Triangle B Local Stress Test

(I've been a member of the Triangle B Corp community since 2008. I’m a known idealist. I’ve won some “Best for the World” awards. I taught a course on social enterprise at Central Carolina Community College. I participated in President Obama’s “Fourth Sector” discussions when he came to town. For the past few years I have been at the helm of the Fair Game Beverage Company in Pittsboro. Our mission is to add value to North Carolina agricultural products. I’m currently working on the manuscript of my seventh book, which might be titled something like, Delicious. Here's an excerpt:

…as the cases of hyper local seasonal honeysuckle tea piled up in back stock, I decided to test the theory that B Corps like to buy from B Corps. It was a science experiment. I wanted to see if there actually was a “Triangle B Corp Community.”

I sat in my easy chair on a Saturday morning and sent out a handcrafted email to most of the B Corps in the Triangle. It was basically a personal “spam campaign.”

The response was amazing. By noon on Monday this year’s honeysuckle tea was sold out. Orders poured in for twice as much tea as we had produced. I was stunned.

Not only did I have more orders than I could fill, my email box filled up with conversations. Some wanted to buy my spirits. Some wanted to come visit. Some were still locked down by Covid and had no budget for frivolous tea purchases. But they replied. They took the time. They cared.

This was not my first “personal email” campaign. I’ve promoted gift crates, and Easter baskets, and Valentine’s gifts, and on and on. I’ve targeted realtors, and friends, and neighbors. I’m not above “transactional” relationships. I can’t help it. I genuinely want to sell you something. In my heart of hearts I am a traveling salesman who is a “known spammer” to many.

My Triangle B Corp campaign had significantly more “replies,” and “conversions” than any previous campaigns. Serious engagement. By a wide margin.

I was astonished.

After doing the math, by hand, in my “reporter’s notebook,” I sat back and reflected on my long, complicated relationship with B Corp. Of the thirty some odd B Corps in the Triangle, I have a personal relationship with twelve companies.

To my amazement, when I showed up to deliver my precious (and expensive) tea, I found that I knew more of the CEOs than I remembered. There was a lot of “I’ve met you somewhere before” conversations as I pounded credit card numbers into Square on my phone.

Furthermore, my B Corp spam campaign engendered a bunch of conversations that had nothing to do with selling honeysuckle tea. I received a bunch of “Thanks so much for reaching out…we are big fans of Fair Game.”

I even encountered people in the Triangle B Corp community who knew about me. Some had read my books. Some had been members of Piedmont Biofuels, which was my biodiesel coop.

I was moved.

I now think it might be true that idealists are drawn to idealists. It made me believe that there is such a thing as a “Triangle B Community.” It made me want to amp up my efforts to develop it further.

My insanely successful tea campaign gave me newfound respect for Maria Kingery. She’s been using her personal energy, capital, and time to push the Triangle B Corps rock up the hill for many years.

I’ve participated in her endeavors. I’ve gone to her B Corp work sessions when invited. Maria will tell you I am a skeptic.

But I have changed my mind.

After this year’s batch of honeysuckle tea, I’m a believer.

It turns out that B Corps are deeply interested in other B Corps. It appears B Corps are happy to buy from one another along the way. Wow. There is such a thing as a “B Community.”

So glad to be apart of it. Thanks so much for the orders…