Can Your Business Give Back and Do Social Good? Richard Branson Challenges Entrepreneurs

It's almost been two years here at Business That Cares that we've been featuring businesses and entrepreneurs that have taken on the challenge of blending philanthropy, giving back to community, and social responsibility with their business models.The purpose has been to use  these stories as inspiration to others who are planning to do the same.

Richard Branson, is not the head of a small business, by any means, but he is personally engaged in philanthropy and has embedded corporate giving throughout the culture of his conglomerate of companies, and especially through Virgin Unite, the foundation that works towards revolutionizing the way businesses and the social sector work together for social good.

At a charity event for Center for Living Peace in Irvine, CA, Branson challenged entreprenuers to think differently: "to change their way of thinking as to running their businesses, make them a force for good, not just a force to make money."

Branson, joined by another successful entrepreneur/philanthropist  Rob Dyrdek who said of Branson that " his principle and school of thought and his entrepreneurial spirit has inspired me."

And so, for more inspiration, check out this original video of the event by aol.smallbusiness.

(My apologies for the annoying commercials at the beginning of the video. But the video is worth watching not only to hear Richard Branson's message, but also for seeing his " pirate for peace " outfit.)

e-Cycle Named to Inc. 5000 List of Fastest-Growing, Private Companies in the U.S.

Wireless buyback and recycling company ranked in nation’s top 1,000 after achieving 400 percent growth in three year span


Hilliard, Oh., August 31, 2010 – Inc. magazine has named e-Cycle number 763 in its 2010 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing, privately-held, for-profit companies in the U.S. e-Cycle, which has created more than 60 green jobs in the Columbus area, was listed 8th overall among the nation’s environmental services companies. The ranking is based on business growth achieved from 2006 to 2009, a difficult economic period during which e-Cycle quadrupled its revenue. e-Cycle is the leading provider of wireless buyback and recycling services for businesses and major organizations.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

“We are honored to be named as one of the top environmental services companies on the Inc 5000 list,” said Chris Irion, founder and CEO of e-Cycle. “Our ranking is evidence that more companies are becoming concerned about the growing threats that out-of-use cell phones pose to the environment and to data security. Our ability to help address these issues in a way that is financially beneficial for our customers has been the key to our growth.”

This year’s Inc. 5000 employ a record 1.4 million people, up from one million on last year’s list. With unemployment remaining stubbornly high, policymakers and business leaders will do well to look to the Inc. 5000 companies for fresh ideas on achieving growth and creating jobs.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles can be found on www.inc.com/5000.

About e-Cycle
e-Cycle helps organizations take a more responsible, secure and cost-effective approach to wireless recycling. The company collects wireless phones from businesses and major organizations, reimbursing them for devices that retain value and recycling all others at no charge through an EPA approved facility. The information on every phone is either deleted or destroyed through the industry’s most rigorous data security measures. e-Cycle is the market share leader among the Fortune 1000, serving financial institutions, manufacturers, healthcare organizations, wireless and telecommunications providers, transportation companies, educational institutions, and public-sector agencies, among others. Since its founding in 2005, e-Cycle has managed secure wireless buyback and recycling for more than 5,000 organizations, purchasing millions of dollars of retired wireless phones and recycling more than 4 million devices. e-Cycle is based in Hilliard, Oh. Please visit www.e-cycle.com.


About Inc. Magazine
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. Visit us online at Inc.com


Contact:

Kyle Trompeter
Sheffield Marketing Partners
630-310-5190 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              630-310-5190      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
ktrompeter@sheffieldinstitute.com

Philanthropy: Easier To Do Than To Say?

It seems that growing up in a family with the tradition of philanthropy, young kids learn early the value of giving back and take that with them into their adult lives. Certainly in my interviews with social entreprenuers, like Enmi Kendall of Replyforall, and Xavier Helgeson of Better World Books that seems to have been the case.

Starting young is a great way to instill the value of giving back, and thanks to Generous Colorado for this delightful clip of budding young philanthropists, trying to just say the word.

For all you businesses in Colorado- Generous Colorado can help you find non-profits and causes that are a good match for your business philanthropy to support.

And for all you budding philanthropists-your actions speak louder than words.


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So What's Really The Point of a Social Enterprise? Socks For Happy People, Part II

Creating a new business is difficult enough, but creating an ethical and social one and living the principles that one believes in, as Tom , the co-founder said, it means choosing a path that is even harder.

In Part II, we learn more of the story of Socks For Happy People and the ways in which they seek to be an ethical and social business; one that focuses on the triple bottom line; or-as they wrote in their blog post: What's the Point Of This Sock Business, Really?

"Be a shining example of how a business with the well-being of humanity and nature at its core can be inherently sustainable and abundantly profitable."

Q. Tell me more about the social part, giving a proportion of your profits to a cause, and then you have this component of your mission, that of promoting happiness, which I want to talk about later.

A. We are working on a couple different social projects, as Socks For Happy People, as an enterprise, we are a triple bottom line company, social, environmental, economic. So yes, with regards to the social side, we actually are giving a portion of our profits away.We are starting with contributing 10%, or 1% of revenue, but we consider that to be very low, we want to be contributing 30% or more within three years and then ultimately 50%. We want to become sustainable as a business first, because there is no sense in giving away 50% of our profit and then in two years we are out of business. It’s a solid start, we are not really happy with it, but it’s a good start.

And then you may or may not know, on the website we describe a concept, Buy One Give One Free. For every pair of socks that you buy a pair of socks goes to someone else in the world that really needs them. Our first partnership is with the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation. I don’t know if you know, in Mongolia it gets really cold, it gets to -40 degrees below. A lot of kids, especially street kids that have nowhere to live, they lose their toes to frostbite so there is a real need for good quality, thick socks. So we’ve partnered with the only sock manufacturer in Mongolia and we’ve created locally made camel wool socks that work for under minus 80 degrees below zero. Anytime anyone buys a pair of socks from us, they are immediately buying a pair of socks for the Mongolian street children.

Q. What are the other ways you are social venture?

A. With regards to our environmental side, we are partnering with this organization called Weforest, who has a goal of reforestation of 20 million kilometers of rain forest. So one of things we have taken responsibility for raising funds for their project in Thailand. We will be raising funds for them. We will be releasing more details about this.We really want do everything, so we do not want to do much so we end up not helping anyone.

Q. Are your socks being made sustainably?

They are being made with organic cotton. It’s much better for the soil, for the workers, for the customers wearing them. We also have in research and development more sustainable materials, because our socks are mainstream socks, they have nylon in them, because it keeps the shape. Socks For Happy People is about more than that. We have been very conscious and aware that we are about inspiration and transformation.

Now the fact of the matter is that we could have made a sock that was all sustainable but then we would be only selling to people that really liked that type of sock and the others, people wouldn’t buy a sock like that. We would be preaching to the choir in a sense. We decided to create a mainstream sock that appeals to people who are into great socks and to make it as sustainable as possible. They are about 65% sustainable now. We are also in research and development on finding materials that are biodegradeable.

We have people in India who are researching biodegradable nylon. And we use azo free dyes, which mean they can break down naturally, whereas a traditional dye won’t do that. When they get thrown away the azo free dyes means that when they can break down naturally. We are launching with a mainstream sock and we are attracting people that really love great socks and we are creating wider conversations about what it means to be organic and such.

We are getting people on a journey and once they are long the journey, to live our lives as sustainable as we can, and we can educate people on these issues.

In Part III we will hear about how Socks For Happy People truly seeks to be a shining example.

Makings of a Social Venture: Socks For Happy People, Part I

Two weeks ago, Socks for Happy People, a philanthropic social venture launched their line of socks-not just socks, but a fun, inspired, joyful product. I had the opportunity of meeting Tom Minter, the co-founder with Richard Taylor, in London, days before their launch. As I sat in the Paddington Station Starbucks recording my interview with Tom amidst blaring music in the background, I was amazed at the unbelievable passion, enthusiasm , visionary and innovative thinking of the co-founder of the brilliant social venture, Socks for Happy People. Socks for Happy People is a business that was created out of inspiration and love of socks, (no less,) and from the insight into the opportunity to create a brand in a market where no one brand stands out.


Socks for Happy People has finally launched its online business selling bright, colorful and inspirational socks after a long journey of ups and downs. In this three part interview we get to hear about the hopes of creating the best sock brand ever; the struggles of starting a social business; and the inspiration and vision for fulfilling a mission of creating good for the world with a successful and thriving enterprise.

In earlier posts we have written about the essential characteristics of a social entrepreneur, those of grit, passion, perseverance and business smarts. Tom and Richard have all those qualities, plus they have happy feet.

Q.Tell me about how you started Socks for Happy People.

I’ve been a sock fan for quite awhile. I love interesting socks and people would comment on my socks. Where did you get those? A lot of people love great socks but very few wore them. Not very many people wake up in the morning and say, I got to go and buy myself some great socks today. If they are faced in front of them, well yeh, I’ll buy them. So, I thought it would be fun to make a really cool sock brand.

Q. I am really interested in the social aspect. Tell me how this began, what was the inspiration.

A. When I finished with my other business. I thought, what is it I really want to do next? and I’m a sock guy. And I believe that you want to something that you are really passionate about and when you get out of bed on the morning. You say, you really want to do this thing. Despite that you can’t think of a single sock brand. So we thought we would try to position ourselves as the most brilliant and magnificent sock company in the history of the world and also with a social aspect in mind. I feel that my personal mission is to help support the universal consciousness. I feel that that an organization for an entrepreneur is no more than a vehicle to magnify your personal mission. There are a lot of people that really feel they have a personal mission to do some great stuff, but as inspiring as our personal missions are, as one person we can only meet a few people a day, so it’s quite limited. But when you have an organization you have the potential of affecting millions of people because you can imbue your mission your passion and purpose and then magnify it to the world. I met Richard when he was in a university and I taught a class there. I gave him a call and we met for coffee. At first he asked: so what, it’s just sock? Well, as we explored it more, he came to understand the power of creating a business they way we would want a business to run.

It’s been an interesting journey. Two and half year-long journey, very frustrating at times. Longer than we had really planned. One of the things when you are creating a social business and an ethical business, you are faced with the choice, do you take the quick and easy path or do we stick with what we believe in. Here’s the thing, do we really believe and do we really live the principles that this company was created on?


We traveled around the world because we wanted find the right place where our socks would be made and that it was congruent with our values. Originally we went to India and our director of sustainability, he has a team in India, that do all his research and development in sustainable materials, was originally working with his team, exploring different avenues for us, but that didn’t work out. Because our socks are not traditional socks, some of the designs are non traditional, they are quite intricate-and later we went to China and we were trying things out in China as well, we found that our standards were higher than they were dealing with. In China they do 50,000 orders. All the companies weren’t set up to work with us, and they really needed to believe in the company and recognize that we were doing something more than just socks.

So even though we were working with companies in India and China what became apparent was that, they were not great innovators. We would say let’s do this, and they would go away and make changes, and it was lost in translation and the bits weren’t right. Every round would take weeks, and it was weeks go by and all of the sudden a year later we didn’t have what we wanted.

Q. I thought I saw on your blog that you were working with a factory in England, looking at the color samples and dyes.

That was the next phase. This wasn’t as simple as we thought. We thought, these companies make hundreds of thousands of socks, it should be easy. So let’s bring it back to UK, it would probably be a little bit more. It became apparent that there is only one manufacturer in the UK left. His operations are so small that it wasn’t right for us. We now have a factory that we work with, they own shares in the factory in India. So we can go to the team and we can discuss exactly what we want and we can make the samples in the UK and then it all gets stored on a computer chip, they e-mail it over, the factory in India has exactly the same machine, and they make the socks exactly how they are designed.


Socks For Happy People is no different than other startups in the uphill battles they have had to face of finding the right manufacturer, getting funding, structuring the pricing and tapping into the personal qualities of perseverance and grit.


After all, like Richard said: "it is, just socks." The story continues in part II of how this startup incorporated a vision to be a triple bottom line company, doing good for the world while doing well with just socks.