Syracuse University ranked top private school for veterans

Get our email updates

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

SYRACUSE — The publication MilitaryTimes has ranked Syracuse University as the nation’s top private university for service members, military veterans, and their families. The magazine also ranked Syracuse as third among all the nation’s universities — public or private. The ranking is part of the publication’s “Best for Vets: Colleges 2017” list, which it released Nov. 1. […]

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

SYRACUSE — The publication MilitaryTimes has ranked Syracuse University as the nation’s top private university for service members, military veterans, and their families.

The magazine also ranked Syracuse as third among all the nation’s universities — public or private.

The ranking is part of the publication’s “Best for Vets: Colleges 2017” list, which it released Nov. 1.

The Best for Vets: Colleges 2017 ranking is an “editorially independent news project” that evaluates the many factors that help make colleges and universities a good fit for service members, military veterans, and their families, according to a Syracuse University news release.

More than 500 colleges participated in this year’s survey, which asks colleges and universities to “meticulously” document services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties, and to describe many aspects of veteran “culture” on campus.

The publication evaluated these institutions in “several” categories, with “university culture and academic outcomes bearing the most weight.”

During the past two years, Syracuse has “worked hard to create a class-leading campus community in support of the nation’s veterans and their families,” the school said.

In that time, the university says its veteran and military-connected enrollment has doubled. It has also raised more than $1.2 million for scholarships and other assistance for student veterans and ROTC cadets. In addition, Syracuse’s ROTC program has “grown to its highest enrollment levels in almost a decade.” ROTC is short for reserve officer training corps.

Syracuse will “further its commitment” to veterans and their families with the construction of the National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC), a multi-use facility dedicated to advancing academic research, programming, and “community-connected innovation” serving the social, economic, and wellness concerns of the nation’s veterans and families.

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

New York manufacturing index turns positive in November

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

The Empire State Manufacturing survey general business-conditions index rose 8 points to 1.5 in November as respondents reported seeing increases in new orders and shipments. It’s the benchmark index’s first positive reading since measuring 0.6 in July. The results of the November survey indicate that business activity “stabilized” for New York manufacturers, the Federal Reserve

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

The Empire State Manufacturing survey general business-conditions index rose 8 points to 1.5 in November as respondents reported seeing increases in new orders and shipments.

It’s the benchmark index’s first positive reading since measuring 0.6 in July.

The results of the November survey indicate that business activity “stabilized” for New York manufacturers, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its survey report issued Nov. 15.

The responding firms said that business activity was “essentially flat” in November, the New York Fed said.

Still, the November reading of 1.5 was substantially better than the readings of -6.8 in October, a -2.0 in September, and a -4.2 in August.

A positive index level indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative reading on the index points to a decline in the sector.

The survey found that 27 percent of New York manufacturing respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 25 percent reported that conditions had worsened.

It’s “good” to see the general business-conditions index rising into positive territory again, says Randy Wolken, president of the Manufacturers Association of Central New York.

“I especially liked the fact that new orders and shipments both rose, which are good indicators that business is strong when you’re getting new orders and you’re shipping,” says Wolken. He spoke with CNYBJ the day the report came out.

Inside the survey
The new-orders index climbed 9 points to 3.1, indicating that orders “edged higher,” and the shipments index also rose 9 points to 8.5, pointing to an “increase” in shipments, according to the New York Fed.

The unfilled-orders index inched down to -12.7, and at -5.5, the delivery-time index “signaled shorter” delivery times.

The inventories index fell 11 points to -23.6, a multiyear low, indicating that inventory levels declined “significantly.”

Both employment indexes remained negative in November.

The index for number of employees fell 6 points to -10.9, a sign that employment levels were “contracting,” and the average-workweek index, little changed at -10.9, pointed to a decline in hours worked.

The prices-paid index fell 7 points to 15.5, indicating that input price increases “slowed,” and the prices-received index edged down to 2.7, signaling that selling prices were “marginally higher.”

The inventories index fell 11 points to -23.6, pointing to a “marked decline” in inventory levels, the New York Fed said.

Future outlook
Indexes for the six-month outlook suggested that respondents were “somewhat less” optimistic about future conditions than they were last month.

The index for future business conditions retreated 6 points to 29.9.

Wolken says he’s happy manufacturers still have an optimistic six-month outlook, which he believes is “helpful,” figuring New York firms see the potential for growth opportunities in the future.

The index for future new orders and the index for future shipments fell to similar levels, the New York Fed said.

Indexes for future employment and the future average workweek, at 10.9 and 10.0, respectively, indicated that firms expected to expand employee rolls and hours worked in the months ahead.

Indexes for future prices suggested that firms anticipated an increase in both input prices and selling prices over the next six months.

The capital-expenditures and technology-spending indexes were “little changed,” and pointed to “modest” increases in spending for both categories.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen to open Armory Square store

Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen — a three-year-old, local, homemade baked-cookie business — will soon open its first-ever store in Syracuse’s Armory Square. Cathy Pemberton, founder and sole owner of Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen, tells CNYBJ she has leased an 826-square-foot space at 266 W. Jefferson St. — in the former location of the Blown Away

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

SYRACUSE — Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen — a three-year-old, local, homemade baked-cookie business — will soon open its first-ever store in Syracuse’s Armory Square.

Cathy Pemberton, founder and sole owner of Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen, tells CNYBJ she has leased an 826-square-foot space at 266 W. Jefferson St. — in the former location of the Blown Away hair salon.

The store, which she expects to open to customers in the first week of December pending city permits, will give her business a storefront and a commercial kitchen in the back so she can attract new retail customers and increase her production volume.

Pemberton, a self-taught baker, started her business at her home in Camillus and most recently has been baking everything at the commissary (commercial kitchen) at Fairmount Community Church on West Genesee Street in the Fairmount section of Camillus.

She says her customer demand has outgrown what she could produce through that arrangement.

“I couldn’t bake enough,” Pemberton says. “My growth was limited in Fairmount.”

At the church’s kitchen, Pemberton can bake 4 dozen cookies at a time. With the oven she has purchased and installed at her new Amory Square location, she will be able to bake 10 dozen cookies at a time and it will take half as long, she says.

“This store gives me the capability to meet that customer demand,” Pemberton says.

Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen currently generates 75 percent of its sales from wholesale accounts — selling her cookies at places like Liehs & Steigerwald on West Fayette Street, Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters in Destiny USA, and Green Planet Grocery in Camillus. The other 25 percent is direct to individuals. “I would expect that retail side to grow” with the store, Pemberton says.

Pemberton is currently her business’s only employee, and she handles the marketing, shopping, accounting, taxes, bookkeeping, cleaning, deliveries, and of course, baking. She will soon hire a part-time employee to help with baking and running the front counter at the store. She is also looking for an employee to help make deliveries.

Pemberton says she found her space by driving through Armory Square twice a day for six months.

“I kept looking for different places. There were lots of misses,” she says.

She spotted the vacant storefront at 266 W. Jefferson St. in September and called the real-estate agent Steve Case of Paramount Realty Group to lease it. Blown Away had closed its salon sometime this summer.

Pemberton says she started leasing the space on Oct. 1.

Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen’s annual sales have increased five-fold since Pemberton founded the business in June 2013. She declined to reveal sales totals. This year, her sales are up about 15 percent and would have grown much more if she had more production capacity, she contends.

With her new store and commercial kitchen, Pemberton says it’s possible she could more than triple her sales in 2017.

All the cookies Pemberton sells are her own recipes. She sells more than 20 cookie flavors like Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road — 12 that can be made gluten-free. The cookies are sold at $3 for a pack of two; $15 per dozen; or $12 per dozen if buying 3 dozen or more.

When the new store opens, Pemberton plans to sell not only cookies, but also hot chocolate, coffee, tea, and the occasional cookie cake, which is a giant cookie. Pemberton wants to continue to sell to corporate and retail stores, and continue to take online and private orders.

Pemberton opened Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen while she worked as an assistant supervisor with the Syracuse City School District. She also taught cooking for a few years at several different city schools. Pemberton says she’d like to eventually offer baking classes to children at her new store.

Small-business resources that Pemberton tapped along the way to grow her business include: The U.S. Small Business Administration Syracuse District, SCORE, WISE Women’s Business Center, Downtown Committee, and Syracuse First. The help she received included assistance with her business plan and marketing plan, referral for accountants and financial professionals, referrals for lawyers, and tips on potential real-estate sites.

Pemberton helped finance her new location with a loan from a family member. She declined to disclose the amount. Up until now, she had funded the business with her own cash.

She says she bought about $25,000 worth of equipment for her new store/commercial kitchen for only $7,000 because it was used.

“I’m opening this business on a shoestring,” she quips.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

Onondaga Small Business Development Center guides CNY entrepreneurs

Health Care, Small Business, Subscriber Only

ONONDAGA — The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Onondaga Community College (OCC) serviced nearly 1,000 entrepreneur clients in its most-recent fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. “We helped them create or save 400 jobs in our six-county region,” says Joan Powers, director of the SBDC at OCC. The SBDC is located inside Mulroy Hall

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

ONONDAGA — The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Onondaga Community College (OCC) serviced nearly 1,000 entrepreneur clients in its most-recent fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

“We helped them create or save 400 jobs in our six-county region,” says Joan Powers, director of the SBDC at OCC.

The SBDC is located inside Mulroy Hall at 4926 Onondaga Road in the town of Onondaga, across from the OCC campus.

The SBDC also has satellite offices in all of the six counties it serves in Central New York, including Onondaga, southern Oswego, Cayuga, western Madison, Cortland, and Seneca, according to its marketing brochure.

“We provide free and confidential counseling for individuals looking to start a business or [for] existing businesses looking to grow,” says Powers.

The SBDC, which has operated at OCC for the past 30 years, has nine employees, including Powers.

The SBDC is part of a nationwide network and is one of 24 such centers in New York that typically operate on community-college campuses, says Powers.

The State University of New York administers the SBDC, while the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the State of New York, and host campuses fund the centers, according to the website of the New York SBDC.

The SBA annually provides “the funding for most of our programs,” including salaries and operations, says Powers, declining to disclose the amount of funding the federal agency provides.

SBDC resources and services
The SBDC is a resource partner for the SBA. Other such SBA resource partners include SCORE, an organization of retired business executives, and the WISE Women’s Business Center.

The SBDC offers free, one-on-one, confidential counseling with one of its business advisors. The counseling includes advice on securing an employer-identification number and analyzing an entrepreneur’s business idea and determining if it is “feasible,” says Powers.

The SBDC works with people who want to start their own business, to determine if moving forward is in their best interest. The organization will help the clients determine a financial projection and figure out how much revenue they’ll need to generate annually to pay their bills.

“We give them … a road map of what they need to get done to get to where they want to be, so we help them with all those steps, and then some of them do it and some of them don’t … We don’t push them,” she adds.

Powers also noted that an entrepreneur’s effort to secure operating capital isn’t “so easy.”

The organization will help the client assemble a business plan, determine financial projections, and find the proper funding mechanism for operating capital, which “might not be a bank.”

“It might be a special program or a private investor,” she adds.

The SBDC also offers classes that are available at OCC, including a three-day class called, “Fast Track to Business Start-Up.” Class participants get to hear from speakers that include an attorney, accountant, insurance agent, and speakers who focus on social media and website design.

Other classes for advanced entrepreneurs focus on the QuickBooks accounting software and using social media and websites, Powers says.

The SBDC’s clients include people attempting to launch a business, those who want to supplement their income, and people who are building a part-time business in the hope they can eventually leave their full-time job to focus on their business idea full time.

Some clients have been in business for several years and are looking to launch a new product, recreate their marketing plan, or prepare to hire an employee.

“We have no limit on how long we can meet with a client, so some of them we meet with on and off for three years … and then maybe at that point, they might be ready to start their business,” says Powers.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Cuomo announces new on-the-job agricultural training program for veterans

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, Manufacturing & Engineering, Small Business, Subscriber Only

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Veterans Day announced the launch of an on-the-job training program for military veterans interested in careers in the agricultural industry. This training opportunity expands the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs’ (DVA) On-the-Job Training initiative to allow veterans to use their military benefits while obtaining “useful job

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Veterans Day announced the launch of an on-the-job training program for military veterans interested in careers in the agricultural industry.

This training opportunity expands the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs’ (DVA) On-the-Job Training initiative to allow veterans to use their military benefits while obtaining “useful job skills on the farm,” the governor’s office said in a news release.

With assistance from the Cornell Small Farms Program (smallfarms.cornell.edu), Kreher’s Farm in Clarence in Western New York, has been approved as the first farm in the state to offer this program to veterans. Kreher’s Farm is a “leading” egg operation and the largest organic grain producer in the state, according to the governor’s office.

The state is encouraging additional farms across the state to apply to participate in the program.

“This program will open new doors and not only offer on-the-farm training for veterans, it will support increased agricultural production to provide local food to communities across the state. I congratulate Kreher’s Farm for participating in the program and encourage other farms across the state to join,” Cuomo said.

The New York State Beginning Farmers Workgroup, established by Cuomo in 2014, identified the need for an on-the-job training program for veterans who want to pursue careers in farming and agriculture. The workgroup’s discussions lead the Farm Ops initiative of the Cornell Small Farms program to work with the DVA to expand its existing On-the-Job Training (OJT) program to include New York farms. Before this, OJT was utilized almost exclusively by electricians, plumbers, and other skilled trades. The program offers veterans “rewarding career opportunities as they transition out of military service, while also providing employers with qualified workers,” the release stated. During their training, veterans are paid wages and also receive their military housing allowance through their GI Bill benefits, which helps offset the cost of living.

Interested farms must submit an application and training outline to the DVA. The outline should include skills that will be learned and duties the veteran will complete during training, according to the release. The training period will be between six months and two years, and farms should be in a position to hire the veteran full time at the end of their training. Staff with the Cornell Small Farms program will help farmers in applying for the program. Once an application is approved, Cornell Small Farms will also help match those farms with interested veterans.

Those interested in learning more about the program and how to participate can visit: www.nebeginningfarmers.org/projects/farmer-veterans/on-the-job-training. Farmers who are interested in offering on-the-job training are encouraged to contact Cornell education-support specialist Dean Koyanagi at drk5@cornell.edu or (607) 255-9911.

Funding for this program is provided by the New York State Legislature through the work of State Senator Pattie Ritchie, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, New York State Farm Viability Institute, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

CrossFit Exagora formally opens near Oriskany

Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

ORISKANY — A new specialty fitness gym, called CrossFit Exagora, has formally opened near Oriskany. CrossFit Exagora held a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Nov. 18 at the firm’s site at 5994 Judd Road in the town of Whitestown, according to a chamber announcement. The business also hosted a

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

How Businesses Can Make the Most of their Stakeholder World

Business Mentors, Small Business, Subscriber Only

Businesses often consider it a top goal to provide value to their shareholders, but these days it may be just as important to concentrate on producing value for “stakeholders.” Companies have a plethora of stakeholders, such as customers, employees, suppliers, and local communities, among others; the sum total of which represents a business’s stakeholder world.

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Businesses often consider it a top goal to provide value to their shareholders, but these days it may be just as important to concentrate on producing value for “stakeholders.”

Companies have a plethora of stakeholders, such as customers, employees, suppliers, and local communities, among others; the sum total of which represents a business’s stakeholder world.

How companies make use of those stakeholders — enlisting their aid in achieving the company’s goals — is a significant factor in determining whether the business will be a success.

Every company experiences bumps in the road. Companies that consistently overcome these challenges usually have some help along the way. Maybe it’s a banker who believes in the business. Maybe it’s key customers who support the business even when there are other easier options, or employees who are willing to make sacrifices for the company.

But it’s difficult if not impossible to get people to rally to a company’s cause when its goals are vague and its purpose less than inspiring.

The challenge is to have a purpose that’s meaningful and important to your stakeholder world. What I’ve found is that many businesses start out with a meaningful purpose — they want to make a difference in the world as well as make money — but over time that initial purpose becomes a distant memory and business decisions get focused more on such things as profits and shareholder value.

If a business can identify what its purpose is and frame it in a way that is meaningful and important to its stakeholders, that company can unlock the power and resources of its stakeholder world and amazing things can happen.

Companies with a purpose are on a mission. It can almost feel like a crusade.

And if the stakeholders believe in and share that purpose, they can more easily be enlisted in that crusade.

Business leaders can harness the power and resources of their stakeholder world by:

Utilizing all of the capacities of your workforce. Businesses need to get the most out of their employees. If employees are inspired by purpose, they will be more engaged in their work and be far more productive.
Working with suppliers who look out for you. If your suppliers believe in your purpose and join your crusade, they will always be looking out for your best interests. Businesses need suppliers who understand the business and are committed to something more than making money off your relationship.
Serving customers who are eager to help you deliver a better product or service. Your purpose is an important part of your brand value. Customers who share a similar commitment will be loyal and will promote your efforts.
Operating in communities where the difference you are making resonates with its leaders and they support your growth. When a business espouses a purpose that a community finds meaningful, the people within that community are more likely to embrace your organization.
Having partners and alliances that anticipate your needs. One way to do this is to look beyond your current stakeholder world and notice which organizations are pursuing similar purposes. Examine how their efforts can support yours and develop relationships that will support your business model and be a win-win for all.

Every business has the opportunity to discover a purpose that is meaningful and important to its stakeholder world. If you’re selling a product or service that is in demand, then you are making a difference for people. You just need to discover why the difference you make for your customers can be meaningful and important to others as well.

Paul Ratoff is president of Strategy Development Group, Inc. and author of “Thriving in a Stakeholder World: Purpose as the New Competitive Advantage.” Contact him at www.ratoffconsulting.com or strategydevelopmentgroup.com

Organizational Change Made Easy: Give Them a Better Option

Business Mentors, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Small Business, Subscriber Only

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

One of the most pervasive “truths” about organizational change is what change is hard. It’s “common knowledge” that people resist change. We all “understand” that change is difficult, change is slow, and change initiatives often fail. We have ample evidence to believe this so. There are estimates that upward of 70 percent of all large-scale change efforts fail. It’s just too difficult. People don’t want to change. It’s obvious. We hear things like, “A leopard doesn’t change its spots” and “People don’t change.”

I’m going to assert that’s what people say when they fail to understand and do what it takes to really change an organization. I’ve been part of many large-scale change initiatives where the total opposite is true, where people freely, gladly, quickly, and dramatically change how they think and behave. Water does not have to be motivated, encouraged, or convinced to flow downhill (it does so naturally). Neither do people, when there is good reason to be different.

It’s quite simple: People change when they are inspired by what they see and feel is being offered to them. When that happens, they move naturally toward it. It’s not complicated and it’s not hard. It’s exciting, energizing, and fulfilling for everyone involved.

The first time I saw this was at the Fleischmann’s Division of Nabisco Foods, some 20 years ago. Fleischmann’s was the poorest-performing division at Nabisco. It was losing money year after year. People were despondent. Leaders came and went. The division had the most off-trend products in the company.

But a new leadership team was brought in. I worked with the team to craft a clear direction — to become the “recognized leader in innovative refrigerated foods” — and a compelling culture of openness, teamwork, trust, innovation, and collaboration. Within three months, the entire feel of the Fleischmann’s Division began to shift. Levels of enthusiasm and pride began to rise. The willingness of employees to get out of their bunkers and interact with each other increased. Fostered by cross-functional breakthrough teams focused on cost-savings, new product development, and other exciting initiatives, people across the division, and those who supported it, began to feel that Fleischmann’s was the place to be.

One senior manager who had left Fleischmann’s and returned as we were midstream with the Fleischmann’s revival, looked me up and asked what had happened. I asked him what he saw. He said, “You’ve created a blame-ectomy here,” noting that when he had been here before everyone blamed everyone else when something went wrong. Now, he saw people pulling together to make things right when things didn’t go as planned.

Why was it so easy to change? Five things happened — none of them complicated, and each of them important.

The leadership team was aligned on a clear and compelling purpose for this division.
The leadership team created a way of being for themselves, a culture of openness, collaboration, breakthrough results, and trust. And then, the leaders offered it to everyone in the organization to live by it. They modeled it and people saw, felt, and experienced it every day.
They created avenues for people to participate in new ways — breakthrough teams where people were given the opportunity to work together in new and exciting ways
Everyone participated in this journey from the beginning — when we wrote the “Case for Action” which was brutally honest about the good, bad, and ugly of the way it was then — to the organization-wide embrace of the vision and values. Everyone had a voice in the process and they took it.
All along the way, successes and failures were celebrated and communicated so that everyone stayed invested, involved, and engaged.

The simple truth is that we gave everyone in the process a much better option. Given a choice of being depressed or excited, isolated or connected, failing or succeeding, doing something big or barely surviving, being trusted or being suspect, everyone gladly chose the new set of options. It wasn’t hard. It didn’t require much persuasion. It didn’t take long.

Even the most cynical and resigned employee had a revelation and a total change of heart. After an all-day meeting with the senior executive team he said, almost teary-eyed, “I’ve worked here for over 15 years. In that time, I’ve never sat in on an executive team session, let alone ever being asked my opinion about anything.” It didn’t require much for him to get on board and ride/drive that train. He was convinced and emotionally all-in.

These simple principles have held true for every successful large-scale organizational change initiative in which I’ve participated. Give people a much better option and they will take it. Get them involved and get them to believe and they will run through walls to win. Why not? People feel more fulfilled and excited. And the business results started to follow. It is in their self-interest to change and to create something they will remember forever.

Thomas D’Aquanni, an executive and leadership development coach, is principal at D’Aquanni and Associates in Cazenovia. Contact him at tom@daquanni.com or (973) 464-4734, or visit www.daquanni.com

Sustainable Entrepreneurs and their Ventures

Business Mentors, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Manufacturing & Engineering, Small Business, Subscriber Only

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

It is a recognized driver of innovation providing enormous opportunity for business. Consultancies such as McKinsey and large corporations like Target have created successful whole divisions related to it. Colleges and universities are offering more programs and degrees to meet the demand for it. Investors are investing in it, and consumers are demanding more of it. Most importantly, entrepreneurs are incorporating it into their core values, differentiating, and innovating new business models and products and services due to it. They all see opportunity in it.

The “it” is sustainability.

If you are considering diving into sustainable venturing, you may be wondering what is involved in being a sustainable entrepreneur. Generally, the term entrepreneur is found to mean “one who creates value by bringing together a unique combination of resources to develop and pursue economic opportunity.” This definition can vary slightly in the minds of individuals and still allow us to have a well-understood exchange without any discontent or misunderstanding. The definition of sustainable or sustainability, on the other hand, poses some issues.

There is still no consensus on the definition of sustainability in the business realm, which has hampered discussion at all levels. However, the most commonly agreed-upon definition comes from the Brundtland Report out of the United Nations from about 25 years ago. Here it was defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Most commonly, people hear sustainable ventures characterized by concepts such as the “Triple Bottom Line” or as involving the 3Ps of people, planet, profit. The ultimate goal is to hit the trifecta, by successfully balancing considerations of all three components in the business venture.

People — Is about the behavior of ventures regarding both social and ethical issues. High-level considerations include but are not limited to treatment of the venture’s workforce, protections of human rights, as well as guarding against child labor.
Planet — Considers natural resources and the natural environment. Protecting the ecosystem takes form within a sustainable venture as it seeks to do no harm, the least harm possible, or even be regenerative.
Profit — This is the undeniable essence of the business venture. Profit relates to financial returns of the venture, as well as the allocation of those financial returns between investments in things like equipment or infrastructure as well as the distribution of gains among those invested in the venture.

So, if purpose and profit are not then fundamentally at odds, but at balance, and there is opportunity to be had, what makes for a successful sustainable venture? Among other things, one tool to assist the sustainable venture is a list composed by Freya Williams in her book “Green Giants.” It is a list of six internal business drivers that when used together have driven sustainable brands to success.

The iconoclastic leader: A leader who is fueled by deep conviction and a rebellious attitude;
Built in, not bolted on: Embedding sustainability values throughout the entire organization;
Disruptive behavior: Disruptive innovation that uses sustainability to spur the development of radically better products and services;
Purpose beyond profit: Having a higher purpose that ignites the company and which customers relate to and reward;
Mainstream appeal: Mainstream appeal with positioning and packaging stripped of the crunchy clichés that alienate the average customer;
New behavioral contract: Establishing a brand new “behavioral contract” with consumers and other stakeholders based on transparency, responsibility, and collaboration.

Everything considered, I suppose we could define a sustainable entrepreneur as an individual who creates socially and ecologically sustainable value by bringing together a unique combination of resources to pursue an economic opportunity. He/she does so while realizing that there is no line drawn in the sand about how much social or ecological good is good enough. Ultimately, a sustainable venture’s emphasis or weighting of social and environmental values will reflect the values of the founders themselves.

Best wishes to those aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to — and seasoned entrepreneurs who already are — doing well by doing good.

Karen Livingston is a business advisor at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Onondaga Community College. Contact her at livingsk@sunyocc.edu

Why Donald Trump won the presidency

Opinion, Subscriber Only

A few thoughts about the recent presidential election. A big reason why Donald Trump outsmarted his opponents is he is a business guy. An entrepreneur and a developer. This business guy looked at spending campaign money differently than his politician opponents did. A business guy asks, “If we spend this money, will we get a

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

A few thoughts about the recent presidential election.

A big reason why Donald Trump outsmarted his opponents is he is a business guy. An entrepreneur and a developer.

This business guy looked at spending campaign money differently than his politician opponents did. A business guy asks, “If we spend this money, will we get a proper return? Show me how.” A politician says, “Spend the money. We’ll squeeze more from our big donors.” Result: Trump spent a fraction of what his opponents spent. And whipped them.

In office, politicians say, “Spend more money. We’ll get it by borrowing more. Or we can raise taxes.” Here’s hoping this business guy does not succumb to such thinking. Here’s hoping he will come to Washington with the attitudes about spending he displayed in the campaign.

Bring together a mob of CEOs. From companies in finance, investments, drugs, media, etc. First, you will see big differences. Steel and mining and oil guys will be much rougher characters than guys from banking, finance, and pharmaceuticals. They will be more down-to-earth. Gruffer in language and manners.

Now observe the CEOs from truly entrepreneurial businesses. Especially developers. They are more creative and usually more colorful than the others. They refuse to go along with popular thinking. Think Ted Turner and Richard Branson. Both famous for rude language, social awkwardness, and original thinking.

Trump outfoxed his opponents because he thinks like a business guy and the creative, unpredictable developer he is. His opponents thought like politicians and were plodding and predictable.

Developers have to see and envision things others do not or cannot. They look at derelict buildings and imagine renovations and new uses. They look at swamps and see shopping malls or housing developments.

Trump looked upon the American scene and saw dissatisfactions that his opponents ignored. He saw opportunities his opponents missed. And when he pursued them, he used imagination his opponents simply did not have.

I hope he will bring imaginative, creative thinking to Washington. Thinking that does not always call for throwing money at our problems.

I hope Trump will bring some of the disciplines of business to Washington. Only with such discipline do we have a hope of cutting some of the waste. He has promised to appoint business people to key positions. Their thinking could be refreshing.

I hope Trump will bring some understanding of small and mid-sized business to Washington, D.C. There has been sweet little of it the last 20 years. Our tax and regulation idiocies are smothering this community.

By the way, a lot of commentators tell us Trump will have many problems learning to deal with politicians. I am sure he will. But they ignore the fact that politicians are going to have to learn to deal with Trump. In the primaries and the general election, they were not up to that challenge. He left them in the dust, scratching their heads. In the process, Trump guillotined the Bush dynasty and collapsed the corrupt Clinton machine.

The mainstream media totally misread the Trump phenomenon. Because they are so biased toward the left. And because their people listen mostly to each other.

They take little input from people in places like Toledo, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Binghamton, and Utica.

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta. Several upstate radio stations carry his daily commentary, Tom Morgan’s Money Talk. Contact him at tomasinmorgan.com

Get our email updates

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Get our email updates

What's New

Upcoming Events

Project Homecoming Job & Career Fair 2025

Annual Nonprofit Conference 2026

2026 CenterState CEO Economic Forecast Breakfast

CNYBJ Job Board

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get our email updates