vote for Ethix.  We “”sell” the difference we want to see in the word”:)

Sales Representatives With Disabilities Thrive At Ethix

Posted by Brian Thivierge on

Do you know someone with a disability that requires them to work from home? Ethix is hiring independent sales representatives………This position can be done from home with just a phone, computer w/internet, and passion to find leads that turn into sales. All training & support is online with phone support if needed. We think this would be a perfect opportunity for someone who is visually impaired, in a wheel chair, injured, transitioning from the military, ect. Think of the possibilities and call us or share with the people you know.

Why is Ethix a For-Profit Company?

Posted by Brian Thivierge on

This week we had the opportunity to talk about Ethix with a group of students from The San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking.  They were looking for innovative companies to use as the subject of 30 second ads that they are creating as part of their course work.  We are eagerly awaiting news on whether we got selected for the project but in the meantime they asked us some great questions that got me thinking about some of the principles that were foundational to Ethix and that inspired us to launch the company.  One of the questions was “Why is Ethix a for-profit company?”

Answer is Yes!

Ethix is a social enterprise.  Enterprise as in a productive endeavor in the private sector and social as in thinking beyond our bottom line in the way we do business.  I have a huge amount of respect for all the work that is done and the impact that is created in the non-profit sector but I had a different vision for the company I wanted to help build.  There are a lot of reasons for this but these are the highlights.

Philanthropy isn’t enough!  On a very basic level, the idea that we should support the health, well being and education of the majority of our citizens through government spending or donations is running out of rope.  If the fact that this model is broken is not enough to convince you, think about it like this.  Should our social, educational and community needs be reliant on “left over” money that drops out of the private economy in the form of charitable donations.  There is something wrong with that.   Companies all over the world are learning that they have a vested interesest in the health and education of their customers and employees.  It is part of their bottom line.  Doesn’t it make more sense to move towards a more integrated economy that promotes the creation of private wealth while contributing to the broader social economy on which it depends to thrive?

We have a point to make… Seriously!  The financial service industry is chock-a-block with revenue models that baffle consumers and charge huge sums in fees and murky charges with very little value or accountability.  Merchant services is one of the worst offenders here.  We want to prove that it is not simply possible, but profitable to repurpose these models and make them transparent, ethical and socially responsible.  Possible to the tune of 25% of our total revenues at Ethix and profitable to the tune of… Well.  We will find out and keep you in the loop but things are going great.

Business is Social.   We think that the distinction between business and social needs is false.  Businesses do better in thriving local communities.  We are in the business of reconnecting businesses with social needs in their local areas in a way that does not cost them a dime and actually saves them money.

Making Money… is great.  We think so and our sales people think so and the non-profits and community groups that benefit from our Ethix Program agree.