Up and Running:

I caught this the other day on Huffington Post; Tracy Metro on what she calls eco-entrepreneurs:

Starting a new business is often referred to as the “American Dream,” but it’s not always so dreamy for many entrepreneurs. The phrase “9 out of 10 new businesses fail in the first 5 years” is all too true, for most. Getting bogged down with payroll, workers’ comp, taxes and legal issues are the harsh realities for anyone launching their own business. Now, imagine the uphill battle for eco-innovators who are creating environmental and sustainable products and services to compete with mainstream business… in a country that’s just beginning to see the value of “green.”

Who would be crazy enough to try and start something under such tough parameters? Allow me to introduce you to the eco-entrepreneur.

The eco-entrepreneur is a rare bird that believes “making money” and “doing good” are not mutually exclusive. This is a person whose goals are to provide better products, services or innovations while leaving a minimal footprint on the environment. Eco-entrepreneurs live today, to green the world of tomorrow.

I’m all in favor, frankly; but to be fair, this isn’t something that the shiny new “eco-entrepreneurs” have just discovered.

Combining making money and doing good is essentially what drives most of the people who start businesses, any business, eco-friendly or not. You don’t think the restaurateur believes her food makes people happy, and that making people happy is good? Or that the software entrepreneur believes her application is good for the people who use it? Or the taxi driver, graphic artist, butcher, baker and even the candlestick maker? Not to mention recycling, clean energy, tutoring, documentaries, debt counseling and so many others.

The best book out there on starting a business, Guy Kawasaki’s “The Art of the Start,” emphasizes “make meaning” and “be a mensch. ” As you get into real business, small business, entrepreneurial business, most people need to believe in it in order to do it well.

So combining making money and doing good has been around for a very long time.

So what’s exciting here, to me, is that the world has opened a market window for eco-friendly entrepreneurship, so that eco-friendly has some market power. People care and will choose eco-friendly over eco-neutral or eco-exploitive, and will even pay more for eco-friendly.

Good luck with your new cardboard business and welcome aboard. Just don’t think you started the movement.

Oh, and by the way, that  nine out of 10 new businesses fail stuff has been pretty much disproved now.  Things are tough out in the real world, but not quite that tough. It turns out the statistics–which aren’t quite as bad as she quotes–are actually skewed by businesses that start and stop for tax reasons, not business reasons.

Francesca (the baby on the right) is fine now; “very healthy,” says her mom, Rosetta Thuresson (also on the right). But that’s now, and thank goodness. Four years ago, when she was 3 months old, she caught RSV, which Rosetta describes as “a horrific virus that attacks the respiratory system.”

The immune system and lungs of an infant as young as Francesca are not yet developed enough to fight off such a virus, and it led to one week in the hospital, several months of misery and a terribly long recovery. Not only did Francesca have to recuperate from the pneumonia, ear infections and sinus infection that resulted from the virus, she also had to recover from the incredibly strong medications that had been given to her in a tummy which had previously known nothing more than mama’s milk. The traumatic episode resulted in digestive difficulties, lactose intolerance, and the potential to develop asthma, allergies and other long-term effects. [ed note: quoting from the website]

Thuresson quit her job as a social worker, researched herbal remedies, took classes, studied, experimented, eventually landed a diploma in herbal medicine and, along the way, built a company. She visited my class today to talk about how she started Mama Rose’s Naturals. It’s a good story. She told it yesterday to my class in Starting a Business.

Did you ever see the movie Lorenzo’s Oil? It’s about parents not accepting their child’s medical problems or the doctors’ answers about those problems, who end up discovering remedies themselves. Rosetta’s story reminds me of that movie.

There was no business plan, and no funding. But there was an idea, a set of values, conviction and, most important, a lot of work.

She began researching herbal remedies and ways in which to build up Francesca’s flora and fauna after large doses of potent steroids and antibiotics. She began taking classes from the herbal shops in her community and registered for courses in herbal medicine. Rosetta also noticed that all of the baby-care products that she found were unsatisfactory to the needs of a healing child. Even those that claimed to be natural had a list of incomprehensible ingredients. It was clear that if skin could absorb the wonderful benefits of herbs that are used to heal and soothe the body and spirit, that the chemicals found in commercial care products were also being absorbed. Rosetta studied further, and began making herbal teas, soaps, salves and lotions for Francesca and her family.

Family members liked what she was making. Friends liked it. And over time, the idea grew. When I asked her about funding, she just smiled and rolled her eyes. No, not really. Here’s what she says on the website:

After a few months’ time, Rosetta decided to quit her day job and focus on her daughter, and the conception and growth of her new child, Mama Rose’s Naturals.

Business plan or not, funding or not, Thuresson packaged and bundled up her products–and Francesca–and took to the road. She spent nearly a year visiting stores, showing the products and taking orders. She also took a course at the local Small Business Development Center, got some legal help from the University of Oregon law school, and found a graphic artist to develop branding, labels and packaging.

Funding? She rolled her eyes and smiled again. Credit cards.

She didn’t make it sound easy. She did sound satisfied with the results. Mama Rose’s Naturals now has an established brand, a hard-won channel of distribution through health stores and natural foods channels and a retail location here in Eugene, Oregon.

“I love it. I have somewhere to go, besides my kitchen, to mix up the products. My daughter can come and hang out with us.”

She also has the responsibilities of a growing business. The website needs upkeep and the store needs to stay open regular hours. She has employees. She is, in short, up and running.

I want to end this with more background from the website:

Rosetta selected the highest quality, most nourishing ingredients that she could find, and took special care to blend them just perfectly for the tender needs of her baby. The results of Rosetta’s efforts proved to be extremely effective in the healing process of her daughter, who is perfectly healthy and happy today. Rosetta received her diploma in herbal medicine, specializing in the needs of pregnancy, birth, postpartum and infant care. She continues to support and nurture families through her work as an herbal practitioner and birth assistant/doula. Rosetta continues to offer ongoing support and education in the area of natural family health while producing high-quality herbal products for babies and adults alike. Rosetta is dedicated to providing ongoing outreach, education and advocacy to babies, parents and families.

I have to admit I like reading Gene Marks’ columns in Business Week because he’s a good writer and a clever contrarian, which makes his stuff fun to disagree with. Hence my title to this post, which is a counterpoint to his Tech Trends to Ignore.

Here’s my favorite “What? Me worry?” quote from Gene’s latest. On his list of trends to ignore he includes:

Anything Green. In the ’70s we were running out of oil. In the ’80s we had to save the whales. In the ’90s our attention turned to the depleted rain forests. Now it’s all about global warming. Is your business doing what it can for the environment? Do you demand that all of your employees drive hybrid vehicles? Have you installed solar panels to conserve energy? No? Then join the rest of us who want nothing more than to ruin the earth with our decadent and destructive business practices. Do we not care about the environment? Yes, but not enough to waste money on this year’s fire drill. If you can find a technology that helps the environment and is good for your business then go for it. And please let me know too, as I’m still trying to find it.

OK, that’s a fun one to disagree with. Silicon Valley and mainstream venture capital are doing tons of investment in green technologies. People are paying premiums for hybrid cars, socially sensitive farming and manufacturing techniques and fair-trade coffees. People are buying devices to control electronic overflow. People are recycling garbage. Did I read recently that one of the world’s richest people is a Chinese woman entrepreneur who made her fortune in recycling? Or is that just urban myth?

And aside from disagreeing, prove Gene wrong. Can you find a technology that helps the environment and is good for business? I don’t think it’s hard to find.