Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 21 January 2020
The future, sustainability and social enterprise go hand in hand but what is often missing from this equation when starting a business is long term profitability. You can’t sustain a business on goodwill alone and even if you are able to tap into all the kindness out there you’ll eventually run out of customers or steam. So how can you find that perfect balance and Profit for Purpose?
Sure, it’s easy to put sustainability in the too-hard, the I-don’t-know-how or I-don’t-know-how baskets - but can we really afford to do that now?
Today you listeners are in for a treat. You’ll learn that through hard work, perseverance and a passion this balance can be found. We are joined on Small Biz Matters by Paul Frasca - a giant in the sustainability world. In 2015 he and his partner Ewelina Soroko founded Sustainable Salons dedicated to reducing waste in hair salons - the industry where he first started. He’s an international speaker; who remarkably never uses notes on stage and listening to him inspires.
He’s not afraid to speak his mind on the future of not only his industry but all of small business and is passionate about sustainability being the non-negotiable driving force.
Welcome to the show Paul.
Topics we’ll be covering:
To find out more go to their website: https://sustainablesalons.org/
PAUL FRASCA
CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Paul Frasca started his hairdressing career at the age of 11. He was a salon owner by the age of 19. Winning a prestigious Hairdressing Award took him to Europe where he styled an elite clientele for the next decade.
His passion for sustainability started when he lived in Amsterdam where he met his partner Ewelina Soroko, a passionate environmentalist.
Their travels brought them to Australia where they researched salon waste and discovered that hairdressers send one million kilos of aluminium foils to landfill every year. That was the catalyst to start Refoil, the industry’s first sustainably-minded foiling concept and recycled foil product. But their commitment to making salon waste history was only just beginning.
In 2015 the pair started an innovative resource recovery program called Sustainable Salons. Designed especially for the salon environment, Sustainable Salons collects up to 95% of the salon’s waste bin and repurposes it for environmental and community benefit, while rewarding the salon. The program has been awarded Best Business Service of the year in 2016 at the Australian Hair Industry Awards and Best Business Performance of the year at the Hair Expo Awards. Sustainable Salons was also presented with the Special Recognition Award at the 2017 Australian Hair Industry Awards and became finalist at the Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards the same year.
Paul’s role as Managing Director takes him all around Australia and New Zealand speaking to audiences in the waste management, hair, beauty, fashion, hospitality, medical and education industries, all interested in learning how to adopt a more sustainable approach in their everyday lives and businesses.
Paul also volunteers his time as a board director for The Australian Hairdressing Council where he is responsible for improving the industry’s environmental practices.
EP#232 ~ Closing remarks from the 2024 COBSOA National Small Business Summit
EP#231 ~ Mergers and acquisition law changes - whos' thinking about small business?
EP#230 ~ What is the PPSR and why do small businesses, associations and advisors need to know about this tool?
EP#229 ~ The Franchise Code review - what does a review mean for small businesses in the sector?
EP#228 ~ Environmental, Social, Governance. How can policy makers reduce the burden of ESG reporting on small businesses?
EP#227 ~ Sandy Chong One of the most influential industry leaders. What drive these advocates?
EP#226 ~ Why should Regional, Rural and Remote communities be front and centre of small business policy planning? We ask a passionate thought leader.
EP#225 ~ Big Tech sometimes plays the smallbiz advocate but do they really represent the small business voice?
EP#224 ~ How do economists influence policy inside and outside of government?
EP#223 ~ Resilience in Action - how a thriving refugee business builds on a foundation of struggle to continue to overcome business hurdles and success.
EP#222 ~ Translating policy into practice: What do the new Industrial Relations laws mean for your business?
EP#221 ~ The Intuit GetConnected Conference Smallbiz Learnings: AI, Advocacy, Advisors and Open Banking
EP220 ~ What is the role of .au Domain Administration in the digital space and how does this affect small business?
EP219 ~ Digital Identity is coming. So what does this mean for you and your small business?
EP#218 ~ What is the future of small business advocacy in 2024 and beyond?
EP#217 ~ The tech StartUp world seems the darling of government industry policy. But is that the reality?
EP#216 ~ ATMS knows about health, women, the economy, and micro business. How do they represent small business across so many policy areas?
EP#215 ~ ACCAN, who is the organisation fighting for small business people’s rights in the telecommunications industry?
EP#214 ~ How does ABS’ powerful data lead to informed policy for small business?
EP#213 ~ How bookkeepers advise their small business clients and how ICB advises Government
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