Amy C. Fitzjohn's Blog, page 7

A Year Without Supermarkets – Why I’m Doing it and is it Possible?

At Christmas, while shoppers were picking up 9p veg, as supermarkets were in a price war for the lowest cost possible for Christmas dinner, I found myself enraged…

Why?Because food shouldn’t be that cheap.

An unpopular opinion, perhaps, but true none the less.

While supermarkets continue to make massive profits, it’s not them who are taking the hit for such low cost food.

Even growing my own veg from seed at home, it costs more that 9p for a bunch of carrots. It definitely did last year, a 99p bag of seeds yielded a pathetic batch of tiny carrots that was enough for one meal – I never have much luck growing carrots!

Anyway…

 

These ‘bargains’ are ‘loss leaders‘ for the supermarkets.

The theory being that if you go in to buy a bag of 9p carrots you’ll come out with a trolley full of other ‘stuff’ that the supermarkets do make money from.

 

Accepting Poverty is a political choice

The 9p carrots…I get it.

Millions of people are struggling to make ends meet.

Most of my career has been working in the welfare to work sector and many times have I been moved to tears by the poverty people endure in modern Britain. It is a crime to allow people to live in such squalour in one of the richest countries in the world.

It is a political choice to make people suffer while those in charge live in unimaginable luxury.

While billionaires, who could single handedly end world poverty, are instead choosing to fly with celebrities into space. And the biggest retailers in the world pay barely any tax.

This brilliant viral Twitter Thread explains how supermarkets pass on cost increases to the the lowest incomes families. For example, in isolation, while 70p for a bag of pasta may not seem much, when you consider that it was 23p a few months ago, you start to see the pattern.

 

Read the thread here, I defy you not to get enraged by the sheer injustice of it!

Then they dangle the 9p carrots in front of us and lull us into a false sense of getting ‘a bargain’!

Such cynical hypocrisy is frankly, insulting!

 

A Short Term Win for a Long Term loss

But selling fruit and veg for 9p is not the answer. It may be a short term win for people impacted by the body blows of rising inflation, fuel prices, COVID and Brexit. Indeed, on Christmas Eve, the Asda my dad shops in were handing out bags of fruit and veg for free, just to get rid of the excess stock. I had a boxing day dinner with my parents and the only thing they paid for was the meat (and even that was left overs).

 

Selling food so cheaply is simply not sustainable

Someone (and the environment) ultimately pays for food that is so cheap we don’t value it.

How many of those 9pm bags of veg just ended up in landfill, still wrapped in single use plastic? A lot, I am willing to bet.

Or for smaller households, why pay more for the one or two loose carrots you actually need when you can get a bag for 9p and bin what you don’t need?

All this does is encourage food waste. And the stats on food waste – when many families are being forced to choose between heating or eating – are horrifying.

“What’s one bag of carrots going to waste?”, said 3 million people!

According to Food Aware, ‘Every year in the UK 18 million tonnes of food end up in landfill.

 

‘Recent studies have revealed that over 3.6 million tonnes of food is wasted before it even reaches supermarket doors – around 10 times the amount thrown away by retailers.’(Source: Ethical Consumer)

 

Cheap Food: “But, aren’t the supermarkets doing us a favour?”

No. No they are not.

The only people winning are the supermarkets themselves and their shareholders.

The big supermarkets have a lot to answer for.

The ‘race to the bottom‘ is a fundamentally flawed business plan.

Only massive multinational businesses can do it as they have the clout to and the budget to demand it from their suppliers. Somewhere along the supply chain line farmers, food producers, distributors and workers are being royally screwed over so the supermarkets can battle over offering people 9p carrots for a few days!

According to Ethical Consumer, ‘Many farmers are forced to sell produce like milk and eggs at unfair prices, which can leave them at a loss. On average, UK farmers receive less than 10% of the value of their produce sold in supermarkets.’

That, is just plain wrong.

 

“But what choice do we have?”

There are options. Supermarkets suck you in because they are ‘convenient’.

We’ve all got busy lives, ‘convenience’ is, well… convenient!

But, ‘convenience’ is literally degrading the natural environment and making our lives on this beautiful planet of ours suck way more than is necessary. Your 9p bag of carrots quite literally is costing the Earth. Short term money saving, long term biodiversity loss.

‘Globally, meanwhile, supermarkets have been criticised for exacerbating poverty along supply chains where, despite being food growers, farmers and land workers struggle to feed themselves. The reality is that food has been cheapened but something somewhere has had to pay.’ (source: Ethical Consumer)

There has to be a better way. To discover what that is, I am pledging to go a year without shopping in a supermarket.

 

A Year Without Supermarkets

Full disclosure, since the start of the pandemic, I have hardly been into a supermarket. I wasn’t prepared to queue around a car park in the rain for my groceries so I changed my shopping habits.

We started to get a regular fruit and veg box, ordered bulk online, we already get a doorstep milk delivery and I popped into the corner shop at the end of our street for the rest. I have still been into supermarkets from time to time but I believe it is possible to cater for all of your family and home needs without shopping in supermarkets.

I want to prove it – to myself and to everyone else!

 

What Is Wrong With Supermarkets?

According to Ethical Consumer, eight supermarkets dominate 93% of the UK food retail market. This means that they have the power to control our food system. They dictate the terms for food producers.

Under the guise of supplying our food they are arguably some of the biggest contributors to climate change. They demand increasingly intensive industrial farming to keep prices low. This alone leads to deforestation (at home and abroad) to make way for chemical-laden monoculture crops. The result is a loss of biodiversity, the poisoning of water supplies, degradation of soils, dramatic loss of habitat leading to extinction of wildlife. This is before I even start on the massive amounts of waste they create. Especially when it comes single use plastic packaging. They are the biggest plastic polluters and despite empty promises, ‘targets’ and greenwashing, they’ve cut plastic waste production by just 2% since 2018. Collectively selling 896,853 tonnes of plastic packaging during 2019.

 

Supermarkets are masters of Greenwashing.

Source: Greenpeace

 

‘Based on convenience and the suggestion of low prices, supermarkets maximise profit margins often at the expense of people and the environment. Over time, this system has become synonymous with waste.’ (source: Ethical Consumer)

The system is toxic in every possible way.

None of the supermarkets are doing enough to combat their impact. They’re pledging low prices and marketing this as a benefit, ignoring the consequences of their unsustainable practices.

 

Source: Ethical Consumer

 

‘A 2020 survey showed that over half (51%) of respondents believed food shopping from local stores and farm shops was better for the environment… Supermarkets capitalise on the public’s general support for home-grown produce, but can work to muddy the waters of traceability. M&S’s organic milk says it’s “collected daily from a select group of British farms”, though finding exactly which farms is an odyssey.’ (source: Ethical Consumer)

The public generally support home-grown produce, but few of us will actively shop local. We do so at our peril.

You can’t complain about the desolation of your rapidly emptying local high street if you are not using it!

 

Rise to The Challenge

Here are some of the options and alternatives I will be exploring over the next year. I’ll share my experiences here on the blog.

 

Find and test different options.Farm shops. Greengrocers. Veg Box Schemes. Community gardens. Meal box schemes. Local shops. Home delivery. Online suppliers.Grow and make your ownGrow your own fruit and veg. Keep it seasonal. Make preserves and ferments. Cook from scratch. Recipes with leftovers.

 

Home and Beauty – Go Chemical freeMake your own cleaning products and cosmetics. Reduce your use of toxic chemicals on yourself and around your home, and the associated single use plastic waste. Save money, reduce waste and have some fun with it.

 

Bulk buyIt’s better to have one large piece of packaging that you can reuse than hundreds of individual packets and sachets. Dried goods can be bought in bulk and stored for months, years even.

 

Zero WasteJust buy what you need. Use refill shops and facilities. Buy loose fruit and veg.Find your nearest Zero Waste Shop HERE

 

Alternative packagingBuy it in compostable, card, paper, glass or metal containers instead of plastic.Don’t be fooled by the ‘recyclable’ label on plastics – the chances are it won’t get recycled. It will end up being burned or in landfill, leaching microplastics into water sources and blowing around in the environment where it harms wildlife. However, metal or glass will be recycled many times and card and paper will biodegrade.Championing the change makersInnovations. Champions. Showcasing people and small business making small changes that have a big impact. Innovative products and simple swaps.

 

What Else?

I’m open to suggestions and products I can test or businesses I can showcase, people I can interview and places to visit, so stay in touch and get involved.

 

#NoToSupermarkets

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Proverb Refillable Deodorant: A Product Review

I received a lovely email, offering me a free Proverb Refillable Deodorant to test and blog about.

I’m always pleased to see innovative sustainable products and happy to test them out.

Why I Said Yes?

Who doesn’t enjoy a freebie!

But I was genuinely interested in the product.

Although, looking at their Instagram feed, there are lots of images of guys doing fitness things and sporty young women, had I stumbled across this brand, I doubt I would have identified with it.

It is also ‘Proverb Skin’, so I probably would have assumed it was a skincare brand.

How Sustainable Is It?

It has a lot going for it in terms of sustainability:

It’s veganProduced in the UK – minimal milesRefillablePlastic free packaging

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But, the case is plastic. Being reusable, it is at least not single use, but I would like to see them develop the product from sustainable materials too – for example, hard bamboo ‘plastic’ instead. When the case reaches the end of it’s useful life there is still the problem of disposing of plastic waste.

However, you can read about the reasons for this decision on the Proverb blog. In short, they spent years developing the product and tested multiple alternatives and plastic was the best option, until a better alternative is developed, one that doesn’t currently exist. I can understand that.

 

Market Alternatives

The product is more robust and lasts longer than some of the other eco-friendly deodorant sticks on the market.

Previously I have used disposable but compostable alternatives in cardboard tubes, such as this one. I get these in my local Zero Waste Shop – Preserve.

Value for Money?

The Proverb product is not cheap, each refill is £15. But they are larger than your average deodorant stick. They are also much larger than these other natural deodorants, so value for money wise are comparable.

I’ve been using the Proverb deodorant daily for a month and have hardly had to wind the stick.

Their website claims it will last 2 to 3 months, only time will tell for this test.

It has kept me fresh all day, which is also true for other natural deodorants. I have never found a chemical laden ‘traditional’ deodorant I can say that for.

Before I started using, or making, natural deodorant I always had sweat patches under my arms by the end of the day, even on a sedentary day!

 

I would never go back to disgusting, chemical-laden, plastic-packaged deodorant ever again!My Choices

I went for the yellow canister – easier to see in the bottom of a bag or bedroom drawer.

The range of scents is limited. I went for the Wild Mint an Eucalyptus – which is fresh and clean.

I also like that it is all gender neutral, from the packaging and branding to the scents used.

Once the current Proverb stick runs out, I think I will experiment with using my homemade deodorant as the refill. Therefore saving some money, but also being able to mix my own scent.

A stick is much more convenient and less messy than cream in a pot!

Read the recipe for my all natural homemade deodorant here:

The Verdict

Overall, I really like this product. Despite not being their ‘target audience’. I would recommend it, and buy the refills if I fail to make it work with my own recipe!

 

 

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3 Ways To Ensure Your Team Are Happy And Confident In What They’re Doing Each Day

Team work makes the dream work!

A happy and confident team is a productive one. These tips are from a contributor – 3 ways to get the best from the people around you.

 

3 Ways To Ensure Your Team Are Happy And Confident

In order to get the best possible results, you need to be in the right frame of mind. That’s just how it works. A lot of people can get through all kinds of obstacles, but the majority need to be settled and focused. As the boss of a company, it’s up to you to make sure that those working under you are mentally and physically happy and confident with what they’re doing. Here are just three ways to make this happen: 

 

Focus On Individuals And Set Goals

 

If you’re working in a job that you feel might be challenging, you’ll always want the backing of your boss and to have things explained in detail. You’ll also want to have goals to work towards. If you can work towards goals with your staff, then they’ll feel much better over time as they’ll be achieving things all along the way.

 

Ensure You Have Good Personalities On The Team

 

If you have the right people in the first place, then it makes the entire setup a lot healthier. Hiring people based solely on their experience and skill set in the field might sound like a good idea initially, but you need to have good people that can get along well in a team, too.

 

Call Regular Meetings To See How Things Are Collectively

 

While you shouldn’t be looking over shoulders too regularly, it’s still good to know where everyone is regarding their work. It’s also good to know how everything is looking collectively. You can get a good idea of what’s necessary and who might need a little more help. Taking part in meetings might seem difficult, to begin with, but logging down minutes and getting to the bottom of things will come with experience. Here’s an infographic below that will guide you through the process of taking minutes during meetings!

 

 

 

Infographic designed by STL Learning

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Slightly Improve Your Life With Little Effort

At this time of year, we’re seeking hope and possibility, planning ahead, setting goals, making resolutions.

It’s tempting to set ourselves big, ambitious objectives, that take a lot of effort and fall short before we even reach Valentine’s Day!

I like this article in The Guardian, with 100 suggestions of small things we can all do to slightly improve our lives that don’t involve a lot of effort. All those small changes add up to big shifts in our mindset, mood and attitude to ourselves and others.

 

Feeling Lazy? No Problem, No Judgment

If you find the idea of ‘setting resolutions’ all a bit overwhelming or pressurised. Or perhaps you’re just jaded with all the talk of New Year, New You. These are little things you can try that don’t take much effort or thought.

Once you’ve done them for a couple of weeks, they quickly become a habit.

I also want to share my take on some of these and few other suggestions of my own.

Read it here:

A Few Favourites

Some of my favourites are

Plant spring bulbs, even if they’re just in a pot.

If you have even the smallest outside space and you can fit a plant pot in it, do it. The lovely thing about spring bulbs is you plant them in autumn/winter then they suddenly appear in the early spring bringing cheer and colour. Planting bulbs gives you something to look forward to. They represent hope.  Even on the greyest morning, they’ll brighten your day every time you see them. It’s not too late in January for some bulbs. Even if you miss the chance to plant them for spring, plant some in the spring for the summer. You can pick up nets of bulbs like tulips, daffodils, crocuses etc. cheaply in plenty of places. You can even plant things on top of them for instant impact, then get a colourful surprise a few weeks later as they poke their bright little heads up among your other greenery.

 

Bird feeders

‘Keep a bird feeder by a window, ideally the kitchen. It’ll pass the time when you’re washing up.’

Watching birds from the window is one of life’s small pleasures. You can pick up feeders and bird seed easily and cheaply. You could even try making your own birdfeeder.

Here’s a blog on making a bird feeder with a pinecone. It’s meant for entertaining children, but if a child can make it, you certainly can! No special DIY skills or expensive tools required.

No garden, no problem, if you have a window, you can get feeders that stick to glass

 

 

10 Minutes Enjoyment A Day

Set aside 10 minutes a day to do something you really enjoy.

This is a crucial one. So often we put other people first. Entire days go by where we do nothing but work and chores. Just 10 minutes every day is enough to make a difference to our own mental wellbeing. Make the space, do it, stick to it.

It’s not an indulgence it’s a necessity.

Take a book to bed

If those 10 minutes are reading – I would add, take a book to bed instead of your phone.

Or, if you keep telling yourself you never have time to read, this is the solution.

Go to bed a few minutes earlier than you normally would and just read for a while until your eyes droop.  It’s a great way to unwind and it’s surprising how fast you can get through the books on your shelves that you never get around to reading. Just 10 or 15 minutes a day, that’s enough to read a couple of chapters. (Depending on the length of the chapters and the speed you read). You’ll quickly get through at least a book a month.

It’s a low effort way to have more reading time in your life.

I’m a fan of a book light, much better to read by than the overhead light (plus you don’t have to get up to turn the light out) and sometimes bedside lamps aren’t in the right position or aren’t bright enough.

Always Carry A Book

‘Keep a book in your bag to avoid the temptation to doomscroll’

For those spaces in your day when you are hanging around, waiting for something, or needing a distraction, a book is the perfect solution. Instead of filling that time mindlessly scrolling through Social Media, getting depressed about the world or feeling insecure – read a book instead. It’s an instant escape and much better for your mental health!

If it’s not a book to read, you can carry a notebook and pen with you. You will always have something to keep you occupied. Whether you journal in the book, write lists, doodle, or brainstorm. It’s much healthier and potentially more productive.

Which brings me to my next addition to the list – Journaling

 

Start Journaling

Journaling is a great way to empty your brain of all the guff clogging it up. You don’t have to follow any rules or do it every day. Writing regularly can be cathartic, unblock barriers to creativity, break negative or unhelpful thought loops, practice gratitude and capture moments, memories and ideas before they flitter away.

You can use it to write unintentionally, just your stream of consciousness in that moment, it’s surprising how good that can feel. It can also be pleasingly creative!

There are some gorgeous notebooks out there.

If you are feeling crafty, you can even have a go at making your own notebook.

Personally, I like an A4 plain page notebook.

I like a plain page because I can write freeform. For example, sometimes I like to write on landscape and sometimes portrait. I also like to draw flowcharts, sketch things, brain storm and stick ephemera in my ‘day book’. If you are a neat freak, a dot journal is a good option, so you can line up images and text. Or if you are all about words and like it to be clear and straight, lined pads are much easier to get hold of.

If you want to take journaling to the next level, I invite you to the rabbit hole that is ‘bullet journaling’!

 

What to change in 2022Before you set yourself lots of big hairy goals for 2022, what small, simple, low effort changes can you make first?

 

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Of Vision and Vanity

MediattionEvery business needs a vision, but not every entrepreneur has to be a visionary.

If you close your eyes and imagine where you would like your life to be in, say, 5 years, what might it look like?

Try it. I give you permission to daydream for a while.

Call it a mindful moment or meditation.

 

Picture a future near enough to be vivid, but far away enough to be achievable.Where are you?Who is with you?What are you doing?What are you looking at?What sounds to do hear?What smells do you smell?How do you feel?

 

Sit with it a for while, really focus on it and try to picture it.

Then take a deep breath, open your eyes and quickly write it down/draw it before it fades.

 

Life in 5 Years

Each time I’ve done exactly that, what I see, where I imagine myself, is not in the front of my computer in my home office!

In those daydreams, I’ve been on the prow of a speedboat, or laying on a bed of fur in a yurt, or cruising along the Amalfi Coast in a vintage convertible, big bug-eyed sunglasses and a flowery scarf billowing behind me, Audrey Hepburn Style.

Where The Future Takes Us

This is where I imagine my future will take me. But these aren’t one-off holidays – a few days hiatus between long spells of air-conditioned offices – No.
The overwhelming feeling I’ve had in all these flights of fancy has been that these are high points of everyday life.

My vision is that the freedom of self-employment has allowed me to live a nomadic lifestyle.

This is the vision for my business. The vision for our life.

 

What’s stopping this from being my life right now?

 

Is It Vanity?

This is where I find myself thinking of it as just ‘vanity’.

I can’t only think of myself, I have a husband, a cat, 2 chickens and a mortgage. A husband in a full-time office based job which pays that mortgage!
The thing that stops this being my reality is my responsibility to my life partner, in all things.
The challenge therefore, is to find a way to be true to both.

Especially since he too needs a life change after a recent health scare.

 

Is it Vision?

Writing about the ‘vision’ for my business is the first step to making these changes.

The first steps towards creating a reality that suits both of us.

A vision for the Morses

Being Blogger

Blogging has served me well as a means to an end, doing the thing I’ll do anyway… writing.

I started my first blog in 2013, the year I published my first book, when my worlds as an author and business advisor collided in 2015, I started my consultancy business.

Building my marketing around content was the obvious solution.

The first blog was about becoming an author – I still keep this blog on my author website.

The second blog was to grow my influence as a writing mentor and build a business (the start of this one).

 

I have an innate curiosity. Love exploring and discovery. Meeting new people and having new experiences. I want to discover more of this amazing, diverse and fascinating planet we inhabit (with as little impact as possible – using public transport and avoiding flights where possible).

 

Life’s Little Luxuries

However, I also enjoy a little luxury!

I don’t mean traveling 5-star, I mean not living out of a backpack and sleeping in bug infested hovels.

I mean travelling, but maintaining a comfortable life. Earning enough money to enjoy eating and drinking out, Cafe Culture and sleeping in a comfortable – private – bedroom.

Being able to enjoy the trappings of travel, as well as living with the locals. I would hate to travel to a once in a lifetime place and not be able to afford the entrance fee!

Perhaps I’ll achieve the vision of location independence – of being a Wandering Entrepreneur, a Roaming Entrepreneur?

In the end, it doesn’t matter, as long as the journey is enjoyable!

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Embrace and Enjoy Your Averageness

We all like to feel special, it’s human nature, we are physiologically programmed to crave that dopamine hit. We’d all like to be remembered long after our time on Earth is up. But the fact is, most of us won’t be.

Most of us are average.

But is averageness really so bad?

(Is averageness even a word? – It is now!)

 

I enjoyed this article about why being average is a good thing and wanted to share my take on it, especially from my perspective as someone who supports others to follow their dreams working for themselves.

It’s OK to be Ordinary

We can’t all be famous, but we can all enjoy what we have and what we do with our time.

I’m sharing some of my favourite quotes from this article, because I couldn’t have put it better myself.

 

To quote: ‘Being average is a blessing, allowing you to get on with your life without worrying about who you’re impressing. You’re just free to be another human being who eats and poops and will eventually die.’

 

I’m a big advocate of having big dreams, doing what you love. As a mentor for micro businesses, I positively encourage it!

But it is always something you should do for YOU.

Although the one thing you can absolutely say about your business that is unique is YOU the point is not to do it simply to impress others.

Your uniqueness as a business allows you to appeal to the right audience. Not to be loved and remembered by everyone.

 

‘There is no reason to obsess over what other people will think of you, the blunt truth is: “Most people are too obsessed with themselves to notice. And when you realise everyone is just thinking about their own ­worries and concerns, you can just live your life and do your own thing. And that’s fine”.

 

We all also need to accept that we have limitations and can’t possibly do everything on our own.

You have neither the time, the capacity, and probably don’t have the skills. We all have things we are better at and things we are not so good at. Most of us are average at lots of things.

Being ‘self’ employed doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself!

 

“Part of the problem is that we can imagine so much more than we can actually be, so we end up inhabiting the gap between our reality and our expectations and always falling short.” says Raul Aparici.

 

Setting realistic expectations for makes the journey towards your own version of success enjoyable, encouraging and appealing. When we aim too big and fail to put in the baby steps needed to get there, we’re setting ourselves up for failure which can give our confidence and sense esteem a big hit.

Your confidence and self worth comes from within. That means recognising your own talents and limitations. Not doing what everyone else expects of you in order to reinforce your own sense of worth.

However, it’s easier said than done when bombarded by other people’s judgements in this age of mass information and communication.

 

“Responsibility for this epidemic of self-obsession and social comparison is often leveled at the so-called snowflake generation, raised to feel they are unique and special. … a product of our highly individualistic society, which encourages us to outshine those around us.”

 

Your own success (whatever that means to you) is not contingent on the failure of others.

If we must attribute blame for all this contagious hubris and naval gazing – I blame individualism, neo-liberalism and Social Media for polarizing discourse.

We can’t blame young people for being the product of what we made them with our parenting and voting choices!

 

Take Away TipsDefine your own successCompete only with the person you were yesterdayGo easy on yourselfEnjoy the journey instead if fixating on an imaginary destination

 

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Calling Out The Biggest Plastic Polluters

Every month, I collect the stories that fascinate, inspire, educate and are generally worth keeping for reference on a Flipboard monthly magazine.

I try to keep it positive, but sometimes, some stories stand out.

I found this article on Reuters about the world’s biggest plastic polluters and their ‘solution’ to waste disposal.

 

A Sea of Plastic

We’re drowning in a sea of plastic waste – less than 10% of plastic produced is recycled.

To combat the problem – but mostly to save money – deals have been struck between the biggest plastic polluters and cement factories to burn plastic for fuel.

The article is HERE

 

Big brands, that supply FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) to buyers around the globe, are responsible for the majority of single use plastic waste created.

They are keen to pass the buck onto consumers and absolve their responsibility as industrial scale plastic polluters, by emphasising individual action.

 

What To Do With The Waste We Have?

While we can all do our part to reduce the amount of single use plastic waste we create as individuals, the fact is, there are already mountains of this stuff out there in the environment.

Although the article uses Indonesia as its case study, we don’t get away scot-free in the developed world.

Plastic pollution is not something other people in other parts of the world are responsible for. We are ALL responsible, every human on the planet!

 

Lust For Stuff

In the West, we are by far and away the biggest consumers of ‘stuff’. ‘Stuff’ that is made cheaply in developing countries and shipped around the world, leaving them with the waste and pollution to deal with – because of our lust for stuff.

Everywhere you go, here in the UK, there is rubbish. Despite us having waste disposal processes in place, people still throw their trash on the ground, or it’s blown around the street on bin day, or blown around or seeps into water supplies from landfill.

Much as we try to move our waste out of sight and out of mind, it’s still there. We can’t escape from it.

In a masterstroke of PR greenwashing, the ‘solution’ is to burn it as fuel.

 

Pragmatic and Problematic

To be pragmatic, and give these companies a small amount of credit, there is a lot of this stuff that needs to go somewhere. Burning it reduces the amount of fossil fuels that would have otherwise been burned and also reduces the mountains of waste.

Win – Win, well, sort of…

It’s not ideal. These businesses are spinning it as a ‘green’ solution, but it’s anything but.

If you’ve ever stood down wind of a plastic fire you can confirm that it absolutely reeks! All it does is remove the waste from the ground and puts it in the sky instead.

Pretty disgusting.

The message is:  “They are only poor people in another country, they don’t matter..” – They definitely don’t matter if you are Unilever, Nestle or Coca-Cola!

Just three of the household names on the list of the world’s top ten plastic polluters. Here are the others..

 

Naming And Shaming the Top Ten Plastic Polluters

Source: Break Free From Plastic 2021 Brand Audit Report

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I wish I could offer some hope, some positive solutions or take on this, but in truth, it’s demoralising and dispiriting.

All we can do as individuals is our best to reduce our consumption and our waste!

These ten businesses have the power to change the world, if they chose to…

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12 Marketing Methods To Skyrocket Your Small Business

To take your business to the next level with these solid marketing methods – you need to get some basics right first.

Here are 12 contributor tips to help you grow your enterprise.

 

12 Marketing Methods To Skyrocket Your Small Business

When you’re trying to build a thriving business you adore, it can be very easy to get stuck in a rut with your marketing choices. Sticking to what you know might keep you safe in your comfort zone, but if you want to take your business to the next level it’s time to try something new. Whether you’re turning to traditional advertising methods, or you want to experiment with more modern marketing avenues, there are a whole host of ways that you can skyrocket your small business. Implement some of the following ideas today, and you will soon start to see huge results!

 

1.Build a Fantastic Website

Your business website is the core of your brand and should make a long-lasting impact on your clients as soon as they land on your homepage. You don’t have to shell out a fortune in order to create a show-stopping website. Platforms such as Wix and Squarespace are very user-friendly, and they even supply templates which help you to build an attractive website structure for your target audience. Get your friends or family members to try out your website to make sure it’s intuitive, slick and easy to navigate. Once you have a strong website in place, you will soon be able to get started on other forms of marketing that seamlessly guide potential customers to your site.

 

2. Create a Visual Marketing Campaign

A visual marketing campaign could go hand in hand with your brand new website. Inserting an engaging video from a Corporate Video Production company as your homepage header, will give your audience an instant idea of who you are and what you do. Similarly, you can also use video content as part of your social media marketing methods and ad campaigns. Instagram is now favouring video content over still images, so this is certainly worth considering.

 

3. Focus On One Social Media Platform

You should never feel as though you need to be everywhere when it comes to social media. Focusing on one platform consistently will bring better results, rather than spreading yourself too thin. Think about where your ideal clients hang out and what their platform of choice would be. Whether you hone in on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube or Twitter, you probably already have a preferred social media platform. Focus on high quality content for just one platform and you’ll reap the rewards.

 

4. Show Your Face

If you want to build a small business in 2021, now is not the time to be camera shy! People love making real connections with other people, so show your face online and on your website. If you regularly use Instagram as your social media platform of choice, use their stories feature to talk directly to your audience. Creating a connection with a virtual audience can take time, but it’s easier if you’re willing to show your personality and a glimmer into your everyday life too

 

5. Stellar Online Copy

Never underestimate the power of words; your visuals and branding can be completely on point, but if you want to forge a connection, you need to start speaking the language of your ideal clients. Using engaging and relatable copy on your website, social media captions and email campaigns can be the difference between making a sale or deterring a potential client. Take an online copywriting course or outsource your copy to a professional if you have the funds to do so. Stellar online copy is going to help your business stand out from other competitors in your space.

 

6. Start a Blog

Blogging is a brilliant way to increase your exposure online and establish yourself as a trusted expert in your industry. It may seem overwhelming to get started in the blogging world, but once you publish your first post, you’ll feel a huge sense of relief. Many business owners delay their blogging strategies because they don’t know what to write, but your answers lie within your target audience. As soon as you start talking to your ideal clients, you’ll start to discover what they want to hear from your blog.

 

7. Audit Your SEO

Writing blog posts goes hand in hand with your SEO strategies. Search engine optimization ensures that your business reaches your ideal clients by using specific keywords and phrases. Getting to the number one spot on Google is going to take time and persistence, but it is possible. Consider working with a reputable SEO agency, and they will help you to build up your credibility online using their tried and tested strategies.

 

8. Hire a Mentor

There is no shame in asking for help when you’re sprucing up your marketing methods. In the online space there are a number of coaches and mentors that truly know their stuff. Do your research and book a call with someone that you feel aligned to. Working with a coach can help you to get from A to B much more quickly.

 

9. Start Networking

When it comes to being a pro at online networking, you should always be prepared to step outside of your comfort zone. Talking to new people can seem daunting at first, but it is going to put you in a good position for future collaborations. There are plenty of online networking events for small business owners, so make the most of them! Strike up conversations with interesting people and make sure you take their all important contact information.

 

10. Leverage The Power of Email

Email marketing has been around for decades and it’s still just as effective today. If you haven’t set your business up with a reputable email marketing provider, now is the time to start doing your research. Flodesk, Converkit and Mailchimp are all excellent options when it comes to email marketing, so what do you do once you’re all set up? Emailing your subscribers list regularly can help to keep people warm and interested in your brand and services. Talk about what’s going on in your life at the moment, tease any future offers and provide valuable content for your audience. Educational content is key when you’re using email marketing as one of your chosen methods; this will allow your readers to know, like and trust you over time.

 

11. Run a Competition

Hosting a giveaway or competition is a great way to build exposure for your brand. You could offer one of your services for free or team up with other small businesses for a big bundle of goodies to your winner. This method is used by brands all the time as it welcomes potential new clients into your online world. Encourage people to share your content and enter the competition for maximum online exposure.

 

12. Collaborate With Like-Minded Brands

Small businesses should always value collaboration over competitions; it can increase your exposure and boost your chances for referrals. Get in touch with another brand who has a similar online audience to you and recommend each other for future work!

 

Patience is key when it comes to re-evaluating your marketing methods and seeing results. Sometimes new methods of marketing can be a slow burner, and other times you can see instant gratification. Trust your instincts when it comes to making specific changes to your marketing strategies and don’t be afraid to enlist the help of a professional for guidance. The success of your online business will predominantly be impacted by your choice of marketing, so now is the time to make those big decisions and enjoy watching the magic happen.

Image from Pexels – CC0 Licence

 

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Why All Fiction Writers Should Have A Blog

When I wrote the Sheridan and Blake books, my blog was the linchpin in my content marketing.

The great thing about blogging for writers is you do the thing you are going to do anyway… write… and at the same time are marketing your work without even realising it!

This contributor content resonates with me, sharing some top tips:

 

Why All Fiction Writers Should Have A Blog

 

 

You might find, when looking at others’ blogs, that many of them are writers. Predominantly, bloggers are non-fiction writers. These bloggers might be promoting their financial help book, their self-help book, or their recipe book. But there are plenty of fiction writers running blogs, too, whether traditionally, indie or self-published.

 

Running a blog can be as easy or as difficult as you like. You can do it alongside a job, childcare, or, in this case: writing a novel. You can use sites to ease your burden, like ones that find you the best website builders.

 

The reason you should run a blog as a writer is manifold. Essentially, blogging can help writers. It hones your writing skills, gives you a frequent outlet, and can help you sell more books.

 

But we’re moving too fast. Let’s go into more detail on those points. Why should all fiction writers have a blog?

 

Hones your writing skills

 

Photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay

 

A blog requires you to write regularly. As with any skill, regular practice will always make you better. Plus, blogging requires you to be concise, a necessary skill for fiction writing (that people often forget!).

 

Plus, you’ll get used to writing for an audience – fitting to your demographic, so they want to read on. This is a transferable skill for fiction writing, as you need to get the right tone, depending on if you are writing for adults, teenagers, or children.

 

Gives you a frequent writing outlet

 

When you write books, you only get to put your words out into the world every few years or so. This can be a little disheartening when, for the tenth time that day, you have to reply, ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ when someone asks when they can read the book you’re working on.

 

With a blog, you get to write and publish your writing regularly. Sure, you aren’t posting a novel every week, but your posts are a kind of writing too. Plus, you can always publish short stories if you want to communicate creatively with your audience.

 

Helps you sell more books

 

Photo by Maryignatiadi on Pixabay

 

It’s true. Writing a blog will help you to sell more books. Why? Because, going into publication, you already have an audience of people wanting to read your book.

 

Through blogging, you accumulate a bunch of people who are invested in you and your journey. When you then announce you have a book coming out, they will want to read it. Think about it: a bunch of relative strangers, all wanting to read your book. Sounds good, right?

 

If you are considering traditional or indie publishing, advertising that you already have an audience of so many will make you more desirable to the publisher. They can look at you and your book and already know they can sell so many books. Plus, your audience is more likely to pre-order, and pre-orders are great in traditional publishing, as they convince bookstores and libraries to buy more stock of your book. Who knows, the existence of an audience could be the tipping point to convince the publisher to take your book.

 

When it comes to self-publishing, having an audience of your own is essential. You are responsible for your book’s marketing in self-publishing, so having an audience already is great. Plus, having a platform like a blog to reach new readers can change the game.

 

The post Why All Fiction Writers Should Have A Blog appeared first on Amy Morse.

When It Pays to Use Traditional Advertising Methods

It’s easy to get distracted and spend all your advertising budget and energy on digital marketing – but sometimes, that’s not the best place to be seen by your ideal customers. Good marketing is a planned, strategic and a blend of different marketing methods.

This contributor offers suggestions and insights to think about marketing more holistically and try things that others may have forgotten about.

 

When It Pays to Use Traditional Advertising Methods

With so many digital advertising methods available today, it makes sense for a lot of small businesses to focus on them. They’re usually affordable and they often have a great ROI, so digital channels can be an excellent choice to help you maximize your marketing budget. However, it’s also important not to completely dismiss more “traditional” types of advertising. The non-digital methods can still be extremely useful and work out well for your business. They can be especially suited to certain types of business or particular industries. If you want to explore all of your advertising options, you should consider which traditional methods could work for your business.

 

Flyering and Direct Mail

You’ve probably noticed that a lot of businesses still engage in flyering or direct mail. It might seem a bit old-fashioned, but if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t keep doing it. These printed materials can be super effective, providing people with a marketing message that sticks around. If you choose flyers and leaflet printing to advertise your business, you can distribute materials that people keep in their homes, cars, and bags for a long time. It’s a much more long-lasting method of advertising your brand compared to online ads that are gone in an instant.

 

Image from Pexels – CC0 License

 

Radio Advertising

Plenty of businesses still use radio advertising for their business, and there’s a good reason for it. People still listen to the radio, despite a range of other options for listening to music or conversation. Even though podcasts and streaming services are available, radio is often the choice in cars, on building sites, and in other locations too. A short radio ad could do a lot for your business. Plus, for a more modern option, there is the possibility of advertising with more modern audio platforms, including on podcasts or streaming services such as Spotify.

 

Print Marketing

Many newspapers and magazines may have moved online, but there are still many of them that are enduring in print form too. Print materials like these can be a fantastic place to print an ad for your brand. However, the key is to choose the right publications so that you can ensure they’re right for your audience. You need to identify publications with audiences that cross over with yours so that you can make sure you’re advertising to the right people. Whether it’s a small ad in the corner of a page or a full-page advert, you can get the readers’ attention.

 

Outdoor Marketing

Traditional marketing methods can sometimes be seen as more intrusive compared to digital marketing. However, that’s also what can make them effective. Outdoor marketing methods put your message right in front of people so it’s hard to ignore. Advertising your brand outdoors could mean putting your business on the side of a bus, using benches or bus stops, billboards, and other ways of displaying your messaging using various outdoor features.

 

Don’t dismiss traditional advertising methods before you assess if they’re right for your brand. They could be an effective way for you to advertise.

 

 

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