|
 |
|
MA)
|
The first question I have for you is: You mentioned in the book that you started your first PR agency when you were 21. What motivated you to take on such an enormous task at such a relatively young age? And, have you always been determined to be a leader and forge ahead on your own?
|
| LF) |
It didn’t seem an enormous task at that point. The real reason I started my own business was I found it very difficult being told what to do by other people. So I was always a bit of a rebel and having left school at 16 and started work very early and started working for journalists,
I just found it difficult working for others, so it seemed a good idea. I think that had I realised how big it would ever become I might have maybe taken a bit more of a deep breath but I was naïve and I was young and I was passionate and I met designer Katharine Hamnett
and she was very enthusiastic about me starting a business and working with her and she was about the same age as me, so it all kind of went into sort of flow actually, as things in my life always have done.
|
| MA) |
And you used those experiences as a foundation for this book, I assume.
|
| LF) |
Yes very much so. But the difference now is, I think when you’re 21 you haven’t got much to lose and in those times it might have been easier to start a business. It’s a lot more difficult now. I think anyway, it is much better to go into business with a bit more foresight. You need your passion.
You need your enthusiasm whatever kind of entrepreneurial endeavour you’re doing, but I think it is a very sensible thing to do the sort of things I am suggesting in the book which is a lot of market research and a lot of planning and budgets together with the passion.
That’s the thing I didn’t do the first time around and perhaps I could get away with it then but I wouldn’t suggest it now.
|
| MA) |
What made you decide to write a book - with all the other books on the market about starting your own business?
|
| LF) |
Well, first of all, I researched a lot what was on the market and I didn’t find anything that covered the subjects I covered. There are lots of books about starting your own business but they are very pragmatic and practical and quite academic and dry in many cases.
I wanted something that was much more accessible and also did look at the areas that these books often don’t look at, which is the importance of courage and confidence and how to get that. And getting over any blockages you might have with money.
Also staying healthy in your body at the same time as you are getting into a stressful situation... which starting a business is. The importance of having some quiet time to listen to your intuition.
Also this whole concept or philosophy of the feminisation of business which is based on working in a completely different way than traditional businesses are run.
|
| MA) |
You speak about your relationship with God and the Universe and it obviously plays a big role in your life. Has that always been the case or has something happened to change your outlook or your beliefs?
|
| LF) |
My beliefs have really developed over the last 20 years and I’ve felt very aware and conscious of the spiritual side of my life for about the last 15 years. I suppose I just feel that it’s important to - even if you don’t believe in God - you can bring your values at least into business.
And I do think it is important to feel gratitude whether it is to God or to other people or to yourself, and not take it all for granted. So it’s all part of just being conscious really.
|
| MA) |
So do you think it’s necessary to have a strong relationship with God in order to run a business ethically?
|
| LF) |
No, no of course not. I mean many business people, for whatever reason, don’t believe in God at all. I think it’s just important to remember one’s relationship with others, with the environment and with all living things. If you don’t feel in any way relating to any other kind of higher force or divine energy that’s absolutely fine.
I’m absolutely sure you can be successful in business without that but I do think it is important to keep respect of others and keep respect of the world we live in. Not just see it as a way of get rich quick which I think in this current economic climate a lot of people do because there are so many people that are getting rich with the
.com businesses and all the rest. I think on the other hand there are a tremendous number of other people, that are generally women, but not exclusively, who are starting their own businesses and really do want to make a difference.
I have been starting to do live events all over the country for SEED and I have been just so excited about the response I’ve had from the women and men that I‘ve met. I’d say predominately women; young women who are feeling that way, who want to leave their corporate jobs and start working for something which they feel is more meaningful.
Or older women who are starting again or are in business for the first time at fifty, and wanting to be part of the community and working with others. So God is not an essential part of your business plan but perhaps respect for others and a sense of humour is.
|
|
|
|
MA)
|
You’ve talked about running a business in a feminine way and you’ve started to explain this a little bit as well, but do you think that running a business - either by men or women - should be based on your ideals... the feminine way. Are the lessons or advice in your book useful to men as well?
|
| LF) |
I think so. And I’ve been really excited about the response I’ve had from men because the book was written with women in mind. But the response we’ve had from men has been very, very strong really. I think that women and men are ready to work a different way. It doesn’t have to be all the way that I say but it’s certainly a different way and it’s based on values.
Women are much more open to having a holistic look at their lives. How they live their personal lives, how they live their business lives is quite in rhythm; more so perhaps than men who tend to be one person at home and one person at the office.
|
| MA) |
Do you see that as a major change in the business world either in this country or even internationally? People sitting back and reconsidering what their goals and ambitions are.
|
| LF) |
Yes I do. I think it’s actually even in the corporate world. Because, first of all, I think individuals generally - men and women - do want to live and work in a more value-driven way. But I also think that the corporate world has been outed on quite a few occasions when they’ve behaved in a way which they haven’t felt was bad, but you know,
whether it was due to bribing corrupt local officials, human exploitation in the production of their goods or endangering the environment by irresponsible behaviour. They have been outed by the consumers and the media and so I think the corporate world is definitely taking a much closer look at being more responsible about the way they carry on their business affairs.
And, as I say, there also does seem to be an awareness that large companies get a better response when they have people working for them who really believe in what they are doing.
|
| MA) |
I’m going to play devil’s advocate with this one a little bit. You mention that women-owned business topped 9 million in the US in 1999. I think that is a fantastic achievement. But in the UK approximately 75 per cent of new businesses fail. What would you say to women to make sure they are one of the success stories rather than a failure?
|
| LF) |
Well there are no guarantees in business and I think the best they can do is really prepare themselves; not rush into anything. In fact the way The Seed Handbook is written, and what I’ve recommended, is to spend at least a good year researching what you’re doing.
|
| MA) |
How do you deal with, or protect yourself from, men or women who don’t run their businesses from an ethical base?
|
| LF) |
It depends what relationship you‘re about to encounter. I mean as the founder of Globalfusion, which is a PR business and a marketing business, I really do discuss company’s ethics with potential clients before we agree to take them on and I look at their products and how they are made and everything else. So I think it depends on the relationship you’re about to start with them.
But I think it’s a good idea to research pretty well the people you’re getting too involved with; particularly on production. People you’re asking to manufacture for you, you really should check out, especially in other countries, especially in the third world. You really want to be very clear about the way they manufacture and the chemicals they use. We have to take responsibility for the chain that we’re in.
If we happen to be a retailer and feel it’s nothing to do with us, the way the product is made, I don’t think that’s enough. We have to take full responsibility for the way the product’s manufactured. So I think it is something we have to get used to asking as consumers and as business people.
|
| MA) |
What influences do you think the internet will have on businesses today? You mentioned using it as a source of information but you didn’t go into any great detail about how it can be used to grow your business.
|
| LF) |
Well, I suppose one of the best ways is just the use of e-mail for a start. I am running two businesses in four cities in three different time zones. And I wouldn’t be able to even start doing that if I wasn’t using e-mail constantly. So I do think the internet is a terribly important vehicle as far as research is concerned. But it’s really about networking and contacting each other, communications, and of course our own web site.
What I'm doing with SEED is I now have a web site seedfusion.com which I hope is just an early web site. I hope a lot of your members or people listening now in fact will come and visit and seedfusion.com will be growing into seednetwork by the end of the year. Where we’re going to make it very easy for full entrepreneurial businesses to have their own web sites we’re going to help them with.
So they can actually sell to each other or barter and SEED becomes a recognised name for companies that are working from values and ethics. I think the fact that we are all going to be having our own web site to communicate with each other, to sell to each other, to tell our stories on is going to be enormous. It’s a whole new marketing tool for small companies. So far it’s only been used by big companies, but that’s what is going to happen.
|
|
|
|
MA)
|
People and investors are putting large amounts of money into internet companies causing them to grow at phenomenal rates. Now that’s not organic or the sort of growth you would promote. What is your reaction to this type of company?
|
| LF) |
I think that that’s all very dangerous, actually. I think this sort of .com mania for... and I know lots of people involved in it who have either raised millions or are trying to... and it’s all got totally out of perspective.
Because first of all, in many cases, there is no true love of their project because the way it’s based is that you raise a lot of money, have a very rapid growth - which as you say, is non-organic - and then sell out.
The idea I believe with this sort of promotions is for people to really love what you do. And you can’t really love what you do if you’re looking at your exit before you’ve even got your entry. It’s very unhealthy and I think also,
the sort of money that’s been raised is so out of line with reality and I think that is what the investment world as well as the .com world is waking up to. I hear people talking about £200 million or £100 million and so on.
It’s a ridiculous amount to start web site businesses and when you ask what it’s for, it’s for marketing. And then you get loads of ads on the TV and you can’t even work out what they’re trying to sell. Those days have gone. I mean that’s a nonsense.
For my own purposes I want to have investors who are not venture capitalists who understand the growth, the non-profit aspects of SEED and I would like the women who are members of the community to be the shareholders of SEED.
It’s all about ownership and working in a very different way, which I’m very excited about actually. So I think at the moment I’m working at developing for myself a whole business plan of doing things in a completely different way and I don’t think you need to spend millions of pounds on marketing.
I think that’s what’s so exciting about the internet business. That we can actually promote each other and have our alliances and our partnerships on-line... which is far more valuable really than taking prime ads on television which people aren’t really taking in anyway.
|
| MA) |
Do you have any other advice for a small, organically-grown bookshop such as Countrybookshop who is competing against these other larger businesses?
|
| LF) |
I would create as many partnerships and alliances with similar-minded web sites as you can, such as seedfusion.com where we recommend each other and really endorse each other. I really do think that’s what the future is about... small independent organic .com businesses like your own.
And I am delighted you are doing as well as you are. I don’t know how much money you raised since you first set up but whatever you’re doing, you’re obviously doing something right. So I’m thrilled and I do hope we have an ongoing relationship.
|
| MA) |
What about tapping our creative energies. Have you got any more advice about how to do that?
|
| LF) |
Tapping our creative energies individually you mean?
|
| MA) |
Yes.
|
| LF) |
Well, I think to do that we’ve just got to find space. Finding time and space is the most difficult thing you can possibly ask any entrepreneur, particularly women entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs with small children. Because anytime we’re not at work, we’re at home with our families.
So I think if you don’t leave space and de-clutter your lives you won’t be able to let in that creative energy. When I say de-clutter, it means literally cleaning up your desk or your desktop, simple as that at the end of every week, as much as making sure there isn’t rubbish everywhere.
I say this looking around at my own clutter that I’ve accumulated this week that will be sorted out tomorrow. It’s a constant kind of work really, just keeping your life clear and finding that space to let in the creative energies. But it’s very, very important.
|
| MA) |
Do you think your advice is applicable to people working in large organisations who don’t really want to start their own business but they would like to be more effective or more satisfied with their own jobs or careers?
|
| LF) |
Very much so. In fact one of the next books I’m working on is going to be SEED for the corporate world and I’m already getting asked to talk about the SEED principles and philosophies within large corporations;
which I find very encouraging. So the two areas I’m looking to develop SEED in next year are: one, the corporate world and the other, the student world. I’m developing a college curriculum as well.
I think SEED is very much not about necessarily starting your own business. It’s very much about a different way of life, a different way of looking at the way you work, you live and think, and what you want to be.
|
| MA) |
I know you’re very busy, but are you reading any books now? Or are there any books that you’ve read recently which have had a major impact on your outlook on life?
|
| LF) |
Well, I’m always picking up books that have a major impact and I can’t think of one in particular. I loved the Dalai Lama’s book on ethics in the millennium. That was really good. And I just picked up a colossal amount of books at the Thorsons press office this morning. I’ve got to get time to look at them.
And for a bit of complete light relief - because my mother bought it for me because she thought that I should be able to relax and laugh sometimes when I’m in the middle of all this - she got me Maureen Lippman’s new book, which has nothing to do with anything,
and I can sit in the bath and open it at any chapter and I can relax and laugh at one very witty woman’s thoughts. That, frankly, is about all I’ve had time to read lately.
|
| MA) |
Are there any questions, which I haven’t asked you, which you‘d like to talk about?
|
| LF) |
No, you covered the lot. I just want to emphasis again the importance of small businesses working together, being open to that, nurturing each other and networking and communicating with each other... and how important the technology is.
I just advise anyone - anybody listening to or reading this is going to be on the internet, otherwise they wouldn’t be having access to it - but all those who have not got it, to get on it fast.
As well as find that quiet time. A mixture of the two... a mixture of the spiritual and the technical.
|
| MA) |
Well I have to save I’ve been very impressed with your book and I thank you very much for talking to me today.
|
| LF) |
My pleasure. Thank you very much indeed.
|
