Who is Sian?
Sian is a Sustainable Success Coach and her mission is to support female business owners to create a sustainable business where People, Planet & Profit are key and to do that we know aligning yourself personally is the only way you can lead. We also know that it has to be FUN!! so we have created an exciting fun-filled journey of discovery to help you get curious about the benefits of aligning you and your business with a sustainable future and the SDG Goals
Key Takeaways
1. Increasing numbers of customers (up 330% ) are looking for proof you as a business owner are acting sustainably.
2. A recent survey of over 70 Female business owners say they feel overwhelmed, not knowing what would be the best place to start. This is a major problem for them proving that they are sustainable.
3. Sustainability can save money - a water hippo in your system reduces the amount of water that you use by 30%. And that reduces your water bill. That's one quick, easy win.
Valuable Free Resource or Action
https://www.sustainablesuccesscoach.com/green-money-1
A video version of this podcast is available on YouTube :
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Transcript
Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
sustainable, small businesses, business, sdg, journey, survey, business owners, sean, sustainably, discounts, goals, solve, love, hippo, tca, inspired, problem, water, shawn, sustainable development goals
SPEAKERS
Sian Young, Stuart Webb
Stuart Webb 00:24
Hi, and welcome to another episode of it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee. I've just taken a big swig of coffee and very nearly spilt it. So that was probably a bad thing to do immediate before recording one of these. I'm here today with Sean Young Sean runs a sustainable business coaching business, which we're going to get into in a little while. Shawn, welcome to the podcast. Oh, you're looking forward to this? Yeah, thank you. It's no problems. So Shawn, just just in a few short words, who were who were the people you're trying to help? Well, the people I'm helping our ethical business women, basically small businesses, entrepreneurial females who are killing it out there in business. And what's the problem that those ethical business women face that they try to solve without any help? And you've seen them make those, those those errors, which they're sort of not quite nailing?
Sian Young 01:26
Well, the problem is the need to prove that they are operating in a sustainable way, especially in today's market. It's like 300. What's it 330% of customers, increasing customers looking for sustainable proof you as a business owner, and it's just like hit businesses. It shouldn't have hit businesses, because sustainability issues have been going on a long time. But small businesses have kind of been out of the loop for so long. It's all been big, high strategy, corporate stuff. And now, like, where do you start? I am I done a survey recently of over 70 Female business owners and overwhelm, and then overwhelming to apathy. And not knowing what would be the best place to start is a major problem for them proving that they are sustainable.
Stuart Webb 02:21
I love the fact that you've done a survey, that's really good news, because too many people do this by gut feel you've actually got some some actual hard evidence that this is a, this is something that is a problem and needs solving. Yeah, it's not just that I done that survey that I've completed. But I'm also co founder of the Centre for Sustainable action. And we done a survey with American Society for Quality. And this survey as well showed that less than 3% of business owners have a sustainable strategy. Like, and like you said, like, it's hard evidence that I work from is research that I work from. So I'm not just coming up with all these fantastical ideas and saying, let's do it. This is this is real research now and other research I've done as well shows that if you can prove you're sustainable, you can reduce your costs by being sustainable, which we can go into further.
Sian Young 03:23
I've saved 21,000 pounds a year, no, in three years by living sustainably, and you can save costs in business by running sustainably, you can attract more loyal customers. And you can also interact green investment because there is a lot of money being put into green investment now and I don't want the female business owners that I know run ethically minded businesses to miss out on all that funding and all that opportunity. So that's why I'm doing what I do. That's really good evidence. You can give us some more of that that information about how you save that money. I think that would be something of great interest to to the audience. So what do you see in business that's helped save money by operating sustainably? Yeah, I'm gonna tell you something, right. And you're gonna be like, Oh my god, that is so simple. Like, why didn't I think of it? Like some of the things are very simple like a water a hippo? Have you heard of water hippo?
Stuart Webb 04:24
I have. I have.
Sian Young 04:26
Yeah, so a water hippo in your system reduces the amount of water that you use by 30%. And that reduces your water bill. That's one quick, easy win that
Stuart Webb 04:39
do you just want to explain what a water hippo is for anybody who doesn't know what they are? Yeah,
Sian Young 04:43
a water hippo is. It's a bag basically essentially a bag. In the olden days we used to just put a brick in a plastic bag in the toilet. It's you put it in the system where you flush and it displaces a lot of the water. That means when the water fills up again It doesn't use as much for each flush. So imagine if you have a small business and you have small offices, and you multiply that effect. I mean, that statistic I said was one toilet if you're working from home. But if you have a small office, and you do that in every system, you've saved a lot of money by the end of the year. And then there's simple things like switching out your, your light bulbs to all energy saving ones, I'm sure we've heard of this one. But this one actually is a big win and saving money on your electricity costs.
Stuart Webb 05:34
That's brilliant stuff. I love it that you've already given us two valuable free resources that we can sort of were two valuable free actions that we can all take. Is there more at your website, and I'm just going to put the website across at the moment at the bottom of the screen for people that want to see it. And this will be in the show notes as well. But there's there's some stuff here at Sean's website, which chart please tell us what's there?
Sian Young 05:57
Well, that is actually my landing page. Because what I have is, I have a workshop that I do that's 90 minutes. And if you're questioning, like how valuable is it for me to put business resources and time into proving I'm sustainable and being sustainable, because most business owners are like, well, I don't print much. So I'm fine, especially small businesses, then this is a workshop that you can come and do with me, where you'll not only learn why you'll learn the value in it, you'll also learn steps to move forward into it. And also, you can get your first ESG policy done, because I have a template there for you. And by coming into my ecosystem system and joining me, I also have an awesome links page that I send out. And that has discounts. I mentioned earlier where you mentioned earlier about fun. Like, it's gotta be fun doing this, it's got to be fun, because we got so much hard work to do. So I also have sustainable products. discounts off of that I have freebies, I have eco journey to go on. There's just so much. So this is a starting point, if you come along there and join us.
Stuart Webb 07:13
Terrific. Love it very much. So has there been a particular book or programme that's really inspired you on this sustainable journey?
Sian Young 07:22
There has been an inspiration to me. And there's only recently I realised how long in 2005, I joined over 200,000 people in Edinburgh, to hold hands around the city of Edinburgh, to protest to end poverty. And end poverty is SDG. Number one, that sustainable development goals. Right, the UN have Sustainable Development Goals, which were agreed by multiple countries as a underpinning way that we could all come together collectively, and solve some of the major issues on our planet today. And number 17 is partnerships. So I'm always open to partnerships and collaboration towards this aim. But the SDG goals, they inspire me, because if we all just looked at that, and we all started operating under that we would move faster forward in our climate crisis. So yeah, that that has inspired me and it inspired my husband and I to create an online tool for small businesses to to start that journey into SDGs. And get get us all together.
Stuart Webb 08:36
I keep a postcard of the sustainable development goals on my desk. Actually, it was getting to the I know their top, top top top like they get no. No poverty. That's that's number one. Number two being Zero Hunger, which I think two really important goals. But yeah, that's that's on my desk to remind me constantly to be striving towards those 17 goals myself. So
Sian Young 09:00
yeah. And I find small businesses are so in silos, you know, and that's why my husband and I co founded the Centre for Sustainable action, which is a cooperative for small businesses. Because we realised that while we're in silos, we were not having access to all that green funding that's out there. We're not collaborating together to one one SDG aim. And so that's what my work is all about. It's all about bringing ethical business women into a way where we're all collaborating together for the good of people planet and profit, basically.
Stuart Webb 09:38
I love it. I love it. So there must be a question right at the moment, you're thinking, Well, I wish he'd asked such and such or why hasn't he so far asked me this question. So what is that question, Shawn, that you wish that I had asked? And I'll give us the answer, please.
Sian Young 09:55
So it's, it's about what tools to use and where to start. So basically, starting is the first step, right. And that's why I've created an eco curious journey. Because like I said, it's gonna be fun. And this journey is a chance to earn awards and badges and discounts and prizes, and do activities, all towards a sustainable lifestyle and business. And one of the tools we use is the SDG assessment tool, which is our online app is on Android. And that helps you, I help you go on a journey. And so if you want to start the journey, and I know from the research, so many people are in overwhelm, and that means they're in apathy, and they're not taking the first step. So I'm saying to you, take the first step with sustainable success coach or with my network in my cooperative as well. Just take the first step, and we'll make it a fun journey towards getting these STG goals completed, together collaboratively for the good of us all.
Stuart Webb 11:05
Terrific. Love it very much. Love it. Shawn, it's been wonderful having you on the on the it's not rocket science, five questions over coffee this morning. I really appreciate everything you're doing. I hope that we get a lot of people going to sustainable success coach.com Green hyphen, money hyphen, one, in order to see the stuff that you've got there. Just to remind you all if you would like to get onto our mailing list and come on and watch live, as some people have been doing today, as Sean describes the wonderful things that she's doing, get onto that mailing list by going to TCA dot FYI, forward slash subscribe, that's TCA dot FYI. Forward slash subscribe, join the list, and then you can hear about what we're doing here on the podcast. Sean, it's been absolutely fantastic having you here this morning. Thank you so much for coming on. I really wish you success with what you're doing. And thank you again for your time. Thank you
Five Questions Over Coffee with Sian Young (ep. 57)