Earth Day is today…at the same time we are headed full speed to a time of year filled with special happenings, events and occasions. MyCity4Her decided to catch up with Industry Innovator and environmentally forward thinking woman entrepreneur and business owner Kate Harrison, the CEO and Founder of GreenBrideGuide.com to get her tips for how to make any special event greener and find out how she has nurtured and grown her environmentally friendly success. You’ll find her tips and advice to make your event more green and less negatively impactful on the environment at the end of the interview. Find out more about what’s going on all over regarding Earth Day by clicking here.
Here’s what Kate had to say…
What is the concept of “GreenBrideGuide”?
Greenbrideguide.com is the leading resource for green wedding ideas, products and services. Our mission is to offer beautiful, affordable and eco-friendly options for every style and budget.
Why did you think this was a necessary addition to the online world and bridal industry?
Green wedding products are still very dis-aggregated as most of them are made by individual artisans and small companies with limited marketing budgets. There is also the growing issue of “greenwashing” – companies fraudulently claiming products are Eco-friendly when they are not. The Green Bride Guide brings together hundreds of vetted green vendors in one centralized place and makes it easy for brides to find everything from invitations to favors filtered by color, style and price.
When did you get the idea to found Green Bride Guide?
I wrote the book The Green Bride Guide: How to Plan an Earth-friendly Wedding on Any Budget (Sourcebooks 2008) after my husband and I planned our own green wedding in 2007. I wanted to prove that going green could be elegant and affordable. I show that by making simple substitutions couples can save up to 40% off the cost of their wedding without sacrificing style. The book was printed on FSC-certified paper with soy inks and does not have any photos, so www.greenbrideguide.com was a chance to bring the book to life.
What motivated you to do so?
My husband and I met at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. We wanted to plan a wedding that was in line with our values and aesthetics and I found it much harder to do than I expected. I wanted to make going green an easy choice for busy couples by offering both general ideas and specific resources organized timeline and price.
Do you think that people want to go to the effort of making their special event – green?
A recent study by David’s Bridal found that 69% of couples are now looking to include green elements in their events. When I started it was more like 10% – so this is a movement that is literally exploding. I think the difference is that people now realize that green does not have to be a theme – it can be an approach to any theme. This is one of the key focuses of our site – to show that you can have any style, color, theme or budget and still go green at your wedding.
What do you enjoy most about being a business owner?
I have found the process of bringing something in my imagination to life exhilarating.
What if you knew THEN what you know NOW – would you (if anything) do differently?
I would have started with a more focused goal instead of trying to build everything at once (content, shop, registry and directory).
What do you believe, are the biggest challenges continuing to face women in business today?
There is still a significant funding bias against female entrepreneurs. I also think women are not encouraged to think big enough. Most ventures are run and funded by men and most small companies are run by women. We need to be encouraged to stretch our imaginations and then have to be given the financial resources to do so successfully.
What have you found most challenging to launching an online business and what are some things you’ve learned about the Internet along the way?
When I started the company I had a “if you build it they will come” mentality toward the Internet. I know understand the complexities of scaling a website and the difference between general traffic and traffic that can convert to sales. I also learned early on about the perils of affiliate marketing and how much confusion it can cause for visitors. Today we sell everything on the Green Bride Guide directly and are much more hands on with our customers.
What is the best business advice you’ve ever been given and why?
The best advice I got was to “publish early and publish often.” It is tempting to wait until your site or product is perfect before putting it out in the marketplace, but the sooner you can get something out the sooner you can see how it does and make changes based on data instead of instinct.
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
I love working with other companies that are working to make a difference. There are so many people out there making beautiful eco-friendly products and running their companies sustainably. It is an honor and privilege to be able to help them grow their businesses. Small choices add up to create a big impact.
Do you ever get discouraged? If so, what do you do to stay enthused about what you do and stay motivated?
Sometimes, but I try to take the long view. Running a company has high highs and low lows, and you just have to keep your eye on the prize and keep going. I have a folder of fan mail on my desktop from brides and vendors and when I hit the bottom I open it up and remember why I am working on this project and why it matters. It gets me through.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I take a pottery class once a week. I love making things to give away to friends and family. On the weekends I spend as much time as I can with my son. He is two so it is really fun.
What are some of the best resources, tools, organizations you’ve found that have helped you grow your business?
I owe immense thanks to the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute, because they gave me the courage to start my company. Along the way I have been supported by a number of fantastic Womens’ organizations and the Connecticut Business community: Connecticut Innovations, Advantage Capital and the Economic Development Corporation. I have a great group of mentors and investors and they are constantly sharing helpful resources and new technologies with me. It makes a big difference.
4 Ways to make any event (wedding or otherwise) more green according to Kate Harrison
1. Picking a venue with minimal impact on the environment in mind.
Choosing a venue as close geographically to the majority of your guests reduces travel costs and is the easiest way to reduce the impact of your wedding on global warming (your carbon footprint).
2. Choosing consciously.
The key to sustainability is simple substitutions. Food and flowers have the most impact, so try to include local, seasonal and organic elements when possible. Everything will smell and taste better too!
3. Think outside of the usual suspects.
Consider using eco-friendly alternatives for invitations, favors and other small details. There are thousands of vendors to choose from on Green Bride Guide and they are all making beautiful, sustainable and reasonably priced products. They prove that you do not have to sacrifice style or budget to go green.
4. Put your money where your mouth or intentions are.
Remember that we spend $20 billion a year on wedding gifts. Setting up a charity registry, and experiences registry and/ or registering for eco-friendly wedding gifts is a great way to have your wedding give back.
About Kate Harrison
CEO, Green Bride Guide®
GBG’s CEO, Kate L. Harrison, has a JD in Environmental Law and a Master’s from Yale in Environmental Policy. She planned her own green wedding in 2007 and wrote the bestselling green wedding book The Green Bride Guide: How to Plan an Earth- Friendly Wedding on Any Budget (Sourcebooks, 2008). In 2009, she founded www.greenbrideguide.com to help couples use their weddings to promote social and environmental change and support the local green economy. The site also has a green gift registry and wedding shop.
In 2010, she created the country’s first green wedding professional certification class – a four week, online course – with the Wedding Planning Institute to help wedding planners learn about eco-friendly alternatives.
Kate is also a regular contributor for Forbes, The Huffington
Post, Whole Living, The Bridal Guide, Elephant Journal,
Shecky’s, The Daily Meal, Wedding Wire, My Wedding, Patch,
and has been seen on Better TV, News 12 On The Money, Fox,
CBS4, News 7 Denver, CW2, WBFF Fox45, MSNBC’s Elevator Pitch: Green Weddings and Get Married’s Celebrity Wedding Dish. To find out more about Kate and her innovative company visit www.greenbrideguide.com.