Supporting the cause is key

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The tumultuous year that was 2021 showed an accelerated move towards the theme of this blog: Conscious Consumerism. 2021 may not have been the worst year in human history, but the media made it so everyone knew exactly when something bad happened again. With each new event brands took a stand and showed there support one way or another. The most prevalent was brands supporting BLM and showing civil right activism throughout the year as more rights were seemingly violated. So many brands began showing support for different causes it poses the question: is it real support or just a marketing facade to capitalize on concious consumerism?

Big brands are very smart. They have a good sense of market timing, general population sentiment, and needs of the people. They also have the budget to create massive marketing campaigns to get in front of the people. So brands have inevitably realized that people want them to stand for something, so they are. But now it is up to the consumer to be smarter. They will have to understand if a brand really means it or if they are doing it for engagement and jumping on the band wagon. The best companies are the ones that started with a cause and have championed their causes.

Take the company Guayaki for example.(I worked as an ambassador for them so I learned a lot about them. They are also from the town right next to my home.) They started out wanting to create their drinks in a sustainable way without causing harm to the environment. Normally to a Yerba mate tea, companies purchase large pieces of land in South America and then cut down all the trees to grow their crop. Guayaki found a way to instead grow the crop under the canopy of trees and grow other crops that were healthy for the ecosystem. They did all of this not because it’s what the consumer wanted, but because it was right. They started doing this before the consumer knew they wanted business done like this.

The point of this is you have to decipher for yourself if the brand actually cares or if it’s just trying to win you over as a customer.

So that puts me back at my place with my company. I started it because I want to make a change. I want there to be someway to raise awareness and money. So you can find my website at www.teeshirts4causes.com and find out more about what I am trying to do.

[teeshirts4causes]

With any business venture there always comes a time for growth. There are decisions to be made on the right course. These can prove tricky, especially when you are working another job. The main issue a business faces when it is time to grow is finances. It is expensive to grow. There are a few routes to go about financing expansion. You can take out a loan, approach family for funding, or approach venture capitalists. Either way, there is a lot of stress. It’s especially hard when you may have to give up equity in your company which you started.

Once you have decided where to go for funding is when the real work begins. You are going to have to make a presentation in order to show why your business deserves funding. This can be hard to demonstrate in the right way. I have recently started putting my presentation together. I have my company teeshirts4causes and it’s getting hard to fund by myself. I don’t need too much capital but $10,000 would be nice. I have a social company and I firmly believe my company can endure and be successful. I’m nearing the $1,000 in gross sales mark, now that is by no means making money but it is a start. The biggest challenge is translating small sales into a vision that an investor will agree with.

I have put together a presentation that outlines past sales and expenses along with projected sales on a new release of three shirts. I have also developed a plan for marketing through influencers. One of the hard things to do is to remind investors that this is a social venture and profits will be hurt by the cause. But in this day and age profits are no longer the only important thing. Making a difference is.

As always you can find my website at www.teeshirts4causes.com Consider getting a shirt and helping the cause.

[teeshirts4causes]

What’s the purpose of business?

If you asked this question 20 years ago then you would have received the same answer from almost everyone, Generate value for shareholders or generate profit. This no longer holds true. 

The old way of how a business was viewed may have been good for profits but most of the time it was bad for people. Whether it was creating a lot of pollution, leaving people feeling unfulfilled in their careers, or steam-rolling competitors in pursuit of a larger market share. Business was just bad. Consumers couldn’t really do anything about it either, business was king and you consumed what was put in front of you. 

Fast forward to 2021, and that is no longer the case. The purpose of business is to create value for society and progress the consumer. Every action that is taken is with consumer and the impact it will create in mind. Business has reverse engineered the process and completely reinvented itself. Businesses still want to make money, but they want to do good in society and as a result profits will follow. 

Business is no longer king, The consumer is King. The consumer now holds business accountable for their actions. As I have said previously, society has shifted towards conscious consumerism. If a business does not do good for society, then it is doomed to fail. 

For years Coca-cola has been labeled as the worst polluter in the world. Coke takes the stance that once the bottle enters the hands of the consumer then it is no longer their issue. This was acceptable for a long time, but recently it has been an issue. Consumers are beginning to demand Coke do something about the pollution from their products. Their stock price has taken a hit and numerous lawsuits have been brought against coke. Even if these lawsuits fail, it still brings the issue of coke and polluting to eye of the public. Consumers, and even shareholders (who benefit from more profit), are starting to ask Coke to do something about the pollution even if it cuts into profits. 

This is proof enough that Profits and Value for business is no longer the sole purpose of business. If businesses don’t create value for the community then they will no longer be accepted by society.  

[teeshirts4causes]

A new venture

I recently started a company called teeshirts4causes. The whole premise is that every t-shirt collection will have different causes that they are meant to raise money for and bring awareness to. This is something I’ve long wanted to do because I want to be successful in business but I also want to make a difference. And I have a belief that in order to be successful in the future of business there has to be a solid desire to make a positive impact on society. Let me elaborate. 

Previously, a business could simply provide a service and that was enough for consumers. Now businesses have to be social corporations and serve a purpose greater than just providing a service. Consumers want companies to stand for something and want products to mean more than just something bought. This new age is called conscious consumerism. Consumers are holding brands accountable and closely monitoring what businesses are doing. The sole purpose of businesses is no longer to create profit for shareholders. It has now shifted to creating value for stakeholders and making a positive impact on the world. 

So I am building a company on that premise. I want to make a difference and this is how I have decided to do so. The company is a for profit company because it will enable me to do more in the future and eventually give more to the community. You can find my website at www.teeshirts4causes.com. There have been some hiccups on the way and I am currently battling shipping issues, due to the whole pandemic we are in, but I am expecting the first collections of shirts to be at my doorstep on Thursday and I will begin shipping them out that day. 

So I will be writing in this blog about my experience with running this business and also my thoughts on the expansion of Conscious Consumerism. So if these things interest you give me a follow, and message me if you are interested in getting involved. (Also you can use the code calistrong at checkout in order to get 15% off our order).