Passion is also what I have encountered a lot this year. Remember what George Clooney in the movie Up in the Air told those that he was firing?  He said they would look back to see it was the best time of their lives, since they were free to follow their passion! Passion rises to the top just like cream in a bad economy in those that are driven.  Drive is what Daniel Pink‘s new book is all about too.

Mission:  Helping those in need ……. one pea at a time

Products:  Lucky Bags of Peas,  Eco-friendly Jewelry

As Matthew Kelly says a Leader should be the “best version of themselves every day”.  I recently heard him speak and he also says that a person, leader or business should only measure their greatness in this way.  “The greatness of a company should be measured by how and who would suffer if the company did not exist!  A company should prosper due to its vision.”  

Now Amy Rzepka’s turn!

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Amy; I met my husband David while attending The Ohio State University. We have been married for over 20 years. We have three teenage children, Molly, 18, Rachel, 17 and Nathan 14. 

    My family has always been then natural, “outdoorsy” type and has fun doing the unusual in Cleveland. We have taped our Maple trees, planted apple and peach trees at our house, build a tree house in our woods and most recently, we decided to have beehives for fresh honey.  We could not decide what to do with our excess bees wax. Making candles was too mundane for us. We decided to try lip balm. After many attempts, we came up with a product we thought was great. We tested it on our family and friends; they agreed.    That is where our company, Beecology started. Beecology is marketed through the Internet, regional farmer’s markets and boutique retail outlets in Ohio, Michigan, Colorado and New York. Beecology offers products that we handcraft from natural, renewable ingredients for the body—inside and out. Product assortment currently includes, essential oil nourishing soaps, preservative free body wash, sulfate-free hair care products, antioxidants creams, raw natural honey and Buzz Balm, lip balm.    When creating the business model for Beecology, there were two priorities. One was to create high quality, ecologically friendly products using completely natural and renewable ingredients. The other was to ensure charitable giving. We donate 10% of our net profits to our consumer’s charity of choice. Each supported product contains a charity code. After the purchase, consumers can visit their charity web site, www.sweetyear.org to enter the code and designate to which charity their percentage should be donated.”

You can see what all the buzz is about here Beecology!




BOTH of these women are great “marketers”.  Whoa that was not what you expected me to say was it?  They might have not done it on purpose, but they have made their customers part of their own vision.

Also this summer I was in the presence of Blake MyCoskie Chief Shoe Giver at TOMS. His company is self sustaining and not dependent on contributions. His business mission of One for One transforms customers into benefactors.  Customers feel invested and part of the vision thus willing to see more value than a similar price product.  Something I found out this summer is in all CEO’s minds right now. Yes Blake likes to be referred to as Chief Shoe Giver, but I also think of him as one of this times greatest Innovative Leaders!