A New Business Development Plan for

Natural Lifeways™ Corporation 2002:

WV Sustainable FurnitureÔ .

The service demand in West Virginia for sustainable logging and forest management practices continues to grow (See WV Environmental Council agenda 2002 and WV Forest Watch Coalition meeting minutes, 2002). The national demand for value-added wood products from sustainable forest areas is also increasing. (Coop America Quarterly No. 52, Fall 2000).

Natural Lifeways Corporation believes that increasing numbers of wood product consumers in WV and surrounding markets will be seeking high quality, value-added wood products carefully crafted from sustainable forest materials. In anticipation of this demand, NLC lead the development of the WV Sustainable Furniture project from 2001 to the present. We now feel prepared to respond more ambitiously to the apparently growing demand for sustainable furniture in WV and central Appalachia.

Natural Lifeways Corporation is a West Virginia small business dedicated to developing ecological lifestyle alternatives in central Appalachia and elsewhere through research, education, consultation work and "green" business development. NLC is headquartered in the City of Weston in Lewis County, WV.

One division of NLC is called Ecological Shelter. This division of NLC organizes "green" building and furnishing programs, products and services, like the WV Sustainable Furniture program. The WV Sustainable Furniture program operates throughout West Virginia, so the entire statewide community is expected to benefit directly from economic development and employment growth in the program.

Natural Lifeways Corporation (NLC) is organized around facilities called Natural Lifeways Centers. These are operated in several divisions of ecological operations serving natural areas, people and other living organisms. The first Natural Lifeways Center has been located at 17 Center Ave. in Weston WV since 1996. It is a retail operation containing a bed & breakfast lodging facility, small group meeting room, nature study center and naturalized landscape. This plan describes a project to establish a new program at the existing Natural Lifeways center in Weston, WV and at related WV Eco-tourism facilities throughout WV.

The project is expected to increase retail sales of both services and products and to provide for new and expanded product lines. We anticipate increasing our annual sales revenues in two years from $15,000 to $75,000. Within 5 years, we expect to see a several-fold increase in annual sales at several WVETA locations. (up to $150,000 annually selling 10 pieces/month at $ 500.00 from 5 locations).

The specific goals of the WV Sustainable Furniture project are to:
    1. Increase forest resources that are managed using sustainable practices;
    2. Increase retail sales revenues and winter season employment at NLC and WVETA member facilities; and
    3. Expand the market access of NLC and WVETA programs to new market niches and clients through eco-tourism product development.

The primary objective of this proposal is to develop and market, within three years, a basic line of residential and office furnishings that are produced using sustainable development guidelines. The furniture line is expected to feature:
    1. Complete modular design for re-use of components and to respond to changing fashions.
    2. Exclusive use of local (near WVETA locations) production of select, mature, post-reproduction fiber resources or re-use of secondary fiber resources.
    3. Cottage industry crafting of components and piece assembly; and
    4. Cooperative marketing at WVETA locations, in collaborating retail outlets like the Tamarack center in Beckley and expanded commercial wholesale marketing through the Green Building Alliance in Pittsburgh, PA.

Our plan to operate this project follows.

 

Three year (2002-2005) Operations Plan: Schedules, Activities, Financial estimates
    1. From April 2002 and thereafter, we have been, and continue to develop a team-oriented, modular design approach to residential and office display furnishings. We share design information, collaborate on prototype development and share portions of profits from product sales. To maintain part-time design contracts with team members, we plan to expend no more than $4,000 for design work in 2003. This will diminish to a 1% or lower portion of the project expenses in 2004 and 2005.
    2. From January 2003 and thereafter, we expect to foster the localized production and re-use of fiber resources around WVETA member sites. We expect to:
    1. Harvest, collect and stockpile mature, post-reproduction or secondary fiber resources worth from $5,000 up to $ 60,000 annually.
    2. Grow new fiber resources worth up to $ 60,000 annually;
    3. Contract with other sustainable resource providers as needed for materials worth from $2,500 up to $ 20,000 annually ; and
    4. Work through material transformation centers in nearby towns to reuse secondary fibers worth from $ 1,000 up to $ 10,000 annually.
    1. From January 2003 and thereafter, we expect to develop cottage-industry scale furniture component and piece assembly processing at WVETA sites by:
    1. Using flexible schedules and 60 day lead time contracts with suppliers and sellers.
    2. Using diversified networks of resource suppliers close to production sites.
    3. Assembling components and pieces at multiple locations; and by
    4. Coordinating shipping and handling with direct marketing efforts in major SMSA markets.

These activities are expected to cost up to $5,000 for part-time labor and up to $ 50,000 for assembly hardware and equipment in 2003. The labor expense should increase in 2004 and 2005 up to $ 10,000 annually. The assembly equipment should decrease to less than $10,000 in 2004 and $ 5,000 in 2005.

    1. From January 2003and thereafter, we expect to collaborate on marketing by:
    1. Placing sample pieces and literature at all WVETA member locations, linked to web site displays. We will take pre-production orders with 60 days lead time and custom design requirements; and
    2. Contracting with Tamarack in Beckley and with a Pittsburgh area retailer for store sales of production over-runs and prototypes.

These activities (details follow in the marketing plan section) are expected to cost up to $5,000 annually while yielding the majority of product sales of $120,000 in 2003; $ 180,000 in 2004 and up to $200,000 in 2005.

 

Marketing

The marketing plan for the WV sustainable furniture project includes:
    1. Direct marketing and use demonstration of furniture at key WVETA marketing events: E-day and Tourism Day at the Legislature in January and February, 2003; MABB conference in March 2003; and the WV Sustainable Tourism conference April, 2003.
    2. Addition and promotion of a new internet e-commerce web page to the existing NLC and WVETA Internet sites on January 1, 2003.
    3. Open house roll-out events at WVETA facilities from April 30, 2003 and thereafter;
    4. Coordinated transportation and marketing through eco-tour sales and annual retail store contracting with Tamarack;
    5. Coordinated transportation and marketing through annual commercial contracting with a Pittsburgh, PA environmental construction and architectural organization like the Green Building Alliance; and
    6. Continuous client recruitment by offering a renew-re-do trade-in program at fair market value.

Marketing activities are expected to focus on developing long-term co-development relationships with residential and office furnishing clients using the ecological principle of symbiosis (living together). Clients will be identified from environmental organizations and social networks that share a common interest in ecology and sustainable development.

Our clients are expected to serve as sources of investment capital; sales revenues; and extended networks with additional clients.

The project is expected to serve clients by rewarding repeated and long-term use with:
    1. Credit, trade-in and price discount programs;
    2. Co-development contracts for cooperative projects in client home communities; and
    3. Education and employment opportunities.

More information is available on this project, along with copies of the entire business plan from:

Dr. John Williams

Natural Lifeways Inc.

17 Center Ave.

Weston WV 26452

304-2369-7902

e-mail: natseas@citynet.net

www.wvonline.com/naturalllifeways