Interested in Ecopreneurship? Here’s How to Launch Your Business
Guest Contributor, Joyce Wilson
Cover Image Source: Pexels
Are you planning to start a green business? You’ve come to the right place. In this article we’ll explore all the important steps regarding starting and managing a business as an ecopreneur.
Establish Your Business
As an ecopreneur here are the three preliminary steps you’ll need to take:
Find a Niche: Based on your skills and expertise, choose a specialized market in which your business will operate. This can include green energy, eco-friendly landscaping, recycling, and more.
Create a Business Plan: This is a comprehensive document that will include insights regarding your product/service, pricing, marketing plan, financial requirements, and short and long-term goals.
Register an LLC: Businesses registered as a Limited Liability Company pay lower taxes compared to corporations and can use business expenses as write-offs. This will free up cash to be invested in key projects.
Explore All Funding Options
As a green business, you’ll have various avenues to acquire funding for operating expenses, product development, expansion, and more.
Utilize Grants: Various federal agencies such as the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Department of Energy, and Natural Science Foundation have dedicated grants for green businesses.
Explore Crowdfunding: As reported by Carbon and More, present-day customers are highly supportive of green businesses. Hence, if you are in urgent need of funding, starting a crowdfunding campaign is a viable option.
Join an Accelerator: According to the Ikea Foundation, being part of a green business accelerator, you’ll receive access to mentorship from industry professionals, funding opportunities for investors, and expert guidance to help make your business self-sufficient.
Demonstrate Credibility
While customers are supportive of green businesses and willing to pay higher prices for their products, they are also wary of false claims made by companies. To avoid your business being labeled as greenwashing, follow these steps:
Earn Certifications: Being certified by reputed third-party organizations is one of the best ways to establish credibility among customers.
Maintain Your Commitment to Being Green: In all areas of the business keep your carbon footprint to the minimum. This can involve partnering with green manufacturers, working remotely, using an online invoice maker to go paperless, and more.
The increase in positive customer sentiment and the plethora of funding options make now the best time for aspiring ecopreneurs to start their business.
About
TriStar Bin Cleaning is a rapidly growing local business that is proud to be the first ecopreneurs to offer professional trash bin cleaning services throughout Middle Tennessee beginning in 2020. TriStar cleans dirty trash bins using only high-pressure hot water–3,000 psi at ~200°F–We steam clean dirty trash cans!
Our eco-friendly process eliminates the harsh chemicals or detergents you need to do it yourself to safely and effectively clean, deodorize and disinfect dirty trash and recycling bins, eliminating the foul smell as well as the harmful germs and bacteria living inside. The average TriStar cleaning uses 10% of the water needed to clean the bins using household supplies and a water house, while cleaning much deeper.
You can get more information about the process on our FAQ page and schedule your bin cleaning here.