Our Vision
At Bijou Collective, we envision a world where all of humanity's potential for creativity, ingenuity, and service are fully realized – where everyone's talents are brought forth and shared with the world in a culture and an economic system that allows each person to exchange value fairly and abundantly.
We know a system is possible in which humans are able to work collaboratively for the common good as well as for our personal interests, a system that asks all of us to contribute in a balanced and open-hearted manner.
In this vision, we have evolved past a paradigm in which there is a small 'leisure class' while a majority of people struggle and strive, and where the earth is depleted to the point that her intricate interlocking systems are unraveling and collapsing.
We know technology can be fused with ancient wisdom to build an economy that serves the world, rather than the current standard in which the world is serving the economy. It is time to build systems of care that are human-centric, ones which allow everyone sufficient time to turn off the productivity mindset and make space for the play, rest and joy which ultimately fuels our imaginations and our innovation. It is well past time to build an economy that is earth-wise, one which appropriately stewards the planet and her resources, which follows her rhythms and honors her boundaries.
Our Mission
We endeavor to bring our vision into reality in three ways –
Firstly, we are meticulously striving to align our internal business model and practices to be in congruence with our progressive values. This includes unplugging our mindset from high pressure hustle culture, and compensating our team in a manner that is commensurate with their investments of time, talent and commitment to the company.
Although we operate inside an economic paradigm of capitalism which is unescapable for the time being, we are passionate about using the vehicle of our business to template alternatives to the extractive economy, ones that are not based on charging the highest possible prices while paying the lowest possible wages for the most amount of productivity.
Secondly, we have committed to working exclusively with clients whose businesses and organizational models support the greater good, because we know that when we invest our talents into helping visionaries succeed and thrive, we are not only sowing our own seeds of change but cultivating a wider ecosystem of positive impact.
Thirdly, we take a holistic approach to the services we offer and the conversations we have with our clients. Although it may be conventional wisdom to assume that your business model and your marketing are two separate concerns, and that your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing are altogether removed from a discussion about your business, we disagree – because we see the humans behind every touchpoint, and we are here to guide our clients to a new standard for service and success.
Our accomplishments cannot be measured by a P&L Statement – they are measured by the amount of love and talent our team invests into our clients while relaxing into the experience of their own material needs being comfortably met. Our success is measured by the number of clients who unlock clarity, reignite their passion, and increase their positive impact after working with us.
A Letter From Our Founder
My original inspiration for Bijou Collective came to me in late 2011, while I was living 'in retreat' at a remote Sufi zawwiya in the hills of Northern California.
The last many months had been a wild ride.
I'd started off the previous year by ignoring my intuition as it nudged me towards resigning from Ogilvy & Mather, the global marketing and PR agency where I'd spent several years supporting Fortune 500 companies with digital communications strategies.
But then, like a baby bird, I received a cosmic shove from the nest.
I was assigned to be the account manager for the digital portion of a certain oil giant's PR disaster, after one of their rigs had exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The client wanted to use an aggressive content creation and SEO strategy to push down any content created by citizen journalism – needless to say, this was an ethical bridge too far for me (several, in fact).
Three days later, with no backup plan, I resigned my position from Ogilvy and began my journey as a freelance marketing professional, vowing from that point forward to only ever serve clients whose mission contributed to the greater good. Phew!
Fast forward six months and you'd find me backpacking around Spain, pioneering the 'digital nomad' lifestyle while supporting my clients from a distance.
After much adventure, I be-bopped back to the Bay Area and made my way to the Sufi zawwiya, where by contrast I began to spend my non-working hours in tranquil contemplation...
How have I been living, and who am I called to be?
What are my values, and how do I want to be living my life?
What do I want to take a stand for, and what is the legacy I want to leave behind?
this is when both the mission and the name came to me –
Bijou...
in honor of the holy jewel that lies buried in each of our hearts, and in the hopes of building an agency whose sacred work is to identify that jewel in others, help them polish and refine it, and bring it forward into the world.
Collective...
because I've never wanted to build my own tiny empire. It's always been more joyful and inspiring for me to work in collaboration with a close-knit team.
I knew from the beginning of this journey that whatever Bijou Collective grew into, our primary goal would be to use this business as a means to contribute to the wellbeing of society and the planet.
Although our focus has shifted from working with larger companies and organizations to solopreneurs and service providers, our clients have always fallen into one of five areas – human rights, the environment, arts, education, and wellness – and some of our favorite clients have found ways to integrate more than one of these fields!
When you engage with Bijou Collective, you are not just 'hiring an agency' – you are joining a movement of leaders who are globally minded, locally rooted, and passionate about creating a world in which everyone's highest potential can be realized.
Thank you for joining us on this journey!