11/2/2002

Wellstone Assassination: Draw your own conclusions. I just had to get this off my chest.

Election: Please vote and encourage others to as well. This election is an affirmation or a negation of the current regime and it's policies.

Economy: Up here in Vermont the commercial carpenters, electricians, plumbers, are flat out straight. The local co-op is busier than ever. Real estate is busy. Factories and other big employers continue to close. I don't get it. Closest I can figure is that any publicly traded company is an unreliable employer, and the entrepreneurs who engage in the REAL ECONOMY are doing just fine thank you very much.

You are receiving this because you are a thoughtful person who is attempting to merge your social and spiritual values with your occupation. I wish you well on your journey. The process IS the end. Please encourage other like minded entrepreneurs in the personal products industry to join GPA. If your products are clean - your in. If you are mostly clean, and you care; and if you are willing to engage in a product clean up process as alternatives reveal themselves - you are in.

Natural is about choices. Essential oils, before fragrances, mineral and herbal colors before coal tar dyes, rosemary extract before EDTA, castile soap before SLS, sustainable vs. extractive industry. It is up to us to create viable examples of sustainability in our business, and in our lives.

Co-op marketing is getting the most response of anything we have discussed here. I am hearing that we have a lot of members that would love to participate in a low cost, effective group mailing; but are reluctant to make a financial commitment. Ideally, we all ante into the pot to build up a war chest. Then we put together a group catalog. This is the ideal.

My pet concept: Put a sell sheet and a small sample from each company into a "Goodie Bag". Include a postcard they can send back to keep receiving future offers. Do 1,000 a month. Estimated cost is .35 per unit per company and up. That is a $350/thousand commitment. Plus the cost of the sample and sell sheet. Not as cost effective as a group catalog, but still a great idea for a pre qualified list of retailers.

OR: Group catalog, $100/month/page 1/2 and 1/4 pages sold as well. The more pages we buy the more mailers will fly. It takes a dozen committed companies to make this project work.

The NO COST Effective Alternative: Swap retail store customer lists. If they buy from you they will probably buy from me. This could include a one time group mailing (such as above) or simply sharing the info in an agreed format. What do YOU think? I'll show you mine if you show me yours....

If you would like to go in with me in assembling a "Good Buyer" list, give an email back and a rough idea of the size of your customer list. We would all agree to only give list to companies that also contribute, and the list would never be sold or given outside the group. We can update regularly. Who's in?

Best!

Soapman