You can’t do everything for everyone, but you can do something for someone.
Nick Pearce is the Co-Founder and former CEO of HoMie, one of Australia’s leading social enterprises. HoMie is a highly innovative streetwear clothing brand that uses 100% of its profits to provide employment pathways to young people affected by homelessness.
In 2015 at the age of 21, Nick led HoMie from an initial pop-up concept that was meant to only last a month, to a now nationally recognised, multi-award-winning social enterprise that has endured for over a decade, delivering a real, lasting impact on the lives of young people in Australia.
Nick is also an extremely passionate advocate for mental health/illness after his own experience of being diagnosed with OCD at the age of 18, where he became the face & voice of headspace’s nationally-televised “The Big Stigma" campaign in 2016, a National Awareness Campaign aimed at informing Australians that the more we talk openly about mental health issues, the easier it becomes for young people to seek help for them.
Nick was awarded the Victorian Young Achievers Award for Leadership (2017), the National Retail Association's Young Retailer of the Year (2018), and GQ Magazines’ Social Force Award (2019).
Talking Points
The HoMie Founder story
- Social enterprise/entrepreneurshipThe HoMie Founder story
- Starting/scaling
- Making caring cool
Doing something for someone
- Our own individual ability/capacity to drive changeDoing something for someone
- The business of change (adding purpose & impact)
- Not what we do, but how we do it
Embracing Imperfection
Mental Health talk
Embracing Imperfection
Doing Business with Purpose
Key Takeaways:Doing Business with Purpose
- Starting/scaling a social enterprise
- Balancing passion & logic
- Identifying & implementing logical value-adds
Empathetic Employment
Key Takeaways:Empathetic Employment
- Taking a strengths-based approach
- Operating with unconditional positive regard
- Meeting underperformance with curiosity
Leading with Authenticity
Embracing imperfection
Leading with Authenticity
Video
Nick Pearce | Social Justice Enterprise 'Homie' Helping the Homeless
HoMie started out of curiosity in 2015, between 3 friends eager to break down the stigma associated with homelessness and those experiencing it rough on the streets. Starting as just a Facebook page - Homelessness of Melbourne aimed to draw awareness to the faces and stories of everyday people affected by homelessness and allow people to share their own narrative in a dignified way, ultimately destigmatising and humanising the issue. The following year, this idea grew into HoMie - Homelessness Of Melbourne Incorporated Enterprise and a retail pop-up at Melbourne Central was born, with a singular monogram tee and a few other brands hanging on racks. After a short while at the pop-up, HoMie moved into the now flagship store at 296 Brunswick St, Fitzroy. The flagship store now acts as a base for our two social impact programs - our VIP Shopping Days and a training location for our HoMie Pathway Alliance Program, as well as where we showcase our latest collections across all seasons. From one monogram tee to multiple collections and two solid social impact programs - it's fair to say the HoMie team is stoked to see how the brand has evolved over the years in making and creating impact in our community. Our programs and overall brand has developed over 4 years to reflect our learnings along the way, of which there have been many, to help us grow and become the social enterprise we are today. We are an organisation that supports young people affected by homelessness or hardship to equip them with skills, confidence and experiences to be more work-ready and better prepared for their future. We are gender neutral, we are socially conscious and we are a community. We value inclusivity, connection, respect, and transparency - just to name a few. We wear these values on our sleeves.Audio
Nick present lights up audiences around the need to tackle youth homelessness and the possibilities of a career focused on making a difference in the world. Nick's everyday work and the re ... keep reading Think Impact
