I'm, Bill Boulton, the “Chief Shopkeeper” of Rock, Read, And Roam!. Right now, R3 is a micro-retailer that does 100% of its business online. My goal is to grow Rock, Read, And Roam! into a thriving social business enterprise/sustainable business. Some of R3's plans for growth include: 1. Developing original clothing 2. Creating original books, and 3. Finally... opening our website! :) When it comes to growing the business, the reality is “I have no idea what the business will be when it grows up,” and I think that is much of the fun of starting the business. Since I am just as passionate about public speaking and writing as I am about our business, when I am not working on R3, you will find me reading books like Bert Decker's, You've Got To Be Believed To Be Heard,
and Strunk and White's, The Elements Of Style
.
I also spend as much time as I can with my wife, Emily, and my dog, Kodiak. :)
My blog advertising will take the form of recommending products that I like. This may take the form of banner ads or click through links. I will never place an add or a click through to a product that I do not personally believe in. (Given that tastes vary, and that "some people like veggie pizza, some people only like the meat-lovers pizza, and some people don’t like pizza at all," I can not guarantee that you will like everything I like or recomend. My liking something does not imply any type of warranty or guarantee. :) )
BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY
Our business has a triple bottom line. The triple bottom line is essentially running a business with a focus on more than just the traditional bottom line of profit. One definition of the triple bottom line is: profit, sustainability, and social justice. Running this business as a triple bottom line business will definitely be a work in progress, as will running our business as a whole. If you are interested in learning more about the triple bottom line, here are some links that may help:
Paul Hawken.com,
Naturalcapital.org,
interfaceinc.com/who/founder.html, and
interfacesustainability.com/
Eventually, our business could be a Social Business enterprise. (SBE) Our favorite definition of a SBE, is-"A revenue generating non-profit organization." If you are interested in learning more about the concept of social business enterprise, here are some links that may help:
ashoka.org/home/index.cfm and
socialedge.org/
One way that that we will support a triple bottom line is by contributing some of our profits to non-profit organizations. The sidebar of this page has links to the organizations that we will contribute to in 2009. Most of our current nonprofit giving is done through the eBay Givings Work program. We are also members of 1% For The Planet and Net Impact. (Links to these organizations are at the bottom of page in the side panel.)
The holding place for our future web site is:
