“Consultant” + “Entrepreneur”
August 16, 2023
Listen to my voiceover here.
Nick Gonios’ post on Medium really stuck with me me because it spoke directly to something I’ve been wrestling with. Actually, it was the title that stuck with me, “Too Many Sustainability and Circularity Consultants! Where Are The Entrepreneurs And Changemakers?”
I both agree with this question, and it feels tricky personally because I am currently consulting, in my mind, as a changemaker.
Here’s some historical context:
I had the great fortune to be at the right place at the right time with the right passion and the right skills to manage the EILEEN FISHER Renew program. There was only one other job like it at the time (that I’m aware of) and that was for Patagonia. Nellie Cohen was doing that job, and I remember when I met her feeling floored that I could have a real conversation about my job as Nellie had so many similar experiences and learnings to share.
Working at EILEEN FISHER Renew was also a gift because the company was/is generally open to sharing; they invite people in and share what they know, as exemplified by the founder all the time. Eileen, in my experience, was always willing to share and help. It’s a wonderful quality that has rubbed off on the whole company, and it was a blessing to spend so many years with that mind set. During my time there I led dozens of tours of the Renew facility and was frequently chatting with brands who were trying to figure out how to create their own reuse programs.
It was a big change to then to go work at Recurate (a resale software provider) in a highly competitive space. There are many resale software providers who are all trying to win over brands to work with them - Trove, Archive, Treet, Recurate, Arrive, TheAgainCo, ReUpp, etc. The business models vary, but ultimately a brand will probably choose to work with one of them as their resale software vendor (unless the brand decides to build that software in-house, which I believe we will see more of as resale becomes more and more common and expected). Anyways, what I mean by ‘a big change’ is that I was suddenly working for a company who couldn’t share everything they knew with whoever wanted to know. I couldn’t rely on my old instincts to just pick up the phone and call a competitor and ask how their software differed from Recurate’s. I learned that I have trouble working in highly-competitive spaces; I feel like my hands are tied behind my back because…..
I love to connect with people. I love to connect people who should know each other. I love to recommend vendors to brands when I know they are the right fit. I love connecting vendors who have complementary offerings. I love learning and being helpful, leveraging and building my network all the time. I love all of this because reusing what we have is my passion, and helping others do the same brings me joy.
So- how did I end up here with Molte Volte, my reuse consulting company?
After things didn’t work out at Recurate (no bad blood- good vibes only) I had to make a choice. Should I try to go back inside a company to do something similar to what I did at EILEEN FISHER Renew? At first, I thought this was the answer for me. I started talking with my network and it became very clear to me that I had a super niche expertise that few others do. I decided to take a leap and try something completely new: my own business. I could leverage my expertise and work with brands, vendors and operators to encourage and pull the fashion industry into the circular economy. I could help demystify the operations of reuse, resale, and repair programs and improve the confidence of companies trying to move in these directions.
I launched Molte Volte in May 2023, and it has taken me in many directions.
I am advising brands and businesses who want to create a circular economy program (resale, reuse, rental, repair, recycling). This work is harder to control as it is shared work on each company’s timeline, and these projects seem to be on the ‘important, but not top priority’ list for many companies. My services, mainly helping companies establish reuse programs and strategies, are at the front of a wave that I’ve been riding for most of my career, and while I prefer to be at the edge of the wave, creating as I go, there is also much less certainty about what’s next or how it will all pan out. (I know I prefer to be at the start of something because if there’s a prescribed process in place that just needs executing I rapidly lose interest.)
Schedule a consultation with me to see if this is the right time for your brand to start a circular program.
I started this newsletter which continues to bring me joy every week (thanks for your support!).
I just started The Untangling Circularity Podcast with Laura Novich- also highly meaningful as it further shares the knowledge and curiosities I sit with every day.
I am working with local schools and member networks to provide circular economy education.
I am offering online circular economy courses.
I am working on a clothing repair project- teaser below.
So, coming back to ‘consulting’ and the title of that post. I understand why some people (myself included) don’t love some of the connotations of the consulting profession- totally get that. I am open to being put in that bucket (or ‘advising’ if you prefer) so that I can share the knowledge that I’ve amassed over the last many years with companies who need advice and confidence to move towards the circular economy. Ultimately I will establish a mix of consulting and self-driven projects to balance my need to DO without waiting for others to sign on the dotted line.
My career is certainly not as linear as I imagined it would be - but I’m glad for the surprises.
Ciao!
Cynthia
