The Grass is Greener for Eco-Friendly Business Ventures In The Next Decade

Green is more than just a fad--it's a paradigm shift that's changing how we live today, and how we will live tomorrow. A "green" business plan draws on natural resources sustainably, developing products and services in harmony with the environment. Here are five business ventures that would leave a small carbon footprint--but make a big impact on the market.

Bamboo Fashion Boutique
The market for green fashion is growing faster than...well, bamboo. Bamboo is revolutionizing fashion as a sturdy and sustainable fiber for clothing. The plant can grow several feet a day, and is ready to harvest within three to five years. Customers like bamboo because it is soft, inexpensive, and socially responsible. Mother Nature likes it because the robust, hypoallergenic weed can be produced without chemical fertilizers or antimicrobial treatments. Tap into the bamboo boom by opening a green fashion boutique. Capture window shoppers with a Main Street shop, or tap into the worldwide market with a Web storefront. Web Designers can help you build a Web site armed with online credit card processing capabilities.

Green Housecleaning
Cleanliness is next to godliness--assuming you trade the caustic chemicals for eco-friendly cleaning products. Homeowners are willing to pay a premium for housecleaners who leave the environment unharmed and the toxins out of their home. Your green housecleaning service can offer total tender loving care (TLC) to your client's home and the environment. To go the extra mile, offer houseplant maintenance services--plants clean the air of carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Logistics are the number one challenge in running a housecleaning business. Keep your cleaning staff coordinated and your customers happy by investing in a call center to answer calls and schedule weekly appointments.

Eco-Marketing Consulting
As green fever sweeps the market, businesses are scrambling to publicize their commitment to sustainable business practices. Entire brands are built on green values--Whole Foods, Patagonia, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, to name a few. Today's businesses need a capable marketing specialist to manage their eco-friendly image. Internet advertising offers a zero-impact means of getting the word out without killing trees. Internet Marketing companies can help you with search engine optimization and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. For a full eco-marketing service, offer environmental certification management consulting. Certified Organic, Energy Star, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) are some of the high-profile certifications that can make or break a green brand.


Paperless Office Consultant
From medical clinics to law firms, businesses are afloat in paperwork. Efficiency and, in the case of health care, government regulation, demands a transition to digital records. Apply your project management and IT skills to help businesses go paperless. Depending on your experience profile, your consulting business may specialize in IT consulting, data processing, medical billing, creating electronic health records, or another field of expertise.To get your start, establish a credible Web site by hiring a web design firm that will help you with building an online presence and advertising your services and if necessary, take on a pro bono project to build your reputation.

Green Bike Shop
Highway gridlock and air quality concerns are driving more and more motorists off the road and onto alternative vehicles such as bicycles. Yet most bicycle stores cater to Spandex-clad athletes with racing and mountain biking frames unsuited to the urban commute.Your urban commute shop meets the need for business-suit-friendly transportation options. A selection of European bicycles with chain guards and Vespa scooters will help commuters get to their destination in style. For riders who put utility first, custom-build sturdy bikes with cargo baskets, coolers, and trailers. With bikes and scooters like these, customers will never miss their gas-guzzling SUV. Online Marketing is a great way to get the word out about your services. A locally-focused PPC campaign can also help establish you as your town's cycling guru.

By building an eco-friendly business, you're helping build a better future--and tapping into a vast emerging market. You can use online business networking sites to network with Green Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists and Industry Experts to build your green business venture for the next decade.

How Obama's Plans Can Benefit Your Small Business

Can your small business beat the recession? Yes you can! Powerful words, coming from Barack Obama. And with his Plan, Barack Obama puts his administration's money where his mouth is such as new incentives for small businesses, which account for two-thirds of the nation's work force. He proposed a new tax cut for small businesses that hire in 2010 and an elimination for one year of the capital gains tax on profits from small-business investments.


Obama also proposed an elimination of fees on loans to small businesses, coupled with federal guarantees of those loans through the end of next year. His proposal for new tax breaks for energy-efficient retrofits in homes is modeled on the now-expired Cash for Clunkers rebates for trading in used vehicles for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Some administration officials have dubbed the proposed new program "Cash for Caulkers."

Here's how these initiatives will affect your business in the coming years.
1. Tax Cuts will come as music to the ears of small business owners looking to squeeze as much as they can from every dollar. Barack Obama intends to cut taxes for small businesses earning less than $250,000 after expenses. Self-employed filers such as freelance consultants can also count on a break from Uncle Sam. And to reward innovative companies, the Obama administration plans to exempt startups from paying the capital gains tax.
These tax incentives are designed to encourage entrepreneurship, which will be the key to this nation's economic recovery. Reinvest your tax savings in your business, and you might find new sources of revenue. E-commerce is one angle to consider. If you're not offering your products and services online, you're missing out on a world of market opportunities. Setting up your storefront is easier than you think—compare service providers that offer solutions such as e-commerce and credit card processing functions.
2. Elimination of Small Business Loan Fees could make the credit crunch a distant memory for small businesses. Obama intends to put five billion dollars toward a Disaster Loan Program administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA.) These loans offer a deal that can't be beat on the open market: interest rates capped at four percent and thirty-year repayment terms.
The SBA's loan program targets main street instead of wall street. The small business loan program makes more funds available to support everything from daily operations to capital improvements. Use the money to stock your inventory, revamp your web site design, or buy a new pos system.
3. Fair Trade policies will help to level the playing field for U.S. small businesses struggling to compete with companies sourcing from abroad. Obama plans to increase environmental and labor protections, raising the standards by which goods are produced internationally. Once everyone has to pay a fair wage and uphold environmental safety standards, U.S. small businesses may see the gap between their production costs and offshore companies' costs begin to narrow.
Global business is a fact of economic life, even for local small businesses. Establishing an internet presence can help your business compete abroad too. New startup businesses such as tradeseam offer business services such as sales lead generation, business networking and advertising to help you get noticed on the world wide web.
4. Health Care Expenses may lose their standing as the #1 burden for small businesses. The president-elect promises to implement measures such as a fifty percent tax credit to offset rising health care premium costs. Adding this carrot allows Obama to remove the stick: small businesses will no longer be required to provide health care benefits.
Saving on health care can help your small business invest in essential overhead costs such as call center, phone systems, and more.
Barack Obama's policies could give your small business a new lease on life, freeing up much-needed capital for overhead costs, product development, R&D, and marketing.

Five Startup Ideas to Help Others Beat a Tough Job Market

The job market hasn't been this crowded for over 26 years. An estimated 10.2 percent of the U.S. population is unemployed. The U.S. workforce has seen 15.7 million jobs vanish since the start of the recession in November 2008. In this environment, many job seekers are looking to support services to give them a competitive edge. Answer their call by parlaying your skills into a business helping others get hired.
The following small businesses draw strength from a competitive job market, providing a lifeline of professional support services to job seekers.

1. Career Coach
Help people discover the color of their parachute by setting up a private practice as a career coach. Unlike personal counselors, career advisors are not licensed by an outside body. The only credentials you need to hang your shingle as a career coach are a positive attitude and access to an arsenal of career assessment tools. If you have a background in human resources or professional counseling, so much the better. Some career coaches possess intimate knowledge of a particular industry such as law, and specialize in helping clients find their place in this universe.

Professional and Business Networking is critical to a thriving career coach practice. Team up with corporate recruiters, institutions such as universities, business networking sites such as LinkedIn, Tradeseam, and counselors as a valuable source of client referrals. To create a buzz for your services online, construct a well-designed Web site with the help of a website design and SEO specialist. A career advice blog can also help draw attention to your coaching service.

2. Temporary Staffing
Recession is boom time for the staffing industry, as businesses rely on temp agencies for greater flexibility. According to the National Association of Personnel Services, temporary staffing agencies have emerged as a "full-fledged human resources business partner to corporate America." The industry has averaged a steady ten percent annual growth for the past seven years.

As the administrator of a temporary staffing agency, you handle recruiting, placement, and benefits. In exchange, you charge a premium over the hired employee's base wage. Temporary staffing agencies require little overhead and due to their regional focus, can compete effectively with the industry's titans. It's possible to fund an agency startup on a shoestring budget of several thousand dollars. You'll need a small office, a computer system with accounting and database capabilities, and a Web presence. Credit Card Processing and E-commerce services can help you get the ball rolling at minimal cost.

3. Graphic Design
Job seekers depend on a couple of self-marketing tools to land a job: an effective resume, a cover letter, a portfolio, and increasingly, a personal Web site. Your freelance graphic design business can help go-getters develop visuals that get noticed in today's competitive marketplace.

Graphic designers need little overhead funding to set up shop. Word of mouth and an Internet presence are the keys to building a client base. To make the most of your online storefront, consult a search engine optimization expert for specific keyword and web design strategy advice.

4. Career Skills Training
Employers with their pick of qualified candidates can demand on advanced, up-to-date technical skill set. Help prospective employees get up to speed and back in the race by setting up a specialized training institute. You may draw on your own technical skills to develop a niche curriculum. Or hire experts to pass on their trade to a new generation.

Startup requirements will depend on how you decide to deliver career training to students. For a traditional classroom approach, look for real estate and equipment leasing. Or opt for an online approach, investing in an e-learning module to deliver lectures and host class discussions.

5. E-commerce Support Services
Help out-of-work professionals help themselves. This business-to-business e-commerce support venture allows you to partner with an entrepreneur who has a great business idea or product, but lacks the skills to bring it to market.

To launch a business in e-commerce support solutions, draw on your experience and outsource other functions to external experts. For example, you might want to focus on the business side, developing strategies and proposals to attract investor interest. Contract the technical logistics to an independent expert, and you have a full-service e-commerce support solution. Medical Billing, Telemarketing, Call Center, Web design, SEO, and/or pay per click management are good candidates for outsourcing.

The rising unemployment rate indicates the need for a new type of business--support services for job seekers. Your skills and experience could offer the unemployed the resources they need to get back on their feet. Business ventures specializing in career counseling, training, placement, and self-presentation extend a crucial lifeline to displaced workers, helping them evolve with the changing times.