Welcome to our interview series where we speak with purpose-driven business owners and ecopreneurs from around the globe. Every few weeks, we’ll dive into their journeys, learn about their wins and challenges, and the resources they couldn’t do without.
Prepare to be inspired and learn something new!
Today’s guest is Becks Smith from The Whole Story.
Please tell us a little bit about who you are, your background, and what you did before starting your own business.
I’m Becks Smith, I’m a mother to three young girls, living and working on our sheep, beef cattle and deer farm with my husband and his family and have 14 years experience as a rural veterinarian.
What inspired you to create a purpose-driven company and how did you come up with the business idea?
I was inspired to start a purpose driven company as I saw a challenge that was being faced by my own husband, my father-in-law and other farmers within our community and sector.
In your experience, what are the main challenges of starting and running a green business?
The main challenges are that starting and running a green business can be seen as outside of the norm, and people don’t take you seriously or don’t think that they can be economically viable.
What is your business mission & purpose and why?
The Whole Story is an B Corp Certified, social enterprise that exists to inspire sustainability and empower farmers. I saw that a business of this type was needed as Sustainability in agriculture was becoming synonymous with environmental compliance and was associated with a negative mindset or attitude, when in fact it is hope and optimism along with true sustainable behaviour change that will address the wicked problems we are currently facing.
How does your work address societal and/or environmental issues?
We provide farmers with a framework to be able to view sustainability in all its facets, to take stock of where they are currently doing well and where potential opportunities may lie and to goal set and develop an action plan towards these. This framework addresses many social and environmental issues as we use the UN Sustainable Development Goals to inform the framework.
What are the most common mistakes you see green businesses make?
A common mistake I see green businesses make is that they help to solve “green” issues for the consumer, but they don’t operate authentically as a sustainable business themselves.
“I love that we are able to bridge the gap between lofty Sustainability ideals and the practical actions farmers can take on the ground. “
Becks Smith, The Whole Story
What makes your business unique?
We are the only Agricultural Sustainability Coaching company that I am aware of in New Zealand and the first B Corp operating in the Agricultural Services space in New Zealand.
Is there anything that you do outside of your business that is driven by similar (sustainability) objectives?
Sustainability is a core value to me so it flows through into our personal lives, household but also our other businesses including our farming business. Raising three children we feel a huge responsibility to educate them in community altruism, ecological stewardship, social sustainability, economic resilience and self-sufficiency.
In which area of your business are you struggling the most to reduce your environmental impact?
Travel; business is all about relationships whether that be stakeholders or clients, although we are incredibly lucky to be able to operate remotely and digital meetings have opened up so many more opportunities, there is still a high need for face-to-face meetings and events.
What do you like the most about the work you do?
From a personal perspective, please refer to answer above; I love the fact that my business works around my very busy and varied lifestyle. My previous role as a veterinarian was less flexible and it meant that I was always unavailable for the kids and the farming business. From an impact perspective I love that we are able to bridge the gap between lofty Sustainability ideals and the practical actions farmers can take on the ground. I love that we can showcase some of the positive ways in which agriculture and farmers are contributing to sustainability in all facets and being able to share this with a wider audience.
What’s your day-to-day like?
Completely varied! Living on a working farm with three young children can mean anything could happen. Some weeks I’m travelling up and down the country with in-person events, some weeks I’m stuck for 6hours+ a day behind a screen in meetings, some days I am at school fundraisers or sports events and some days I’m out in the paddock calving cows or feeding lambs.
How do you grow and scale your business, and what are the main growth constraints and opportunities?
We grow and scale by securing more funding for projects and then recruiting contractors in to support the delivery of these. The main growth constraint is finding the right people to resource these projects as we have quite a different approach. The biggest opportunities are being able to support a huge network of farmers within agriculture to shift the dial by small percentages which when combined has huge impact.
What green businesses/sectors do you see growing the fastest right now and/or will become mainstream within the next 10 years?
1) Eco-tourism: when green conscious people want to travel, they want guilt free options
2) Renewable energy: the world has a huge energy demand, we need eco-friendly options
3) Regenerative Agriculture and Sustainable food systems
4) Blue Economy opportunities: We have a large ocean surface with huge opportunies for green business
5) Circular Economies: Products, companies or solutions built around circularity and product stewardship are on the rise and will be essential over the next 10 years.
In your opinion, what are the top skills necessary to be a successful eco-entrepreneur?
The top skills to be a successful eco-entrepreneur would be:
– Passion (you need to love what you do deeply, as it’s not always easy, fun or exciting)
– Consistency (show up and build repeatable business habits)
– Authenticity (green-washing is rife, you need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk)
Any “lessons learned” or advice you can share with aspiring or current green business owners?
Lessons:
– Back yourself, “if you ever question the impact just one person can have think about the impact of a tiny mosquito in a sleeping bag”.
– Find your Support crew; develop a good long list of advisors, mentors, friends, coaches you can lean on. Business ownership can be lonely sometimes, but there is a large network of incredible businesspeople to support you.
– Just keep going, and get it out there. Just think of what the world is missing out on and the lost opportunity of you not doing something.
What inspires you every day to wake up and keep going?
The opportunity to be able to shift the narrative and showcase agriculture as a solution to a lot of the wicked problems we are facing environmentally, economically and socially at a local and planetary level.
Becks Smith is a mother to three young girls and a rural veterinarian of 14 years based in Ranfurly, Central Otago, New Zealand where she also farms with her husband on their 700ha sheep, beef cattle and deer property. In 2020 she founded The Whole Story; a B-Corp Certified social enterprise focused on inspiring sustainability in agriculture; helping farmers navigate sustainability with positivity through the channels of coaching, podcasts, workshops and industry level leadership.