Footrace Against Time

GRAB YOUR P.E.E.L. Coffee mugs as Tim prepares for Article VI: "Good Neighbors and Pig Slop"

"Ahem, ahem" (clearing throat).

I would like to try to bring a little more clarity to what we are trying to do here.

We are trying to accomplish a unique position in the business world, one that exists not only to make a fair profit, but to make an effective positive change to the world around us.

The industrial age brought big business, and the attitude of most big business at that time was that profit was THE bottom line. Never mind the cost to the resources of the Earth and all it's inhabitants.

Attitudes have changed since then, but there is still a great need for more businesses that give more than it takes from physical, mental, and spiritual resources. We believe that we are one of those businesses.

I listen to business advisors, and they say that the only responsibility a president or CEO of a company has, is to make profits for it's stockholders. But I will have to contest this popular opinion.

I understand that unless a profit is made, investors will not put their money into a business, and without needed capital the business will fail.

I also understand that if a business cannot pay the bills, that the business will fail.

I also understand that unless the potential for profits are worth the extra risk, stress, and long hours of work required to build a business, very few if any would ever build a business.

But I present this to you. If you are a business person, or have influence on business people, once the success and profits have been obtained, do you have peace of mind if you obtained those profits and success in a destructive manner?

I have nothing against a person searching for riches. I myself hope to be independently wealthy someday, but not at the expense of my soul. As you seek your fortune, or even your comfortable style of living, you should seek to do it in a way that makes the world around you a better place, not only for the future inhabitants of this Earth and those presently living here with you, but for your peace of mind.

I believe that there is another bottom line to a business that we must watch, and that is the profit or loss it creates for our world's natural resources, and the well being of humans and animals.

I have been told by many that I am going about marketing all wrong. I tell people up front to please not purchase our products unless you really are ready, or really need them, or really believe they are a good value.

Marketing "experts" tell me that if I push the product more, I will sell more, that I need to drop these letters I write of encouragement and do-gooding, and just concentrate on "sales."

Yes, I know that my method of marketing is pretty strange. But I am a true entrepreneur, and I believe in creating new methods of doing business, not following stamped out cookie cutter molded methods. I believe in creating new techniques that are better for all of us.

I know that many of my readers will never buy our products, yet we are happy to count them as our readers when it comes time to ask for help writing letters to the President, or any other campaigns we may participate in. They help us to make a difference, whether or not they ever purchase our products.

I have read the story of Ben and Jerry, of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, and I must say that they have set a very good example to the business world. They have shown the world that you can be successful and moral.

I read that there were concerns of all the waste they were dumping from the production of their ice cream, so Ben and Jerry found a pig farm that used the waste for food. This saved a lot of dumping into the water streams, and helped the local pig farmers with free pig slop. (Ironically, I believe that Ben and Jerry are vegetarians, but they are very concerned about being a good neighbor and felt this was a good solution anyway).

Ben and Jerry have created the type of business that we need a lot more of, and they did it with new ideas that were not always accepted as "intelligent business." Examples such as these two inspire me to continue with my crazy ideas that I believe will yield good profits as well as good neighbors and friends.

I would like you to see me in a perspective that is not total naievity. I have been exposed to ogres of business, yea, even destined to work closely with them over my life. I have built and lost several businesses since my early 20's, and served as president and general manager of two multi-million dollar fundraising/marketing firms, both of which I built from ground zero.

I have learned from life how harsh business can be, but I have also learned that it can be done another way. I have learned that people respond to kindness much more than to fear. I have seen that using fear to lead people will create faster results, but only for a short time. By using kindness, honesty, and willingness to be the servant, I have found that you may have slower results in the beginning, but the long term is so much more rewarding in profits as well as personal freedom and peace of mind.

Finally, after serving much time building businesses the way other people have wanted them to be built, I now have total control over the creation of a business, my business, and I want to show that a business can make a positive change in the world, and still be a successful business. I want people to feel good about doing business with me, so that I can feel good back. When it is my turn to die, I want to remember the change for the better I helped to make, not the pile of money I may or may not have at the time.

I could tell you some stories of evil men that would curl your toes. Men that I have worked closely with, and were respected leaders. These were persons who I had obligated myself to operate business for, and only because of my sense of loyalty and finishing a job I started, did I stay until I felt I had finished my work.

But I have now dedicated all my life and time toward the betterment of our world, and the building of a positive effects business. I hope that our business will someday be held up as a model for future businesses that want to have a positive effect on the world. I hope that by showing non-Earth and people friendly businesses that it is possible to have a growing, profitable company with our values, will in turn show them it is good business to be Earth friendly. This would hopefully result in more Earth friendly businesses.

I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS WHY WE ARE NOT A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION: I have chosen not to have a non-profit status for several reasons: 1. I want to make a profit.

2. I do not like to beg for donations. I know there are many worthy charities, and I believe that we should donate money as we can afford it to them, but I just am not up to begging.

3. I want to help single mothers, fathers, and couples with children that need second jobs to build an income that allows them to stay with their family more. I cannot do this with a charity.

4. I like making Earth friendly products. I like selling them. It gives me a good feeling to help people save money with a product that solves a problem and provides a good feeling to the customer. If I were a charity, I would not need to do this. I would just beg for donations.

5. I want to show charities and non-profit organizations the most honest and fair fundraiser allowed. When a non-profit organization sells our P.E.E.L. products to their members, the organization receives a great profit, and the members save money purchasing P.E.E.L. products from their organization instead of buying it at the local grocery. This is a win-win situation. If I was a charity, I could not do this.

6. I do not like all the extra strings and regulations by the government that goes along with being non-profit. I would rather pay income tax on our profits, and run the business according to our conscience.

7. I want to feel the pride of making a good product that is good for the Earth, people, and is purchased because people WANT to purchase it.

8. I am an entrepreneur. It is in my blood. I love to create.

Well, I am sure there are other reasons, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. I hope that this helps you to understand why we run our business the way we do, and what our intentions are.

ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOU: I would like to encourage you to consider the benefits of operating your business in a more Earth friendly manner. If you are an employee of a business, I would like you to encourage your business to operate in a more Earth friendly manner, and start looking for ways of promoting Earth friendliness that will make the business more attractive to customers.

If you are an employer, I would like you to consider the benefits of becoming a servant to your employees, to provide and serve them with an atmosphere needed to be more effective. This will only benefit you more. It may take a while, but people will start to respond and work more effectively if they are treated with kindness and respect.

Employees, please understand that your employer has to make a profit in order to pay you. Please understand that your employer has a very stressful position. If you can think of Earth friendly business promotions that would help your employer make more profits, this will help to show your employer it is good business to be Earth friendly, and when you show an interest in making your employer profits, he will show more interest in you.

You can read all the chapters of "Tims Green Stories" by going to http://timshometownstories. com. Other stories written by Tim are at http://salessuccessmagazin e.com These stories are copyrighted by Timothy L. Drobnick Sr. 1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000. Any person using this article must publish it without modification and include authors bio and links.

About the author: Timothy L Drobnick Sr has helped many people make money on the internet. Websites to visit for income opportunity are yobisc.com, http://virusfreespamfree.com< /a>, and http://myshoppingplace.net.