The founder of Dirty Dough Cookies, Founder Bennett Maxwell, is an entrepreneur, but above all else, he is a father. Knowing that he wanted to operate his booming cookie business in conjunction with a purpose, a chance listening to a Jonathan Haidt podcast laid out his plan perfectly. The Haidt cast dished on the direct correlation between self-deprecation, self-harm and social media in youth. The supporting statistics and information certainly was eye-opening.
"He said one of the reasons regarding the drastic self-harm increase was in the unrealistic comparison that young people make between influencers and themselves," said Maxwell. "These girls look at the seemingly-perfect women (and girls their same age) on social media and think, 'Why can't I look, feel, think, be like that?' But they have no idea how those influencers got there - photoshop, dangerous diets, a poor non-digital social life, or a combination of those."
Maxwell and Co. already give back in donating proceeds from sales to benefit mental health education and suicide prevention among youth and teenagers, but a newly-formed non-profit at Dirty Dough Cookies is en route and will focus on establishing wellness rooms in schools.
These rooms are meant for all students to be aware and proactive about mental health. When we hear physical health, we think gym and healthy eating. When we hear mental health, we think anxiety and depression. We focus on the negative and being reactive. I want to change this by teaching all kids that mental health should be a proactive approach and worked on weekly, if not daily.
These rooms will have tablets that students can grab to learn about mindfulness(being present), guided meditation, how to deal with emotions rather than bottling them up, breathing exercises to change their physiological state etc. Although it is a safe space, it's not intended to be a safe space but rather a place where students learn tools to deal with life rather than escaping it.
"There is an unfortunate correlation between social media and self-harm, which has only increased since the rise of social platforms," said Maxwell. "People tend to often compare themselves and target their imperfections or flaws because of what is portrayed on social media. Dirty Dough has the potential to be the solution in helping reducing suicides."
The charitable efforts by Maxwell will ultimately pair the Dirty Dough Cookies corporate office with individual franchisees to help erect wellness rooms in schools in the areas where the franchises are already located. Funds will be distributed to provide youth with resources, program structure and maintenance and counselors. The goal with the wellness rooms is to help bring down the staggering suicide numbers and allow for young adults to focus more on living their best lives and escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
"Nobody can be you but you. The name Dirty Dough refers to the inside of the cookie being 'dirty' with more goodies and fillings than any other cookie," Maxwell stated. "A Dirty Dough cookie is messy and imperfect, exactly how it was meant to be. Our cookies embody our life motto: 'It's What's Inside that Counts'."
Maxwell was recently invited to join the Forbes Leadership Council, and for good reason. His brand is bound for exponential growth. He has already seen 65 Dirty Dough Cookies locations purchased, with a goal to open 200 stores by the end of 2022, including five bound for launch by the end of July, alone. The impact of the company's forthcoming non-profit will soon be felt, leaving a positive mark on their communities.
"Businesses should be driven, first and foremost, by a higher purpose," Maxwell said. "I love Dirty Dough because it's perfect for showcasing that life isn't perfect. It's okay to not be okay, life gets Dirty, and it's most definitely okay to have a cookie once in a while!"
About Bennett Maxwell
Bennett Maxwell, Founder of Dirty Dough Cookies, started selling franchises in December 2021 and, in the first 4 months, had franchises over 50 stores. Passionate about building purpose-driven companies, Bennett believes businesses should be driven first and foremost by a higher purpose. He saw the potential of Dirty Dough to show others that life isn't always clean and perfect. Sometimes it is Dirty and imperfect. Find out more about impacting lives with Dirty Dough Cookies.
