Podcasts about ecostore

Two years ago Unilever Australia-NZ became a B Corp. It was the first really large corporate, with household brands Surf and Persil, to join a scheme that's been home to environmental hero brands such as EcoStore. Why did Unilever join? What did they discover in the process? And what impact has a major corporate had on such a spirited brand as B Lab? Vincent was joined by Cam Heath, MD of Unilever NZ and Andrew Davies CEO of B Lab.

Have you ever considered how much waste we're generating? That's the question that sparked Aline's journey to sustainable living. After relocating from France to the US, she became painfully aware of the waste her family was producing and decided to make a change. Aline's story serves as a critical reminder of the impact we are making on the environment and how we can start reducing our waste today. Aline took her love for sustainability and transformed it into a business, Out of the Box EcoStore, designed to make low waste living more accessible. Her unique concept of a mobile store aims to reduce waste on a larger scale, while also providing practical tips on how we can reduce waste in our homes. Aline shares how her childhood memories played a significant role in adopting a low waste lifestyle and reflects on how reuse and repurpose should replace our disposable mindset.From adopting an eco-conception mindset to composting and recycling, Aline lays out the path to sustainable living. She compares adopting these practices to starting a new diet, emphasizing the importance of motivation, setting small goals, consistent action, and rewards. Out of the Box EcoStore offers services such as local delivery, refill parties, and consulting, all geared towards making sustainable living easier for us all. Now is the perfect time to start making changes and join the cause for a more sustainable future.Yogurt recipe:Ingredients:1 plain Greek yogurt2 qt.whole milkInstructions:Pour milk into a 6-quart Instant Pot and lock lid. Press the Yogurt setting until it reads “boil”.Remove inner pot and let the milk cool down or cool it in an ice bath to between 90° and 110°, checking frequently with an instant read thermometer.Once milk is 90° to 110°, place Greek yogurt in a medium bowl, then remove about a cup of milk and whisk into yogurt. Whisk yogurt mixture back into Instant Pot until fully incorporated, then lock lid and press the Yogurt setting to Normal for 8 to 12 hours. 12 hours will make a thicker yogurt.Remove lid and transfer yogurt to clean containers. Chill until completely set, and store in the fridge. I eat them the next day and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.Learn more from Aline:Out of the Box Eco Store | Refillery and Low-waste Living Store. | Issaquah, WA, USAOut Of The Box Eco-Store (@outoftheboxecostore) • Instagram photos and videosFacebookSupport the showHead to www.raisinghealthyhumans. com to learn moreJoin our Free FB Community:Moms Raising Healthy HumansJoin our Community events:Healthy Mom CommunityLearn about our Movement Snack Podcast:5 Minute Mornings (buzzsprout.com)or follow me on IG or Tik Tokcourtney_formfitVoiceover Intro: SJ RockiEditing: SJ Rocki

Let me give you a bunch of reasons why you can- and should- ignore this letter from 97 ‘wealthy' Kiwis asking the Government to tax them more. This is the letter that starts: “We write as people who are frustrated with how much tax we pay. We want to pay more”. They do not want to pay more themselves. What they actually want is other rich people to pay more tax. And you don't have to take my word for it, I'll quote the guy who founded Ecostore, Malcom Rands, who signed the letter. He was asked if he was offering to pay more tax if others weren't also required, and he said no.   He said: "Even someone who's as big-hearted as me would not feel good paying more tax when other people aren't.”  That's the real test, isn't it? Because if they wanted to pay more themselves, they would simply tax themselves like some wealthy people do, and then use that money for charity. For example, build a hospital for children like Mark Dunajtschik in Wellington.  This plea for more tax is not as benevolent as it looks, by the way. Not all of these signatories are as wealthy as you might think. Names like Philip Mills of Les Mills gyms, yep. Sir Ian Taylor, absolutely. But there are names on that list that are clearly not worth anywhere near the $50 million that would make them the kind of high net worth individuals that would've had IRD snooping around their tax for the last year. In fact, I was so surprised by the list of random names on the list, that I called the people who helped coordinate the list. And they admitted that there was no benchmark for how rich you had to be to sign this letter. It was opt in. You could simply decide that you felt rich and wanted to sign it. One of the people I raised with them, they said they thought was worth $5 million based on a Google search. That is a long way from $50 million. That's a house and a couple of investment properties in Auckland nowadays. That's pretty much the aspiration of most mums and dads. There's nothing special about that.  So let me ask you this- if extreme wealth is not the thing these signatories have in common, what is it really? Political leanings, maybe?  Philip Mills- one of Labour's biggest donors. Robyn Malcolm- long-time Green supporter. Rob Campbell- long-time union man. David Cunliffe, yes, David Cunliffe signed the letter- former Labour leader. I suspect this is really an attempt to help a particular political party get a potential tax plan over the line. Because if they really want to pay more tax, pay it in charity. Leave the rest of us who just want to own a home and a couple of investment properties alone. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A somewhat surprising twist in the tax-debate, with some of New Zealand's wealthiest supporting tax hikes for the rich. A group of around 100 inspired by the initiative Millionaires for Humanity, have signed a pledge calling on the Government to increase their taxes. It believes the current tax system contributes towards the gap between poor and the wealthy. Signatory and Ecostore Founder, Malcolm Rands told Mike Hosking he's worried about our preparedness for the future and we have to start somewhere. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A somewhat surprising twist in the tax-debate, with some of New Zealand's wealthiest supporting tax hikes for the rich. A group of around 100 inspired by the initiative Millionaires for Humanity, have signed a pledge calling on the Government to increase their taxes. It believes the current tax system contributes towards the gap between poor and the wealthy. Signatory and Ecostore Founder, Malcolm Rands told Mike Hosking he's worried about our preparedness for the future and we have to start somewhere. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pablo Kraus has been the Managing Director at ecostore since May 2017. With a young family of his own, he is passionate about innovating in ways that are safer for you, your family, and our world. In 2013, Pablo, joined his family's business, PK Group. He has been a director of all companies in the PK Group, including New Zealand's largest organic retailer (Huckleberry), Australasia's leading resort and luxury accommodation (Eagle's Nest), organic farming and food manufacturer (Chantal Organics), as well as commercial and other property investments.

It's time to meet a Kiwi Entrepreneur today it's Ecostore. If you've got a business to pitch, get in touch - our email is lloyd@todayfm.co.nz See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EcoStore's Tony Morpeth has been making environmentally friendly household cleaners for more than 20 years. Back then he was a pioneer, working for Stephen Tindall and then Malcolm Rands. Now his products are in pretty much every supermarket, from here to New York. So what goes into an eco-cleaner, and what stays out? And how can EcoStore can stay ahead of the competition and keep driving to green, but very clean world?Plant & Mineral-Based Home, Body and Baby Care | ecostore NZ

This week Mikki talks to Michelle Yandle, nutrition coach, author and creator of the Empowered Eating Centre, where she delivers the Empowered Eating course, designed to help people rediscover their health and recover from yo-yo dieting.Mikki and Michelle talk about Michelle's journey in nutrition, and how indigenous nutrition principles informed her personal journey with diet and how she relates these now to helping others regain their health without rigid rules and dietary restriction. We talk about the pillars of health she uses in her practice and how these relate to her Empowered Eating course. We also talk about the new health coaching course she has set up with the Holistic Performance Institute to help educate people on coaching others through their health journey. This was such a great conversation and we cover a lot of ground. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!Michelle Yandle is a certified  Health and Nutrition Coach on her way to becoming a Clinical Nutritionist with The Holistic Performance Institute.  She is an international speaker with IISB, successful entrepreneur, intuitive eating coach and two-time author with a focus on traditional diets for health, and nutrition coaching for Empowered Eating™.  Michelle received her bachelor degree at Dalhousie University, Halifax while later achieving a graduate degree in education at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.  She has then furthered her education with a graduate certificate through the school of Holistic Performance Nutrition and certificates in health and nutrition coaching from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Cadence health in New Zealand.Her health advice has featured in such magazines as Nadia and Healthy Food Guide NZ. She has been a guest blogger at Awesome Inc, Ecostore, Elephant Journal, NZ Woman and more. As well as being a guest on The Hitz Radio and The AM Show. She has been a regular feature in local and national newspapers and is an author and National Ambassador for Nuzest New Zealand.Michelle can be reached at: https://www.michelleyandle.com/ and @michelleyandlenutritionMichelle's books can be purchased from: https://www.michelleyandle.com/bookshopHealth coaching with Holistic Performance Institute: https://www.holisticperformance.institute/bundles/holistic-performance-nutrition-coach

Reuse, Reduce, Rethink, Recycle. Recycle is at the bottom of the chain as there are much better ways for cutting down on waste. But when we do recycle then let’s do it well.  Different councils have slightly different rules. Often smaller councils don’t have the infrastructure to handle some products. In the bottom of South Island, they find it’s not worth shipping glass all the way to Auckland. Unless they pay the extra, it is use as aggregate in roading material or capping dumps. It can even be ground right to back to sand. Same with the tetra pack family of containers, only big councils have the gear to recycle these which are then sent overseas to be processed.  What do we recycle easily?  Plastic bottles, containers, and clear food containers 1 to 7. 1: PET plastics, soft drink bottles the most famous. These are recycled in NZ. The clear ones can be made in to anything. Coloured ones are less useful. They can be made into clothing , polyester etc. 2: HDPE, bathroom and laundry products. Slightly cloudy variety, often in milk bottles, is the most valuable. As soon as colour is added then these have more limited use. Ecostore uses recycled and carbon capture sugar based HDPE for its range. 3-7: Less wanted, often baled and exported or even sent to landfill for PVC and 7’s All bio plastics, unless going to a specialist collection, goes to landfill.  Soft plastic This can only be recycled at soft plastic recycling stores, never in the recycling bin. Auto equipment means plastic bags gets wrapped around gear and workers have to go in with angle grinders to fix this every day.  Aluminium and glass Can be recycled infinite times because they are pure elements, aluminium and silica. Steel cans are also fine.  Paper Products like mail, newspaper and magazines, paper and cardboard packaging and egg cartons.  Keep these out of your recycling Plastic bags, food and garden waste, hazardous waste and chemicals , polystyrene trays and packaging, coffee cups, batteries, nappies, clothing window glass, mirrors or light bulbs, cookware, electrical items, building waste and off course medical waste.  You need to think of the workers and machines that are sorting this stuff. Stuff you have sorted already into plastic bags, and put the whole thing in the bin will go straight to landfill because no one wants to puts their hands into these. Washing containers is important. Make sure they’re empty of liquid or residue. Rinsed out but not spotless - just clean enough for optical sorters so they know which type of plastic it is.  Pizza boxes: a bit of grease is okay, a few crumbs is alright - but masses of cheese no good. LISTEN ABOVE 

Buying organic food (food grown without the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides) is crucial to restoring the earth and protecting our biodiversity. But it costs the earth to do the right thing, right? WRONG! In many cases, buying organic food can save you money. In this episode, Waveney explains how.It all starts with intention, knowing WHY to buy organic and making the decision. According to the UN's 2014 report on Food and Agriculture, the planet only has 53 harvests left on our current trajectory.If you're a regular supermarket shopper, it can be as simple as looking for the organic label of the food you're already getting, which may involve looking in the slightly less obvious bits of the aisle. Getting a food box delivery service that does organic veges like Ooooby is also an easy and cost-effective method of going organic – the meal plans mean you usually wind up with no spoiled ingredients. Farmer's markets are a great way to source organics from your local area and connect with farmers who can tell you right there and then whether they're growing organic crops – if you're buying in season fruit and vege, even their organic prices will often beat the supermarket. Now we even have chains who focus on sustainable products, like Huckleberry, who have a huge range of products under one roof.Buying organic food in bulk and joining a collective are great ways to save some serious coin. Try looking on Facebook groups for collectives in your area. Or get your own wholesale account from Ceres Organics and Ecostore. Just enquire via the website. Both have a minimum order value and minimum amounts of the product you can buy, so ask a couple of friends to join in. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Unfortunately, like many women, I've always been prone to acne. My skins never been perfect. However, in November 2020 I was beginning to see it get worse. This went hand in hand with a few other symptoms that were unusual for me, including… Far more fluid retention Mood swings before period A huge decrease in energy Something wasn't right. I HAD to get help to find out what was going on - both externally on my skin, and internally with my body. So, I did a Dutch test and worked with Hayley from Solctice Skin to get to the bottom of it, and, it's safe to say that in 4 months my skin is definitely improving. It's not perfect, but it is SO MUCH BETTER. So, how did a girl who was doing everything right even get to this point? I was eating clean, avoiding dairy and gluten, eating heaps of vegetables, managing my stress… It felt so unfair. I now know what I was doing wrong. What I was missing… And how I ended up with excess oestrogen and far more pimples than I have ever had in my life. And, I can't wait to share some of my journey with you here in the hopes that it will help you too. In this episode, I chat with Hayley, qualified Corneotherapist and Naturopath, who really delves into the common mistakes' women make when it comes to skincare and how you too can make some simple changes like I have.   Links mentioned: Be sure to be following me on Instagram here! Follow Solstice Skin on Instagram here Head to Solstice Skin here The Zazen water filter can be found here We also chatted about these cleaning products! Koh, Ecostore and Koala!    

How could you possibly live sustainably in an apartment? Don't you need a bit of earth and a bit of space to crack sustainability? To find out, the How to Save the World podcast team is drawn out of the studio for the very first time to visit apartment dweller and advocate Angela Lees. Angela lives in a 60m2 apartment in Otahuhu, Auckland with two flatmates and two cats. It's a sunny spot with a sweeping view of the Auckland isthmus, maunga and city. Angela, who works from home and keeps very busy with part time study as well, made a conscious decision to buy something small and central. It's a choice that more and more urban New Zealanders are making, but the interesting thing is, sustainability was high on Angela's agenda when she decided against a far flung house and section further out. In terms of sustainability every lifestyle has its wins and drawbacks, for those living in a compact space in highly populated areas, or perhaps considering it, Angela's story highlights how apartment dwellers can be part of the solution. She embraces local shopping options, transport hubs and uses no additional energy to heat her home. And she also has thought through how to solve some of the trickier issues, like what to do with food waste. Angela lifestyle uncovers some surprising bonuses of apartment life and the episode is packed with tips and inspiration forBokashiComposting in small spacesGardening in pots, balconies and small spacesLife without house maintenanceConnecting with neighboursLow carbon livingDIY yogurt, kombucha and sourdoughVisible mendingClothes swapping (shwapping)Links to the shout outs in this episode: Bokashi by Zing BokashiSharewaste, an Auckland based initiative for households with or wanting food scraps to directly connect. Will and Able a company selling cleaning products that have a workforce of differently abled people, product stewardship and a social enterprise model. (Fantastic! But HTSTW would encourage you to check the ingredients against the Ecostore ingredient list, for more information) Bin Inn - our old favourite bulk bin store. A great way to reuse containers and avoid plastic. That Perfect Hour, Renee Williams, Visible Mending Instagramer See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The popular Kiwi brand Ecostore has been torn to shreds online by customers angry over a stunt which saw them "recall" all their bottled products, although their CEO says there is "no need to worry" after the announcement.The marketing fail led to hundreds of angry comments and their social media team scrambling to repair the damage.It all went wrong yesterday, when Ecostore took to social media to announce a "permanent bottle recall".Using a graphic that came complete with red text and an exclamation mark, the brand told customers: "Ecostore advises its customers that all bottles have been permanently recalled. More details to be announced soon at recall.ecostore.com".The original post that caused uproar. Photo / FacebookThe replies came thick and fast, with customers urgently seeking more information."Recall? I'm using the laundry liquid for my newborn's clothing!!" wrote one person, asking: "Why are the products being recalled???!!"In response to the flood of messages, Ecostore sought to clarify the situation by responding to comments to let customers know that the "recall" was a change to the brand's recycling strategy and that all products were safe."All ecostore products are completely safe, but we know there are always ways we can improve the impact our packaging has on the environment, which is why we are launching the Permanent Bottle Recall," they wrote."Simply finish the product and hold on to your bottle. All information will be revealed this Wednesday."Outraged customers slammed the popular brand for the stunt, with one describing it as "terrible scare tactic marketing"."Wow, how to lose a customer!!" another wrote. "Very poor way to get attention unless there is actually something wrong with your product, and no amount of explaining or back pedalling can undo bad communication in the first instance.""If your intention is to create uncertainty about the safety of your products you've succeeded; as a marketing strategy it's a fail folks. Especially in these uncertain times. I'm off to find another brand to purchase. You've compromised your brand Ecostore," a comment said.In responses to customers, Ecostore admitted the "recall" had been done simply to get attention."The Permanent Bottle Recall is designed to grab attention and provides an opportunity for New Zealanders to work together to take pressure off Aotearoa's overwhelmed recycling system," they wrote.The brand eventually relented by changing the original post and updating their website to customers could see the full details of the "recall".The site revealed that Ecostore is moving to a "closed loop recycling system" that will see customers return bottles to locations nationwide and the bottles recycled directly back into Ecostore products.Customers were angry at Ecostore's plastic bottle stunt. Photo / fileThey also went back on to Facebook with a new post that better explained the change, but the brand's communication left some customers cold."If you have to explain yourself dozens of times to your lost loyal customers - you have failed at basic communication," wrote one disgruntled customer, who also questioned whether the move could send customers heading to less eco-friendly products."Your marketing head should be questioned about their abilities to make quality decisions here," they added."This could do severe brand damage - which is a worry for the environment as some people will look elsewhere for products, and could quite easily resort to less eco-friendly options. Which is a huge disappointment."Ecostore Group CEO Pablo Kraus told the Herald that customers had "no need to worry" and the products were "completely safe"."The Permanent Bottle Recall campaign highlights an opportunity for New Zealanders to work together to take the pressure off our overwhelmed recycling system and present a new solution for how we manage our plastic bottles," Kraus said in a statement."There is no need to worry about our products –...

The last few decades have seen the emergence of the social enterprise. Businesses that create profit to deliver on pupose and leave a sustained impactFor New Zealand this means companies like Eat My Lunch, Kilmarnock, and Ecostore. These are companies who don't see profit as a dirty word, but as a way to do good thingsConstantly looking for tools to help them out but, unlike charities, these companies are not as constrained by budgets.And that's where technology companies need to show how to connect what they offer with impact and purpose. They need to provide solutions that are scalable and grow with the business.Showing how they can solve problems And above all, answer "what's in it for me"It's as much about values as it is value.Because people are motivated when it's clear that you are driven by more than just profitIn this episode I talk with Sheridan Jamieson about Social Enterprise and how technology firms could look to support them.About my guest:Sheridan lives a dual life as an independent consultant for his company, Seedling Consulting, and as Head of Operations at One Percent Collective. This experience combined with his time spent in the financial services sector mean he's got a wide-ranging view of what ‘being in business' means. Sheridan is passionate about social enterprise and grass-roots charity and wants to help purposeful and impact-led businesses to thrive.

As a strong believer in business as a force for good to drive significant positive change in the space of Sustainability, combating climate change and alleviating poverty, Jemma believes that through collective action we can shape and create a healthier world. An Intrapreneur in her role as Group Marketing Director at EcoStore she is championing her focus on people and the planet to re make and rebuild the new norm.

Lance Sheppard joins us from New Zealand to update us about the how the deescalation is rapidly progressing there, positive views for the Pacific area for the latter half of this year, and what a difference working with Ecostore can make to the sustainability of a superyacht. With a background in both yachting and enviromental focused projects,Lance talks about developing the marine side of Ecostore. With their own #carbonZero certified factory and renewable sugar plastic packaging, as well as utilisation of ocean plastics, their biodegradable plant and mineral-based effective cleaning solutions are well designed for yacht life, compatible with greywater systems and marine life and tested for over 20 years for their effectiveness.

PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded before things escalated regarding COVID-19. Please follow the health and hyguine advice of your local government, and/or WHO As an addendum to our episode on cleaning products, this week Wave is focusing on keeping your clothes clean while keeping the planet happy. Laundry Detergent SolutionsSoap nuts, kiwis can buy them at Ecoware house or grow your own tree.You can check out Green Goddess' Laundry Powder DIY Kit or products at Ecostore. Stain RemovalCheck out Ethique's Solid Laundry and Stain Remover Bar – no plastic, no palm oil.General tips on stain removal are available here and here's a useful super infographic. Most eco-friendly bleaches contain Sodium Percarbonate, because it's way better for the environment than regular bleach. However Wave still has reservations and try and live without it. Here is the Safety Data Sheet for Sodium Percarbonate [warning: PDF].Bluing Powder takes the yellowing out of sheets. We love it. Kiwis can grab it from Green Goddess Outsmart Green Washing Words like Natural or Biodegradable don’t mean they are good for the environmentI take it as a warning sign if companies haven’t listed, (or plainly listed) their ingredients. Take a moment to think about what they are silent on. Watch out for SLS’s: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate. These are super common nasties because they are cheap and they work. You can also wade through EcoStores ingredients index. It’s the best we’ve seen for summarizing health and safety information on common household chemicals. Its alphabetical, non searchable but thorough, and based on independent industry findings.Google the product you would like to check + Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to find the low down. If you can’t find an SDS (assuming you are a competent Googler) it probably means the product doesn’t need one, which is good – only hazardous substances (a lot cleaners in the supermarket) need them. STAIN REMOVAL FOOD and WINE STAINS:Club Soda & Salt (sit overnight and then wash regularly.). Vinegar (Soak then wash as normal)White Wine on RED wineSWEAT AND YELLOWING STAINS:Lemon Juice & SaltBaking Soda (Make a paste Let sit for an hour)Aspirin (Crush and mix with warm water until a paste forms. let it sit for an hour before rinsing it off)SHEETS & PILLOWCASES YELLOWING : Bluing powder!! Green Goddess. Needs SUNDIRT:Vinegar (just swap out your detergent for a cup of white vinegar);Shampoo; Stale Bread (If you have stale bread around just gently rub the bread - gluten absorb the dirt. Gluten free bread will not work). BLOOD:Lemon JuiceSalt & Cold WaterBaking Soda Thanks to Auckland Council and Live Lightly for supporting this... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ecoman Malcolm Rands knows a thing or two about washing clothes, after founding Ecostore with its range of green cleaning products.This week he joined Jack to talk about the best ways to wash - or not wash - your clothes. Wear it more than onceLevis say wash your jeans every 2 weeks instead of dailyDon’t iron things unless essentialHang your clothes as soon as the washing machine finishesUse an eco detergentPlant-based instead of petroleum-based surfactantsIf you choose the right brand it means you don’t end up with the residues of nasty chemicals up against your skin 24/7Use the most concentrated detergent Many are filled with fillers and water to make it look as though you are getting a bargainUsing something more concentrated means you save money tooWash by handMakes your clothes last longer tooUse an energy efficient front loader machine This uses half the water of a top loaderWash on cold cycle 90% of the energy goes into heating the water and only 10% in running the machineIf clothes are very dirty, then hot is goodHang your clothes out to dryNothing like sun dried clothes, it kills bugs tooIf you have to use a dryer, keep the lint draw clean and try a shorter dry timeDon’t dry cleanPerchloroethylene (also called "perc") is nasty stuffIf you have to, then search out a healthy dry cleaner or ask yours to change 

Welcome to Episode 30 and the launch of Season 3 of Ground Breaking Podcast.This week I am speaking to Pablo Kraus the Managing Director of Ecostore.Ecostore was initially founded on being an environmentally friendly brand but have evolved into a full health and wellbeing brand. This year they were voted New Zealand's most authentic brand beating brands like Apple, IKEA, Airbnb, Telsa and Air New Zealand.Paul and his team have a dream to hold their own on the world stage and beat the likes of the $230 billion-plus valued Unilever.If you enjoy this interview be sure to subscribe and share this podcast with your network. Stay awesome Eli SmitFounder & HostGround Breaking Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Che cosa vogliono i nostri figli? Le adesioni a M'Illumino di meno: EcoStore e come stirare per risparmiare energia. La Condivisione in un condominio è possibile.

Alexx loves featuring the odd brand on the show, that is pioneering in some way in the low tox movement. Malcolm Rands started eco brand ecostore with his wife, shipping out of their garage some small batch products for home cleaning. Cut to today and it’s a huge business that Malcolm Rands the creator sees as only the beginning to the big picture difference he wants to make, facilitating more socially and ecologically conscious businesses and developing healthy and happy connected communities. It’s a super interesting chat with a very smart man, on a life long journey of doing good for people and planet. Find the show notes over at https://www.lowtoxlife.com/podcast/ 

Malcolm Rands talks about his journey establishing an eco-village, establishing global business Ecostore and his not-for-profit and entity, the Fairground Foundation. Plus insights into funding, ownership, competition and doing a TedX Talk. Please connect and send feedback via Twitter @NZ_Business, Facebook.com/NZBusinessPodcast and the official website http://NZBusinessPodcast.com Host and Guests: Paul Spain, Malcolm Rands Running time: 0:31:30

Clients can be great?or monsters! And once you have a client who's a monster, it's easy to blame them for all the issues. Often, the problem lies with us. We don't put things in place, in advance, and then get into all sorts of trouble.   To get hidden goodies, go to http://www.psychotactics.com/magic To also get the coolest headline report on "why headlines fail", go to http://www.psychotactics.com TimeStamps 00:00:20 Start 00:01:35 The Riot Act 00:01:56 Part 1: The Barrier 00:06:57 Part 2: Your Philosophy 00:12:20 Part 3: Firing the Client 00:14:25 Summary 00:16:08 Your Action Plan 00:16:30 Final Comments + Psychotactics Workshop  Transcript Sean D'Souza:The year was 1998, I think 1999, and I had a massive headache. The reason for my headache was that I wasn’t being paid on time. Just to get paid, I had to follow up several times and then I was lucky if I got the full amount. These are clients that drive you crazy and often the question is, what are you going to do with clients like these? Whose fault is it? Our natural instinct is to say that it's the clients' fault. Really, is it? I think it's just our fault. Why is it our fault? How do we decide when do we get rid of the client? Shall we get rid of them now? Should we get rid of them 6 months from now? We're not very sure but The Riot Act puts everything into perspective and it saves you from the trouble that I had. I not only had headaches but I had hypertension and all kinds of things and I was not even 30 years old. If you want to avoid that kind of thing, you will need to know how to use The Riot Act. There are 3 parts to The Riot Act. The first is the form or the barrier, the second is the philosophy, and the third is the right to fire the client. Let's see how this all pans out. The first part of The Riot Act is the barrier. Without the barrier, without the form, nothing happens. When I started my career, I started out as a cartoonist and the clients always have the upper hand. I was just a teenager out of university; in fact I was still in university. At that point in time, the newspapers would tell me what to do and they would decide when they had to pay me and so I would spend a lot of time in this follow-up just trying to get my payments, just trying to get the jobs, just trying to just go crazy doing what I thought should have been easy and pleasurable. You get into this rock you think that there is never going to be another way. Then one day, I was sitting at the dentist and the dentist gave me a form. Here I was doing a transaction. I was going to pay this guy to drill my teeth. He wasn’t going to do it until the form was filled. Later, I went to a yoga class that is several years later. They weren’t going to allow me to the yoga class until I filled in this form and agreed to sit in a number of classes. I thought, "Wow, this is really cool." What's happening here is the expectations are being set right at the start. The barriers are being put in place. I thought, "This is incredibly powerful. I wonder if I could use this in our business." As you know, Psychotactics is mostly about books. It's about workshops. It's about training. What we had at that point in time was a consulting program. Because I live in New Zealand, this consulting is done by a telephone. Still, I got people to fill in the form. They had to fill in our big form and then get back and then we went ahead with the consulting. The same applied with the protege program. This was a year-long program. Again, they had to fill in a form. Because it was more detailed, more intensive as it were, they also had to go through a 45-minute interview. Think about it for a second. You are sitting there and you're about to take money from a client but you're putting them for a barrier. Would they agree to such a barrier? The answer is yes. When you look around you, most of the successful businesses have some contracted place. At that point in time, we only had a single document, a book called The Brain Audit and so we made that our biggest barrier. If you wanted to go to workshop, you had to read The Brain Audit. If you wanted to join our membership at 5000bc.com, again, you had to read The Brain Audit. You had to buy, you had to read it. At that point in time, I was still doing one-on-one consulting. What we had to do was put together a barrier and the simplest barrier of all is a form. You get the client to sit down and go through a whole bunch of questions. They answer the questions. They qualify themselves and that becomes the first barrier. That’s it that dawned for the relationship. You may not want to have a form. You might want to have some other kind of barrier in place. Maybe they have to read through a couple of pages of something. Maybe they have to listen to an audio. It doesn’t matter what it is. Having the barrier in place gets the client to qualify themselves and that is the first step towards getting rid of that headache. You know what's the sad thing? The sad thing is that we haven't always taken our own advice and sometimes we've let the barrier down. For instance, once we were having the workshop in Washington DC and we said, "It's The Brain Audit workshop. Everyone has read The Brain Audit. They're going to be here and we don’t really need to have any barrier in place," and we let that barrier down. Someone slipped through the net. She was just disruptive, asking all sorts of crazy questions, not participating in the group sessions properly. She drove us crazy. We had to send her home after a couple of days. This is not something you want to do in the middle of a workshop. The first step in your Riot Act is to make sure that, "Hey, you've got a barrier." This takes us to the second step which is the philosophy. Do they buy in to your philosophy? Do you know if they're buying in to your philosophy? Because if they don’t buy in to your philosophy, it's getting into relationship where you don’t the other person at all. Second thought, philosophy. What is so important about the philosophy and how do you get this across? You don’t have to write a book or have something sophisticated about your philosophy. Most of our philosophy is embedded within our documents, whether it's a report or a book or an audio. The philosophy is there. People have to listen to something specific before they join. This is the trickiest thing to achieve when you're in consulting, because the client is very eager to get ahead with the job and it almost seems like you're slowing them down. Getting them to read even a couple of pages or listen to something is very critical. Maybe you get them to read just a few pages of your website or maybe a single page. Having that philosophy in place makes a big difference. For instance, ours is a 3-month vacation philosophy, which is that we work for 9 months and then, of course, we go out for 3 months in the year. This doesn’t fit really well with clients if they don’t know this right at the start. Let's supposing you're a member of 5000bc and you join and you think, "Sean is going to be there right through the year." I'm not and I go on vacation for a whole month at a time and should I go back into 5000bc I get thrown out. I get thrown out by my own members because they go, "You're supposed to be on vacation." This is a complete fit of philosophy. They understand where you're coming from. You understand what you need to do. Unless you get this message across right at the start, you're going to run into a clash and you're going to lose. The client is going to get upset with you. They're going to recall your money. They're going to give you all kinds of trouble because they feel that they're in the right. You haven't let them know right in the start what your philosophy is all about. Let's take an example of this yoga class that I visited in South India. Their philosophy is very simple. You had to be part of that yoga class for a week, not for a few days but for a week. You had to be vegetarian for the entire week. You had to spend an hour or so in meditation every day. That was part of their philosophy. If you didn’t agree with that, then you couldn't be part of their group. When we do our courses, which is training which is different from a service like a yoga class, we do something similar. The philosophy is about tiny increments. It's not about big jumps. It's not about instant success. It's not about get anywhere quickly. It's about very, very tiny increments. For this to happen, the clients have to show up every day. They have to agree to this philosophy. They have to agree that they're going to be there 5 days a week going forward step by step as we go through the whole minefield of information and getting things implemented. In a way, a philosophy is your way of life but it's also the rules that you put together. While it's quite easy to put it, you're offering a service or training. It probably is a lot harder when you're selling a product. What do you supposed to do if you're selling shampoo or soap? There is a philosophy. If you go to this site at EcoStore.co.nz, you will find that the owner put together a philosophy and you can see the philosophy in the website. It's very clear. They do not want anything to do with chemicals so all their soaps, all their products are made without any chemicals whatsoever. They spend thousands or tens of thousands or probably hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure that it's absolutely pure that it doesn’t remove the oils from your skin that it doesn’t affect you in any way. They don’t say it but I think you could drink some of their soap. That’s their philosophy. Your philosophy is the core of your business. It is why you started out in the first place. It is everything. If the client doesn’t get a complete dose of this philosophy, they don’t know what do you stand for. You get into this relationship not knowing how it's going to work out. That’s not a good thing. You want to make sure that the client reads or listens to this philosophy and make it short. Don’t punish them. This takes us to the third part, which is the right to fire the client. You probably don’t think of firing the client very much, do you? The client pays your bills, sends you on vacation. They're there for your benefit and yet you need to fire the client. When most of us start up in a relationship, we don’t outline the exit plan. In most cases, especially in personal relationships, it's not necessary. In a business relationship, it's very important that you have some exit plan in place. In the very first meeting, what you need to do with the client is sitting down and tell them that they have the right to fire you. They have the right to fire you if you don’t meet with the obligations, the specifications of the contract. Then you tell them that you in turn had the right to fire them if they don’t meet up with the scheduled payments, if they don’t behave like normal people should. When we do this, we are very clear about the fact that it's an equal agreement. Nothing is ever equal that’s always the shift-in power balance but even so, you're not making it so unequal that it causes you trouble. It also sets the benchmarks so you know that, "Hey, at this point in time, I have to get paid. If I don’t get paid, we're walking. We're firing you." If I had these systems in place when I first started out, it would have saved me a lot of grief. In a lot of cases, I didn’t get paid anyway. In other cases, the trouble of trying to recover the money, the hassle of having to deal with clients that suddenly reduced the font size from 17 to 3, it was not worth the trouble. When you set this whole agenda in place, it makes it much easier for the relationship to continue and to be very, very respectful. If you were just selling a product online or a physical product, yes it cost you money but it's not as damaging as training or consulting. Especially if you're in training or consulting, you want to make sure that you have this Riot Act in place. Let's go over the 3 parts of The Riot Act. The first part of The Riot Act was simply the barrier. You've got to have some barrier in place. This could be that they have to read a booklet or a book or filling a form or do something. The second step is simply to have a philosophy. This might be a short document. It might be a single page. The client has to know your philosophy and, of course, you have to know your philosophy and put it down so that they agree with it. Finally, you have to make sure that right at the start the client knows that they can fire you but you can fire them. This sets a benchmark, were you going to paid at this time, you're going to get this at that time. It sets this whole relationship right at the start and prevents all the hassle that most of us have had at some point with the other. We've run Psychotactics for almost 13 or 14 years now and we've had only 3 or 4 clients that have been toxic clients the whole time. That’s a very long time to not have clients that are real thing. The reason for that is very simple. For most of our products, our services and whenever we do consulting, we make sure that we have the system in place. You'll find that work is an absolutely pleasure, which is the way it should be, not being pushed around all the time by someone else, so put The Riot Act in place. The simplest thing you can do today that’s the one thing that you can do today. What is it? The one thing that you can do today is put a barrier in place. Even if you don’t have your philosophy in place, even if you don’t have the guts to go up to the client and say, "We're going to fire you," have the barrier. Small barrier, big barrier, whatever barrier, have a barrier in place. When the client gets over their barrier, they qualify themselves and that makes the big difference. With that, we are shuffling towards the end of this podcast. I just want to tell you, if you want more goodies, which are not available in the website, you can go to psychotactics.com/magic. On another note, we're having a workshop on information products. It's interesting but a lot of the stuff that you see free on the internet has very little value because there's so much free stuff. It is more efficient to get clients through workshops or training, something that they pay for and yet structuring a book or a workshop or a webinar is critical, how you make it so exciting that people want to come back time and time again and then buy more stuff from you. That’s what we're going to cover in the information products workshop where we show you how to reduce the amount of information and yet get clients to come back. This is nothing sleazy. It's what we really need at this point in time in our history. That’s happening in the first week of May 2015. We'll have more details on the podcast and on the website, so be part of the newsletter at psycotactics.com.   Finally, I'm writing a book on pricing, yes pricing, and how to get better prices without losing customers. That’s it for now. That’s me, Sean D'Souza saying bye from the Three-Month Vacation podcast and psychotactics.com. If you haven't already gone to Psychotactics, go there today. Bye for now.    

Peter Donegan talks with Tara Singleton, and more of the crew from Ireland's finest and very real #ecostore based in #Ballymun, North Dublin. This Part 2 of 2 Find the show notes at Sodshow.com or hit us up @sodshow on twitter Brought to you by the wonderful Greensax.ie

Peter Donegan talks with Tara Singleton, one of the brains involved with Ireland’s finest [and really real] #ecostore based in #Ballymun, North Dublin. Pat of Rediscovery Centre, this Part 1 of 2 of what has to be the greenest shop I have ever met in my life. Really. In my life. Ever. Find the show notes at Sodshow.com or hit us up @sodshow on twitter Brought to you by the wonderful Greensax.ie