Most of us start a vegan business as a way to further the cause.  It may be your way of moving towards a vegan world by providing better vegan products.  Or it might be that you want to do something to make it easier for people to live a cruelty-free life. But it is fair to say that most vegans who start a business do so without thinking enough about actually making money!  As vegans, we can often feel guilty about trying to make money out of other vegans.  We might feel that making money is unethical – after all, many people blame growing commercialism for a lot of today’s problems.  But the reality is this: you can do a lot more good in the world with a profit than with loss.

If you do not build a business that is successful and financially sustainable then you cannot help us move towards a vegan world. This is really important and something that needs to be ‘baked-in’ to your business from the start. You need to succeed with your vegan business to actually make a difference, and for most of us that means having regular paying customers for what we’re offering.

Even if you are a charity, you still need to attract income.  You need to connect your organisation with enough people who believe in what you do to enable you to keep on doing it.

That’s why it is your duty to the vegan movement to get better at doing business.  There’s no point in having an amazing product that will change the world if that product never gets into anyone’s hands.  There’s no point in having a voice if it’s never heard.