About
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Sustainable Operating Systems - The Post Petrol Paradigm
Available at www.amazon.com
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Michael Richards is a lifelong entrepreneur and innovator.
Richards' entrepreneurial ventures have included the acquisition and restoration of historic properties, artistic production of music and theatre. With his current venture, Soyawax International, Richards has invented a new biobased replacement for petroleum wax that is bringing about a major revolution in the global candle industry. This venture had its genesis with Candleworks in New York City.
Employment Positions
City Quadrant Director, Community Education, Des Moines School System State Education Field Director, Planned Parenthood of Iowa Executive Director, Jane Boyd Community House, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Business Administration Manager, Tavern on the Green, New York City General Manager, The Boathouse Café, Central Park, New York City General Manager, Cabaret/Off Broadway Theatre, 72nd Street, New York City Administrator, Stoneyard Institute, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City Executive Director, The School of Sacred Arts, New York City
Entrepreneurial Endeavors
- City Vision, Des Moines, Iowa
- The Inns of Iowa
- Candleworks
- SoyaWax International
Candleworks
In 1991, Richards founded a street level work project called Candleworks. With a $200 start up budget he launched a candle making enterprise that hired homeless families off of the streets of New York City to work toward economic self sufficiency. This social and economic experiment resulted in a viable business operation that grew to employ scores of people and build a strong market position in the national candle industry, including custom manufacturing contracts for The Body Shop, Urban Outfitters, Linens and Things, Estee Lauder, Clairol and Biolage/Matrix. This entrepreneurial phenomenon was described in feature magazine articles in the "New York Times," "Success," "People" and was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Good Morning America." The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cited this project as the National Best Practice in Community Economic Development at the National Conference of Mayors. This award was presented by President Clinton. One Year later Candleworks was cited by Vice President Al Gore as the National Business of the Year for Welfare to Work. Millions of dollars in payroll were paid to scores of people in need over ten years. Many worked their way off of the street into permanent homes.
SoyaWax International
With his work at Candleworks Richards was aware of an economic problem to solve: Consumers were demanding a clean burning/non toxic alternative to petroleum wax candles. Beeswax, a natural non toxic clean burning wax had a cost 8 to 10 times the price of petroleum wax. Richards invented Soyawax to meet this consumer need: A clean burning wax produced from Soybean Oil. SoyaWax is now selling 3 million pounds of wax annually in 22 nations.
The conversion from petroleum wax to Soyawax is now the strongest trend in the Global Candle Industry. Soyawax is the catalyst for this paradigm shift.
Future Plans
The plans for SoyaWax are to utilize the economic base of the company to build a full array of post-petrol biobased goods to replace the petro-chemical products that dominate the present consumer product and energy sectors. Formulas and product designs are tested and ready to go for many of these products.
Our plan is to incorporate biobased energy, photovoltaics and small scale permaculture to have our own business headquarters serve as a model of the post-petrol paradigm.
Publications
"Light One Candle, The Handbook for the Bootstrap Entrepreneur" This practical business book was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine The first two printings were totally sold out by Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble.
"Sustainable Operating Systems, The Post Petrol Paradigm," released in December 2006. This book can be ordered on line at Amazon.Com
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