Building a Business that does good

Three things happened to day which are bringing into sharp relief something I've believed for sometime (it shapes how I am with people) but have yet to "realize" it corporately so to speak. In the business world, generally you work with whomever you can, so long as it is profitable first, and enjoyable second - and the first can eliminate the second (we need the business).

We at GLS dezign are different, and there are in fact more and more businesses like us. When you are in an unpredictable universe, where things could go bad at any time, when times are tough, there is a tendency to prioritize $'s above all else. However, what more and more people are realizing, what the enlightened approach to business is, is to truly be yourself, to do good, and to work with people like you. We are attracted to each other, we are brought together often by fortunate "chance," but the more our self-statements and our marketing statements reflect this solid, grounded presence, this being good at what we do, and committed to doing good, the more we will attract these kinds of clients and partners.

So the three things that got me thinking about this:

First I had an email from a potential client telling me I had failed in my first impression, because of getting the time and place wrong for our meeting. This is quite common in business culture, to judge people, sometimes quite dispassionately, on their first impressions. I'm a businessman, but I've never done this: rather I look beneath the surface in everyone. I have also found to my dismay that the people in best control of their first impressions often made terrible business partners, and very difficult clients, because of how ruthless and unethical they were. I am no longer interested in working with such people.

Second, was an email invitation to take a course on social marketing. If you're ready to be snowed by someone, desperate and looking for answers and perhaps have already been burnt by slick, empty marketing that cost you money without delivering anything, then, you might be ready to take the plunge with this lady. However, she horribly over-promises the way so many "success" vendors do, and so, despite the glitz of her promises I'm really not interested in learning from her.

Third, a small charity I know running an orphanage and school in Ghana, recently put out the message I've pasted below. It's about getting consumers to slightly change their habits in order to direct small %'s of the sponsor's revenues to the designated charity. While this has the possibility of being able to create a revenue stream for your charity, it involves either changing how you search (therefore your effectiveness) as well as shopping online at this place rather than that place. From a marketing point of view this could work well for a charity with a well-established brand and 1,000's or 1,000,000's of "friends" a small percentage of whom might be willing to through the trouble to register and shop at this particular location. But personally, I prefer the granular one person, one business at a time approach we are using, working with people who share our values, in order to grow both our business and foundation. I will however check out Goodsearch and Goodshop, as she is a very small charity like us, and perhaps this can work at our level as well.

To close, there was in the Ottawa Citizen this morning two stories of interest that provide an interesting context to this reflection:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/rude+worker+poisons+whole+office+study+finds/1910315/story.html
is a story about research into the effect of negative behaviour in the workplace. While the focus is on coworkers, obviously negative behaviour from clients or partners can have the same effect, the more people that are exposed to it.

But to finish off we have Steve Wosniak who had the following and more to say about his philosophy of being in business:

One of the pioneers of Silicon Valley and the creator of the world's first mass-market personal computer has some simple words of wisdom for today's struggling startups:

"Believe in your product." Adds Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc.: "Don't ask yourself, 'Will this be successful or will this make money?' Ask, 'Is this what I want to do?' "Ask yourself, 'Are you absolutely sure that this is what you want to do to make a big mark in the world?' "

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Wozniak+words+wisdom/1910821/story.html

On that note, for business people of similar strip, let's forge our way with confidence and yet wisdom as we find the people like us with whom we want to work, and, find our way to making that mark in the world we have in mind!! :)

your brother Dan

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What if FosteringHopeInternational earned a donation every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter FosteringHopeInternational as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!

Collecting used not abused Athletic Shoes and all sizes of soccer cleats to establish selfsufficent sustainable farms for individual families in Ghana.

Elaine Brown, Director
FosteringHopeInternational.com
GoodSearch - Web search, coupons, discounts & deals for charity!
Source: www.goodsearch.com
GoodSearch - Search the web to support your charity. Also, find online coupons, coupon codes, deals, discounts and promo codes at GoodShop.