WBO News Magazine is available for you to read online or print and read with your coffee.
We have two PDF versions available and an online viewable website!
Topics Included:
Setting Your Business Rates
Conquer Home Show Fears
Fear and Self Doubt
You’ll Be It - When you Believe It!
Annual WBO Convention
6 Keys to Wild Abundance in your Business
Consumers Can Choose Clean Products- 5 Tips on Reading Labels
By Diane Tegarden - Environmental Journalist
At first, reading the labels on your food and other grocery items can be a bit daunting. But after you get the hang of it, it becomes an interesting and vastly educational experience.
Green consumers (those who are concerned with taking care of our environment) read labels for different kinds of information. Some consumers are looking for organic food, others want food that excludes MSG or GMOs, still others want to make sure that their products have not involved animal cruelty in the testing phase, or they want to make sure to buy fair traded goods.
Organic Farming
The contents, of course, are important but you can also read labels for the quality of the food (whether organic or loaded with chemicals and pesticides), or you can find out if your food has been naturally grown or if it is a genetically modified organism (GMO).
Some of the benefits of organic farming include: soil maintenance (which means that the farmers add organic matter to the earth rather than replenishing the soil with chemicals or synthetic additives); crop rotation (the farmers rotate crops in order to allow the earth to refurbish itself after laying fallow), they also plant a variety of cover crops in fallow soil, utilizing it for other uses (like growing crops for biofuel production.)
Go to http://www.calorganicfarms.com for nutritional information and recipes using organic food.
What is a GMO and should I worry about it?
The debate over genetically modified foods (known as GMOs) is truly a catch-22, in that its proponents claim that the only way to prove GMO’s value is to grow it, and its detractors claim that if you grow GMOs, the potential harm may be irreversible. They claim the risks aren’t worth the good GMOs may bring.
One of the risks posed to the environment is referred to as incidental cross breeding. This occurs when the GMO crops seeds spread inadvertently, creating hybrids when they cross-breed with the naturally occurring plant crops surrounding the GMO crops. This may result in unintended results to the new hybrid plants.
Animal Cruelty
Animal cruelty is the practice of operating on live animals (vivisection) for the use in testing products for human use. Many scientists support more useful diagnostic tools, such as: in-vitro research, breakthroughs in physics and chemistry, computer modeling, epidemiology (the study of disease among a human population), genetic research, clinical studies, autopsies and post-marketing drug surveillance.
Diverting the funds from these unnecessarily cruel animal experimentation would allow the funding of these other more useful, humane diagnostic tools.
For more information on Humane Research, go to http://www.vivisectioninfo.org/humane_research.html
Fair Trade Goods
Fair Trade goods allow farmers to gain a fair price for their goods, increasing their economic prosperity locally, and helping to sustain the environment.
Some of the ways that the farmers are helped directly; farmers are paid additional funds for certified organic products, workers now have safer working conditions, child labor is strictly prohibited, and that the importers now deal directly with the farmers helping them to develop their business acumen and experience.
Together fair trade farmers democratically decide how to reinvest the profits from their sales into the local community, funding scholarship programs, training the local farmers in quality improvement and natural sustainability farming methods, as well as attaining the high standards required to receive the organic certification for their products.
According to TransFair USA, a company that has been certifying Trade Fair coffee since 1999, $60 million of additional income has been provided for farmers through fair traded goods. The benefits to the farmers, their families, and the earth is a testimony to the benefits of Fair Trade.
The benefits to the environment include the banning of toxic agrochemicals, and GMOs, helping to sustain the natural ecosystem of the local area. Shade grown coffee and tea provide a place for migratory birds to live, allowing both business and the local wildlife to thrive. Additionally, the trees provide a natural air filter, cleaning the air of environmental pollution.
For more information on supporting fair trade goods, go to http://www.transfairusa.org.
Excess Packaging- That’s a Wrap
Another thing you can take into consideration when you buy products is whether they have excessive packaging, and whether the package has been made from recycled/post consumer materials. Check to make sure the container can be recycled.
If you price shop, there usually isn’t a large difference in price between the new versus the post consumer products and the quality is about the same. As you shop every week, your choices will begin to accumulate to make a mountain of difference. You can, with practice and habit, help your world every single day.
Energetically Yours, Diane Tegarden
Come join the Storytellers, Poets and Bards Online Forum!
http://www.firewalkerpublications.com
You will need a strong and committed leader. Someone willing to keep the group together and growing. Someone starting the networking meeting, and someone ending the meeting.
The first step is picking a date, time, and location.
Then you need to share this information. You can do this by starting small with some local business owners you know, or just inviting the public by contacting your local radio stations and newspapers and letting them know about your new group, what you are planning on accomplishing with your group, who they can contact for more information, where, and when.
My favorite networking groups are the casual groups that get together, share information about themselves and their business (no longer than 1 minute per person), and then they go around the room and start referring.
For example… I would either be needing a specific service or product, or I know someone that does. Then I stand up and let each person know that I have either done business with them in the past week, plan to do business with them in the next week, or know someone that needs their business card or specific information.
If you are interested in starting a local group in your area, tell us about it!!! Tell us when and where and we will help promote it too!
I love the ones that meet in a hotel room (sometimes they will donate the room for the extra exposure) or a local coffee house. Those are usually free, fun, and productive!
Contact Anna Campbell for more information pertaining to starting local networking groups.
Women Business Owners http://www.womenbizowners.org
Non-profit corporation that works with you to make your business work.
9am-9pm ESTExpo Page ~ Door Prizes ~ Jolly Vendors ~ Holiday Games
Holiday Contest ~ Merry Sponsors
The holidays are here, “Jingle Bells” is in the air, and snow flakes are falling on our noses. Stop by and visit with our holiday shoppers and vendors during this very festive time of year.
We have our shelves stocked and our samples ready. Don’t fret about the lines or the weather. Come in your jammies and slippers.
Our Jolly Vendors: Cindy Powers with Bright Minds, Lisa Wald Guarino with Lisa’s Art & Horses, Julie Christin with Julie-Marie Bags , Kathy Bittner with Nevaeh Bath & Spa Essentials
, Karen Tracy with Arbonne, Patricia Thackston with The Baby Hammock, and Jennifer Hudson with Mimsi Bags are excited to help you cross off your Holiday Gift List!
Our Merry Sponsors: Gazelle Simmons with Admin Services, Ingrid Gonzalez with ALCO Consultants, LLC, Maryella Blundo with Dream Come True Travel, DJ Nelson with Little Diva Toys, Tonya Ramsey with Life By Design, Kelli Claypool with Mom Of Praise, and Martie Collins with Host Caters help make this event possible!
Sponsors Receive: Your company logo or business image displayed on our event page prior to the event, be included in our press releases/articles, and have your business promoted during our event.
Vendors Receive: We will supply you with a vendor page displaying your business logo, business name, description, contact information and event vendor times. During your vendor time at our event, your information will be displaying on our chat room page.
Announcing our winner for the September Basket Drawing….
Drumroll…………….
Diane Tegarden!!!!!!
Now ladies, our baskets are getting bigger and bigger. Don’t miss your chance to win!
October 1-31, 2007
Enter our contest Daily!
Generous Donations For October Received From:
Tell A Soldier Thank You Linen Card Stock, Business Card Size, from Yvonne Reeves-Chong with SeedTime & Harvest ~ http://www.seedistheword.com
$10 Gift Certificate from Treasia Stepp with Southern Belle Invitations ~ http://www.southernbelleinvitations.com
$5 Gift Certificate from Sherri Walker with Hands of Worship Gifts ~ http://www.handsofworshipgifts.com
Beautiful Travel Planner Book from Maryella Blundo with Dream Come True Travel ~ www.dreamcometruetravel.biz
“Friday Reflections” by Anand Shah donated by Analisa Shah with Analisa Enterprises, LLC. ~ www.fridayreflections.com
“101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life” by David Riklan donated by Dolores Arste with Zen Clicker Horsemanship ~ http://www.zenhorsemanship.com/
Cooling Yogurt and Honey Mask from Gabriele Anderson with Jafra ~ http://www.myjafra.com/ganderson
Cute Stuffed Dalmation from Annette Yen with Noah’s Ark ~ http://www.funontheark.com
$5 Plush Pal Gift Card from Annette Yen with Noah’s Ark ~ http://www.funontheark.com
10% off Coupon and Product Samples from Crystal Lampe with Beauty From The Earth ~ http://www.beautyfromtheearth.com
Coca-Cola Ice Bucket donated by Anna Campbell with Humble Print and Fold ~ http://www.humbleprintandfold.com
Donations for November Contest:
We are accepting all donations from physical products to services and gift certificates. If you are providing a service or gift certificate, please print out specifically what is being donated with any deadlines and mail it to us. Deadline for November: October 25, 2007. All items received after this date will be included in our December drawing.
We will be placing all donations into a big basket and taking pictures to be displayed during November. Please include any business marketing material you may have as well: business card, brochure, etc.
Please mail your donations to:
Women Business Owners
WBO Contest
12123 Quail Creek Drive
Houston, Texas 77070
WBO Contest Coordinator: Gazelle Simmons, Virtual Assistant with Admin Services www.admnsrvcs.com
gazelle@womenbizowners.org
Women Business Owners http://www.womenbizowners.org
Non-profit corporation that works with you to make your business work.