A business. A brand. A company. An organisation.
Call it whatever you want to call it.
I'm building UNIO to serve you. Literally.
Not as an ideology. Not as a marketing strategy. Not as another catchy slogan that sounds good until you look behind the curtain.
I mean genuinely serve you.
Every service I introduce should exist to solve a problem you need solving.
Every product I source should exist to satisfy a need or want you have.
Every opportunity I create should exist to make something more accessible, affordable, convenient or rewarding for the people participating.
Whether you need something done, something bought, something fixed, something delivered, or simply someone capable of taking care of something for you, I want UNIO to become a place you can turn to.
Not because I intend to do everything myself, but because I intend to bring together the people, businesses, resources and expertise capable of getting things done.
And here's where things get interesting.
If, in the process of serving you, we happen to make a profit, what should happen to that money?
Traditionally, once a business has paid its expenses, fulfilled its obligations and generated a profit, that profit belongs to its owners or shareholders.
Fair enough.
That's how most businesses are designed to work. I have no objection to people owning businesses and enjoying the profits they generate. I participate in that system myself, and I'll continue to do so in my personal life.
But with UNIO, I'm choosing to do something different.
I don't believe the people who make UNIO successful should be excluded from the financial success they help create.
And who makes UNIO successful?
The people who spend their money with it, and the people who put in the work to deliver results.
The customers and the workforce.
Without either, there is no UNIO.
So, rather than treating customers exclusively as sources of revenue and workers exclusively as expenses, UNIO intends to recognise both as participants in the value they collectively create.
Here's the idea.
We, the workforce, provide products and services.
You, the customer, choose to buy from us because what we offer makes sense for you.
Our people do the work, the business covers its costs and fulfils its obligations, and if there's a profit left over, that profit is shared between the customers and the workforce.
Our proposed model is simple.
One hour of work represents one unit of participation in the workforce's share, regardless of the job performed. Wages can differ according to responsibilities and skills, but participation in that profit share is measured by time contributed.
Not as a promotional giveaway.
Not as a favour.
Not as an occasional reward for being loyal.
But as an established part of how the system is intended to operate, subject to its rules, financial obligations and actual profitability.
And what about me, the founder?
I can earn a wage for work I actually perform, just like anyone else.
But I don't intend to build UNIO as a vehicle for extracting profits for myself simply because I own it.
The purpose of ownership, in this case, is to protect and maintain the system, not to drain it.
My responsibility is to establish the system, bring together the right people, protect its principles, hold those responsible accountable, and make sure it continues to deliver what it promises.
Not to make myself the greatest beneficiary of everybody else's participation.
Of course, none of this works unless UNIO is commercially successful.
We still have to compete.
We still have to offer good value.
We still have to manage costs, deliver quality, pay people properly, meet our obligations and make sensible decisions.
Good intentions don't pay the bills.
And I don't expect anyone to support UNIO simply because they agree with what I'm trying to accomplish.
I want you to choose UNIO because it's genuinely worth choosing.
Because the product is good.
Because the service is reliable.
Because the price makes sense.
Because dealing with us makes your life easier.
And then, on top of all that, because your participation actually means something.
Imagine buying the things you already buy, using the services you already need, but this time having a tangible financial interest in the success of the business you're helping sustain.
Imagine working for a business where your contribution doesn't end with your wages, but also gives you a share in the prosperity you help generate.
Imagine a business that becomes more useful to its customers as it grows, because its growth creates more capacity to serve them.
That's the relationship I'm trying to establish with you.
And it doesn't have to stop with buying and working.
I want people with ideas, skills and ambition to have opportunities to build new services and ventures within UNIO, using the resources, customers and infrastructure of the wider system.
They should have meaningful freedom to develop and operate those ventures, within the boundaries that protect UNIO and everyone participating in it.
Because I don't want UNIO to be limited to what I can personally imagine, create or accomplish.
I want it to become a system where other people's abilities, ideas and ambitions can find opportunities too.
I'm building UNIO for you, and I'm inviting you to build it with me.
Those aren't two competing ideas. They're two parts of the same relationship.
I take responsibility for establishing the system and protecting what it stands for.
But I can't make it successful on my own.
And I don't intend to take all the financial rewards of that success for myself.
I need customers who find value in what we offer.
Workers who take pride in delivering it.
People with ideas, abilities and resources who want to contribute something of their own.
Not because they owe me anything, but because there's something worthwhile in it for them too.
I'm not asking you to build my success. I'm inviting you to participate in building something whose success is designed to benefit you too.
And the more people participate, the more we can accomplish together.
More customers create more demand.
More demand creates opportunities for more services, products and work.
More activity creates the potential for more profit.
And more profit creates the potential for more benefits for the people who made it possible.
A system that grows by serving people, and serves people better as it grows.
That's the ambition.
And here's what I'm not asking you to do.
I'm not asking you to change your beliefs.
I'm not asking you to boycott anybody.
I'm not asking you to abandon the businesses you love.
I'm not asking you to spend money you weren't already planning to spend.
And I'm certainly not asking you to make sacrifices just to support my vision.
I'm proposing that we build another option.
Another option for you and me.
One where the money you spend doesn't simply disappear from your relationship with the business the moment the transaction is complete.
One where your loyalty carries weight.
One where the people doing the work have a genuine stake in the outcome.
One where commercial success and the interests of the people responsible for it are deliberately connected.
And one where participation isn't limited to buying something, but can also mean contributing your work, ideas, expertise or resources to create something valuable for others.
Because ultimately, UNIO isn't about convincing people to behave differently.
It's about building a business that behaves differently towards the people who make it possible.
Will we get everything right from the beginning?
Of course not.
Will we be able to offer everything immediately?
Absolutely not.
Will we always make a profit?
No. Like any business, we'll face costs, risks, mistakes and difficult decisions. There will be times when there is no profit to share.
And before any of these commitments can become enforceable entitlements, the proper legal, financial and operational structures need to be established.
I'm not pretending otherwise.
UNIO has to earn its place in people's lives, one useful product, one reliable service and one fulfilled promise at a time.
I don't want people to have to believe in UNIO for it to make sense.
I want UNIO to make sense because of what it actually does for them.
If you need something, I want us to find a way to provide it.
If you have something valuable to offer, I want us to find a way to put it to good use.
And if, by working together, we create something commercially successful, I want the people responsible for that success to benefit from it.
Not just me.
Not just the owners.
The customers and the workforce who make it possible.
That's what I'm working towards.
That's what I'm inviting you to participate in.
And that's the principle I intend to protect as UNIO grows.
If the business exists because of you, it should exist for you too.
I'm building it to serve you.
I'm inviting you to help build it.
And if we succeed, we should all benefit from what we've accomplished together.
That's UNIO.
Make the system work for the people who make it work.