Okay, we’ve almost got plastic grocery bags eliminated – I’ve seen everyone from moms to tattooed biker guys with their canvas bags at the grocery store. Fantastic! We even have canvas bags for sale at my other web site: Hippy Grandma.

But I found myself reaching for plastic produce bags the other day in the produce isle at my local grocery store and wondering what the heck I was doing. You know those little clear plastic bags we put potatoes and beans and carrots in? I had reduced using those bags by a long shot – preferring to not use them at all for bananas or oranges and other stuff that gets peeled or doesn’t drip. But when I bought swiss chard or walnuts in bulk I was stuck using a small, plastic bag.

Then the other day in the checkout line I saw a shopper with all her produce in mesh bags that were clearly reusable. I asked her where she got them and she mentioned The Market Kitchen, a kitchen supply store on Granville Island.

So then I started doing a little research and found a number of great ideas for replacing plastic produce bags. My favorite so far is Lioli, for a few reasons:

1. It comes as a large tote for groceries with six little bags for produce.
2. The smaller bags come in mesh style (for produce) or cotton canvas for things like nuts or grains. (Produce Or Grain – POG. Get it?)
3. The large canvas tote has an outside pocket to hold the little POG sacks.
4. The coloured bags are made with azo free low impact dyes and all lioli bags are made fair wage/fair labour.
5. A portion of the proceeds from all bags goes to the David Suzuki foundation.

Colour me happy!

namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan
life & business coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment
www.shaktisage.com
604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul & the heart and soul of your business.”

A tiny and unique publishing house in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadhu has been improbably successful at a time when bookstores and publishing houses are struggling and the world economy is not helping.

When Gita Wolf moved back to India from Germany, where she was feeling unfulfilled teaching comparative literature, she brought together some writers and designers she knew and formed Tara Books in 1994. She and her friends decided to focus on children’s books so that the children of India would be able to find their world depicted in literature.

Toronto’s Annick Press, famous for producing Robert Munsch’s children’s stories, got involved with Tara in 1996 and placed what was, for Tara, a huge order of 8,000 copies of one of their first titles, The Very Hungry Lion.

One of the things that is unique about Tara is that all the books are handmade. Early on, colours for the paints for the books were mixed in oil drums using cricket bats. Their processes have been upgraded since then and just few months ago, founder Gita Wolf converted Tara into a worker-owned collective.

Now that’s a small business success story with heart!

namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan
life & business coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment
www.shaktisage.com
604-323-3700

“Coaching for your heart & soul & the heart and soul of your business.”

Did you know that many businesses do extremely well during a time of

“an “economic re-balancing”?  Why do you think this is? 

 

Business & life coaches love discussions about economic downturns as it opens up the conversation to deeply investigate personal attitudes, expectations and beliefs.  With this type of an exploration, we start to “re-light the fire of burning desire” and ignite those powerful and dynamic internal forces that are the signature characteristics of extraordinary entrepreneurs who truly run sustainable superstar businesses.  This doesn’t mean that it is a comfortable or easy process, in fact, it is often quite the reverse, it can be scary, uncomfortable and edgy.  In retrospect though, women entrepreneurs often look back and also say that it was exhilarating!

 

Entrepreneurs who are competitive and like challenges often respond to an economic downturn by making a “game of it”, saying things like “I am not going to let this get to me”, “I’m going to prove this thing wrong” etc.  Their attitude and pattern of responding to a challenge often kick starts them into massive action, which generates huge business momentum.  Pam talks about this in her article, in www.thesuperstarblog.com ,how during a recession, businesses clean house and often actually re-invent themselves, resulting in a revitalized business.

 

Just knowing that many businesses flourish in times of a re-balancing, expands expectations of what is possible in business.  Rather than expect that there will be negative results, ask yourself how you and your business can leverage this natural part of an economic cycle.  You may find that by asking questions about how you can make this work for you, creative and innovative ideas pop in.  Yes, it is a cliché, however, remember that “what goes down, must come up.”  How can you position your self and your business to tap into the upswing?

 

A really powerful shift can happen for many women entrepreneurs when they allow themselves to use an economic downturn as a “gateway” or catalyst to explore their dominant belief patterns.  I highly expect that as a business woman, faced with the possibility of a “recession” your personal “limiting beliefs” will be very easy to access.  I experience this myself.  As well, any “dominant cultural limiting beliefs” will be accessible and you may feel the strong pull towards a downward spiral of negativity.  You can halt this downward spiral and use this is an amazing opportunity to work on changing your beliefs and your internal self-talk. 

 

Warren Buffett apparently loves economic down turns and I love Warren Buffett.  I love Warren Buffett because from what I read about him, he is an amazing and brilliant person who in spite of being incredibly wealthy, continues to drive an old model vehicle, live in his “normal house” and it sounds like, has instilled solid values in his children.  I love Warren Buffett because he seems to value the amazing people who manage under capitalized businesses.  I love Warren Buffett because he understands that it is the power of the people in an organization that makes the organization strong and dynamic.  My guess is that Warren Buffett has a pretty clear set of wonderful “enabling and prospering beliefs”.

 

An economic downturn is the best time to change your “limiting beliefs” to “enabling and prospering beliefs”.  I never underestimate the power of the human spirit, when pushed to the edge with a recession to create, innovate, inspire, collaborate, re-design, re-vitalize, experiment and in fact “leap frog” into something new and amazing.  I love the following quote, although I can’t remember where I first heard it…“Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can’t, you are right!”  Changing belief systems is an intense exploration and often requires the support of a skilled life & business coach or other professional as it is very easy to get stuck in the process.

 

Yes, these are platitudes and yes, these are true, however, remember… the power of positive belief and expectation, you can do it if you believe you can and never, ever, ever give up!  You have the power within you to shift your beliefs, make this economic situation work for you and we believe in you too!

 

 

namaste,

 

Zoey

 

Zoey Ryan

coach . catalyst . shakti sage

life & business coach for women

"Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business"

www.positivelyoutrageouswomen.com

www.entrepreneurialsuperstars.com

604-323-3700

Support fair trade, eco-friendly gift giving at Hippy Grandma: hippy love for generations - earth friendly treasures for your grandbabies, their mamas and you! www.hippygrandma.com

 

 

 

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about being a “hippy grandma in training” and being very excited to be welcoming a new generation of babies into the world.  Well, that excitement catalyzed a new “baby” of my own, a website – “Hippy Grandma: hippy love for generations” selling earth friendly treasures for your grandbabies, their mamas and you!  We sell fair trade and honest trade, exquisite and unique products, mostly “hand crafted” by real grandmas and “spirit grandmas”.

www.hippygrandma.com

Our “Grandmafesto”

Hippy Grandma: hip, happy, hippie women caring for Mother Earth and the next 7 generations!

It’s a state of mind
It’s a movement
It’s a radical BE-INg.

Please come and visit!

Namaste,

Zoey

I have outgrown the phraseology “positively outrageous women”!  Since I have used this phrase as my website url for about five years, it may also have gotten stale.  The dilemma is that POW is a “brand” in our small local community and among my contacts.

My gut and heart say one thing and my head says another.

I find this process so interesting as I can not disconnect my business evolution from my chronological age.  In my 40’s I did feel outrageous in a positive way.  Now, in my 50’s, my entrepreneurial energy feels softer and gentler, yet has a strong and clear core.

I would love your thoughts and feedback on this issue.  Have you had a similar experience in your business?  What did you learn?  What do you think about my dilemma?

namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan, PCC

life & buisness coach for women

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart and soul of your busness”

“The Enlightened Entrepreneur: A Spiritual Approach to Creating and Marketing A Company”   by Grace Bulger

In this book, Grace Bulger, a marketing consultant specializing in corporate identity work and former VP of communications for GE Capital Rail Services, brings a strategic, values based process to designing a business.

While totally open to her wording the title with the use of the word “spiritual”, I couldn’t actually find many references to spirituality and certainly few references to religion or a higher power.  What I did find was a clearly laid out, easy to read primer for any socially responsible entrepreneur who wants their business to be an expression of their life purpose.

Not just for the pre-start up phase but for any entrepreneur wanting to re-energize their business, the author mixes real life business examples with practical and easy to follow exercises.  You and your business will benefit!

If you admire business women like Anita Roddick of the Body Shop or respect the social responsibility of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, then I think you will love this book!

Namaste,Zoey

Zoey Ryan

coach . catalyst . shakti sage

life & business coach for women

“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business“

www.positivelyoutrageouswomen.com

www.entrepreneurialsuperstars.com

604-323-3700

Work From Your Strengths Not Your Weaknesses!

 

As Michael Gerber in his series of writing on the “E-Myth” points out, an entrepreneur can not sustain multiple roles for long before becoming overwhelmed, disillusioned and often “broke”.  As an entrepreneur and particularly for women entrepreneurs who may also have the main role in doing the “work/kid/domestic duties/life balance” juggle, the new mantra or trend is “work from your strengths not your weaknesses”!

 

How many of you know what your strengths are?  What about your weaknesses?

 

There are many ways to figure this out from self-reflection and personal questioning to using assessments and inventories, to working with a skilled professional.  Two simple questions to ask are: what do I love doing in my business, what do I hate doing in my business.

 

Once you have determined three key strengths and three key weaknesses, the fun part starts.  You can use the “trends” of creativity, collaboration and partnership to ignite your business.  Here is how it works; say you love visioning and staying in touch with all your clients and vendors but hate the admin side and all the paperwork.  Working from your strengths would mean that you continued to do the activities that you loved and either hired or formed a strategic alliance or partnership with someone who loves the details and paperwork.  Or, say that you are an amazing coach and love coaching but get stuck when it comes to marketing.  You form a “partnership” with another coach or business person in a complementary field who loves marketing and together you are a dynamic and powerful collaborative force!

 

So, get to know your strengths and give yourself permission to work from your strengths!  You will experience greater passion, pleasure and my guess is, profitability in your business.  I would love to assist you with this process and use the “personal coaching styles inventory” as a guide.  Another resource that might be helpful is the book, “Now Discover Your Strengths” by Marcus Cunningham and Donald O. Clifton.

 

“May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in beauty and joy each day.” – Native American Proverb

www.positivelyoutrageouswomen.com

604-323-3700

I still wear a favorite t-shirt from the Body Shop even though it is raggedy and has quite a few holes.  I still wear it for one reason and that is the bold, bright and beautiful quote on the back of the shirt.  This quote is by Walt Whitman and reads:

 

“Re-examine all you have been told…Dismiss what insults you soul”.

 

This quote and the other values that Anita Roddick and The Body Shop exemplified have long served as inspirations for my life. 

 

I had the great pleasure of hearing Anita Roddick speak in Vancouver in the late 90’s.  She walked on stage, wearing a funky understated outfit and totally captivated the audience of over 2000 women.  She modeled her personal values and essence to me by standing fully in her powerful presence.  It was clear to me then as it has been in the ensuing years that she “wore her skin well”, that she knew who she was and what she stood for and that this “knowing” informed all of her actions.

 

I attempt to live my life and operate my business in the same way; from a sense of knowing who I am; from a foundation of a clear vision and the values of integrity, authenticity, freedom and respect; from understanding that one’s heart and soul need to be nourished through their life and work as well as their work meeting the needs of their clients; from an understanding that one’s uniqueness  is an attribute to be brought forward and exalted, not hidden.  I love the quote by Anita Roddick’s mother (page 33, “Business As Unusual”), “And my mother taught me how important personalities are in business.  She made me realize that you can’t be a nondescript person or you will have a nondescript product.  Be special she would always say.  Be anything but mediocre.”

 

So, my encouragement to you as a woman entrepreneur is to go forward boldly and courageously in your life and business and be special, be anything but mediocre!  If you would like to explore these teachings further, join us at the Westin, Whistler BC, October 17-19^th, 2008 for “Fire, Ice & Lipstick: THE Business Retreat for Women Entrepreneurs”.  Attend and you can also participate in the Starlight Soiree & Awards Dinner, honouring socially conscious women entrepreneurs who embody the spirit of Anita Roddick in their life and work. For more info click on:

 http://www.entrepreneurialsuperstars.com/fire-ice-lipstick-retreat08.htm

 

namaste,

 

Zoey

 

Zoey Ryan

coach . catalyst . shakti sage

life & business coach for women

"Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business"

www.positivelyoutrageouswomen.com

www.entrepreneurialsuperstars.com

604-323-3700

 

 

“My vision, my hope is simply this: that many business leaders will come to see a primary role of business as incubators of the human spirit, rather than factories for the production of more material goods and services.” - Anita Roddick, Founder, “The Body Shop”

Life Success, Business Success or Both aka Can You Have It All?

“To follow without halt, one aim; there is the secret of success. And success? What is it? I do not find it in the applause of the theater; it lies rather in the satisfaction of accomplishment.” – Anna Pavlova

As a working woman, is it possible to “have it all”; the career, a family, travel, financial security, flexibility, life balance?  Can you have both a successful life and a successful business?

Whether the term is “mompreneur”, “lifestylepreneur”, “socially responsible” entrepreneur using the triple bottom line or “culturally creative woman entrepreneur”, there is one key distinguishing element: maintaining a successful life, not just a successful business!

Historically, businesses existed for two reasons only, growth and profit!  In the past few years, there has been a movement to broaden the range of business models, designs and the “reason for being”.  The shift is from “working for your business” to “having your business work for you” so that you can live an incredible life!

Mompreneurs, or women who work from home, often chose this way of working as it allows them to be home with their children and grow a business.  Profit is sometimes secondary to life balance and flexibility.

Lifestylepreneurs design businesses that provide an income to allow them freedom, flexibility and life balance.

The “socially responsible entrepreneur using a triple bottom line” pays attention to: profit, the planet and the people impacted by their business.

“Culturally creative women entrepreneurs” employ the triple bottom line and have a strong orientation towards personal growth, spirituality and exploring their inner life.  These women tend to integrate business with their life purpose and design businesses that “do well by doing good”.  Their business tends to be their “self-actualization” and brings a deeper sense of meaning and fulfillment into their lives.

About 8 years ago as I was transitioning out of health care and into coaching, doing my coach training with Corporate Coach U, one of our assignments was to write a 1-2 sentence definition of living a “successful life”.  Here is what I wrote: ‘Living a successful life means spending time with my family and having health, time and money for travel, yoga and reading, working from home three days a week while the kids are at school.’

From this description it is clear that time, family and travel are what I valued and my work supported this.  I was in the “mompreneur” category.  My definition of a successful life has changed somewhat over the years as our family and I have gotten older and my current definition goes like this: ‘Living a successful life means doing what I love, while spending time with those I love so that I can give back to the community and planet that I love’!  I would now put myself in the “culturally creative women entrepreneur” category!

How would you define a successful life for yourself?  What about a successful business?  Can you combine the two?  Give it a try.  Start with writing out a paragraph and then try to distill your definition to 1-2 sentences.  As you progress through this exercise and gain clarity, it will serve as a touch stone for you and your business and give you an anchor from which to make business decisions.  And, guess what, this is part of your business planning!

Success
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
- Bessie Stanley

namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan, PCC

coach . catalyst . shakti sage
life & business coach for women
“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”
www.positivelyoutrageouswomen.com
www.entrepreneurialsuperstars.com
604-323-3700

“13 Trends That Will Transform Your Business
Whether You Want Them To Or Not”

I love thinking, reading and surfing ideas about the future and admit that I have been imprinted and influenced by Faith Popcorn.  I also love and recommend “Megatrends 2010:  The Rise Of Conscious Capitalism – Seven Trends That Will Transform How You Work, Live and Invest” by Patricia Aburdene and absolutely any thing by or with Barbara Marx Hubbard (www.evolve.org ).  It is not my intention to “channel” these authors, rather I wish to acknowledge their original ideas and words and build on these concepts.  While the majority of the ideas presented are focused on trends in North America, some can be applied more widely.

Here is my compilation of 13 important trends and new ideas that will transform your business and life!

1.  Brain Dough aka brain plasticity:

Yes, you can “teach an old dog new tricks”, our brains are actually malleable or flexible.    This concept is referred to as brain plasticity.  What is brain plasticity? Does it mean that our brains are made of plastic? Of course not. Plasticity, or neuroplasticity, is the lifelong ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences. As we learn, we acquire new knowledge and skills through instruction or experience. In order to learn or memorize a fact or skill, there must be persistent functional changes in the brain that represent the new knowledge.  The ability of the brain to change with learning is what is know as neuroplasticity.

Source: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/plast.html

2.  Grandma Power:

Elder women are becoming an increasingly powerful and large group as the boomers age.  Think hip, happy, and hippie grandmas rather than blue rinses and fraility!

3.  Squeeze More In(n):

Community living takes on a new meaning as more extended families chose to remain living together.  This is a new idea for many North Americans and will require skilled and open communication and attention to compromise and consensus.

4. Values Redux:

Increasingly large numbers of consumers will make purchasing decisions based on their strongly held personal values.

5. Glass Houses:

With amazing technology and the internet, all we do and say will be visible, this is an opportunity to be uber transparent and ethical in life & work.  There will be no place to hide.

6. Big Hearts:

The emotions and qualities of love, loving-kindness and compassion from a big soft, warm melted open heart will be increasingly integrated into business practices through meditation, lovingkindness retreats and prayer.

7. C3 – Circles, Collaboration & Co-Creation:

All organizations, families and groups are moving towards and squishing down into wonderful, resonant, concentric circles around a big heart center.  The dominant forces will be: life, creativity, win/win and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

8. Saffron, Sage and Soul:

As India and China increasingly take over the global production of goods, our interest in and our reliance on these countries will increase.  We will continue to integrate both eastern and western spiritual traditions, adding in a dash of “conscious evolution”  producing a spicy, rich and deeply satisfying new meta-spiritual tradition.

9. Bugs R Us:

Everything will be about whole systems and models based on nature.

10.    Flowers In Your Hair and Everywhere:

Integrating the “big heart” concept, there will be growing appreciation of art & beauty and a laid back lifestyle as forces for social change and business re-vitalization.

11.    Re-Calibration Back to a Lunar Calendar:

It only makes sense!

12.    Science Fictionary:

Life expectancy will continue to increase and concepts that were only science fiction will be part of every day life.  More and more folks will choose to vacation at home through holograms and other multisensory innovations.

13.  The Concept of Paradox:

We will be challenged to live a life of increasing paradox and complexity and time will seem to speed up! Folks will be curious about the concept of “nothingness”.

namaste,

Zoey

Zoey Ryan
coach . catalyst . shakti sage
life & business coach for women
“Coaching for your heart & soul and the heart & soul of your business”
www.positivelyoutrageouswomen.com
604-323-3700