Introduction
Jody Steinhauer is the President and Chief Bargain Officer of the Bargains Group, which is the social enterprise she started over 30 years ago. As the recipient of many awards, including Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Ms. Steinhauer has been recognized as one of the most incredible social entrepreneurs who has significantly altered the business landscape (Steinhauer, 2012). Her company, Bargains Group, is a discount wholesaler of many products into 4 main divisions: Retail, Recurring Revenue, Promotional Products and her newest division, called Kits for Cause. Jody Steinhauer prides herself on running her business by the mantra: “Giving Back Makes Good Business Sense,” which can be shown …show more content…
She worked with high priced wholesale companies, but found no interest in this so she turned elsewhere. As someone who prides themselves on shopping cheaply, Ms. Steinhauer decided to turn this passion into a career. She worked for a man who ran discount stores, and found that it was something she both enjoyed and was very good at. When speaking about the position in the interview, she stated: “It felt right. I was running someone else’s company buying and selling deals, and I loved doing it” (J. Steinhauer, Telephone Interview, 2018, March 11th). Anytime she ran a department for someone else’s business, she ran it as if it was her own. This work ethic gained her a large network of people in the retail industry who respected her. When the company she was working for had to file for bankruptcy, Ms. Steinhauer decided to take her passion for deals and create her own business for discount stores. The incredible thing about her venture into starting her own business, is that she was completely self-financed by the vendors in her network due to the reputation of her being trustworthy and …show more content…
Her third division, the promotional products division, started when an individual from the Covenant House in Toronto approached her and asked to buy inexpensive socks. Ms. Steinhauer and her employees realized that they could make a difference by providing inexpensive clothes, toys, sheets and hygiene products to shelters and community centers which she has implemented. The expansion of this into promotional products division happened when members of several shelters came to her asking for branded merchandise for events like races or fundraisers. Large companies like Starbucks and Gap came to Ms. Steinhauer for their promotional products because they respect her reputation and what she stands for, and that is what makes her company stand out. The last and newest division of Bargains Group is Kits for Cause. This branch will revolutionize the business market in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility. It allows the employees of large companies to come together and use their volunteer time effectively to build kits for causes like poverty or education that they are passionate about. Her first Chief Kits Officer started work on March 12th will aid with the development of this new incredible
Jody Steinhauer is the President and Chief Bargain Officer of the Bargains Group, which is the social enterprise she started over 30 years ago. As the recipient of many awards, including Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Ms. Steinhauer has been recognized as one of the most incredible social entrepreneurs who has significantly altered the business landscape (Steinhauer, 2012). Her company, Bargains Group, is a discount wholesaler of many products into 4 main divisions: Retail, Recurring Revenue, Promotional Products and her newest division, called Kits for Cause. Jody Steinhauer prides herself on running her business by the mantra: “Giving Back Makes Good Business Sense,” which can be shown …show more content…
She worked with high priced wholesale companies, but found no interest in this so she turned elsewhere. As someone who prides themselves on shopping cheaply, Ms. Steinhauer decided to turn this passion into a career. She worked for a man who ran discount stores, and found that it was something she both enjoyed and was very good at. When speaking about the position in the interview, she stated: “It felt right. I was running someone else’s company buying and selling deals, and I loved doing it” (J. Steinhauer, Telephone Interview, 2018, March 11th). Anytime she ran a department for someone else’s business, she ran it as if it was her own. This work ethic gained her a large network of people in the retail industry who respected her. When the company she was working for had to file for bankruptcy, Ms. Steinhauer decided to take her passion for deals and create her own business for discount stores. The incredible thing about her venture into starting her own business, is that she was completely self-financed by the vendors in her network due to the reputation of her being trustworthy and …show more content…
Her third division, the promotional products division, started when an individual from the Covenant House in Toronto approached her and asked to buy inexpensive socks. Ms. Steinhauer and her employees realized that they could make a difference by providing inexpensive clothes, toys, sheets and hygiene products to shelters and community centers which she has implemented. The expansion of this into promotional products division happened when members of several shelters came to her asking for branded merchandise for events like races or fundraisers. Large companies like Starbucks and Gap came to Ms. Steinhauer for their promotional products because they respect her reputation and what she stands for, and that is what makes her company stand out. The last and newest division of Bargains Group is Kits for Cause. This branch will revolutionize the business market in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility. It allows the employees of large companies to come together and use their volunteer time effectively to build kits for causes like poverty or education that they are passionate about. Her first Chief Kits Officer started work on March 12th will aid with the development of this new incredible