Lifestyle

Making a Real Difference: How Your Business Can Create a Greater Impact on Society

Published

3 years ago

July 5, 2022

– Choosing compostable paper bags over plastic packaging in your store.
– Offering fresh leftovers to the less-privileged living close to your eatery.
– Free haircuts every weekend for neighborhood kids whose parents can’t afford salon fees.
– Scaling your brand by cutting down on some less critical divisions in favor of affordability.
– Hiring well-vetted ex-convicts in your establishment.

The list goes on and on.

Beyond a pure profit-driven era and in an ideal world, the social impact of a business is just as critical to its overall success as the economic impact. Your business should be held to the moral responsibility of contributing to positive efforts, on any scale, against social injustice and other challenges faced by its host community. Contrary to the general misconception, social impact isn’t just about philanthropy.

“Social impact is tangibly improving the health and wellbeing of other people in society,” says Durell Coleman, an American entrepreneur, social impact consultant, multi-niched engineer, and Stanford lecturer. “The challenge in the definition is that a lot of things can appear to mimic this impact. However, the parameters for measurements are questions such as – who are the people who have some of the biggest health and wellbeing challenges? Are we making things easier for them? Are we creating things that are improving outcomes for them? As a social impact strategist, I think of who’s not being designed for and who’s not being served. Who’s left out of the systems that we currently have? This is how improvements are effected.”

Coleman is the founder and CEO of DC Design, a leading Black-owned social impact consulting firm and strategy development brand headquartered in San Francisco. With many years of experience working with nonprofits, foundations, and governments, Coleman has developed countless long-lasting community-centered strategies for directly impacting lives where it actually matters. He shares some thoughts on how social impact can be incorporated into everyday businesses on any feasible scale.

Social impact as part of your core business plan

One year. Five years. Twenty years.

It doesn’t exactly matter how long your business has existed. At any point in your growth trajectory, quality change can be envisioned. Cost-effective or non-cost strategies can be developed to scale your business up to an establishment making positive and genuinely helpful impacts on society. You’d have to identify what area of community or society you’d like to touch directly. For example, do you want to include more affordable options in your product list to tend to lower-income families, or would you like to include a free delivery option to nearby neighborhoods?

“Start with the people you want to serve,” Coleman says. “Not simply thinking about what’s needed to create change, but talking to them directly about what their experiences have been like in confronting the problem you hope to solve. If you want to affect homelessness, talk to the homeless. If you want to affect Black wealth inequality, talk to low-income Black people. If your work is about reducing mass incarceration, talk to those who are or have been incarcerated. They understand where the system failed them, where they could have chosen differently, and what your priorities should be.”

A combination of these insights is then applied to come up with solid approaches and viable strategies for creating directly visible impact. The result is the elevation of these social challenges as these ideas are solidified into long-term sustainable solutions.

Inclusivity against all forms of inequality

Escapism and denial about the social injustices thriving in the world, especially in the United States, would only hurt society in the long run.

“Inequality affects people across every demographic, spanning through parameters such as race where Black and brown people are undeniably affected by ongoing social injustice,” says Coleman, who runs Design the Future, a flagship program teaching high school kids to design products and apps for people with disabilities. “Other factors are gender, where women still battle career biases and representation; income levels, where lower income earners are often confined to lower quality schools, healthcare, and services; rap sheets as ex-convicts re-enter society with little hope for survival; and post-employment care, where war veterans are left to fend for themselves with inadequate assistance from the government.”

A business or brand seeking to make a real social impact must embrace the obligations of equality of inclusion in its range of services.

Tech firms can hire just as many males as females, cosmetics brands can include more dark skin tones in their product array to serve people of every color, fashion brands can supply plus-sized clothing at the same prices as other sizes, clinics can offer free therapy to war veterans, real estate agents can offer lower service percentages to the less-privileged, and more businesses can give formerly incarcerated people a chance.

Be kind to your labor force

A business can make all the social impact in the world but it would all be for nothing if the employees or hired labor, the actual driving force of the enterprise, are unhappy and uncared for. Social impact starts from the immediate environment and broadens out toward larger society.

In conclusion, Coleman describes his personal approach to employee wellness.

“Henry Ford had it right. He paid his people enough so that they could hopefully buy the cars that they were producing, and it all worked out,” he says. “I run a for-profit social impact business. I have to be efficient and I have to make enough money to support my people, my employees. I try to bring in the best employees possible. I try to give them health care. I want to make sure that they have everything that they need to thrive in their own lives.”

Lifestyle

The Future of Education Through Patricia Vlad’s Eyes

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Michelle Langton

The traditional systems that once defined learning, rigid curricula, standardized testing, and a narrow focus on academic performance, are increasingly being questioned. And why is that?

Starting in the 1880s, thinkers like John Dewey advocated for a shift in teaching methods, leading to the rise of progressive education. Unlike traditional models that emphasize rote learning and job preparation, progressive education puts students at the center of the learning experience. Changemakers like Patricia Vlad also believe that hands-on, experiential learning is the key to deeper understanding. This approach prioritizes critical thinking, curiosity, and personal passions, encouraging students to become lifelong learners who actively engage with new ideas and problem-solving. Schools and parents that embrace this model focus not just on what students need to know but on how they can continue to grow and adapt throughout their lives.

As the world changes, so do the skills, knowledge, and adaptability students need to succeed. The future of education is about personalization, inclusivity, emotional intelligence, and meaningful learning experiences.

With years of global teaching experience, Patricia has seen firsthand how different education systems approach learning. She believes that the future of education must embrace neuroscience, technology, and self-awareness to create a system that is not just efficient but also empowering for students.

“Education should be about more than just passing tests. It should equip students with the skills to navigate life, understand their strengths, and feel empowered in their learning journey,” Patricia emphasizes.

The Future Belongs to the Emotionally Intelligent

Unlike technical skills that may become obsolete with automation, EI – our ability to understand and manage emotions, build relationships, and navigate challenges, remains uniquely human. It plays a crucial role in self-awareness, resilience, effective communication, helping individuals excel in both personal and professional life.

When it comes to EQ, think of it like this: Kids with strong emotional intelligence are better at handling stress, resolving conflicts, and overcoming challenges. Studies suggest that EQ is a stronger predictor of long-term success than IQ. And let’s be real, no matter how advanced AI gets, it will never replace the depth and impact of human connection.

How LevelUp Cultivates Emotional Intelligence Through Patricia’s Coaching

1. Learning Will Be Personalized and Strength-Based

Instead of forcing students to fit into a system, education will be tailored to each child’s learning style, strengths, and interests. Neuroscience-backed methods – such as learning based on attention spans, emotional regulation, and brain development research – will be used to create adaptive learning environments, allowing students to progress at their own pace.

Through tools like LevelUp, which incorporates the Big Five Personality Model, teachers and parents will have a better understanding of a child’s cognitive profile, enabling them to offer more personalized support.

2. Emotional Intelligence Will Be a Core Part of Learning

The future classroom won’t just cover maths, science, history, or even language – it will also focus on self-awareness, empathy, and social skills. As research shows language doesn’t just communicate thought; it actively shapes it. The intentional use of language can influence how the brain processes emotion, memory, and social connection – making it a powerful tool for developing emotional intelligence.

LevelUp integrates EI into its framework, ensuring students not only understand themselves better but also build confidence, manage stress, and develop strong interpersonal skills.

3. Education Will Be More Interdisciplinary

The future of learning will move away from isolated subjects and toward interdisciplinary education, where concepts from different fields are connected and applied to real-world problems.

For example, students might blend neuroscience with psychology to understand learning processes or combine technology and art to develop creative solutions.

4. Technology Will Support, Not Supplant Human Connection

In the classroom of the future, meaningful engagement between students and teachers will remain at the heart of learning. Peer collaboration, hands-on projects, and real-time feedback from teachers will continue to be irreplaceable elements of education.

Technology will play a supporting role enhancing, rather than dominating, the learning process.

Whether through gamified modules, virtual simulation, or adaptive platforms, tools like LevelUp will be used intentionally to deepen understanding and personalize feedback, always in service of human connection, not as a substitute for it.

5. Schools, Parents, and Students Will Work Together

Education won’t be confined to the classroom. Parents will play a bigger role in guiding their children’s learning, using tools like LevelUp to track progress, support emotional development, and encourage curiosity at home.

By strengthening the parent-child-teacher connection, education will become a team effort, ensuring every student receives the support they need to reach their full potential.

A Future Built on Empowerment

By combining neuroscience, technology, and emotional intelligence, Patricia is helping to reshape education into something that prepares students not just for exams, but for life itself.

A truly effective education system values each student’s creativity and passions—not just their ability to recall information. Instead of just delivering information and expecting rote memorization for test scores, teachers encourage active, hands-on learning through projects, experiments, and peer collaboration. This approach allows students to explore topics that genuinely interest them, making learning more engaging, meaningful, and personal.

The LevelUp platform, developed under Patricia’s leadership, is contributing to a growing shift toward education that is rooted in self-awareness and real-world readiness. Additionally, emotional intelligence is a core part of learning, not an afterthought.

One story that sticks with Patricia is that of a student named Ethan, who had always been labelled “distracted” in class. His teachers described him as bright but inconsistent, often zoning out or fidgeting during lessons. When his LevelUp profile revealed high reactivity and strong openness, a new picture emerged: Ethan wasn’t disengaged—he was overwhelmed by too much information at once and thrived when topics were explored through hands-on, creative activities.

With this insight, his teacher began breaking tasks into smaller steps and introducing art and building projects tied to the curriculum. For the first time, Ethan started raising his hand during class and even stayed back after school to show his work. “We’d been trying to ‘fix’ him when all we needed was to understand him,” his teacher later shared.

It was a small shift, but for Ethan, it changed everything.