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Growing a successful business is about meeting the needs of customers and, by extension, the needs of the entire community. Turn your business into a good citizen and you can help ensure its success and contribute to making your community a great place to live and work. Growing Local Value shows how to build a values-driven business that is deeply embedded in local life.
Drawing on real-world examples from Greyston Bakery, Wild Planet Toys, Powell s Books, and many other companies, Laury Hammel and Gun Denhart show how you can leverage every aspect of your business from product creation to employee recruitment, vendor selection, and raising capital to benefit both the community and the bottom line. Growing Local Value explores in depth how your business can contribute to its community and the benefits it will receive when it does.
Table des matières
Letter from the Editor of the Social Venture
Network Series
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Why Local?
1 Customer and Community First
2 Values-Based Financing
3 Partnering with Your Employees
4 Business Networking for Local Value
5 Creating Partnerships with Nonprofits
6 Making Sustainability Your Competitive Advantage
7 Collaborating with Government
8 Building a Bridge to the Future
Notes
Suggested Reading
Resources
Index
About Social Venture Network
About the Authors
A propos de l'auteur
In 1980 Laury Hammel founded The Longfellow Clubs, a group of health, tennis, and sports clubs located outside Boston and servicing over 10,000 members. The Longfellow Clubs has been a leader in the fitness and tennis industries and has won numerous awards. Laury has been inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame, and his emphasis on growing local value has led Club Business International magazine to call him the “conscience of the industry.” His family was named the National Tennis Family of the Year in 2000, and he is currently the number one tennis player in New England in his age group.
Gun Denhart cofounded the Hanna Andersson children’s clothing company in 1983. Through her leadership, the company has become known for its high-quality clothing made from soft cot- ton materials as well as community involvement and family- friendly work practices.
Commentaire
Hammel and Denhart free us from two tired myths: that business and social mission don t mix and that in a Wal-Mart world local enterprise is passé. Plus, the fascinating cases and the practical lessons in Growing Local Value make for great reading.
Frances Moore Lappé, author of Democracy s Edge and Hope s Edge
In a world awash in stories of corporate predators, it s refreshing to read the stories of local independent entrepreneurs with strong social consciences who are building successful businesses that create local value. Hammel and Denhart reveal how they do it. Essential reading for everyone dedicated to building vital local economies and communities that work for everyone.
David C. Korten, author of The Great Turning and When Corporations Rule the World
Move over Stephen Covey! The real eighth habit for highly successful people is to be the kind of community-loving entrepreneur depicted by Hammel and Denhart. Anyone running a business, studying business, or dreaming of having a business should study this book and heed its wise yet practical advice.
Michael H. Shuman, author of The Small-Mart Revolution
