Posts Tagged ‘business’
Love for Resilience
Life happens. Difficulties sneak in through the blind spots. Relationships are strained by difficult circumstances. Division creeps in and deteriorates relationships, energy, and emotions. With each trial, the door into fear is opened, enticing us to focus on negative possibilities. It can be paralyzing. Once the door is open, we have a choice. We…
Read MoreThe Caring Commodity
The act of caring should be a traded commodity. It’s the energy that drives any successful company or relationship. If you care enough, you’ll do your best. If your care enough, you’ll realize from time to time that your best isn’t cutting it, so you’ll study more. You’ll learn from others that are operating at…
Read MoreCompetitor or Collaborator?
People tend to run from competition, often to the extent of attempting to squelch the success of their peers. They fear their methods or designs will be copied or vanquished. This contributes to a lot of undue stress and counter productivity. Fashion is a $298 Billion per year industry in the US. Consumerism is already…
Read MoreREBRANDING AFRICA: This is Better Than That
If I’m a photographer working in Africa, I’m going look for the most mind blowing and disturbing images I can capture. That’s my purpose. I gather pictures of starvation, disease, filthy hospitals, rebels with guns, dictators with gold plated vehicles and children with distended bellies and flies on their faces. I will use these photos…
Read More(un)Fair Trade
The Fair Trade concept was pioneered by missions groups and non-profits back in the early ‘40s. The idea is that if a product is produced with Fair Trade practices, one can assume it was created “fairly”. This concept has become a household term due to the proliferation of corporate transparency caused by the internet boom…
Read MoreBusiness Is Bad
How did general business practices get so bad that we had to come up with a new method called “social entrepreneurship”. Why isn’t all business done in such a way that it builds communities, enhances the lives of the people running the businesses, and bolsters the betterment of humanity? Shouldn’t your success as an entrepreneur…
Read MoreIt’s About Dignity
I wanted to build businesses in Africa because I knew it could help generate a sustainable income. It could free them from dependency on donors and connect them to the same market that allows the western world to thrive economically. I picked the fashion industry above all others because it exemplifies sustainability in its resilience…
Read MoreKicking Off The Training Wheels
Four years ago we set out to build businesses in Africa for poverty stricken women. We had three major goals. Create locally (African) owned businesses that provide lucrative careers, resulting in income and dignity. Set a higher standard and example of a quality products and a preferred brand. To do it all so well that…
Read MoreReform It
Diamonds don’t kill people in Sierra Leone. The structure of the diamond business does. Should we stop buying diamonds? Not at all. Don’t take away their most valuable resource. Reform the way it’s produced and sold. What if we reformed the way the diamond business is carried out? What if the money from diamond sales…
Read MoreWhy do we say “Social Entrepreneur”?
I keep having this issue with the term “social entrepreneurialism”. I agree with the concept, and consider myself to be one of them. But the word “social” doesn’t seem to work for me. And why do we have to have a term for this anyway? Shouldn’t your success as an entrepreneur be gauged on whether…
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