4 Easy Steps To Protect Your Sustainable Business

Julie Starr • November 3, 2020



Starting and running a business is no easy feat. Although many companies are springing up, only 33% of them survive within the first ten years, and it might even be a lot more difficult for green and sustainable companies. These statistics can be somewhat discouraging, whether you just started your business or have been in operation for a few years. Therefore, you must take steps to ensure that your business is adequately protected to withstand all types of challenges it might encounter. So, how can you protect your business? Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that your business withstands the test of time:

Protect your data

It is essential for sustainable businesses to store critical information, whether it is employee records, customer information, or transactions. It is even more imperative for sustainable enterprises to store data in the cloud to reduce how much paper they use. Otherwise, you might find your business as part of the 60% that closed down due to data breaches. Plus, you need not worry about your hard drive getting crashed or losing your data to natural disasters like fires. When you take steps to protect your data, you lessen the risk of your data getting misused for vices such as phishing scams and fraud. What you can do to protect your business’ information is to install firewalls, organize cybersecurity training sessions for your employees, and use strong passwords.

Hire an accountant

If your sustainable business has been in operation for some time now, and you see a lot of growth and potential, it might be the best time to hire an accountant. An accountant can provide you with expert advice to assist with your development, including hiring new employees, managing utility payments, and expanding your office space. If possible, you can hire an in-house accountant for your business. Otherwise, it is perfectly okay to outsource. You can weigh the options to find the one that best suits your business’s needs, as well as the budget. You can also use a Verifiable Credential Platform to ensure they have the right credentials for the job.

Get business insurance

When you are operating a sustainable business, you are responsible for your employees’ and customers’ well-being. Whatever decisions you make for your company affects them, and when you have business insurance, it might protect you financially from some of the consequences. Many businesses typically get general liability insurance that covers parties that are harmed by your business’ practices. Other states require that you get other forms of business insurance, such as workman’s compensation insurance, which protects your employees that get hurt while working. Companies like Simply Business offer various types of business insurance, depending on the type of business you operate. Check out simplybusiness.com for more essential information.

Research your customers

Before you start working with a new client, ensure that you conduct a full credit check, especially if you render a service. That will protect you and your business from having stacks of unpaid invoices and defaulting customers. Ensure that before you work for a customer, you must have a contract. If any problem develops, the contract or agreement will be the piece of evidence that might help you get the money you deserve.

Regardless of your business’s size, it would be best if you adopted measures to secure it. Hopefully, these tips should help you get started.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.