Shownotes
Join me as I interview Jennifer and follow her deep journey into redemptive entrepreneurship. Jennifer shares an honest reflection on humble beginnings, a corporate position with Walmart, training leaders and attempting an apparel start up in Ethiopia. You will gain real world insight into the challenges and realities of starting a redemptive business in a very difficult environment. Cultural whiplash, team approaches, theology of work issues and solid advice for mission minded professionals are featured in this authentic discussion.
Jennifer Mathews began her professional career at Walmart HQ in 2008 working in apparel and marketing for 3 years. She worked for a non-profit in Addis, Ababa Ethiopia for 18 months doing leadership development then attempted to start a leather handbag business to employ marginalized peoples in Ethiopia. She lived in Germany for 2.5 years doing non-profit work among refugees and currently resides in Northwest Arkansas. Jennifer now works as a Housing Specialist at Canopy, a refugee resettlement organization.
Highlights include:
- Don’t despise the days of small beginnings
- How working a Corporate position with Walmart HQ prepared Jennifer for missions
- An unlikely startup in Ethiopia
- What happens when our work does not work out
- How to keep your God story moving forward in your vocation
- A journey of recovering the dignity and mission of work
- Advice for young professionals who want to impact the broken places in the world
- As we work and as we build… we demonstrate a different Kingdom
- We are saved from something and also saved UNTO something
- Community as KEY to success
- What would Jennifer tell her ‘young self’ if she could before she went into the work world
- Advice for single women who are called to redemptive entrepreneurship
- Theological challenges impacting investors, funding and modes of operation
- What will HELP you and what will HURT you
- Can you trust your Gut instinct as a believer?