by Tara Joyce | Sep 11, 2008 | Innerpreneurship
Saying we are entrepreneurs is not giving us enough credit. We are more than that. We are innerpreneurs and we are a whole other tribe.
We Aren’t All Business.
We do what we are. Our businesses have been started for our personal fulfillment. They are our means for expression and our avenue to make a difference. They were not started to for monetary reasons.
Life experience and exploration energize and inspire us. We do not want our businesses to consume our lives. We want to travel, learn and grow.
We are Idealists, Psychologically.
Our temperament, I believe, is what really makes us innerpreneurs. We are idealists naturally.
Dr. Keirsey defines idealists as people who:
- are enthusiastic, trust our intuition, yearn for romance, seek our true selves, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.
- pride ourself on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.
- are giving, trusting, spiritual, and focused on our personal journey and human potential.
Idealists have the iNtuative Feelers (or NF) aspects of their personality type.
I doubt that is true of every ‘entrepreneur’ you meet. We are unique and we are going to change the world.
The idealist temperment is just a theory. Let me know if it describes you.
by Tara Joyce | Sep 4, 2008 | Innerpreneurship
Making your printing and marketing practices more sustainable or ‘green’ is an easy way for an innerpreneur to make a difference. The facts on the paper industry and its effects on global warming and the environment are horrifying.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the virtues of waterless printing. Today, I am going to speak on the types of sustainable paper stocks and which you could use.
The Different Types of Sustainable Paper Stocks
1. Recycled Paper
What’s it made of?
Recycled paper is composed of ‘some’ quanitity of waste paper — both from paper processing (pre-consumer) and from recycling bins (post-consumer).
2. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Paper
What is it made of?
There are three types of FSC certified paper:
- FSC Pure – All content in Pure products must come from an FSC certified forest. The paper contains no recycled material or any non-FSC fiber of any kind.
- FSC Recycled – An FSC Recycled product means that a minimum of 85% of the wood fiber content is from post-consumer sources, with a maximum of 15% coming from post-industrial sources.
- FSC Mixed – A blend of FSC Pure, Recycled and/or Controlled fiber. Controlled fiber is any wood fiber in an FSC product that isn’t from an FSC forest or recycled.
What You Need to Know About Recycled Paper
- The amount of actual recycled paper in paper labeled ‘recycled’ can vary widely. Be sure to check how much of the content is actually recycled. Personally, I wouldn’t accept anything less than 50% recycled content but I always strive for 100%.
- There is no one policing the placement of the recycled symbol on paper. Therefore, it could say it’s recycled and not be. Be sure your printer (or the place you are purchasing the paper from) is trustworthy and reliable. But even then, you can’t be sure.
What You Need to Know About FSC Certified Paper
The Forest Stewardship Council is a respected non-government organization that sets standards and carries out certifications to assure that forests and forest products are managed responsibly. The FSC ensures the sources in their paper aren’t contributing to any of the five most destructive practices in forestry:
- Illegal logging
- Natural forest conversion to other land uses
- The liquidation of high conservation value forests
- Civil rights violations
- Genetic modification of forest species
Which Sustainable Paper Type Is Best?
Recycled FSC Certified Paper as it is the best of both worlds. It is guaranteed to be at least 85% recycled materials and the rest coming from certified paper sources.
Of course, using any of the above green paper types is better than regular paper stocks. Be sure to include the FSC or recycled logo on all materials you print. Let your customers know what you believe in.
Where to Find Recycled FSC Certified Paper
Search your country-specific FSC website for merchants and printers. For example,
Or ask your current retailer or printer. Most should have FSC paper available and if they don’t, it is time to switch service providers.
by Tara Joyce | Sep 3, 2008 | Self/Business Growth
Before I decided to start my innerpreneurial business, Elastic Mind, I did some serious soul searching. I realized that the path I was taking wasn’t working for me and that I needed to find my passion in life. But I realized before I could do that, I needed to better understand who I was and what I needed.
The below steps helped me to find my passion and I hope they help you to find yours.
1. Understand Yourself
“Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of type can make your perceptions clearer, your judgements sounder, and your life closer to your heart’s desire.” – Isabel Briggs Myers
Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test and figure out who you are.
The Myers-Briggs type indicator has been used since the 1940’s to help individuals identify the sort of jobs where they would be “most comfortable and effective”.
The indicator defines 16 possible psychological types which emulate your unique approach to the world, to information, to decisions, and to other people.
The test determines the following aspects (or dichotomies) of your personality:
Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world [Extraversion (E)] or on your own inner world [Introversion (I)]?
Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in [Sensing (S)] or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning [Intuition (N)]?
Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency [Thinking (T)] or first look at the people and special circumstances [Feeling (F)]?
Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided [Judging (J)]or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options [Perceiving (P)]?
When you decide on your preference in each category, you have your own personality type, which can be expressed as a code with four letters. For example, I am an INFP (Introverted, Intuition, Feeling, Perceiving).
Take the Test Online
Tests recommended by the Myers Briggs Foundation
MBTI Complete – (US $59.95)
CAPT – (US $150 – $175)
Free Tests
BBC Personality Survey
PersonalityType.com – website is owned by the author of Do What You Are
Personality Pathways
2. Understand what you need and want
Once you have determined your personality type, start researching it and doing some soul searching.
Take note of the special abilities your type has. Believe in yourself that these gifts are ones that you possess. Take note of the work style that would be most beneficial to you.
Ask yourself what you would do if you knew you couldn’t fail. If you had all the talent, support, resources, experience, etc. that you needed, what would you do to make a living?
Think about what you want from your life, what you want to accomplish, and what you want to leave behind.
Remember the activities you loved as a child. If it was fun then, it is likely still fun to you today.
3. Put It Together
Now you know what makes you unique and what has, and always will, energize and excite you. Don’t ignore this information as in it lies your purpose.
by Tara Joyce | Jul 30, 2008 | Innerpreneurship
I was just asked this by a client of mine. They wanted to know if they had the rights to the HTML code on their site.
HTML code is the computer language your website is written in. It looks like this:
I’m not a lawyer, and this question falls under internet law, so I had to do a little digging to give her a correct answer. I did find a great article on what you own (or don’t own) on your website.
It turns out, unless you clearly specify in a contract that you own the rights to x item created for you site, you don’t own them. This includes such things as:
- The design
- The software (HTML) code
- The domain name
- The graphics
- The content (words)
- The terms of use and privacy policies
It turns out intellectual property laws are designed to protect the creator, not the purchaser. The laws were created to encourage the creator to create.
If you hire someone to create anything for your site, what you are actually purchasing is a “license” to use the creation for the use intended by you and the creator.
So make sure you get it in writing if you want to have any ownership over your site.
by Tara Joyce | Jul 30, 2008 | Cultural Creativity
I want to run a green business
I am an environmentalist, a tree hugger, a dirty hippie and every day I do my best to lessen my impact on the earth.
My issue with calling Elastic Mind a ‘green business’ was that I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. I used recycled paper and a waterless printer. I employ renewable energy to power my office and buy recycled furniture to fill it. I compost, reuse everything I can (including shipping envelopes and twist ties), go to meetings using public transportation and really try and do my best every day.
Is That Enough?
That may sound great but is it enough to be able to call Elastic Mind a green business? I wasn’t so sure since there is always more that I could do. For example, I sometimes run an air conditioner (which I borrowed, not bought) on super hot days so my Mac doesn’t overheat and explode. Is that really necessary? Could I live without it? Of course. So maybe my business practices aren’t good enough?
What Makes a Business Green
John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing would argue they are. Here are his ideas for what makes a business green. They are reasonable, attainable and fair and prevent crazies like me from calling themselves hypocrites just because they have an air conditioner.
