JJ RAMBERG, Co-Founder, GoodSearch.com & GoodShop.com

08/3/10 | JJ Ramberg | 2 Comments

JJ RAMBERG, Co-Founder, GoodSearch.com & GoodShop.com

-- The fight against cancer
-- Finding a cure for life-threatening peanut allergies
-- Breaking the poverty cycle
-- Saving the environment
-- Education

This is a partial list of causes close to my heart.  Faced with the reality of so much need in this world, I wanted to develop a sustainable way to raise funds and awareness for worthy causes.  I wanted to create a way for people to incorporate “doing good” into their everyday lives. 

In 2005 I, along with my brother, launched GoodSearch.com – a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates about a penny per search to the charity of your choice – and GoodShop.com – a shopping mall that works with more than 1,500 stores to donate a percentage of each purchase to the charity or school of your choice.  We now work with more than 90,000 nonprofits and schools and millions of people are using our services to help their favorite causes.
 
In addition to being an entrepreneur, I host a show on msnbc called Your Business, which is focused on giving tips and advice to small business owners.  Here are five tips that I’ve featured on my show, which I’ve taken to heart in launching my own business:

1. Thank your employees.  It’s easy, it’s free and it’s meaningful.  Every once in awhile I take my employees out for an “employee appreciation event.”  It could be as simple going out for ice cream, but it gives us a chance to socialize and gives me a chance to remind them that I appreciate all that they do.
2. Provide exceptional customer service.  At GoodSearch, we live and breathe what we call “legendary” customer service.  There is no better evangelist than a happy customer, so make sure that your customers will want to spread the word.
3. Leverage the creativity of your whole team.  New ideas can come from anywhere within an organization.  We have weekly brainstorming sessions in our company where everyone is encouraged to share their ideas and then we make sure to follow through on the promising ones.
4. Be persistent.  Entrepreneurs get used to hearing “no.”  The ones who succeed look at the word “no” as the beginning of a conversation and not the end.
5. Remember why you started your company. When you’re up at three in the morning worrying about some issue, it’s nice to always remember your goal – it makes the hard times worth it!

 
JJ Ramberg is co-founder of GoodSearch.com – a search engine that donates about a penny per search to the charity of the user’s choice - and GoodShop.com, a shopping mall which works with more than 1,500 stores and donates a percentage of virtually every purchase to the charity or school of the user’s choice.   Today, more than 91,000 organizations are participating.  Ramberg is also the host of the weekly small business program Your Business on msnbc.

Add the GoodSearch toolbar and raise money for your favorite cause every time you search or shop online!