Social Business – 9 Tips to Writing a Rock Star Social Or Green Business Plan

June 26, 2010 · Posted in Green Business 101 · Comments Off 

So you’re thinking about starting a social business (i.e. a business that helps a social or environmental cause in some way), or adding a social business element to your existing business? Awesome! And congratulations. If you take action on that intention, you’re well on your way to financial freedom and making a positive impact on the world.

Writing a business plan is one of the first tasks on your list. Well the, what makes a great social business plan? It’s both an art and a science, and there are hundreds of books, websites, and other resources on business plans in general. Here are nine great tips specific to writing social business plans, tips that you won’t find in any traditional business plan how-to.

1. Tell your story. How will your company benefit a social or environmental cause? Why start this particular business, why now, and why you? Do this in the synopsis and subtly throughout the whole plan. As a social business, this story is where you can really shine.

2. Keep it brief. No one wants to read a 50 page business plan, and in fact, no one probably ever will, no matter how special or amazing your cause is. Ideally, keep your plan to ten pages, and most certainly under 20.

3. Continually update it. A business plan is a living document that must be reviewed and adjusted on at least a monthly basis. As your company and your cause grow and change, your business plan should evolve in lockstep.

4. Include a brief Envisioned Future section. What will your company look like in 20 or 100 years? How will the world have benefitted from its existence? Your business is an organization with a good cause, so spell out your vision. It will help you keep your eyes on the prize in hard times, and the visual will also help sell the idea to investors, bankers, donors, employees, customers, and everyone else.

5. Show how and why you will be competitive and profitable in a market that doesn’t really care whether your products are made of recycled materials or if you’re empowering poor women beekeepers in Africa. If everything else is equal (i.e. price, brand recognition, quality, shelf location), you might have a slight edge because of your cause. But probably not. You’re providing a product or service to the world, and you must make a profit doing so. Use your plan to legitimately prove that you will. Remember: you can’t help anyone if you go bankrupt.

6. Don’t get too crazy with the use of words like sustainability, green, social business, good cause, fair trade, and so on. Unfortunately, many traditional business people have negative connotations for all those words, left over from extreme environmentalists of the 70s (think off-the-grid communes and lack of deodorant). Unfair images, but we all still have to deal with that for the time being. Use those words when you must, but keep it to a minimum. If you can, use words like “efficiency,” “improved safety standards,” and “increased profit” instead.

7. Do ample research. As a social business, your company will likely undergo more scrutiny from everyone involved than a traditional business model would, which is unfair but true. Back up everything you say with piles of credible research, some of which you may even include in the Appendices to your plan, where appropriate.

8. When compiling your financial projections, make sure to include a Social Return on Investment, or SROI. Explain how you plan to quantify, measure, and analyze your SROI. Quantification is how you will show the world the good things you’ve done, and how you can decide what your biggest and best levers for change are.

9. Use a template business plan to get started. No need to reinvent the wheel. There are lots of free or cheap business plans out there that can help you write your own amazing plan. Granted most of them are not specifically geared to social businesses, so you may have to improvise a bit.

Or, you could just click here to download a social business plan from Social Business Central, possibly the single best resource for small business entrepreneurs with a conscience. You’ll also find loads of other resources, a social business blog, and much more. It’s a really great website.

About the Author

Matt Sparks is a successful entrepreneur, both offline and on, having launched over 25 businesses (some notable successes and some colossal failures, both of which are important). He is a small business mentor and counselor for SCORE?a division of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Micro-Business Development, and other organizations. He has written books, articles, and blogs about social business, small business, real estate, finance, New Urbanism, and sustainable cities.

(c) Copyright – Matthew R. Sparks. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Top 5 Tips On Successfully Marketing Your Green Business

May 8, 2010 · Posted in Green Business 101 · Comments Off 

We write regularly about green marketing and why it’s so relevant for companies nowadays. This time, the crew at Kiwano Marketing takes our insights one step further to share the top five tips on how to successfully market a green business.

1. Back up your claims.

Double-check your efforts when starting a green marketing strategy. Our advice is: don’t position yourself as a green business if you’re not walking the talk. Today’s consumers are savvy and inquisitive, and a false claim will seriously damage your brand – what people say about you. A company’s reputation is one of the most valuable assets an organization possesses. Bad publicity spreads quickly (it’s the most viral form of buzz there is), taking years to overcome.

2. Don’t position yourself as the green saviour.

Consumers are looking behind the label, and demand integrity from the companies where they make purchases. You should communicate your environmental and sustainability efforts – but don’t overdo it. Add a modest, sincere tone to your message and that will take you a long way. Consumers relate better with people than with organizations. Give your business a personal, honest image and you will generate positive word-of-mouth.

3. Engage the whole team and communicate your efforts internally.

This is one of the most important green marketing tips. You need internal support to be able to reflect your business green initiatives (consistent communications and continuity are musts for any successful marketing program). It is particularly important to engage your frontline employees: sales teams, the technical support department, and receptionists, in particular! Imagine how it would reflect on your company if your marketing department is promoting your environmental initiatives while the sales team is seen dumping dozens of still relevant brochures after a trade show.

4. Get your supply chain on board.

Engage your partners and vendors on your green marketing efforts. Communicate the pros of green marketing and provide incentives for a faster adoption. Focus on the new joint marketing opportunities you’ll be creating for your partners and suppliers – after all, if your supply chain is also becoming environmentally-sustainable, your suppliers will want to promote the new added-value and generate more business.

5. Don’t just focus on the green argument.

The green marketplace is quickly evolving and it’s not enough to focus your messaging on the green added-value of your products/services. You need to develop your product positioning so it’s a “no-brainer” for your clients to do business with you. This can take various forms, from communicating the quality of your product or service, focusing on the money your customers will be saving in the long term (and perhaps in the short term, depending where your product fits in the price scale), product innovation/design, etc. The goal is not to focus on the green argument uniquely; position your company as an organization that appeals to more than dark green customers.

About Kiwano Marketing
Kiwano Marketing provides green marketing services to small and medium businesses. Based in Vancouver, Kiwano designs affordable web and print marketing programs with high return on investment – generating more sales for your business while serving our local community. For more information, please visit www.kiwano.ca or call us directly at 604.628.0142.

Kiwano would like to extend a special acknowledgement to the entire Marketwire team for their ongoing support.

Sofia Ribeiro owns and co-manages Kiwano Marketing, a sustainable marketing agency dedicated to support small, sustainable businesses located in Vancouver, BC – promoting the city?s economy while improving the community?s environment.

An experienced marketing professional and a green enthusiast, Sofia has an extensive marketing background across both small businesses and large enterprises throughout Europe and North America. Having quit her full-time job as a Marketing Specialist in a leading Vancouver business, Sofia?s expertise lays in guerrilla marketing and internet marketing techniques, paired with a solid experience in copywriting and industry research.

Sofia?s articles are regularly featured in industry publications and she?s a contributor writer at The Green Economy Post. Sofia also volunteers with Stanley Park Ecology Society, Canadian Cancer Society and Metro Vancouver.

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How to Get Government Grants for Non for Profit Business CO.

October 6, 2009 · Posted in Green Grants · Comments Off 

www.OneMinuteu.com How to Get Government Grants for Non for Profit Business CO. did you know that the IRS develops more than 35000 non-profits every year? are you wondering how you can develop your non-profit for whatever you’re passionate about? well, I can tell you just how to do that. first of all, you have to complete the form 1023, and that’s for whatever state you’re in across the US. that’s form 1023 for your IRS exemption. but various states differ in what other requirements that you …

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