The past three months have been flooded with devastating news and statistics on the state of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The war has caused more than 3000 civilian deaths, internally displaced over 7 million people, and forced five million Ukrainians to flee to neighboring countries.
Several signals like flags and public art displays have gone up in support of the Ukrainians, as well as celebrities raising millions of dollars for the cause. In this time of despair, some are taking proactive measures to help with the crisis.
For example, major corporations have cut off their services to Russia. Smaller businesses are also taking a stance on the matter. An example is Carrera Cafe, a popular Los Angeles coffee shop located on the Melrose strip. In support of Ukraine, they put up an art exhibit named the “Fence of Love”, encouraging their patrons to buy padlocks and donating the proceeds to help support the Ukrainian cause. This project is in partnership with UNICEF.
Leveraging growing platforms for a good cause
It is no doubt that building a successful business from the ground up is difficult. However, as the influence of the business starts to grow, owners now have the capability to leverage their social media presence or growing communities to spread awareness on important causes,
Kia Illunian, the owner of Carerra Cafe, has steadily built up his reputation as a successful fine dining restaurant owner and entrepreneur. With his recent endeavor, he has meticulously laid out the foundation for success, everything from perfecting the menu to customer experience. He states, “It’s not just good food and service. It’s the entire process that helps to elevate the customer experience and plants a seed for them to promote our space.” Carerra Cafe is well known for its chic interior and its impressive latte designs featuring everything from logos to the faces of people.
With an impressive 50K following on Instagram and 40 000+ foot traffic, Kia seeks to “use this opportunity to serve the community and bring more awareness to the cause of the Ukrainian People.” Aside from this project, Carerra Cafe has raised $10k for other charitable causes.
The golden social media campaign
The secret behind Carerra’s cafe growing social media following is that: there is none. The standard behind every one of Kia’s endeavors has always been “go above the ordinary.” By creating memorable and unique experiences for customers, marketing does itself. 99% of the marketing content behind Carerra cafe is User Generated Content (USG).
Carerra differentiates itself from other establishments with its printing technology which allows customers to bring in whatever design they like, and use that to create latte designs. Aside from that, Kia’s natural creativity inspires a fresh fleet of designs and artwork for the exterior wall of Carrera cafe. The cafe has partnered with companies like Netflix and even celebrities like Harry Styles.
Kia immigrated to the United States from Iran at a young age and he was encouraged to explore his innate creativity. He grew up learning the ropes of the family business, as well as testing his ideas, sparking his lack of fear for failure. As an entrepreneur, he always focuses on the opportunity rather than the potential for failure. This has allowed him to go out of the box and present opportunities for his customers to freely express themselves through art and food.
The pillars of life and community
From a young age, the concept of philanthropy was instilled in the fabrics of his family’s endeavors. With every business, they’ve always found ways to give back to the community.
A quote that Kia often refers to as a guiding pillar is “Lord, please grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change I cannot accept, and the wisdom to know the difference.” He often applies this mindset of knowing the difference between what he can’t control and the things he can change to help guide his decisions and focus his energy on the things he can change. Giving back to the community and the world he sees as something he can personally change.
Kia believes every successful business has the moral obligation to give back in one form or another. Success is the combination of hard work and good fortune “Those of us that have worked hard and been lucky in life need to show our gratitude for the blessings we have received. It’s a simple formula that will make the world a better place,” Kia says.
As more successful business owners incorporate the values of giving back, a virtuous cycle will be created between the customers, businesses, and the community at large.
