Rich Mintzer - Start Your Own Green Business

Table of Contents

Additional titles in Entrepreneurs Startup Series

I want to recognize a number of people who were very helpful in the writing of this book. Thank you to Kirstin Sanders of Orca Communications, LLC for helping me find some of the many up and coming green entrepreneurs out there. I also want to thank Jennifer Doob from Wild Dill; Shawna Pierson and Chris Kodama from iTySE; Jan and Dean McCabe from Montana Stones; Shelley Hiestand from Electric Body; Chrys Hutchings from Eco-luxury fur; Carolyn Deal from Sum-Bo-Shine; Barry Reifman from OdorZout; Sally Shepard from Shepard Public Relations; Nell Newman from Newmans Own Organics; Mark A. Regier, Stewardship Investing Services Manager for MMA; Bill Reilly, Marketing Director for Microsoft Small and Midsized Businesses; Nick Przybyciel from Weber Shandwick Public Relations; Joshua Scott Onysko from Pangea Organics; Thanh Hua from Selfish Box; Daniel Kennedy from Chokolaj; Dan and Tina Garrido from INU Treats; Paul McGrath from RideSpring, Inc.; Kelly LaPlante from Kelly LaPlante Organic Interior Design, Inc.; Aaron Levinthal from Green Event Production and GreeNow; Folake Kuye from WeWe Clothing; Anne Bedarf from GreenBlue.org; author Trish Riley; Karel J. Samsom PhD; Chris Bartle from both The Evergreen Group LLC and Green Key Real Estate; Don Droppo from Curtis Packaging; Roger Strong from Solar Wind Works; Alex Szabo from The GreenOffice.com; David Anderson from Greenoptions.com; Kate Torgerson from Clif Bar Public Relations; my wonderful editor Courtney Thurman; and, of course, the one and only Jere Calmes from Entrepreneur Press.

Every day, thousands, perhaps even millions, of people come up with new business ideas. There are restaurants they would love to open, shops theyd enjoy owning, and all sorts of high-tech companies that they wish they could start. Would-be inventors have ideas for time-saving inventions and artists dream of using their talents rather than working nine to five for someone else. Unfortunately not everyone is in a position to take the risk and become an entrepreneur. For some it is simply not practical with mouths to feed and bills to pay, while for others there is just too much at stake to take such a chance. Then there are those who have the opportunity to make a go of it. Perhaps it is someone young and ambitious with few responsibilities and no family to take care of. Maybe its a stay-at-home parent who has the extra time and funding to make a go of a new business while taking care of a young one. It might be a husband and wife who have worked long and hard to save up and strike out on their own; or a couple that has retired from their long careers and wants to start afresh in their own enterprise. The point is, there are many people from many different life situations who are enthusiastic about opening a business. If that is you, dont be frightened off by new business success and failure rates. Instead, be enthusiastic and prepared to work long and hard to make your dream of being a business owner a reality.

Owning a business isnt easy, but can be very rewarding, especially if it is a business that also represents your personal passion for the planet and the environment. Green businesses are cropping up all over the country and around the world, while established businesses do their part to make the necessary changes and improvements to get in step with the times. Today, not only can you satisfy that dream of running a business, but you can make a difference at the same time... and thats what this book is all about.

In the next 11 chapters you will learn about both opening a business as well as doing it with a green flair. Well compare business names and green business names, hiring quality employees and hiring green-minded quality employees, necessary business equipment and supplies and green business equipment and supplies, marketing and promoting your business and green marketing and promoting. The point is, while it is unlikely that you will be able to start off 100 percent green, well discuss a variety of business areas and include the green versions throughout. In addition, well look at green companies of various sizes from which you can research, explore, and learn.

So, be prepared to be not only an entrepreneur, but a green entrepreneur. Its not as difficult as you might think.

What Does Green Mean?

Green. Its the color of the trees, grass, plants, many vegetables, and now the term being used to describe those who are taking the environmental concerns of our planet to heart and trying to make a difference. Yes, green is now the buzzword for focusing attention on sustainability and the preservation of the environment. It is a term being used universally to indicate that you have some understanding of global warming, the greenhouse effect, and how pollution to our land and our water is endangering the planet as we know it ... along with its inhabitants. Therefore, as Kermit the Frog used to say, Its good to be green.

So what can you do, as a soon-to-be entrepreneur? First, you can start your business, any business, as a green business. And thats what this book is about, incorporating the environmental green into your plans and hopes of making the other green... money. Of course to do this your first step is to understand that the overall goal isnt just to plant trees, save water, or eat organic foods, but to recognize that Earths bounties are being used up at a rate that is dangerous for the next generation. While science has found ways to extend life, at the same time we have also jeopardized the environment in which we can survive. Being green, or sustainable, therefore means giving back what is being taken from the earth, replenishing and respecting the planet rather than simply take from it. In a nutshell, that is what it means to be green.