It's New Year's Eve. Looking back on 2009. few customers were willing to shell out the extra green for “green products.” At least not like I thought they would!
Perhaps they thought we were lining our pockets with green if they paid a premium to do the right thing. Naw, I don't think that's the case. They simply needed Big, Bold, and Beautiful Color! They weren't out to save the planet! They were out to save their budgets!
Things will be different next year! By golly! We are going to get lean and offer customers eco-friendly products at the same price as old nasty vinyl! Every last one of the very best .. even if we have to grow the cotton ourselves! Long live lean and green!
So mark your calendars! Beginning in the year 2010, price is no longer a barrier to going green.
Next New Year’s Eve I’ll let you know how it went. Happy New Year everyone!
Helping restore the independence of the third (non-profit) sector.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Greenwash Equals Hogwash
Greenwash is the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products as environmentally friendly. I see it when quizzing raw material suppliers. For example, there are manufacturers of nasty old banner vinyl that is that they claim to be bio-degradable, or compostable. Oh yeah?
It takes regular nasty old vinyl banner material 300 years to decompose. As it does it releases dioxin a cancer causing global pollutant. Do does is a material made from petro-chemicals that decomposes faster good or bad for the environment?
I have never seen anyone in my neighborhood compost with vinyl, bio-degradable or not!
It takes regular nasty old vinyl banner material 300 years to decompose. As it does it releases dioxin a cancer causing global pollutant. Do does is a material made from petro-chemicals that decomposes faster good or bad for the environment?
I have never seen anyone in my neighborhood compost with vinyl, bio-degradable or not!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Why a grant?
First question I get about the Capacity to Care Program is what is the catch. Second if there is a tax advantage for calling it a grant?
Well there is no catch, like any business and perhaps ours more than others is asked to support good causes with contributions of time, talent, product and money. It is very difficult to say no to some and yes to others.
Accountants may not think it is to smart because if you figure overhead and labor into the equation then selling something that is already competitively priced for half ... is not the way to run a business.
I believe that your overhead and labor are expenses that you are going to pay regardless of whether you have excess capacity or not .. so you might as well put that excess capacity to good use and do it in such a way that you generate enough income to cover materials and part of your costs.. and do a lot of good in the process... hey, nothing wrong, so long as there is capacity that would otherwise go to waste.
Speaking about process. I hope that this program will keep us all sharp, continuously looking for ways to improve on our process and look for ways to cut out steps in the process. That is what lean is all about.You find those improvements when you work towards capacity .. when you are working below capacity the motivation to focus on improving your process to increase your capacity is just not as strong.
I will keep you posted and please ask questions by posting a comment on this Blog, because it is probably a question that someone else has.
Well there is no catch, like any business and perhaps ours more than others is asked to support good causes with contributions of time, talent, product and money. It is very difficult to say no to some and yes to others.
Accountants may not think it is to smart because if you figure overhead and labor into the equation then selling something that is already competitively priced for half ... is not the way to run a business.
I believe that your overhead and labor are expenses that you are going to pay regardless of whether you have excess capacity or not .. so you might as well put that excess capacity to good use and do it in such a way that you generate enough income to cover materials and part of your costs.. and do a lot of good in the process... hey, nothing wrong, so long as there is capacity that would otherwise go to waste.
Speaking about process. I hope that this program will keep us all sharp, continuously looking for ways to improve on our process and look for ways to cut out steps in the process. That is what lean is all about.You find those improvements when you work towards capacity .. when you are working below capacity the motivation to focus on improving your process to increase your capacity is just not as strong.
I will keep you posted and please ask questions by posting a comment on this Blog, because it is probably a question that someone else has.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Capacity to Care
Like most industries, there are busiy seasons that when it rains it pours and other times when it is not as busiy was we would like. We are increasing our capacity to produce daily with improvement in our process. So what do we do with our excess capacity?
We decided to make good use of it by starting a matching grant program for non-profits.
In short, it provides them with a dollar for dollar match or in other words a 50% discount on our goods and services to qualifying non-profits who plan ahead.
Before starting a business I worked for the American Heart Association. For 17 years I worked with and for terrific people who were on a mission to reduce premature death and disability from heart disease.
Well there are many good causes in America and we are are going to see how much capacity we have to care about as many as possible.
I figure that given ample time to squeeze a job in, we should be able to do a lot of good. http://www.bellagraphics.com/capacitytocare.htm
We decided to make good use of it by starting a matching grant program for non-profits.
In short, it provides them with a dollar for dollar match or in other words a 50% discount on our goods and services to qualifying non-profits who plan ahead.
Before starting a business I worked for the American Heart Association. For 17 years I worked with and for terrific people who were on a mission to reduce premature death and disability from heart disease.
Well there are many good causes in America and we are are going to see how much capacity we have to care about as many as possible.
I figure that given ample time to squeeze a job in, we should be able to do a lot of good. http://www.bellagraphics.com/capacitytocare.htm
Friday, April 13, 2007
Lean Thinking Articles
From Curious Cat Management Improvement Connections comes a list of favorite articles on Lean Thinking.
This is an excellent place to start if you are looking for "lean" in a nutshell.
This is an excellent place to start if you are looking for "lean" in a nutshell.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Aditorial - Ad with substance.
Lean marketing is always about process. Part of our "Bella's" marketing process is to develope a "case" for each new product offering. In that case we strive to provide reasons why our clients need our offering.
We are about to introduce a "Branding Guide" to our clients via a combination of aditorials. ads with substance, and how to articles. Oh how we struggled to keep the following short.
We are from Sheridan, Wyoming. . The #1 western town. Its spring which means it is branding time. Our clients are from all over the country .. but branding time to our local market rings a special bell.
Smart Businesses Rely on Visual Identity to Increase Sales—Branding
Bella Graphics full service graphic design firm creates visual identity for businesses
Special Report by Ron Kensey
Branding will likely become more important for businesses as technology advances increase consumer awareness of products & services
A media rich 21st Century is fueling demand for products & services. Branding experts say that for businesses to keep their marketing efforts effective they need to first examine their brand(s).
So what is a brand? A brand is a name, logo, and design scheme that is used as a visual cue to help prospects recall what they know about a company, product or service. An effective brand doesn’t require interpretation or explanation; it is elegantly simple, unique and easy to recall.
The process of developing elements of a brand, such as its name, image, unique quality and relevant marketing messages is derived from examining why consumers or businesses buy from particular organizations and how branding affects the purchasing decision.
Bella Graphics & Display, a full service graphic design firm based in Sheridan, Wyoming, consults its clients on their brand(s). Bella’s experienced team helps create or freshen up existing brands by developing a branding guide for its clients that clearly identifies visually how the brand should look in a variety of formats.
The guide specifies the exact corporate colors, fonts and design schemes including suggestions on how to incorporate the brand in web site design or web site banners. Printers and vendors appreciate the guide because they know exactly what is expected of them in a language that they understand.
Bella provides the branding guide on CD to its clients. It contains a brands logo in a proper .eps file format as well as several useful ready-to-use templates for business cards, letterhead, envelopes and fax cover sheets. Should Bella clients need additional visual ads, such as sell sheets, advertisements, brochures, or a hard copy of their website, these creatives can be created and included on the branding cd.
The guide is a tool that works well for implementing the organization-wide use of the brand. The guide saves businesses time, money and has the piece of mind that the branding tools are in place to ensure consistent use of the brand.
Examine your brand today with Bella Graphics visual imaging experts by calling 307-675-1007 for a free consultation. Let Bella’s advertising and marketing expertise help you keep your products and services in front of your customers! Visit http://www.bellagraphics.com/theguide for more information.
We are about to introduce a "Branding Guide" to our clients via a combination of aditorials. ads with substance, and how to articles. Oh how we struggled to keep the following short.
We are from Sheridan, Wyoming. . The #1 western town. Its spring which means it is branding time. Our clients are from all over the country .. but branding time to our local market rings a special bell.
Smart Businesses Rely on Visual Identity to Increase Sales—Branding
Bella Graphics full service graphic design firm creates visual identity for businesses
Special Report by Ron Kensey
Branding will likely become more important for businesses as technology advances increase consumer awareness of products & services
A media rich 21st Century is fueling demand for products & services. Branding experts say that for businesses to keep their marketing efforts effective they need to first examine their brand(s).
So what is a brand? A brand is a name, logo, and design scheme that is used as a visual cue to help prospects recall what they know about a company, product or service. An effective brand doesn’t require interpretation or explanation; it is elegantly simple, unique and easy to recall.
The process of developing elements of a brand, such as its name, image, unique quality and relevant marketing messages is derived from examining why consumers or businesses buy from particular organizations and how branding affects the purchasing decision.
Bella Graphics & Display, a full service graphic design firm based in Sheridan, Wyoming, consults its clients on their brand(s). Bella’s experienced team helps create or freshen up existing brands by developing a branding guide for its clients that clearly identifies visually how the brand should look in a variety of formats.
The guide specifies the exact corporate colors, fonts and design schemes including suggestions on how to incorporate the brand in web site design or web site banners. Printers and vendors appreciate the guide because they know exactly what is expected of them in a language that they understand.
Bella provides the branding guide on CD to its clients. It contains a brands logo in a proper .eps file format as well as several useful ready-to-use templates for business cards, letterhead, envelopes and fax cover sheets. Should Bella clients need additional visual ads, such as sell sheets, advertisements, brochures, or a hard copy of their website, these creatives can be created and included on the branding cd.
The guide is a tool that works well for implementing the organization-wide use of the brand. The guide saves businesses time, money and has the piece of mind that the branding tools are in place to ensure consistent use of the brand.
Examine your brand today with Bella Graphics visual imaging experts by calling 307-675-1007 for a free consultation. Let Bella’s advertising and marketing expertise help you keep your products and services in front of your customers! Visit http://www.bellagraphics.com/theguide for more information.
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