“I am still looking for the modern equivalent of those Quakers who ran successful businesses, made money because they offered honest products and treated their people decently . . . This business creed, sadly, seems long forgotten.” - Anita Roddick
Carrie says: Li Edelkoort is the founder of a creative think tank. She observes and listens to her intuition when working with her global clients, from fashion designers, automobile companies to banks. Her next book is called The Wellness Bible, can’t wait!
Danielle says: I worked for The Body Shop for years, and the founder, Anita Roddick was a fiery, enlightened force who defined the triple bottom on a global scale. I think her social responsibility and innovation in business remains unmatched.
“People either have more time than money or more money than time”.
In business, if you have more time than money you can; hunt for a deal on a printer, research the best option for a line of credit or market your own product. And if you have more money than time you can; hire someone to purchase, research and market for you.
But what if you’re stuck in the middle with no time and no money? Perhaps you’re a start up company working around the clock with minimum cash flow.
The intention of a business is very intriguing to me. What is their purpose? What do they believe? How do they make a difference? My purchases are directly related to those intentions. For instance, my husband bought me a gift last week—a frying pan! You might think, “big deal” but it was thoughtful; very much needed and beautifully designed. While drying my new pan I discovered their cleverly placed motto underneath, Great Inventions Support Great Intentions—a pan after my own heart.
Within minutes I was on the GreenPan web site. I dove in and read their mission: “To help support the global challenges of living in our modern society. We are bringing ‘constainability’ [convenient + sustainable] to the cookware you use in your home”. Now I’m in deep, captivated by their intention, design and quality and inspired to share the story of my new treasure with friends, co-workers and now you. Mission Accomplished GreenPan!
Today’s question comes from our special guest, Kelly King Anderson, aka the Start Up Princess. Overnight success is by and large mythical. Big dreams and beautiful visions usually come together one step, and one fulfilled commitment at a time.
Carrie says: I am doing it. We are adding video blogs to our site, so exciting! I carry around my new video camera, hunting for inspired moments. We just created our first product, thanks Keiko. And we have a savy smart intern optimizing our site!! Growing, Growing!!
Danielle says: Next on the Divine Ambition To-Do and To-Wish List: more of y’all! Our success is based on our message spreading, on links, clicks, comments, and mutual love - so send your friends over and let us hear your wisdom. And if any one is having lunch with Oprah, invite me. I’ll pick up the tab.
Kelly says: I’m in action-mode…this is the season I’ve planned for all year. Here’s my priority list for the next 30 days. (By the way, if you can “grant a wish” here, I’d love to return the favor!)
Implement word of mouth and social media campaign to promote our Startup Princess events.
Build and strengthen relationships with business partners and sponsors who want to reach women business owners.
Hire online-savvy college intern to manage and maintain our website and fit my bootstrapping budget to allow me to focus on product development.
Learn how to create successful email campaigns.
No matter how busy I am, make time everyday to pretend with my kids.
If you’ve followed the C&D blog for a while you’ll know that I happily wear the mantle of “office geek“. I’ve always been fascinated by technology, since before the days back through the mists of time when I played clunky games (in colour, no less!) on my Amstrad CPC6128.
I’ve never really been concerned with the mechanics of how technology works; for me it’s much more to do with how the application of technology makes my life easier and more interesting. And in turn it’s about my ongoing frustration with how impenetrable technology can be for the average person who simply wants to get on with the job at hand. For reasons that aren’t clear to me I’ve never had trouble interpreting geek-speak, but I know that puts me in the minority, and in turn that for most people there’s nothing more frustrating than technology that simply isn’t clearly explained.
