Guffly is a one product per day online store and community featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We know that people aren't interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly's green products are stylish, fun and attractive - eco stylish if you will. Shop the Daily Guff at http://www.guffly.com
At the crux of what seems to be a potential turning point in Detroits story, many are seeking to find the next industry that will carry this city and state into the future. Will it be the film industry, clean-energy, tech-based firms? We encourage the effort made by organizations and governments to answer this question by offering heavy financial incentives and support to existing businesses. However, it’s our opinion that an increased focus on a diverse set of new and small business endeavors is an important part of the equation that needs more attention.
In our business, Guffly, we focus on helping artisans, small businesses (”tiny” may even be more accurate), and crafters get their products to the marketplace in a creative, meaningful, and financially beneficial way. We do this in the eco-friendly retail market, and every day we become more convinced that a resurgence of trade and craft is happening all around us. People seem to be more eager than ever to take their destinies into their own hands by starting their own small ventures. This is what we’re doing ourselves, and this is what our network of suppliers have also done. We believe that if nurtured correctly, there is limitless potential for Metro Detroit to benefit from this trend. Organizations and individuals looking to bolster Detroit’s long-term economic climate need to focus on micro-entrepreneurship and here are our suggestions on how this can be done:
Wage smaller bets. In addition to allocating large sums of money to medium and large firms and investing in bringing out-of-state businesses to the state, we need to spread this money more widely through micro loans and investments. All businesses start with one sale. In order to get that first sale, individuals need money. This amount of money, however, is much smaller for certain businesses than what you may think. If you spread $1,000,000 amongst 500 individuals, thus giving each an investment of just $2,000, you are increasing the number of successes to be found instead of investing that same amount of money all in one place. Likewise, the rate of return to be had on the successful small investments is often greater than the rate of return found on larger investments.
Create a nucleus of resources. Small businesses and individual ventures are not only strapped for cash, but often even more so for time. In order to generate revenue they need people on the ground level doing the dirty work, pushing the business forward. The issue for small operations is that there aren’t enough financial resources to hire the people needed to make the ground level work happen the right way. Organizations seeking to encourage entrepreneurship need to provide resources to small ventures that have overlapping needs.
For example, as an e-commerce company Guffly needs web developers to enhance our value and marketing professionals to grow our customer base. There are thousands of small businesses out there who need these exact same things, and we venture to say that a hundred or so are right here in Metro Detroit. We need to pool our resources and share them cooperatively.
We envision a hub for e-commerce businesses that staffs professionals in the areas where we need help, and do this by using government funds or philanthropic dollars. We imagine this could work in various industries – retailers sharing warehouses and the fulfillment staff, tech start-ups sharing developers, etc.
Prime the young. Once these small ventures have the capital needed to begin, and the nucleus of resources available to grow, the next step is have an army of new workers who are primed to take on the task of working for start-ups. From grade school on, we need to teach our children a new, more entrepreneurial way of thinking. One of the problems Guffly has encountered is finding the right team members and interns who understand what working for a start-up entails. In our world, there is no such thing as a guaranteed 40-hour work week. Instead, we need people eager to put in the time and effort needed, people who don’t see themselves as “on the clock” and instead are focused on growing a new business from the ground up and making the necessary sacrifices to do so.
We’re not proposing that workers make sacrifices that won’t yield a personal benefit, of course. Instead, we mean to say that we need to change our frame of thinking in a way that normalizes hard work and long hours for all team members involved in the early stages of a business, and likewise normalizes the expectation of ownership interests, stock options, and other serious financial benefits for team members who grow the business from the beginning. There are simply not enough people who think this way and are willing to do this, and we think that solving this problem starts with educating youth to value entrepreneurship and small business once again.
We’re not proposing that we stop supporting large businesses – we need them to hire people and pay salaries, after all. However, our region is past the stage of putting all of our eggs into one basket. We should spread the wealth and resources horizontally in order to create more of it. The more people we have at bat, the more home runs we’ll see in the future.
As part of our latest Guffly Love Spreading promotion we distributed lucky bamboo stalks in plastic cups. People were very concerned about the eco-friendliness of these cups. Rest assured, we walk the walk.
A Public Service Announcement from our Chief Guffly Love Distributor, Chanell:
Well it’s safe to say that the 8th Annual Green Festival in San Francisco was a hit for Guffly! We came, we exhibited, we connected, and we had a blast. This was the first big event for the Guffly team and we think we held our own and established a unique presence at the huge festival.
Since Guffly is an online store, we don’t get to see the smiling faces of our lovely customers and being able to see the excitement and smiles that our products created was awesome. It seems that the Guffly perspective – living an eco-friendly lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to compromise your sense of style – is one that resonates with TONS of you! Thanks – we’re glad you like it!
Some customer favorites included:
Reusable Stainless Steel Razor Kit – men and women alike were thrilled to find an eco-friendly alternative to the disposable razor craziness! The flashy design sure makes it fun too.
Medium Seat Belt Tote – of course, we could have guessed this one based on the feedback we’ve already been getting. People are beyond impressed with the quality of craftsmanship and the functionality of this purse.
Fair Trade Shoes – we knew this but, we heard you all loud and clear: Stylish eco-friendly shoes are incredibly difficult to find! Guys and gals loved the design and humor in these shoes. We definitely are going to be scouting for more options…stay tuned!
Recycled Game Tile Tree Pendant – another online customer favorite held its own in person. These too cute pendants have eye catching designs that drew people in, then we told them to flip it over and they were surprised to find that it was a Scrabble tile!
We got a lot of “Thank Yous!” from people that were there searching for ways to be eco-friendly that felt comfortably in reach to them. There were also people living impressive green lifestyles that really enjoyed what we brought to the table. We think it’s safe to say that regardless of your “green-ness” or age there is something at Guffly for you. Plus with the availability of gift certificates (that’s right, we’re cool like that) and always $2 shipping it’s hard to beat Guffly for your eco-stylish shopping needs.
We also held a drawing ever other hour for one of our cool, eco-stylish products – the response was overwhelming. Winners are in the process of being notified and we appreciate everyone that stopped by to enter.
Something that we always want you folks to remember is we accept product suggestions anytime – just contact us. We also want to know if you are looking for a particular eco-friendly product and can’t find it…we’ll do the searching and work our hardest to find the best products for you.
As some of you may have noticed, the blog is not updating on our main website under “The Latest at Guffly” and the RSS feed isn’t directing to the correct page. We know, we know…we’re sorry. Lots of great things are happening at Guffly! We can’t tell you all the haps just yet but, trust us you’re going to love the updates.
We’re working to troubleshoot and resolve this issue ASAP and we ask for your patience in the meantime. You can still check the blog by clicking on “Blog” in the main website navigation or visiting it directly at http://blog.guffly.com.
Technology…it’s really a love hate relationship! Stay tuned friends…
Shout out to Barbara at Goal for The Green for a nice little write up on Guffly. We so appreciate the support and hope that people are lovin’ what we’re doin’.
This is one of the coolest things I’ve gotten in my e-mail recently. So, I know you are wondering who, or what it Guffly?
Guffly, is a one product per day online store and community, featuring eco- friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods. Guffly.com, just launched on Tuesday August 11, 2009. The products offered there, are for your home, pets, clothing,office and personal accessories. At Guffley,they know that people aren’t interested in ugly stuff, so you can bet Guffly’s™ “green products” are stylish, fun and attractive. As the team says, “eco-stylish, if you will.”
The name Guffly, is a combination of the words good and stuff with an -ly added at the end, to make it sound catchy. At any rate, it is good stuff for good living. The products offered are aimed at the young professional, college, and empty- nester markets. There is not much available for younger children.
When visiting Guffly.com , be sure to hover over the Guffly Labels such as Recycled, Reusable, Organic, FTR (Fair Trade) Natural Sustainable, Biodegradeable and Energy. Each product offered must fall into one or several of the Guffly labels. They give a definition for each of these labels.
As an example, their Fair Trade products are sweat shop free. Producers of the fair trade products were paid a fair wage fort their work. By offering the sale of fair trade products, helps move their producers from a state of vulnerability, to a state of becoming empowered and self sufficient.
This is Guffly’s promise to you. ” The products we choose to feature on Guffly.com have a less negative effect on the environment, people, and animals. We love men and womens products that are Fair Trade, Recycled, Reusable, Biodegradable, Organic, Sustainable, Energy Saving, and Natural. You can be sure that any product that you’ll see on Guffly.com will fall into any of these categories. We’re all about Personal Accessories, Home Accessories, Gadgets, Office Accessories, and of course Pet accessories. And, you can trust that all of the products that we choose to feature on Guffly.com will be researched using the Federal Trade Commission’s environmental guides, as well as the standards set forth by the Fair Trade Foundation to be sure that all environmental and fair trade claims are legitimate.”
Bloggers help draw attention to a newly launching business, or just about anything new or news worthy on the web. It is my hope that you will consider what Guffly has to offer, by either shopping there on occassion, or visiting their blog, or both . At the very least, you will be working toward a better and “greener” tomorrow!
Thank you, Lisa at Shopalicious for the nice write up on Guffly!
Now here’s a website to check out when your mind wanders at work, especially since it’s sole aim is to give us discerning shoppers products that are both eco-friendly and stylish! In the Daily Guff section, they’ll offer a great deal on one product per day, in categories like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. So stay tuned!
A big thanks to Amy of the Glamour Goes Green Blog for birthday wishes for Guffly! Their tag line says, “vintage + green + design” and that’s exactly why we love ‘em!
Here’s what she wrote:
A fantastic new shopping site was born today called Guffly! This sassy site offers one hip, fun and fashionable eco-friendly product per day. Today’s feature is a wonderful recycled business card holder made out of old circuit boards. I’m so excited about this new resource for eco-friendly items!
I once was a milk container but now I’m a Frisbee!
I am going camping soon and couldn’t be more excited. My friends and I went shopping in preparation for our big get-away and decided to grab some games that we could play while soaking up the summer sun. I came across this really neat toy and decided it was a must have. Since I love playing games outside and being eco-friendly this is the perfect toy.
It’s a Frisbee but not just any Frisbee. This flying disc (I know, who actually calls it flying disc anymore but that is what they are suppose to be called) is made from recycled milk containers! How Guffly is that?! I was so impressed when I saw it I had to get it even though I already have about 5 different Frisbees. It’s lime green and comes in recycled and recyclable packaging. I give it a big Guffly thumbs up for being eco-friendly, recyclable, fun and all around Guffly.
Tell us what you think (1-5)
1= not interested at all and I am personally offended that you even suggested it
2= interesting…but not sold
3= I’m intrigued, I would consider making this item a part of my eco-friendly collection
4= How eco-chic of you!
5= WOW! If I don’t have this item in my life immediately I might seriously throw a fit
Would you bring this Frisbee to your next game of ultimate Frisbee?
Would you purchase this product or a product like this?
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At the crux of what seems to be a potential turning point in Detroits story, many are seeking to find the next industry that will carry this city and state into the future. Will it be the film industry, clean-energy, tech-based firms? We encourage the effort made by organizations and governments to answer this question by offering heavy financial incentives and support to existing businesses. However, it’s our opinion that an increased focus on a diverse set of new and small business endeavors is an important part of the equation that needs more attention.
As some of you may have noticed, the blog is not updating on our main website under “The Latest at Guffly” and the RSS feed isn’t directing to the correct page. We know, we know…we’re sorry. Lots of great things are happening at Guffly! We can’t tell you all the haps just yet but, trust us you’re going to love the updates.
A fantastic new shopping site was born today called 
