Reusable Cloth Grocery Bags - Are Grocery Stores Doing Enough for the Environment?

Seems like every grocery store has their own reuseable cloth grocery bags, great for the environment right! Sure makes a good impression, but the only thing behind it is making money on another product. Our neighbourhood grocery store is a Sobey's their corporate colour is green, perfect for a green campaign. Their reuseable grocery bags have wonderful pictures of fresh fruit that are located everywhere.

Only thing is that is as environmentally friendly as they get. The environmental trend is growing and what a time for a grocery store with green as a corporate colour to take a cutting edge, leadership role in creating a green environment within it's walls.

For example:

The open refridgeration systems is a huge waste of energy, by adding doors they could conserve energy.

Set up recycle centers in each store to collect all types of recyclables.

Large Organic Section

What other things could a grocery store do to be more environmentally friendly?



Other stores that are meeting the challenge to be environmentally friendly:

Choices
Grocery Store in Hannaford
Bright Cove Site - Lots of info on Green Grocery Stores

What is your favorite environmentally friendly grocery store?



To view and purchase reusable grocery bags

How Green is Your Business?

Click to view design on different products

Is your business green? Eco Friendly products and methods are becoming very trendy and lots of companies are jumping on the anti global warming band wagon. Take some time to think about your product or service, does it have an environmental aspect? Can you add an environmental friendly product or service to what you offer?

I have hundreds of designs, most of which I think are better than this one, however, this recycle message design sells almost everyday. Just watch TV commercials and you can see how the environmentally friendly trend is growing, is your marketing on track?

SC Johnson has changed their marketing focus to Green with their GreenList and by building a factory near a garbage dump to power it with methane. Car manufacturers are building hybrids and more fuel efficient cars. In Brazil cars run purely on ethanol made from sugar cane. Virgin CEO Richard Branson has dedicated billions to finding an alternative energy.



Owners of small businesses tend to be so focused on what they have to do day to day that they don't have time to align their marketing with trends or go after a new market. Take a moment to ask yourself how your business or product helps to improve the environment? Be realistic in your answer, the fur industry is trying to market a green image because they use a natural product to manufacture their fur coats. Only thing is the natural product used to be a valuable member of the ecosystem and real green conscious consumers are not buying it.

All you have to do is Google conserve energy or go green to find out more about how to be ecologically friendly. How can your product or service fit into this trend? Can you add a similar product that your target market will want that fits into the green image? ie. Hybrid cars are still cars and still fit into the target market for the big car manufacturers. Take a day to review your marketing plan and add a green component.

Green Business Magazine - Check out what other Businesses are doing!



Click to view design on Products

Books for the Small Business Woman - WAHM and Businesswomen Ideas and Advice

Reading on a regular basis will increase your skills and tools in business. Here are just of few of my favorites, I hope they will help keep you motivated and find creative solutions for your home based business.

Sell Your Product to China and India's Growing Middle Class - WAHM and Work at Home Idea

The middle class in China and India is growing rapidly just as the middle class in North America struggle to keep what they have. As the cost of living increases due to high commodity prices, especially oil, the disposable income of North America's middle class will start to shrink. The opposite is true of the new middle classes in China and India, they want to buy everything we take for granted, stoves, dishwashers, cars, and furniture.

Does your business sell a product that they can't buy in China or India? Company's like GE are already taking advantage of this new consumer market by having products made and sold in China they are able to save money on production and make a substantial profit in the marketplace.

How can a small company like yours compete? The Internet makes it easy and ecommerce is a cheap way to market your product globally. First research what products are selling on ebay, ebid, ubid, ecrater and other ecommerce sites. How does your product compare? Are the margin's there to justify the time and effort to post the products into a store? Is the world already buying similar products to yours? Use Google to find out what others are saying about your product or industry, is it favorable? Is there a market out there?

Small business people and those that work at home do not have the capital or the connections to set up in developing countries but that doesn't mean they can't get a piece of the pie. The new middle classes want what the old middle classes are trying to preserve. The trick is to have a product they can't buy in their stores but they want. The effort is finding out what that is by researching and then providing it.

Check out the China Law Blog for a personal view on doing business in China.

Doba is a drop ship company that enables you to sell items without keeping inventory. You sell an item and then put in the order, they ship it directly to the customer.




Sell items on



To learn more about the economy in China and India and how it effect North America:

I wish I was Meticulous - Why My Husband's Business is Thriving

I wish I was more like my husband sometimes, he is meticulous, detail oriented and stays on task until the job is done (not much of a multi tasker though). Today my son fell and gashed his knee, my husband cleaned up the wounds but was concerned that one gash might need stitches. We took him to the nearest emergency room to have a doctor look at it.

When the doctor looked at my son's knee he was impressed by how clean it was and asked if my husband was a nurse. To which we replied, "No, he's a mechanic." The doctor wanted to bring his car to him and was even willing to drive the 6 hours between Salmon Arm and Calgary to have a meticulous person such as him fix his car.

My husband finds clients like this all the time and receives referrals for the same reason. He's consistent, meticulous, and honest in every thing he does. My husband doesn't enjoy being a mechanic and would rather do something else, but he doesn't let that stop him from doing the best job he can. His clients love him and continue to send him referrals because even though he doesn't like it he doesn't let that interfer with the job he does.

Are you consistent? Do you treat every customer the same? Do you act the same in every task you do? Can you say that people come to you because of your reputation or are you constantly having to reinvent yourself? Not many people are as stand up and solid as my husband but those that are find that work just comes to them because of their reputation.

High Gas Prices and the Price of Bread - Surviving Supply Cost Increases for Small Business

I was watching the news today, something I don't often do, only to discover the high price of gas is causing the supply costs for small business to increase. No surprise, a trip to the grocery store is proof enough, what was a surprise was the price of wheat - it went from $109 per tonne to $450 per tonne. They show cased a small bakery that has had to raise prices to astronomical levels to cover the cost of flour and the fuel surcharges of deliveries.

It got me thinking that if this small business is having to increase prices, how will it entice customers to keep coming back? I don't know about you but I love the smell of a bakery and the taste of fresh made bread. By making a product that is the best and creating an atmosphere which creates a bread buying experience they can't get anywhere else would help. Atmosphere and Decor with the smell of fresh baked bread would entice many to visit often. By getting creative and creating a bakery product they can't get anywhere else would ensure come backs for at least one item.

By adding non-bread but bread related products to diversify instead of putting all their eggs in one bread basket, sorta speak, would help to upsell customers and only add to their experience. Coffee imported from Costa Rica, the best coffee in the world bar none and can't be found in grocery stores or at Starbucks. Knives for cutting bread, plates for serving, or unique pottery bun warmers. How about specialty jams, butters, or gourmet spreads?

If your costs are going up due to high gas prices or prices of other commodities like flour, you need to get creative to increase sales and bring in more business. Many small business owners already have too much on their plate and get stuck because they are too busy to do anything and keep trudging along loosing money.

If this is you - find a consultant that can help you. Someone who can see your business from the outside, someone who asks the hard questions and can provide you with creative solutions. Need help? Email me and start the dialouge.... a creative solution is waiting for you.

High gas prices are effecting the decisions of Americans as they are travelling less.

Decisions - Sometimes Outside Forces Turn Good Decisions into Bad Ones

I was talking with a neighbour yesterday about the state of the real estate market in Calgary. In January 2007 they decided to move at first to downsize then they decided to build a bigger more expensive home instead. The market in January 2007 was red hot and house prices were sky rocketing, but by June 2007 house prices were falling and many couldn't sell. They took possession of their home March 2008 and now own 2 houses, both for sale and neither are selling.

We've made a few decisions this last year that didn't work out, not for a lack of trying. The end result is that we are exactly where we were this time last year just poorer financially. Both my husband and I tried to change location, careers, and ended up back in the same house, he re-opened his automotive repair shop and I am unemployed.

So for all the effort to get ahead, make a difference, and build a future we got no where. That said, I did learned a lot about business, internet marketing, myself, and got to spend time with my kids. I read some great books and reconnected with some old friends. I found a new appreciation for single moms who have no help, my hats off to them it wasn't easy. The year wasn't a loss, just a lot of upheavel and uncertainty. I'm ready for stability and routine.

What does this have to do with small business or work at home business, a lot because we all make decisions on a daily basis and some turn out to be wrong. If you have a business plan in place that outlines your goals and where you want to be it will help you to gauge if the decision you are making is best for your business. It will help you to stay on course and keep you from distractions that are all around you. One thing that many work at home women want to do is everything, they want to take on every opportunity that comes along. Speaking from experience, don't take on other opportunities - the distraction will take away from your business, your plan and you'll end up right where you started, just poorer.

Cooperative Marketing for Direct Sales Reps, WAHM and other Home Based Businesses

The whole idea behind Carennedy Solutions was to bring together women who worked in direct sales and had home based businesses to share resources to build their businesses.

Each cooperative marketing group is made up of women who do not directly compete with each other. For example, a skin care rep, a kitchen products rep, a jewelry rep, a nail technician, a vitamin rep, and a massage therapist. As a group they market their businesses to the market place for a unique shopping experience.

Together they can organize open houses and girl's night out events sharing the costs and the workload. For example, if each group member brought 10 clients to an open house and the group had 10 members then each member would have 90 new leads.

If done on a consistent basis each member of the group would find their business growing without much effort or cost.

An Example:

Many direct sales company's participate in trade shows, an upline rep will divide the time and share the expense of a booth with her downline consultants. They receive the leads that they generated during their time at the booth because everyone participating is selling the same product they don't share all the leads.

With cooperative marketing groups, the group as a whole rents a booth and displays a variety of different products. Granted the group would need to rent the largest booth possible. They would divide up shifts to share the workload and share all the leads that are generated during the trade show. Each group member receives more leads for their dollar then if they participated in their company's booth.

The Problem:

Organizing and motivating these groups is the focus of Carennedy Solutions. The problem I've found so far is, when I meet with a business women they are usually trying to sell me something instead of coming to learn something. When they don't make a sale, they stop attending the network meetings, usually after the first meeting.

Carennedy Solutions is not about networking to make a sale, it's about networking to educate, support and grow together by cooperating. This approach works best for those women who run a business on their own and find doing everything exhausting.

Fun, Serious, or Proffessional - What Image is Your Marketing Potraying?

What image does your marketing portray? Whether online or offline your marketing image needs to be consistent. If your target market is aged 17-29 then your marketing needs to be fun, bright, and cutting edge. If your target market is 50 plus then it needs to be more mature, trustworthy, and professional.

Your image, or brand, needs to be expressed in every aspect of your business - from your office decor to your stationary. Organize your business based on what would appeal to your target market.

Not sure what appeals most to your target market? Then you need to get researching. Start by looking at your competition, what is their image trying to say about them? Who are they targeting and how? Google them, pick up their marketing literature, check out their office decor, and search industry publications for write ups on their company.

Start hanging out at places your target market frequents, be observant and take notes about the image of the places they like to go. What are they buying? What are they saying?

Check out Statistics Canada and Canada Post both sites have valuable information on where to find your target market in Canada. Check out sites that have information on the economy like the calculated risk blog.

Immerse yourself into their culture and then let your creativity go. Once you understand your customers you can organize both your organization and marketing to attract them. Make sure that everything about you and your business is consistent to the marketing message you are sending out.

If your marketing is really bright and fun and when your prospect comes to your place of business and find staunch and stuffy they will be turned off because you are not what they expected.

Market research is every where and for a price you can get information on any industry you want. Never before has it been so easy to find out about your market and then adapt to it, just Google!

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Contact me at latasia@carennedysolutions.com for more information.

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Selling Online - Is it worth it? - Ebay, Ecrater, ioffer - ecommerce for Small Business, home based Business and WAHM

The company I just purchased comes with lots of inventory, lots of which I want to blow out to reduce the amount.

I have put some stuff on ebay and ecrater to get an idea about how well these things sell or don't sell online.

Issue one: I don't have a rating because I haven't sold anything on ebay or ecrater yet, I do have a rating on ioffer but the amount of actual sales is low.

Issue two: For auction I have posted a below market price to gain interest, and have not received too much yet.

I think that selling online will take time and isn't something you can expect to utilize to move merchandise right off the bat. Especially if your merchandise is specialized for a smaller niche market.

So where can someone sell online?

1. Ebay - the largest marketplace and the most expensive depending on what method you utilize to sell your items. Auction or buy now, a store will cost you $15.95/ month plus insertion fees and selling fees.
2. Ecrater - the cheapest and the amount of hits is low. It's free to post items, you receive your own store and your items do show up in the marketplace. You do have options of the color of your store but the layout of every store is the same.
3. Etsy - .20 for each item and everything must be handmade. The site looks nice and you do receive a store for your items.
4. ioffer - Cheap and easy as you can transfer your items from ebay and your ebay rating to ioffer. A store is free and your items do get lots of hits from the marketplace.

Other online marketplaces are:

Ebid.com
Ubid.com
Overstocked.com
Kijiji.com
Craigslist.com

Do you sell on one of these online marketplaces, what's your experience?