Yosemite Falls

What Yosemite Falls Taught Me About Business

Yes, it was perseverance, passion, and purpose that got me to the top of Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in America.  I recently took a vacation to Yosemite where I hiked 2,700 feet of steep vertical terrain up the Yosemite Falls trail. It was a steep 8 mile and 8 hour round trip hike. The last hour to the Falls was brutally steep. The sun was pounding on my back. My feet were screaming at me and my muscles were beyond tired. To say it was a grind would be an understatement. Did I mention how steep it was? Look, I am not going to tell you that I was holding a VISION of getting to the top. Nor was I using any kind of mind over matter mental strategy. It was just 3 things; perseverance, passion, and purpose. I began thinking how these three words can easily be applied to business:

1. Perseverance

I wanted to give up and turn back.  Instead I took a lot of breaks along the way. In business, sometimes we may need to take a time-out and reassess our game plan. Don’t be afraid to pause and reflect on what you need to do next in order to keep moving forward versus throwing in the towel or worse, taking action with no results. Isn’t that called chasing your tail? Or, throwing stuff at a wall and seeing if anything sticks? Staying the course and focusing on your goal is what perseverance is about.

2. Passion

I was intent on getting to the top, but there is no way I would have made it to the top if I did not have a passion for moving my body within nature. With every step I took I grew weary, but at the same time I became increasingly ALIVE! I was grateful for my legs for propelling me forward. I became aware of my breathing. I felt my life-blood pulsing through my veins. I could see and smell the water fall cascading down the stunning sheets of granite. I was conscious of how nature was dancing all around me. I witnessed the beautiful rhythmic motion of wildlife as I climbed the mountain. Are you passionate about your business?  I believe it’s that passion that will get you out of bed in the morning when times get tough. It’s the passion that is going to motivate you when you feel stuck.

3. Purpose

I  had one purpose in mind. It was not getting to the summit of Yosemite Falls. It was to move my body within nature on a beautiful trail. That day was definitely all about the journey, not the destination. An added bonus was reaching the top, but my main purpose was to connect with nature.  Are you clear on the purpose of your business?  Does your business have some kind of meaning or purpose for you? Yes, we all know that the purpose of business is about making profits or else they cease to exist. Pardon me for stating the obvious, but beyond profits, why are you in business? What is your purpose?  Are you clear about your purpose?

Is this your first time reading Hware’s (HumanityWare) Blog? Hi, I am Brenda Tello Horton. I write most of the blog posts for Hware. I invite you to join me by subscribing. I share small business tips and strategies about once a week right here.

Couture Cottons designed using eco-friendly fabrics

Go Green Down Under

Earth Day is this week and while the “Green” industry has exploded along with some green washing, there is however the Green Festival that ensures reputable green exhibitors and businesses at their annual conferences. I found such a company a few weeks ago while attending the event in San Francisco. Couture Cottons lingerie — beautifully designed undies using eco-friendly fabrics. Their tag line is Go Green Down Under. I had the opportunity to meet Sandra Castro Richards, the owner and founder of Couture Cottons, from San Antonio Texas. The more we chatted, the more I liked her and her approach to building her business.

The External Cost of Cheap

Most clothes sold in America are made in sweat shops by children and women in third world countries. The wages are low, the hours are excessive, and the emotional and physical abuse is rampant. Costs are kept low so that we can buy the clothes at an affordable price. Unfortunately, there is a huge price tag on affordability. It’s called external costs. The external cost of cheap has everything to do with the inefficiencies and pollution of shipping raw materials over seas, exploiting human labor, then shipping the finished product back to the USA where more oil is consumed by trucking the product to the department stores where it will be displayed along with other petroleum-made clothes. That’s not the case with Couture Cottons. Couture Cottons has turned down contracts with major department stores in the USA because they could not make a profit selling their undies at the cheap price the stores were asking. Couture Cottons provides jobs for Americans. Their undies are manufactured in the USA where people are paid a fair wage and treated with dignity and respect. The organic undies cost a bit more, but the tradeoff is knowing that your money (voting with your dollars) went to support a small business that is not waging harm on the environment and humans. In addition, the undies are made with organic cotton. That means there are no chemicals sprayed on the cotton, which is much safer for the planet and the people handling the cotton. Now that is what I call a “values based” business. Couture Cottons is clear about their core values. They know where to draw the line in the sand. When your values are clear, then your business decisions are much easier.

People Planet Profit

Richards is part of a growing number of business owners who are putting the triple bottom line concept into action — People, Planet, Profit.  The triple bottom line is about building a profitable business, but not at the expense and exploitation of the planet or her people. This trend has been steadily growing over the last decade. I am seeing more and more eco-green business conferences and green business coaches emerge. Many are legitimate while some are just jumping on the “Green” bandwagon.  How can you tell the difference?  Here are a few of my favorite resources to help you decipher. Be sure to sign up for their blogs and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. Are you a green business or have a green resource to share? Post it in the comments section below. We’d would love to know about it.

Sustainable Industries – A business source for leaders of the new economy.

Bioneers – An annual conference with a focus on sustainability.

LOHAS – Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability; Market segment news focusing on the environment, sustainable living, and social justice

Triple Pundit – Online news with a focus on green business

Global Exchange – Focus is on building the new global economy

GreenBiz.com – Online news with a focus on green business

Presidio Graduate School – Green MBA programs

Green America – A directory of screened and approved green businesses. Hware is a member.

Earthsite.net – Agency for sustainable brands specializing in social media strategy, and web marketing

Hear the Answers in the Quietness

It seems that the world of Business Coaching is exploding just like Social Media Experts so I’ve put together 6 Key Questions to ask your Business Coach before you hire him/her:

1. How long have you been a coach/consultant full-time? You want to know how long this person has made a living for himself/herself as a business consultant or coach. While the old business paradigm is melting and new innovative ways of doing business online are emerging, the fundamentals of business, i.e., PROFIT are still relevant. Understanding how well someone has made a living for themselves as a coach will tell you volumes about how successful they have been in their profession. What industries have they coached in? What level? Executive/CEO or managerial? Small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-up and non-profits? What size of businesses have they coached? A $30,000 dollar a year company is a lot different than a 3 million dollar a year company.

2. Will you please provide me with your past and current references? I know this seems obvious, but you’d be surprise how many people don’t call on references. Testimonials are good, but you really should talk to someone who has been coached by this person bestowing their expertise. You also want to know how long the person being coached has been in business. In addition, you want to gauge how profitable they are. Now, this information will be a little hard to extract since most companies are private and won’t release that data. What they are more likely to tell you is how much revenue or sales they generated in one year. The problem with that is revenue only tells you one side of the story. An entrepreneur may have generated 2 million dollars in sales last year. However, if their expenses and overhead were 2.1 million, then they lost money. So, you need to do your due diligence and get creative in extracting that information. You may ask, “What’s your industry’s average profit margin and how profitable has your business been in relation to industry standards since you hired your Business Coach?”

3. How well do you understand technology and systems? There is no way getting around having a successful business today without the advice of an expert on key technologies and systems. Technology and systems are essential to business in today’s digital world. So, when hiring a business coach, make sure they know what they are talking about when it comes to advising you on what technologies and systems are best for your type of business. They don’t necessarily need to be the person implementing the systems and technologies, but they should at least be able to point you in the right direction to experts who can. Miss this question and you will certainly go down a deep rabbit hole of frustration and wasted time and money.

4. Will I be working with you or one of your “Trainers?” With the hyper-growth of the coaching business, many consultants are hiring trainers to help them with their clients. There is nothing wrong with that at all. You just need to be clear on who you will be working with. If it is one of their “trainers” then you will want to do your due diligence on that person as well. In addition, some coaching companies offer membership sites and group coaching. You will want to know how available and accessible the coach will be in those programs.

5. Are you in alignment with my values? Here is an example: Let’s say you are a “Green” business and you value the triple bottom line model, also known as the 3 P’s. Planet, People, Profit. So, would you hire a coach who has an over-excessive lavish lifestyle when you are clearly aware that mass consumption is bad for the environment?   Surround yourself with mentors, teachers, trainers, and coaches who are in alignment with your values.

6. Am I clear on the expectations between us? Having unclear and vague expectations is a recipe for the dreaded two D’s: DISASTER and DRAMA! Don’t ever assume anything. If you are not clear on the contractual agreement or offering, then be sure to ask before you buy. Please don’t buy into a coaching program only to find out that you can’t get out as smoothly as you got in.  Any business coach worth their salt will not make it difficult for you to leave the program. It should be an easy-in, easy-out model. You definitely will want to read the fine print. In addition, some coaching companies make an offer where you have access to a lot of coaching material for a nominal fee and 30 or so days later that fee increases substantially. It is a marketing tactic that is used to get you to try before you fully commit. They charge your credit card a low fee to get you started with the hope that you will find value and stick around. The fee then increases after 30 or so days and your credit card gets automatically charged every month. I am not knocking these campaigns, I just want you to understand the marketing strategy behind these tactics.

Here is a bonus tip on hiring a business coach/consultant. It is one that is unfortunately oftentimes overlooked: Listen to your intuition and instincts. Your inner voice is your guidance, your compass. It’s there for a reason, so get quiet and listen to it. If the coach resonates with you, then go for it!

This is not an exhaustive list of Questions and Tips, so if you have some insight on hiring a business coach/consultant, please feel free to add more on the comments below!

Brenda Tello-Horton is co-owner of Hware, an online business training and software company. She can be reached at info@hware.com

In recognition of Earth Day this month, April 22nd, I am honoring all the Green businesses who have dared to make our planet and her people a better place to live. This blog post is for you!

I have always been intrigued by anything and everything Green. I grew up in Austin Texas where Whole Foods is headquartered. I remember when the store was just a dinky co-op on Lamar street in the early 80′s. It was the first place and time I had ever seen a White person with dreadlocks. I was fascinated! Noticing food from a bulk bin was a new experience for me. I immediately absorbed the energy in that tiny space.  I allowed it to fill my curious senses. I bought my lunch quite often there because I went to the college nearby. Whole Foods radically shifted the way I thought about food. It opened a whole new world of very cool people and organic food for me. Little did I know at the time that all great movements begin at a grassroots level. Back then, the term "GREEN" had not yet gone mainstream. Today Green is not only mainstream, it has evolved beyond the environment and now includes social responsibility. How grateful I am to have been introduced to organic food at such a young age. It’s no wonder I love talking about food and wine so much.

Triple bottom line

For the purpose of this blog, let’s define what a Green business is. According to Wikipedia, a Green business or a sustainable business is a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line.  Traditionally, the bottom line is what has been used to measure a company’s success and that bottom line was called PROFITS.  The early adopters of the Green business movement wanted more for their business than just profits. They not only had a much bigger VISION for themselves and their businesses, but for their communities, and their world as well.

People Planet Profit

These Green pioneers saw how multi-national corporations were making huge profits at the cost of the planet and her people. They saw how people were being exploited and how our planet was being polluted all in the name of profit. So they stood up, went against the status quo, and started a new TRIBE. They said, "This is not how we want to measure our success. This is not the legacy we want to leave behind."  They then came up with a new definition for measuring the success of a business. It is called the triple bottom line; where not only the financial performance of a company is taken into consideration, but the ecological and social implications are as well. This new way of measuring the success of a business was coined PEOPLE, PLANET, PROFIT, hence the Triple Bottom Line.

VISION

The Tribal leaders followed their instincts, they listened to their inner-voice and today the Green business industry is a multi-hundred billion dollar industry and growing. The Tribal leaders created a new VISION. The followers showed up and together they started a revolution of doing business a better way by not only being profitable, but by caring for the PEOPLE and her PLANET.  The next time you buy something, I want to encourage you to make an alternative choice by choosing a Green product or service. And whether or not you are a green business, I want to encourage you to build the Triple Bottom Line into your business model. It just makes good business sense.

My love affair with Green

On a more personal note, my love affair with Green has led me to build a Green and sustainable home up in the foothills of Northern California. It is a solar powered straw-bale home www.hware.com/sb

Our Solar Powered Straw-bale Home	Our home at night

Resources on Green

www.greenpages.org – Find a Green business

Green America – Our mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

SustainableBusiness.com – provides global news and networking services to help green business grow, covering all sectors: renewable energy, green building, sustainable investing, and organics.

Greenmaven.com – is your gateway to the Green Web. We’re a search engine that focuses on green and sustainable websites. Use the search box above to search the green web!

yes! – Dedicated to supporting people’s active engagement in creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world. Stories of new ways of life that foster community and harmony with the earth’s ecosystem.

Green Business Camp – The UnConference for Green Business Growth and Collaboration

Green America’s Green Business Conference – Green America builds the marketplace for green businesses by connecting like-minded business visionaries at our Green Business Conference

Books on Green Business

Mid-Course Correction – Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

The Ecology of Commerce – A visionary new program that businesses can follow to help restore the planet.

Examples of Green Businesses

Interface Inc. – is the world’s largest manufacturer of modular carpet

Wholefoods Market – selling the highest quality natural & organic products

Cliff Bar & Company – As a food company, we know that we have a responsibility to help create a healthier food system. We are committed to adopting practices that support sustainable agriculture, move toward zero waste, reduce our climate footprint, and conserve and restore the natural resources and ecosystems that we depend on

Gaiam – Gaiam invites you to live the life of intention you’ve envisioned. From yoga & fitness DVDs to non-toxic cleaners, we give you the green shopping options and healthy living products to help you live your best life