Ten Tips for Starting a Socially Responsible Business
Nearly a decade ago, Seth Goldman began brewing his dream business in his own kitchen, with a thermos of tea, some old Snapple bottles and help from his B-school professor and partner Barry Nalebuff. Today, Goldman, “TeaEO” of Honest Tea, reigns over the nation’s fastest-growing organic bottled-beverage company, with projected 2007 sales of $23 million and a 58 percent share of the organic tea market. […]
Honest Tea is a pioneer in its industry, offering lightly sweetened, 100 percent organic beverages and claiming the first line of fair trade certified bottled tea in the U.S. Honest Tea truly exemplifies the “new wave” in business — placing equal emphasis on profitability, ecology and humanity, aka the triple bottom line.
More and more entrepreneurs are striving to strike such a balance between profit and principle, asking themselves, “Can do the same in my company? Is my green dream really feasible?” Freelance writer and fair trade entrepreneur April Thompson spoke with Goldman recently to tap the leader for his secrets to start-up success. Here are 10 tips culled from their “fireside chat” on socially responsible entrepreneurship.