Imagine working out of a coffee shop to start an online movement for social good that gets shared by the World Bank, William Easterly, Kiva, Grameen America, Oxfam, Finca, BRAC, and Opportunity International. According to Dr. Shawn Humphrey (AKA The Blue Collar Professor), you can do it by following his four-step-plan. And for $50 or less. Dr. Shawn Humphrey is the founder of La Ceiba Microfinance Institute, The Two Dollar Challenge, The Month of Microfinance, and The Sidekick Manifesto. In this episode, Shawn deconstructs how he starts online movements for social good and makes them go viral. He also talks about his favorite books, how he responds to criticism, how to connect with influencers (like Seth Godin, William Easterly, and Jacqueline Novogratz), narrative humility, his “unusual” morning routine, his inner chatter, personal finance for social entrepreneurs, and tribal teaching. Shawn Humphrey is a Board member for Students Helping Honduras and is an economics professor at the University of Mary Washington. Check out his blog at shawnhumphrey.com and his top posts: Pumping People Up About Poverty, Packaging Poverty, Making the Poor Pay.   Show Links for Shawn Humphrey To Hell With Good Intentions Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk The War of Art by Steven Pressfield The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki  (Author), Peg Fitzpatrick Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life by Parker J. Palmer Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic: How Microlending Lost Its Way and Betrayed the Poor by Hugh Sinclair The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between the Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz   Show Notes for Shawn Humphrey 60 groups participated in the $2 Challenge around the world in 2016 The Month of Microfinance struck up a partnership with groups like Kiva, FINCA, BRAC, Opportunity International, Grameen America The Sidekick Manifesto went viral and got posted by World Bank, Oxfam, and William Easterly These movements had cost Shawn about $50 each (domain hosting) Shawn uses Wordpress for his campaign websites Running a traditional nonprofit organization is much harder than running an online movement You need to “start too soon” Shawn Humphrey emphasizes the process of: learn, make changes, iterate It takes Shawn Humphrey about half a day to start an online movement The four components of an online movement: 1.) platform, 2.) social media infrastructure, 3.) power network, 4.) content The content in the online movement is the most important. What does it put on the table? An experience? Useful information? The $2 Challenge has three levels: Beginner (3 days), Intermediate (5 days), Difficult (5 days plus randomized daily income) For the “Difficult” level, there are also “shocks” like unexpected expenses The $2 Challenge pulls participants out of their comfort zone The $2 Challenge creates empathy in participants The Sidekick Curriculum accompanies the $2 Challenge, which includes daily reading material and short films. At the end of each evening, there is a group meeting and reading Participants read Ivan Illich’s To Hell With Good Intentions During the first year of the $2 Challenge, about 10 students participated and called their tent a “shantytown” which he is now embarrassed about. He later decided on the term, “makeshift shelter.” “The first year, there were doubts everywhere.” Shawn experienced poverty during his childhood in Ohio Shawn describes his impression of me when I was a college student Shawn dropped his research project to work on developmen