Environmental Business

Business Loans, Angel Investors, Venture Capital and Start Up Capital for Environmental Businesses

photo credit: bbjee

Small-business owners often think of ‘going green’ as a double-edged sword. On one hand, many think of going green as the right thing to do to support the environment and the local community. Yet many also see it as an extra expense that cannot be recouped.

As a small-business owner, what should you do? Is the amount of time and money you’ll spend on going green worth the investment?

The answer is: Yes. Go green. More and more companies are going green every day.

Most small-business owners do not know that environmental management can be beneficial to the company in ways that go well beyond helping the environment:

· From an internal operations perspective, going green can actually reduce costs and help avoid liabilities, as well as present unexpected business opportunities if your company can provide an environmental solution to others. You can even go so far as to obtain certification from an independent third party so you can include their logo or “ecolabel” on your product and other green marketing materials. Ecolabeling helps market your product to green-conscious consumers.

· From an external perspective, by going green your company is that much more attractive to investors, lenders, insurers, customers and employees.

photo credit: kevindooley

Calling all green business bods! Want to hear more about how environmentally-friendly technology can benefit your business? Or are you looking to further your environmental career by boffing up on the latest green science?

Green technology certainly is the way forward for smart business owners and job-seekers looking to move into a successful company. Advocates of green technology claim that the green revolution will be just as explosive and all-encompassing as the advent of information technology in the last 20 years. The main goals of green technology advocates are to end the cycle of disposable products, replacing it with one where products that can be reused are created; reducing waste and pollution; finding alternatives to fossil fuels; and creating new, sustainable methods of production that can meet society’s needs.

So where can you find out more?

Next month, ecoConnect, facilitator and promoter of innovative green technology, will host a green business forum with guest speaker Zac Goldsmith. Son of billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, Zac is a renowned environmentalist, anti-globaliser and the director and editor of The Ecologist magazine.

photo credit: Capitan Giona

Environmental & Economic Benefits

A new color class of jobs that could cross all lines, including the unemployment line, is here. It’s called “green-collar jobs,” and could save our environment and economy. This blossoming sector includes technicians in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries, in which there are already 8.75 million U.S. jobs.

The term “Green Collar Jobs” was first coined by Alan Durning in his 1999 book, Green Collar Jobs. His book examines the move from economic dependence on logging timber to “green-collar” jobs such as sustainable forestry, ecosystem restoration and tourism in the post logging rural towns of the Pacific Northwest.

photo credit: tanakawho

If you want to start your own company it will take a little money to get started and on your feet. Banks put many things into consideration when you ask them for money for startup business loans. Here are five of the most important considerations when you want money from a bank for a loan for your new company.

1. When you want to get money from a bank the first thing they will consider with startup business loans is your credit. You should have a healthy credit score that looks great. If your credit is bad it tells a lender that you do not repay your debts and this may stop you from getting a line of credit.

photo credit: dokusentia

If you have ever thought about opening your own business but never found the needed funding for doing so, you may have put your hopes on the back burner. Owning a business can be a very powerful step in life – becoming your own boss can literally change your life. Even though some lenders are very hesitant to loan money for new ventures, there are many lending institutions that do business online that are willing to loan you the money to start your new business.

Online Competition Yields Big Savings

Because of the competitive online world of finance, you stand a better chance of getting approved for your new business loan by utilizing the services of an online lender.

photo credit: euzesio

It may be time to start loading up on some of those “green” companies, the environmental friendly corporations whose products we will be legislated and socially driven into using whether we want to save the planet or not.

There’s that annoying little voice again telling you that even though your investment portfolio seems to be slipping deeper into despair, the bargains are out there and a little bit of research is sure to uncover your next home run. It may even be time to start loading up on some of those “green” companies, the environmental friendly corporations whose products we will be legislated and socially driven into using whether we want to save the planet or not.

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

It’s a good thing that “going green” is finally a trend. Big businesses are going green with environmentally safe products, environmentally safe fabrics and environmentally safe packaging. But, the trash isn’t entirely off the streets yet.

There are still companies cutting corners and not only that, but we our starting to feel the crunch from the lack of valuable resources. Worrying about the environment is not just worrying about maintaining safe guidelines on resources we use. But, it also includes making sure we have resources to use in the future.

photo credit: Torley

There are various business finance plans open to a new start-up, but they all fall into 2 major categories, namely, owner financing and borrowed business finance. Each of these 2 major categories has an upside and a downside that every entrepreneur seeking business finance should be aware of. The key to success in business finance would then be finding ways to exploit the advantages of one’s chosen financing option, while also mitigating against its downside.

The first major business finance category is owner financing. Owner financing refers to money that the entrepreneur and other promoters of the business contribute to start it. In most cases, owner financing comes from the entrepreneur’s savings.

photo credit: Ack Ook

In today’s depressive stock market it is hard to find a silver lining. Green investing is a way to feel good about your stocks and mutual funds while having the potential to make a healthy return on investment. Socially responsible investing makes sense during the corruption on Wall Street and the search for alternative energy sources. Green investing is finally coming into the mainstream. People can do what’s right for the environment and build wealth too! Socially responsible investing has been around for decades and is now becoming popular. SRI already has $2.3 trillion in investments. SRI started by appealing to investors who wanted to avoid sin stocks, the stocks of companies that are involved in alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.

photo credit: Joel Bedford

When a small local entrepreneur decided to sell environment-friendly washable bags to substitute plastic grocery and shopping bags, she had difficulty making them.

One, she does not know how to make bags or even sew clothes. Two, she has no Fine Arts education or even artistic skills to design bags or even draw bag prints. Third, she did not have the time to learn them all. She only has the money and marketing skills for her choice of business.

The local entrepreneur knew however that her place and adjacent communities manufacture bags and she has a circle of visual artist-friends. So, she pushed her plans.