Sustainability is no longer just
a trend, or being socially & environmentally responsible, but a
business necessity in growing your bottom-line, your business. According to a national survey titled, “The
Big Green Opportunity”, made the comparison between non-green businesses versus
green businesses, mainly in food & agriculture, lodging and accommodation,
manufacturing, and construction, however, green practices can be applied to all
businesses. The findings showed a
significant difference in revenue and customer support.
The Big Green Opportunity research found that the greener the business,
the more revenue generated. A 10-year
study of 1,300 or more of small businesses, revealed those businesses that
offer green products or services, 58%, 6 out of 10 of small businesses reported
an increase in revenue and managed quite well during the recession. It appears that going green is the way to grow
your business. One of the concerns is that
the cost of going green for a small business can be costly. The answer is, the
costs will be offset by the profitability of the businesses. Many major corporations have the resources to
hire sustainable experts and teams to implement green practices, whereas, small businesses struggle with the cost of implementation. The government supports green practices and
will give incentives to business owners and individuals headed in this
direction.
10-key operational investments
provide the fastest return on investment, according to small business owners
who completed at least 40 of 58 possible actions (www.biggreenopportunity.org).
- Purchase energy efficient equipment*
- Train staff to conserve energy*
- Install more efficient lighting*
- Recycle and/or reuse in-house
plastics, paper, metals, glass, and/or organics*
- Redesign product to require less
energy in production
- Create employee incentives for
reducing energy use
- Enable energy-saving settings on
computers
- Increase purchasing of products in
local vicinity
- Install energy efficient windows
- Install solar photovoltaic panels
Grants/Credits,
Tax credits and utility programs were the top sources of financing for the four
operational investments with the highest ROI.
Going
green for small business owners gives the competitive advantage. It looks
attractive to stakeholders when applying for loans from banks or
investors. To find out more on how to
turn your business green, please visit the following sites:
Other alternative ways to get
funding for your microbusinesses (less than 5 employees) or small businesses,
consider entities that loan to the small businesses willing to serve underserves
areas of business communities.
"Focused on creating opportunity for all by
providing opportunity finance"
The advantages of using
alternative financing are, the application process is not so stringent of requirements
as of banks and investors, where you may fail to meet the banks requirements;
you may succeed with the alternative financing.
Interest rates are less with alternative financing, than with banks and
the application process is not as laborious as with banks and investors. The return of borrowed money is more laxed, than with banks and investors. Lastly, to serve where there is a need makes
one feel good about helping.
Some of the
disadvantages are, not everyone is willing to go where help is needed, hiring
employees may be difficult and where the businesses are needed in the underserved communities may not line up with the goals of the business owners. Overall, alternative financing
has a lot to offer small business owners.
