Network Your Way to a Thriving Green Business - Advice from Nikki Pava of EcoTuesday

By Lorna Li
If you want to discover what corporate responsibility really looks like, interview 100 of the top CEOs in the world and ask them what they’re doing about our planet’s social and environmental problems. That’s what Nikki Pava did as a marketing and communications professional for many years, working with corporations in Bangkok, Berlin, and Dubai. What she found was that most CEOs were not thinking about their corporate social responsibility at all. Discouraged by this lack of interest in our world’s most important issues, Nikki decided to become the solution, by bridging sustainability and the corporate world. She co-founded EcoTuesday the premier green business networking organization, and launched Alegria Partners, her own sustainability consulting firm.

Why early stage green entrepreneurs must network to succeed
Nikki knows the challenges of starting a new business and is extremely familiar with how much work it entails. Whether you are thinking of launching a green home business, a brick and mortar store, consulting firm, or clean tech startup, as an entrepreneur, you need to get savvy about networking both online and off. Drawing on her corporate and personal experience in the business world, Nikki shares 3 reasons why networking is essential for entrepreneurs seeking to take their sustainable business to the next level:

• Networking expands your knowledge base. There’s no way to be an expert in all of the areas it takes to build a green company, so reaching out to other people who have had triumphs and struggles will help you learn new things. You can’t do it all, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.


• Social media opens doors. If the thought of plunging into a room full of strangers and hustling for business card scares you, consider using social media to connect with professionals in your niche. Social networking gives you access to people outside your immediate locale, in fact, from all over the world, in ways a local event will not.


• Sponsor benefits gives you greater exposure. By sponsoring an networking event like EcoTuesday, you as the sponsor get more exposure. Some events will give you podium time. It's a great way to get in front of more eyeballs and draw attention to your business.

How to power-network your way to a more sustainable economy
When more entrepreneurs launch and grow thriving green businesses, the green economy benefits as a whole. Nikki now works with numerous early stage and established businesses on incorporating triple bottom line values into their company mission. Join Lorna Li and Nikki Pava for a conversation about power networking strategies and launching a sustainable brand at the Green Business Entrepreneurs Success Summit April 16th-20th. Nikki will discuss:

• How to start your own green networking event and make it a success.


• Tips on soliciting great free advice from experts you don't know using social media


• New opportunities that are opening up in the green economy and how to capitalize on them


• The ins and outs of starting your own sustainability consulting firm.

This FREE virtual event is an online conference where you can get powerful business advice (without the travel costs and conference fees) from 28 expert speakers on how to start and grow a thriving green business.

Register for this complimentary series of expert teleseminars here

Lorna Li is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Green Marketing TV. She is the host of the Entrepreneurs for a Change Podcast and the Green Business Entrepreneurs Success Summit. Lorna specializes in Social Media SEO, the art of using social media to increase web visibility and search engine rankings. She works with socially responsible business owners as an Internet Marketing Business Coach.