Looking to start a green business? Great idea! The planet needs more eco champions, and many green businesses offer tremendous opportunity for growth and income. These 7 green business ideas, gleaned with collaboration from several sources, should spark your imagination and encourage you to explore your options.
7 GREEN BUSINESS IDEAS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
1. Green Business Consulting.
Companies need help figuring out how to meet their customers’ demands that they operate in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way. They’re looking for opportunities to save energy, reduce their use of paper and plastic, minimize commuting and transportation costs, and even educate their employees about greener living.
What’s the Job? Set up a consulting practice working with start-ups, small businesses, or larger corporations. Identify a specific niche where you can make inroads and show measurable results with your clients help you. Work with businesses in your community or region, or go national. Offer specific products, like an energy or material audit, plus implementation of your recommendations and follow-up monitoring.
What Credentials Do You Need? You probably need some combination of educational credentials and real-world experience to get clients. A B.S. or M.S. degree in sustainability, sustainable business practices, or engineering would be a good place to start. Or, get certified as a “LEED” expert by the U.S. Green Building Council, a widely recognized and respected program. Also tap into any experience you’ve already gained as a sustainability manager.
2. Native Plants Landscaping
More and more homeowners and businesses with grounds to maintain would prefer native plantings that minimize fertilizer and pesticide use while attracting birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
What’s the Job? Develop a design, installation, and maintenance landscape business that creates beauty, restores the natural environment, is relatively low maintenance, and makes landowners proud of the world they’ve created.
What Credentials Do You Need? While you don’t necessarily need a degree in landscape architecture, you could become a certified master gardener for your state or region. Contact your county extension service to enroll. Most programs are less than a year and very affordable, and once you complete the program, you’ll have at least the basic knowledge you need to get your business off the ground. Make sure your marketing website include plenty of gorgeous pictures showing the results of your work.
3. Energy-Efficient Ride Share Business
Uber and Lyft have shown the world how profitable a ride share program can be. But why not improve on that idea and set up a ride sharing operation that only uses energy efficient vehicles?
What’s the Job? Set up a ride sharing business whose clientele not only wants someone else to do the driving, but they want the drive to be in an electric, plug-in, hybrid or high mileage vehicle.
What Credentials Do You Need? Mostly, what you need is an excellent tech capability to manage rides and drivers to create a great experience, and a good marketing campaign that makes the benefits of a “green” ride share apparent. You’ll also have to make sure that your drivers pass a quick background check. Drivers need to have excellent driving records and no history of criminal activity.
4. Organic Soup Take-Out and Delivery
This sounds ambitious, but it’s based on a real-life example in my own neighborhood. A few years ago, a mother-daughter team launched “Souper Girl,” a small business dedicated to making soup for local delivery and take-out. They’ve now expanded their customer base significantly.
What’s the Job? Make soup (and maybe salads and croutons) for take-out and delivery from organic ingredients that are mostly grown by local farmers.
What Credentials Do You Need? An ability to cook, and a good understanding of how to budget for and manage a food business.
5. DeCluttering and Junk Recycling and Removal
One thing working at home for the last years has taught many of us is that We. Have. Too. Much. Stuff. But getting rid of it can be daunting and time consuming.
What’s the Job? Become a professional declutterer. Not only can you help someone empty out and re-organize their home, attic, basement, garage or office, but you can find good places to donate, upcycle, or recycle the stuff no longer needed or wanted.
What Credentials Do You Need? The ability to work personably with others to make them comfortable getting rid of their stuff, and an efficient system for decluttering and removing items.
6. Solar Panels Installer
Demand for solar panel installation is growing by leaps and bounds. So is the need for companies to install the equipment.
What’s the Job? One option is to become an installer of the actual solar equipment. But another option is to become a consultant who helps your clients figure out how much solar energy they need, and then to help them secure competitive bids for the solar panels and other equipment and installation.
What Credentials Do You Need? You may need to et certified in solar panel installation; check regulations with your county or state. You might also explore franchising operations: align yourself with an existing solar provider who can help you get equipment, set up accounting and marketing practices, and find and train other installers.
7. Vegan Catering
The boom in the number of people who are becoming ethical vegans has opened up an opportunity for a vegan catering business.
What’s the Job? Provide vegan food to weddings, funerals, graduations, birthday parties, retirement parties, religious celebrations and more. Serve healthy, locally sourced vegan food using reusable cutlery, dishes and serving ware.
What Credentials Do You Need? A knack for cooking and an ability to manage myriad logistics, including menu planning, marketing, meeting with clients, delivery and cleanup, plus marketing and budgeting.
