Thursday, September 13, 2007

Five Business Strategies to Live By

Anita Roddick ,the founder of The Body Shop, passed away on September 10th as I found out through my brother's blog at Plans For Us. This is significant because she based her business model on the following five points. This is significant to this blog because as a new business owner/developer these points can and should apply to what I do and what others should consider doing as well. It is also interesting that my brother posted this because our businesses could not be more night and day on the surface. He is starting and developing a web based business for teachers to collaborate on their lesson plans, and I am starting and developing an Interior Design firm. Just goes to show that we've all got more in common than we think. Again-network, network, network....with anybody!

1. Take your business personally: Business has, traditionally, addressed the world with profits in mind, which is to say: impersonally. We can no longer afford this. More than any other generation – [today’s] business people are in a position to lead in making the world a better place. We must take more responsibility, which is to say, take it personally.
2. Be daring. Be first. Be different: Or no one will notice.
3. Be good.: Because you can.
4. Business is not beyond morality. Business is no longer a cold-hearted, objective, pseudo-scientific project to manipulate customers…it can’t be that anymore. The future of the world depends on us doing business with heart. Without ‘heart’ the creativitiy of the human spirit dwindles, too.
5. Business is like activism: It is a way of saying what kind of world you want to live in. Protest is not enough. You need a vision.

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