"You’re doing great things and your voice deserves to be heard. "
Expert Roundup: 3 Tips to be a Successful Ecopreneur
Entrepreneurship sometimes feels like grasping at straws. The to-do lists are long and the days too short. Plus, as an ecopreneur, you’re also trying to create a positive impact on the planet— and that’s not an easy task.
As ecopreneurs, we understand the struggle! And we’re determined to help you build the foundations of a successful green business. You’re doing great things and your voice deserves to be heard.
To give you a helping hand in your journey, we round up the best tips to help you succeed. These tips come from actual ecopreneurs who shared their expertise for this blog. Let’s dive in!
What is an ecopreneur?
Now, if you consider yourself an ecopreneur and you want to propel your green business to success— these are the best tips to support your journey.
1. Mindset Matters— Find Your Balance
This tip comes from Ana, a copywriter in the sustainability space.
If I could go back in time and give myself advice when I started as a freelancer I would say ‘focus on your mindset’. I didn’t see success until I truly believed I could be successful. Impostor syndrome is real and it creeps up on you when you least expect it. To truly beat it and propel yourself to success having a strong mindset is key.
One of the things that helped me overcome impostor syndrome was finding a balance between work and time for myself. I worked on making time for the things I love and not guilt-trip myself for not working weekends or working 50 hours a week.
One of the reasons I became an ecopreneur was to have more time to do things I love but the first year I spent it glued to my computer without seeing the results I wanted and just unhappy with my work-life balance.
Now, I work the hours I need to work to finish my projects, I don’t ever work on the weekends, and I make time for hobbies and creative time. This has helped me be more successful, more productive and happy, and it keeps me from burning out.
2. Create Reliable Systems Within Your Business
This tip comes from Lara, Sustainability & Business Coach and the founder of Why Not Sustainable.
From a strategic point of view, reliable internal and external systems can be the trickiest to establish. I recommend to study and test the reliability of the systems you’re putting in place before getting started. These are some examples of systems:
You want to source sustainable/fair trade cotton for your slow fashion brand. Ordering, shipping, and receiving is a system. Due to factors such as novelty, low or high demand, elevated cost of production, and time delays related to production or quantity— these systems have a tendency to not be as reliable or commonplace as we might like them to be, but they need establishing for business to run smoothly.
Another system that is commonly forgotten is communicating your ethical practices through marketing or raising awareness on the importance/value of your product or service. Establishing a reliable line of communication is worth investing in as a system/workflow. This system can look like this:
Create content, make it available to potential clients through different channels and allow for engagement and feedback— don’t forget a Call To Action (CTA).
3. Take It One Step at the Time
This tip comes from Jeanne, a Mindful Branding expert and founder of Spark And Bloom Studio.
When it comes to your business, think about it as a whole, from the lens of your brand. It’s not just about the services or products you offer, it’s also about your own operations and the way you communicate with your audience.
When these three pillars are aligned— what you offer, your operations, and your messaging— your brand experience becomes richer and more engaging. As an ecopreneur, you have a lot on your plate. Take it one step at a time and communicate transparently about what you can improve in the future! This gives you a to-do list that’s easy to go through and shows your audience that you’re committed.
4. Keep on Learning!
This tip comes from everyone at WhyNot Sustainable!
As an ecopreneur, polishing your skills or learning new ones is a must. When running a business, knowing your products, services or industry well isn’t enough. You also need to learn about organization, marketing, finance, business management, copywriting, design, and more.
That’s no easy task!
But that’s exactly why WhyNot Sustainable was created— to help ecopreneuers like you master those necessary skills to be successful. Join our team of eco-experts as they share their skills with you and support you on your journey.
