Going Green is Not Just For Big Business - You Can Grow Eco-Profits, Too!

The world of big business is making daily headlines by "going green" after discovering that what's good for the planet is also proving good for business.

IBM recently announced "Project Big Green," a $1 billion initiative to reduce energy consumption by offering new lines of energy-efficient IT products.

Wal-Mart is adding solar power to more than 20 stores.

PepsiCo is buying renewable energy certificates to offset its carbon footprint. Even major banks and energy firms are being asked by shareholders to prove that they, too, are going green.

It's not just the biggest businesses that are attracting new customers and shareholders and reaping huge profits by "going green." Small businesses also are growing eco-profits by embracing surprisingly inexpensive strategies to add value to their products, services and brand.

Consider these innovative examples:

- Bob Smith of Mad River Brewing Company in Blue Lake, California, has attracted positive publicity (and new customers) by promoting his efforts to reduce his small firm's waste output and take other environmentally conscious steps. In turn, he has received welcome positive publicity from the press. "What PR budget? That is our PR budget," he told the Albuquerque Tribune about "going green" to market his business.

- In Florida, Natalie Kelly formed Home Therapy Cleaning Services, which uses only nontoxic, all-natural cleaning products for her home cleaning business. She used to sell aromatherapy candles from her home, she told the St. Petersburg Times, but today uses an aromatherapy baking soda blend to freshen carpets.

Here's what you can do:

- Two inexpensive ways any small business or solo entrepreneur can go green are to change light bulbs to energy-efficient bulbs and use biodegradable cleaning products.

- With that done, tell your customers and the media about these simple ways to go green. You will have just earned instant credibility as a green business, and also as a media resource for simple, effective ways to "go green."

- Many communities online and offline are forming networks to exchange energy-saving ideas for home and business. Form your own energy network, enlisting neighborhood businesses that will welcome another opportunity to show they're going green, too. The plus for you is that you will have just positioned yourself and your business as a community environmental leader.

- Copy what the New York Times called "Phase 2" of the corporate response to global warming. Partner with an environmental group. Travelocity invites customers to donate an extra $10 to $40, which goes to the Conservation Fund to plant trees to offset the carbon used by a client to take a trip. Whole Foods invites customers to buy a $5 "wind power card" that goes to Renewable Choice Energy to build wind farms. What local environmental group can you partner with to promote on your Web site (and vice versa), to set aside a day that a percentage of profits will go to that organization or to make their fliers available at your business?

- Make use of readily available, free information to hand out with your business literature or to make available in your office. For example, create a one-page flier on your letterhead inviting clients to calculate their own carbon footprint by visiting http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/ or http://www.myfootprint.org/

- Go deeper green! Attend a "green" conference in your community or region, and promote your attendance. (Go to Google.com and type in "green" and "conference" and your area to find out when and where they are scheduled.) Write a "green" article on simple ways you are going green and submit it to one of the dozens of "green" Web sites and blogs that invite reader contributions. It's a great way to market your smart ideas and your business!

Ruth Klein, the De-Stress Diva (tm) and Branding Guru, is the proverbial Woman About Town. Holding a Master's in Clinical Psychology, consulting with renowned businesses - small and large. Ruth is a consultant, author, speaker, radio show host, branding strategist and productivity coach. http://www.ruthklein.com.

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Going Green With Your Work From Home Business Franchise

Whether you're worried about global warming, leaving a greener earth for the next generation or simply saving a lot of money each month, going green has benefits for you, your business and everyone else you share the planet with. While many larger corporations have to focus on their carbon footprints, even to the extent of buying carbon credits to offset their own pollution, many small businesses may not see the immediate appeal to going green, especially if it means decreasing your profit margins.

This, however, is simply not the case. When you go green with your small business, you reduce consumption of everything from utilities to paper products, support other green businesses and often times you will increase the amount of business your company does. This is because these days, when given the choice between the two, most consumers will choose the greener alternative, even if it means paying a premium for it. If you're ready to go green with your home business, or are just curious what the process involves, take a look at some of the easiest and most effective ways to go green and some fast-growing business opportunities that have already implemented many of these green habits.

Probably the biggest money saver and environmentally friendly move you business can make is to reduce consumption. It may seem like something you've heard over and over again, but take a look at some easy ways to save energy, and how quickly the costs add up.

1. Turn lights off when you leave a room (or better yet, install an inexpensive motion detector that will automatically turn lights on when you enter the room, and turn them off when you leave).

2. Set your power options on your work computers to save as much energy as possible; nearly every modern computer will have sleep or hibernation modes that can automatically engage when the computer is idle for a set amount of time.

3. Try to line up all of your trips outside of the home office so that you can accomplish all of your errands in one trip. Switch from paper receipts and invoices to digital whenever possible.

Of course, your mileage will vary when it comes to how much you can save by reducing your consumption, but speaking as a work from home entrepreneur, these were just the quick numbers based on my averages for a month, by just doing those three simple things, I would save between $25 and $50, depending on the time of year. This may not seem like an overwhelming amount of money, but consider that you're helping the environment, you're potentially attracting clients that will be impressed by your "green" status, and think about taking these principles and applying them to 20 or 30 other areas of your business, and the numbers start to add up pretty quickly.

Turning off lights and using less energy is great, but another great way to go green, attract more customers and become more cemented in your community is to support other green businesses. If you startup a teriyaki restaurant, buy your to-go boxes from a supplier that offers recycled cardboard instead of Styrofoam. If your business ships a lot of packages, buy your packing supplies from a supplier that will use recycled newspaper or biodegradable packing peanuts. Buying products that are recycled or products that can be recycled will attract green-thinking customers to your business as well as foster cross-promotion between your business, your green suppliers and a network of other green businesses in town. The list really goes on and on, and once you begin to think about how some of these principles can apply specifically to your business, you will begin to say plenty of new ways to save money, save the planet and even boost your own sales. If, however, you don't currently own a small business or are looking to start a new one, here's a couple work from home franchises that are currently available, and are going everything they can to make their franchises as green as possible.

DVDNow is a franchise that you may have seen popping up in the local grocery store in your neighborhood. This franchise takes a traditional video store and crams it into a vending machine sized kiosk full of the most popular rentals and new releases. How is this green? Consider that the overwhelming majority of DVD rentals are new releases, so having a machine that can rent out the most popular titles does the work of an entire video store, but only consumes a small fraction of the electricity, and none of the heating or other necessities of a retail store.

Vehicle Tracking Solutions provides GPS tracking systems for company cars and fleet vehicles for small, medium and even large corporations. Consider how much fuel could be saved each year if every car in a company's fleet knew how to get to their destination, taking the route with the least amount of mileage. Another way to save is for companies to get creative with their route planning; consider that several major delivery companies have saved millions of dollars each year in fuel and productivity by choosing routes with only right turns instead of sitting and waiting for left turn lights to change.

Going green is a great idea for any business owner (or potential business owner). Saving money on your overhead, increasing your potential client base, even special tax breaks in certain states makes going green a no-brainer for any fiscally responsible business owner. Tack on the fact that you'll actually be contributing to cleaner air and a healthier environment and its easy to see why green is the new black.

Find more home based businesses including vending machine distributorships and computer and internet home businesses at Home Based Business Opportunities.

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