Conscious Capitalism: The Power of Community and Connection with Shannon Wilburn

**SPEAKER_1** (0:04)
The Bliss Business Podcast, the show about empathy, connection, and consciousness in business. Today's episode is brought to you by Zero Company, your paid search, social media, and programmatic ad experts.

**Stephen Sakach** (0:17)
Yes, so we're talking tornadoes and trees, I guess.
My son had 150 trees down in his city after the last storm that came through. Shannon, you said you had, I don't know, how many? 850-year-old oak trees down down in your property?

**Shannon Wilburn** (0:34)
Yeah. Just two last year, but we've had an EF1 tornado come through our 15 acres.

**Stephen Sakach** (0:42)
Thanks. Well, yeah, just two in a year, but it took 150 years to get there, so it's not easy to replace those.

**Shannon Wilburn** (0:48)
Right. Or clean it up.

**Stephen Sakach** (0:50)
Yeah, or clean it up. Welcome back to The Bliss Business Podcast, everyone. I'm Stephen Sakach, joined by my co-host, Mike Liwski. Today's conversation explores how conscious capitalism is not just a business model, but a movement really fueled by trust, by connection, by community. At the center of this approach is our guests who spent decades building purpose-led ventures including scaling a national franchise from a living room startup to over 150 locations, and now coaching executives to lead with clarity and authenticity. Mike, introduce our guest today. Give a little more details on the program.

**Mike Liwski** (1:29)
I am absolutely delighted to introduce Shannon and Stephen.
Shannon, as many may know already, she's the co-founder of Shine Executive Coaching. She's also the co-founder of Just Between Friends. It's one of the largest children's and maternity consignment franchise systems. Shannon, when I told my wife about it, she goes, that is absolutely amazing. That is such an amazing concept.

**Shannon Wilburn** (1:56)
Well, I'm glad she approves.

**Mike Liwski** (1:58)
Yes. You might also know, as far as Shannon's journey is a master class in building community, both inside companies and in the markets that she serves. Today, through Shine Executive Coaching, she works with founders, CEOs and leadership teams to align values, amplify the impact of the organization and lead with intention. Shannon, we are so grateful to have you on our show today. Welcome to The Bliss Business Podcast.

**Shannon Wilburn** (2:29)
Thank you so much for having me. I think that I have a fence with the word decades.
But it really has been decades. So you're right. Or maybe it's 28 So two decades. So we're close.

**Stephen Sakach** (2:47)
Two canceled decades, I guess.

**Mike Liwski** (2:49)
It does.
So Shannon, maybe just kick things off with actually a fairly big question. We talk a lot about conscious capitalism here on our show. And so what does conscious capitalism mean to you? And why is community such a vital part of that?

**Shannon Wilburn** (3:08)
Yeah, I think before I met you guys and agreed to do this podcast, I had never heard the words conscious capitalism. And so I think you guys are, this is an important topic as I've looked into it. And to me, what it means is that you find a way to lead with purpose, and you're not just worried about the profitability, right? And that has to be key. But we really need to be aligned with purpose and profit. So it's more about serving people instead of just the bottom line, and really being intentional about having an idea of how we can help our communities and maybe the awareness around long-term impact. So and I can't even, Just Between Friends was built.
My degree was in elementary education, so I did not have a degree in business. So there was no podcast about conscious capitalism. And so I just honestly, community is a huge, it's an essential element in our Just Between Friends model. But it can elevate you as a business owner, if you put some time and effort into community. And if you can have an opportunity to be a leader and have an impact on other people, there's a ripple effect that goes far beyond whatever transaction may or may not be happening.

**Mike Liwski** (4:51)
Yeah, without a doubt. In fact, your point reminds me a lot of the Whole Foods story. For many who might know about their beginning, they had put together this co-op of great food. And then very early on, they got hit. I think it was either with a flood or a tornado, and everything was just completely lost. And it was the community that said, no, we need this back.
Such a vital piece that the employees, the community, everyone, they just felt the importance of it. And it served a really vital purpose. And all of those stakeholders, very much so. And we were enveloped by it.