Immature Entrepreneur

Not only is the green movement popular these days but implementing some simple green initiatives can also save your business…well, some green.

Here are a few examples:

• KC Door to Door Organics — this company delivers fresh organic produce to your doorstep weekly. They ask that you put last week’s box/packaging back on your doorstep so it can be reused over and over again, saving the company money as a result of not having to constantly purchase new boxes and packing materials.
• Whole Foods — during checkout, the cashier asks whether you want a paper receipt. This allows the company to save money on receipt paper and ink for printing. Same concept with grocery bags.
• Stonyfield Farms — changed interior yogurt cover from plastic to aluminum, reducing packaging by nearly 1 million pounds per year and producing a savings of almost $800,000 annually.

These are but a few examples. The cool thing here is that not only does it make fiscal sense but these measures also allow you to explore your creativity and show that you care as a company. When you do the right thing your customers become built in marketers, again saving money with a drastically reduced need for traditional marketing.

Going green isn’t just a leftist, tree hugging hippie ideal–it makes good business sense too when done right.

Consider giving things away for free on your website.

As Scooby Doo might say, “Hrmph? Ruh roh, Raggy.”

While this may seem counterintuitive at first, it makes perfect sense once you stop and dissect it. In the information age, people have come to expect certain things online to be free (and rightly so). If your long term goal is to build an audience, the best way to do so is to offer value. Give your readers a reason to come back. Show them that you care and they will reciprocate in return. Offer some incentives for free (trackers, spreadsheets, advice via blogs, etc.) and you will create a fanbase that will grow to trust you. People buy from those they like and trust.

Take a page out of Dan Miller’s book and give it a try. You’ll inadvertantly develop raving fans who will do all your marketing for you. Besides, it feels good to give.

Every dollar you spend is a decision, a statement about the type of world you want to live in.

Yesterday I spent an hour and a half of my life (that I’ll never get back) at the DMV waiting to get my license renewed. For some reason, the DMV seems to attract the same crowd as Wal-Mart. The guy in front of me in line was sporting Pac-Man pajama pants and house slippers while the guy behind me in line was shouting profanities and dropping f-bombs like he had a quota to fill.  Crikey.

Anyway, with nothing to do but kill time my overly analytical brain evaluated everything going on around me. In a country where we are taxed to an obscene extreme, the amount of waste/inefficiency in government is simply inexcusable. Here’s what I observed: There were 3 employees working and the waiting line was around 60 people deep. I was told that new laws passed in KS no longer require that I take a test to renew my license. I simply need to 1) prove I can see well by reading 3 lines of text on a 1960s monitor and 2) get my picture taken. That’s it. I paid my $26.00 fee (you’ve got to be kidding me!) and I was out.

Here is the root of the problem boiled down to its essence: government jobs/programs are set up in such a way that they kill creativity. Government jobs require robots. When you work in an environment where you know nothing will change and your ideas don’t matter, what reason do you have to care? Why show initiative when no one listens? To quote Stanley from The Office, “This is a ‘run the clock out’ situation.”

In this example, here is the way things should run. I should be able to go online, pay my fee with a debit card, submit my eyesight requirements via a slip from my optometrist, and take a date-stamped pic with my webcam/digital camera for my license. For the older generation that isn’t e-savvy, they are still able to physically go into the DMV and bring those required items which would expedite the entire process. As a result of money saved from improved efficiencies, the DMV could be fully staffed. Employees should be encouraged and compensated for ideas that produce cost-savings in one form or another. Every government-run agency should have an efficiency rating and be held accountable.

Human beings need meaning in what we do. We are not robots. We are not meant to be cogs in a machine. When we are treated as such, we will react as such. If you don’t have meaning in your job, perhaps you should reevaluate what you’re doing. Perhaps you should create it for yourself.

I’d like everyone to take a moment and read through this link. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

All done? Good. The frustration expressed in the article illustrates what happens when we perform jobs that have no meaning, when money is the sole motivator, when we become time poor, and so on. For people that truly get it, the frustration and despair can be excruciating.

We have been programmed since birth at first by our parents and later in school to conform. Do things this way. Why? Because I said so. A is right, B is wrong. And if you don’t fall in line with everyone else? You’re a nerd, weirdo, outcast, etc.

So what do you do about it? You begin by undoing your programming. Read blogs such as ImmatureEntrepreneur.com. Expose yourself to different ways of thinking with books/audiobooks. Find a successful person that has similar goals as you and ask how they’ve done it. Do your homework, come up with an action plan, and do something. Get out there. Keep at it until you figure it out and do not let anything stand in your path.

By its very existence, the term “social entrepreneurship” implies that capitalism ignores such factors as community, environment, doing the right thing, etc. In the past, these metrics were not measured on a P&L so for all intents and purposes, they did not exist. As a result, today we are faced with issues such as rampant cancer, disillusionment with corporate America, general unhappiness in the workplace, a lack of meaning in our lives and so on.

It’s possible to operate a profitable business that has a conscience. Look at companies such as Stonyfield Farm, Zappos, Ben & Jerry’s or Tom’s Shoes. They’ve incorporated human/environmental concepts into their businesses and are thriving as a result.

Yes, you may have shareholders to answer to. But figuring out a way to be profitable and care about your employees/the environment is in the best interests of your shareholders. After all, you can’t do business on a planet that’s dead.

Are you a boss or a leader? This question applies not only to a business setting, but to our personal relationships with our children and signifcant others as well.

A boss tells someone what to do. A leader offers guidance. A boss gets emotional (typically angry) when a mistake is made. A leader sees this as a learning opportunity. A boss wants to know why you aren’t working 10-12 hours a day. A leader is impressed by your efficiency. A boss becomes frustrated when you don’t know how to handle something. A leader recognizes that this is his failing, and promptly puts a training program together. If you ask a boss a question, he’ll just give you the answer. If you ask a leader a question, he’ll ask you what your recommendation is.

Do you work for a boss or a leader? Which would you prefer to report to? How do your employees/children/spouse perceive you?

Last night my dinner was interrupted by a knock at the door. A salesperson for a local cable/internet company wanted me to switch to their service. I was admittedly not very nice and promptly told the man (who attempted to argue with me) to leave.

The companies that will thrive over the next decade realize that today we are moving away from “in your face” marketing. Seth Godin talks a lot about permission marketing, whereby you essentially gain a customer’s trust or interest based on your actions.

You want to impress me? You want my business? Don’t interrupt my dinner. Don’t show up unannounced at my home. Instead, be different. Do something remarkable. Contribute to your local community. Start some green initiatives. Show that you are a corporation with a conscience.

Just because you can scream the loudest doesn’t mean anyone is going to listen.

It seems like we are constantly in motion today. Rushing from one meeting to the next, struggling to make deadlines, trying to squeeze in appointments…makes my head hurt even thinking about it.

An exercise which can help with the blur that most of us call life is time management. Think of it as an effective tool, similar in nature to a financial budget.

Set aside one entire day where you track everything that you do and the length of time you spend doing it. While this may sound like a lot of effort, the payoff is more than worth it.

You will likely be shocked at what you find. For example, I spent a tremendous amount of (wasted) time reading newsletter after newsletter that was arriving in my email inbox. I’ve eliminated about 85% of what I was receiving and decided only to allow information with real value. The unexpected side affect was that I actually found more free time once I evaluated where my time was going.

Keep in mind the goal here is not to eliminate leisure time. Quite the contrary. We all need downtime (except for the robots that hide among us) which is an important component of balance. The goal is to more effectively manage your time and make certain you are prioritizing activities which produce results.

Not enough time in a day? Maybe. But before you make that statement, flesh it out on paper and you may be surprised at the extra time you find.

“All I’ve ever wanted was an honest week’s pay for an honest day’s work.” ~ Steve Martin

While the line is intended to be humorous, there is some truth to what the legendary comedian has stated here. Chances are an hourly wage job will not make you rich (or happy). By its nature, an hourly wage job is limiting. You are only able to make so much money based upon so many hours worked. The obvious exception of course would be to work extra hours. However, you then become time poor which is certainly not a wise trade.

So how do you break the cycle of an hourly wage job when that’s all that is out there? It’s simple: don’t look out there. Look inside. Create a job. Perform a service or provide information or create something altogether new that is not restricted by the outdated hourly wage concept.