Interview with Karen Moore - Founder and Owner of SaveGreenNow and EcoHomeResource

I am writing a series of hubs interviewing women entrepreneurs who have managed to set up and run successful small businesses while managing a family and a full time job. My aim is to share their success stories and provide inspiration to moms looking to start their own business.

Meet Karen Moore, the founder and owner of 2 websites dedicated to green causes - EcoHomeResource and SaveGreenNow. EcoHomeResource was launched in 2008 as an information sharing website dedicated to inspire healthy and eco-friendly living within the home and beyond. Today, it also boasts of an ever growing database of environmentally-friendly companies along with articles covering every area of the house and advice from industry experts. SaveGreenNow is an extension of EcoHomeResource and features eco-friendly products and services at discounts.

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I’m a wife and mom of an adorable 2-year old boy. I am a marketing professional. I specialize in developing strategic partnerships.

SaveGreenNow is a deal website that is dedicated to providing great deals on earth-friendly products and services. We recently launched offering nationwide and Los Angeles-based deals. A priority initiative for SaveGreenNow is to donate a portion of our profits to a different environmental non-profit organization each month.

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Personally, I’ve always been passionate about creating a harmonious and beautiful home environment. Over the years, I’ve found myself taking Feng Shui workshops, classes on candle-making, interior design and researching the latest eco-friendly/non-toxic alternatives. And like most people, our family is on a budget, but I don’t want to compromise on quality, so finding a great deal is important to me.

So, I decided that I would combine my marketing expertise, passion for healthy/eco-friendly living and the public’s love of daily deal sites…and created SaveGreenNow.com!

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We look for products and services that do not harm the environment…that don’t use any harmful chemicals, feature organic ingredients, and promote optimum health for the individual and the planet.

Right now, we offer Los Angeles-based deals for local businesses such as organic restaurants, spas, salons and other holistic/natural products and services. For businesses which sell their products/services online, the deals are available nationwide.

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Our primary strategy is to create meaningful, strategic partnerships with trusted people and organizations that speak to like-minded, conscious consumers. As a first step towards achieving this, we have created an Affiliate Marketing Program, whereby we offer life-time commissions on each customer sent to SaveGreenNow.

It’s very simple, all the affiliate would need to do is place our banner ad on their website/blog and for every customer who makes a purchase from SaveGreenNow by clicking on the ad, the affiliate will earn a commission. So, the longer our ad stays on the website, the more commissions you can earn and as the affiliate’s subscriber base grows over the years, they continue to earn commissions on each customer….FOR LIFE! There are no fees/costs associated and we do not get any access to the affiliate’s subscriber database.

If you own a website or blog and think your readers would appreciate this service, please drop me a line at karen@savegreennow.com.

And then of course, there's Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn!

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I sometimes wonder that myself, and the “to do” list is very long! I have to admit, I have moments thinking to myself; “how am I going to get all of this done!” and “How crazy am I?”…but don’t we all? Ambition will do that. Trying new things and pushing your limits will make you feel a little out of control sometimes.

But once the anxiety passes :)…I get down to business. I make sure the time I do spend on each aspect of my life really counts. And I have found that it is very important to have compassion for myself, knowing that I am not Wonder Woman (even though she was my ultimate childhood hero!).

I am sharpest first thing in the morning, so that’s when I concentrate on things like contracts and financials. When I come home from work, my priority focus is on my husband and son. Then, when our little one goes to bed, the evenings are usually dedicated to research, emails and social networking. Weekends are a mixed bag of kid’s birthday parties, SaveGreenNow business, playing at the park and going to the beach as often as possible. Date nights are extremely important! Life gets busy.

I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who supports me and cheers me on when things get tough. He is truly my partner and I don’t know if I would be able to do all of this without him…actually I’m sure I wouldn’t.

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I do my best, but always striving to do more. I do the typical stuff like recycling, using chemical free cleaners, organic bedding and paint my home with non-toxic paint. As much as I hate weeds, instead of spraying toxic chemicals on my yard, every 3 weeks or so I get out there and pull each one by hand (using this nifty little tool my neighbor told me about). And with regards to water and energy efficiency, we use low-flow shower heads, primarily wash clothes in cold water and limit our use of the air conditioner and heater. I love the Pur water filter on our kitchen sink faucet…it’s cheap and it works!

On my very short list to add to our household: Composting bin in the backyard, raised garden beds and a tankless water heater. Eventually, a gray water system and solar panels!

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That one is just too tough to answer. There are so many great green websites out there! I think the US Green Building Council’s website (usgbc.org) is a really great resource. LocalHarvest.org is a fabulous site for locally grown organic food. I like Earth911.com if I have a quick question about what and how I can recycle anything. And I love Health Child, Healthy World non-profit organization (healthychild.org). And GreenYour.com is a super clean and friendly resource. Just to name a few…and of course, my personal “love” -- EcoHomeResource.com!

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Free of chemicals, interacting with nature, authentic personal connections (the last one may seem like a weird answer, but in this highly digital world, I think it is important to take time to spend time WITH people).

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To serve as many people as possible…bringing good value on quality products & services. Through this service, we hope we will create positive change and help organizations who are doing great work to preserve our planet’s resources. Local deals are available only in Los Angeles as of now, but we will soon be expanding to other US cities.

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I can’t speak about the other deal websites, because I know there are some terrific ones out there (I’m a big fan!), but I can say that at SaveGreenNow, we have an incredible brain trust of talented people…from our sales team, creative designer, technical team and legal counsel and I feel that this results in delivering a high-quality website.

We are developing some fabulous partnerships that will continue to strengthen our ability to support green businesses. Plus, we provide valuable content to inspire green living through our sister website: EcoHomeResource.com, because we are committed to supporting people’s desire to live well and in harmony with the planet. And an important component of our business is to donate a portion of our profits to environmental charities and non-profit organizations.

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