Featured Entrepreneur
Amy George
BlueAvocado
What does your business do?
We are a lifestyle products company focusing on products that have less impact on the planet. Our mission is to make it easy to "do good and get it done"! Our debut product, the gro-pak®, is an eco-chic system of fashionable and functional reusable grocery bags. After just three months in market, we have helped our customers eliminate 3.5 MM plastic bags this year, 140,000 pounds of carbon and invested in 21 entrepreneurs from South Africa to Guatemala worldwide.
What do you like best about being an entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur gives me the ability to realize my potential, and the creativity to be non-traditional in the process. You get to pick what you do and who you do it with!
For example, we have created a business model that performs to a triple bottom line. We expect economic, environmental and social impact -- by delivering a strong ROI to our shareholders, eliminating 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions through our products by 2010, and creating stronger communities and economic opportunities around the world by donating one percent of our sales to micro-entrepreneurship through the Kiva Foundation (kiva.org).
What was your biggest fear in starting a business?
My biggest fear was losing time with my family because a start-up never sleeps. There are always emails in the inbox and things to cross off the to-do list. Part of the process was realizing that work will be there tomorrow, and taking control over my schedule so I don't miss the Halloween parade, but can still get a proposal done at night and meet the deadline.
What has been your proudest moment in starting your business?
There have been so many, it is hard to say.....Getting emails from my best friend in Tennessee telling me how the system is transforming her life. Getting our first retail order from HEB and seeing our product in the front aisles at WholeFoods. Seeing my partners shine on TV talking about BlueAvocado. And just today, my four-year old wanted to wear our "BlueAvocado Hearts Me" pin to school, proudly showing it off to his teacher. Now that's brand loyalty!
What is different about being a woman entrepreneur?
I have the incredible joy and privilege of working with a team of women I love (and also some enlightened men). As women, we are able to connect on an emotional level that was missing from my experience working mostly with men. This changes my professional dynamic in a way that feels very supportive and encouraging. (And we get to talk about what we are wearing to an important meeting without apology.)
What is different about you since becoming an entrepreneur?
I'm more confident, focused and flexible (and I wear more hats). Time and money are scarce resources for start-ups. We have to make the best use of both to achieve our goals. If it is not working, we have to have the flexibility to adjust quickly to get back on track.
What message would you give to other women entrepreneurs?
Believe you can and you can!
What is the biggest obstacle to growth in your business?
Our ability to capture market share and mindshare - quickly.
Which female entrepreneur has inspired you most?
I feel fortunate that I am part of a generation that can say there have been so many amazing women entrepreneurs who took risks and shaped my journey: Marge Welch, Kate Magee, Carol Thompson, Margaret Henkels, Melinda Garvey, Sarah Bird, Sallie Trout, Suzi Sosa and Nancy Mims, to name a few.
However, it was Dame Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop, who I heard speak at a women's conference in Washington, D.C. in 1993 that altered my vision of how business could transform lives. With fiery red hair and British tongue, she talked about how The Body Shop (which started as a small cosmetics company in an old gas-station) was one of the first companies to prohibit the use of ingredients tested on animals and promote fair trade with third world countries. She wanted to create a business differently. Seven hundred stores later, The Body Shop was acquired by L'Oreal who is implementing The Body Shop's sustainability initiatives throughout its company - from product research and development to management.
What do you like best about Austin Women Entrepreneurs?
People remember questions and stories. AWE asks powerful questions of its members, and allows a space for the different voices in the group to be heard. The Inspire-Support-Empower Series provides a dynamic format in which to explore the process of entrepreneurship. Not only are we able to network with people in different phases of growth in their businesses, we support each other in order to achieve our business goals. It's a great place to have a team rooting you on, and a place to grow personally and professionally.
