1. Healthier/Safer/Less toxic to live in for you, your family, your kids and your pets.
2. Less expensive to run, costs less in utility bills every month.

There are some added things in here for people who live in California (where I do) but the info can be used by anyone.

1. Painting: Always use zero-VOC paint. Almost all brands pitch their paint as low or no-VOC paint however that’s usually before you add the color tint to it. The tint is where most VOC’s are located. I always recommend Olympic Zero-Voc paint because it’s zero-VOC even after the color tint has been added. It’s what I used in our house, they have it at Lowes and it’s inexpensive. Here’s a link:http://www.olympic.com/products/paints/23/olympic-premium-interior-paint

2. If you live in California: To get a majority of basic energy efficiency work done, check out the Energy Upgrade California program. You can get up to $4000 back from SDGE and $500 from the county. Here’s the link:https://energyupgradeca.org/overview

3. If you DON’T live in California: Check out DSIREUSA.ORG for a list of rebates and incentives to make your home more energy efficient.

4. HVAC: If possible get your HVAC duct work checked out and cleaned. In California Energy Upgrade California covers this I believe. If you’re in San Diego,  call Guthrie and Sons (they are a local green HVAC company-speak to Matt-619-571-3563 and tell him I referred you). I’ve used them before and they are cool, affordable and very good at what they do. Their link:http://guthrieandsons.com/

5. Carpet: If you are replacing any carpet, consider using Mohawk Smart Strand. It’s looks/feels like regular carpet but is made from corn sugar and off-gasses less. You can get it at Lowes/Home Depot and it’s priced the same as regular carpet. Link: http://www.mohawkflooring.com/flooring-products/carpet/smartstrand.aspx

6. Kids health: Make sure their rooms are Zero-VOC painted if possible, keep all electronics 6 ft away from their heads/heart when they are sleeping (to reduce impact from electromagnetic rays), try not to position their beds directly under a vent (HVAC register) and add a plant or two to their rooms to filter the air.   Here’s a list of best plants to filter air, compiled by NASA.

7. Install a water heater blanket:  Available at Lowes or Home Depot, inexpensive and can cut down water heating bills.  Here’s a link.

8. Add foam outlet gaskets to all exterior wall outlets.  Reduces air infiltration, lost heating and AC costs.

9. Add foam pipe insulation to your hot water pipes. This will reduce heat loss and conserve water.

10. Add faucet aerators to conserve water.  Simple to do, inexpensive and can save up to 50% of water use.  Check out this video- the guy’s accent is awesome.

That’s it, hope this is helpful.

If you run or are about to run a green business, check out the Green Business Launch Manifesto.  This guide will help you launch your business effectively, avoid some major mistakes and set you up for long term success.  This is a free report and my way of giving back for the successes our company has enjoyed over the past 6 years.

Appliances

The conditions and types of the appliances varied from unit to unit, with dishwasher and refrigerators present in some units, but not others.

Recommendations:

1. Install Energy Star rated appliances when replacing current models.

A Hotpoint 16.6 cu. ft. Energy Star rated refrigerator that uses 300 kWh per year was  specified to replace the current models in the units.

Water/Plumbing

The current gallons per flush vary; the older toilets use 2.0+ gallons and the ones that have been replaced use mostly 1.6 gallons. The bathroom sink faucets and shower heads are not low-flow devices. Some sinks have aerators on them, but not all.

Recommendations:

1. Install 1.28 gal Water Sense toilets when replacing.

2. When replacing fixtures, use Water Sense labeled fixtures.

3. Install 0.5-1.5 gallon per minute aerators on all faucets in all units that fixtures are not being changed.

4. Install Low-flow shower heads (1.5-2.5 GPM) in all units’ showers.

5. For existing toilets that are staying, possibly install a Toilet Tummy or The Fill

Master– each could save 0.5 gal to 1.5 gal per flush.

6. Have a specialist come out and check for Leaks in the complex main lines

7. Check for toilet leaks with Dye tablets for the flapper and tank unit.

Install 1.0 GPM Aerators on every faucet that is not being replaced in the bathroom sinks even if they still have one there because we do not know the GPM.

The current aerators GPM is not known for each unit but probably varies from 1.5 to 2.5. This is a simple cheap fix with great savings. If all the faucets in the complex were reduced by 0.5 GPM it would save $1,701 per year. For instance if you saved 1.0 GPM on the bathroom sinks, 1.0 GPM on the shower heads and 0.5 GPM on the kitchen Sinks that is a total saving of 2.5 GPM or $8,503 a year on water.

Lighting

The majority of lighting in and around the complex was incandescent or fluorescent. The current fixtures are old and in efficient and should be replaced.

1. Replace all Incandescent lighting with CFL GU 24 fixtures. SRP requires that you use the CFL GU24 locking base for their rebate program. Use Marty Silverman to change all the CFLs and apply for the associated rebates. If you have the new fixtures that will be used then he will install the fixtures as well.

2. At a minimum replace all the T-12 lamp with a T-8, replace the old ballasts with electric ballast or retrofit option.

3. Install occupancy sensor controls in all common areas.

4. Replace all carport and exterior lighting with energy efficient lighting and fixtures.

5. If there is any exit lighting on-site we recommend upgrading to LED exit lighting.

http://newspaper.li/cfl/

Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans are old and in need of replacing. Ceiling fans cool a room by creating a wind chill effect and red

uce the heat your body feels. This often lets you reduce your use of air conditioning for cooling during summer, and lets you reduce the temperature setting on your furnace during winter. The result is less energy use, which saves you money.

Recommendations:

1. Replace all ceiling fans with Energy Star rated fans if they are similar in costs.

ENERGY STAR qualified ceiling fans with lights are over 50% more efficient than conventional fan/light units, which can save you more than $15 per year on utility bills.

Unit HVAC Systems

The AC in the units are controlled by individual air handlers in each unit. The age, make and model were unable to be determined. There was no programmable thermostat present.

Recommendations:

1. A 7-day programmable thermostat with at least 2 setback periods should be installed to replace the current configuration of fan dial switch and temperature gauge.

2. All units should be inspected for insulation around the pipes and installed if not present. All units should be inspected for airtight seals around the units so air leakage is not happening,

There are a variety of Programmable Thermostats out at Lowe’s ranging from $50-$98. Using Programmable thermostats with at least 2 setback periods of 5-15 degrees, we can expect a savings of 5% to 20%.

Casa Bonita Apartments are located at 6615 & 6625 N. 17th Ave in Phoenix, Arizona and consists of 64 units comprised of nine two-story, garden style buildings situated on a 1.74 acre site. Constructed in 1969, Casa Bonita contains approximately

47,422 SF of rentable apartment space in a unit mix of 27 – 1bedroom/1bath and 37- 2bedroom/2 bath floor plans. The complex offers two swimming pools, on site laundry facilities, BBQ areas, and full covered parking.

All aspects of the complex were assessed to determine the strategy for an energy efficient rehab and plan for the future.

Rebates and Incentives:

We were able to find prescriptive rebates for the following items:

1. Recycling Old-Refrigerators

2. Lighting Upgrades on all types

3. Occupancy Sensors

4. LED Exit Lighting

5. Water Heaters

6. New Chiller and HVAC Condenser Units.

7. Thermostats

8. Variable Speed Pool Pumps

9. Exterior Paint/Coating

10. Cool Roof Application

11. Shade Screens

12. Insulation

13. Windows

14. Replacing Chiller motors

15. Energy Management System

Highlights of Recommendations:

1. Energy Star refrigerator alternative which led to a 35% reduction of energy usage and lower purchase price.

2. Set-up the recycling of the old refrigerator as part of the EPA’s Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program.

3. Found alternative eco-friendly carpet to replace typical carpet for the same costs.

4. Recommended installing shade screen on the windows. We were able to get

a rebate from the utility company for $840.62 representing a 31% saving on installation costs.

5. Leveraged a utility company rebate that replaced 100% of property’s lights to new CFL lights for zero cost. Utility company program paid for the removal of old lights and the install of new lights. The estimated savings replacing these lights is $11,866 annually.

6. Received a $576 rebate reservation for a variable speed pool pump that equates to a 36% savings on the cost to purchase and install.

7. We recommended a full inspection of current HVAC systems to test efficiency.

This led to the discovery of dirt caked onto the condensing coils of the chiller which reducing efficiency, performance and longevity.

8. We recommended installing all water-sense, low-flow and high performance fixtures throughout the complex to reduce water consumption and lower bills.

Utility Analysis

The property is master metered for utilities and it is on SRP’s Commercial E36 plan.

Each address has a separate utility account and independently operating utility systems. A profile of the buildings energy use was created based on the data collected from a continuous years worth of costs to assess areas of consumption and areas of opportunity for reduction and savings.

Based on the period that was analyzed the utility bills for 6615 N. 17^th Ave (18 units) was $68,878 and more expensive than 6625 N. 17th Ave (46 units) which was $66,845. The cost per unit at 6615 was $3,826 compared to $1,453 at 6625.

The water bills for 6615 N. 17th Ave (18 units) were $39,506 and were more expensive than 6625 N. 17th Ave (46 units), which were $28,982. The cost per unit at 6615 was $2,194 compared to $630 at 6625. 6615 should be checked for leaks.

According to recent bills, the sewer rates have been reduced from $1,623 to $204 at 6615 N. 17thand from $1,074 to $401 at 6625 N. 17th, thus reduce the water bills significantly.

After reviewing the gas usage for April 2010 to March 2011, it became apparent there was a major leak, probably around the water heater due to high summer month’s usage. It appears that the fix was made in October 2010.

Gas usage is typically higher November to March so if any bills are seen with excessive usage in the summer month it should be a red flag and an inspection of the systems is needed immediately to rectify the situation.

Launching a green business venture is incredibly daunting. If you’re a new green start-up you’re probably facing the following challenges:

1. Finding your niche in the world of green business.
2. Getting funded and/or finding investors.
3. Competing with the information overload your prospects experience every day.

I have coached green start-up entrepreneurs all over North America over the past several years.  My clients have launched green businesses in green real estate investing, eco-consulting, green retail stores, online eco-products, sustainable non-profit pre-schools, etc. They come from all walks of life, from the northern parts of Canada to south Florida.

Many have experienced incredible successes through hard work, perseverance and a keen business mind.  Although they are all very different people they do share some common traits.
These traits are the traits I believe you MUST have/show/exhibit if you want to launch a successful green start-up.  They are:

1. Self-awareness
2. Forward thinking
3. Focus
4. Passion

Self-awareness
The best clients are brutally self-aware.  They know exactly what they are good at and where they are weakest.  They spend their time working in areas that they are the strongest and delegate everything else.

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses intimately will go a long way to ensuring your success.

Forward Thinking
Lead, don’t follow.  Don’t seek focus groups or follow common thought.  Go where your passion intersects with the greatest need in your world.  Whenever possible be ahead of the pack. This may be the biggest key to running a successful sustainability business.

I’ve been lucky to be in this position throughout my ‘green’ career.  I was doing home energy energy audits 5 years ago before anyone knew what they were.  I assumed that whether people wanted to save the planet or not, they definitely would want to save money on utility bills and live in a healthier environment.  That’s considered the norm now.

Focus
What are the top 3-5 things you need to do today to move your business forward?  If you don’t know the answer to that question, you’d better figure it out.  My best clients are great at knowing the things they must absolutely do each day to make sure their green start-up is successful.

Personally, I call these ‘Top Rocks’ (a la Stephen Covey).  I know if I get these done then no matter what else happens I can count the day as a success.  The beauty of this is that it forces you to think strategically every day.  Too often we get caught up in the slog of daily emails, personal errands, family responsibilities, etc.  I have a wife, 2 daughters, 2 dogs, 2 cats and 1 guinea pig so I know the danger of this all too well.  Stay focused and get your top 3-5 things done every day.

Passion
Intuitively this one seems easy- you must be passionate to be successful. You need passion not just to launch your business but to sustain it during tough times.  Hey, it’s easy to be passionate when you have tons of cash in the bank and everyone loves you.

Passion will help you when you lose a big deal (it happens) or when your bank balance can’t buy you a latte.  Successful green businesses are built through determination, grit and perseverance and these all have passion as their fuel.

I sincerely wish you the best luck with your green start-up.  Please contact me if I can help you in anyway.

[Many thanks to Melissa, Chris, Riva and Andrew, Mitch, Ryan and Shan, Al and Dan, and Iris.  You represent some of the best people I’ve had the honor to coach.  Your passion and success inspire me, thanks for all that you do.]

For the sake of philosophical discussion, let’s assume you:

1. Are genuinely interested in investing in some sort of ‘green’ investment.
2. Have about $50k languishing in your IRA/401(k).
3. Green tech (solar/wind/electric cars) seems too risky.
4. You’d be happy with a 10-15% annualized return on your money.
5. You have absolutely no time to research sustainable investing trends.
6. You do believe in a more sustainable world although you’re not moving into a yurt anytime soon.

Those conditions set, your choices could be:

1. Buy stock in a ‘green’ company.
2. Invest in a small wind power start-up.
3. Invest in a sustainable real estate project.
4. Go to Vegas and bet it all on black.

4 is riskier than 1 (but not by much) and 1 is safer than 2 but riskier than 3 which is safer than 4. Confused?  The short and simple answer is to invest in a sustainable real estate project.

A sustainable real estate project is one of the best (and safest) green investments you can make.  There are several reasons why, including:

1. Most people understand real estate. My advice (after a long career of owning/selling/brokering multi-millions of dollars of real estate) can be summed up in 7 words: Buy low, sell high, location, location, location.  Enough said.
2. Green properties appraise for more money. Here’s how and why.
3. Green properties cost less to remodel/build due to an plethora of rebates/incentives available.
4. Green properties sell faster and for more money.  They do so because people buying green homes get:
   1. Lower utility bills.
   2. Safer, less toxic (re: healthier) living environments.
   3. Increased pride of ownership since they own a high-performance ‘green’ home.

So if you have $50k (or more) languishing in an IRA or 401(k) you should consider putting those funds to work in a few green properties.  There are real estate builders/re-modelers all over the US who build/greenhab green homes.  Do a little research and you’ll probably find that there are projects going on in your area right now.  Good luck!

Green Real Estate Investing Speech by Jim Simcoe from Jim Simcoe on Vimeo.

Advantages include:

• Tremendous public support.
• Little, if any, competition.
• Fantastic demand from consumers and businesses alike.

When I launched my first green business in 2006 it was virtually impossible to generate  business.  There was very little interest in the marketplace and almost no data to support any benefits I spoke about.  What a difference a few years make.
Now our business is thriving and my team and I consult with companies large and small throughout North America.  Some of the industries we’ve done work in include:

• Real Estate
• Non-Profits
• Education
• Solar
• Property Management
• Green Info Products
• Green Business Launches
• Commercial building management

In launching our business I’ve made just about every mistake you can imagine.  Some of my all-time greatest include:

• Paying for advertising in a guide that yielded exactly one client.  It did however, allow me to be cold-called by other service providers incessantly for over a year.
• Giving a speech to a business group in Los Angeles that had no ability to buy from me.  I spent a total of 6 hours driving to/from LA for a complete waste of time.  To date, this remains one of the only speeches I’ve ever given where I did not gain business.
• Taking on a client that I knew was not a good fit for our company.  Although the project ended successfully the amount of time and effort we put into it negated all of the profits we earned.
• Striving for Perfection, not Success.  More on this one later as it’s a biggie…

Suffice to say you can learn a ton from my mistakes.  Two of the biggest keys is learning not to waste time or money.

GREEN TRADE SECRETS
I don’t believe that business is a zero sum game.  For me to ‘win’ you do not have to ‘lose’.  We can both win, both prosper and both run thriving businesses.  If I didn’t believe that I would never release all of my trade secrets to you in this paper.
My selfish reasons for telling you all that I know:

• I want your green business to thrive.  If your business thrives then we create more positive examples for other start-up green businesses to thrive.
• I believe in helping others.  Plenty of people helped me when I was first starting out so I am glad to return the favor.
• I don’t believe in competition as there is plenty of business for all of us.
• I want to be a good example for my young daughters.  This is one of the ways for me to do it.

Everything in this paper, all of the advice, recommendations, etc. comes from my direct experience.  None of this is theory. I built our business on effort, trial and error and constant learning.  I’m still learning today.

GREEN RIGHT NOW

Many doors, few signs
The world of green business is a funny place:

• Consumers want ‘green’ although they can’t really define what it is or why they want it.
• Green companies use ‘guilt-selling’ to move products.

Neither creates a sustainable long-term future for anyone.  There are tons of green options (doors) in the marketplace with few reasons (signs) as to why you should choose them.
Everywhere you look there is a new company purporting to be ‘green’ and having a commitment to sustainability.  They blather on about their technological advances and competitive advantages without doing the single one thing that most consumers want.

They never tell you their “why”.
They never tell you why they are in business or why you should care.  For a simple example, look at Apple computers.  They very rarely talk about the tech aspects of their stuff, they talk more about why you should choose them and why your life will be better if you do.  Both are very compelling perspectives that we’ll get into later in the marketing section.
Pitching pineapples to hawaiians:
Another common green business trend is to sell ‘green’ to those who already get it and are already invested in it.  The logic being that if they believe in it then they’re more apt to buy from you.  Unfortunately this is flawed logic.
Why?
The problem with this thinking is that maybe 5% of the total population either truly understands green or is behind it completely.  And if you tailor your efforts to this group you lose because:
They already get it and may already have your product/service.
You miss out on the ‘other’ 95%.

Put simply, don’t sell pineapples to hawaiians. They already have them.

BEST NEW GREEN MARKETS

If you are passionate about green but have no clue what market or industry to enter, this section is for you.  Put simply, there is more to green business than selling solar.  There are industries to avoid (wind) unless you have at least $1M to invest and an engineering degree from Stanford.  Below are the three strongest markets for the next decade.

Real Estate:
This market includes Realtors, Property Managers, Investors, Apartment Owners, REITS,  and Commercial building owners.  All tend to deal with existing properties and have a lot to gain from leveraging your expertise as a consultant or green service provider.
The opportunity in this group is astounding.  Less than 5% of homes or buildings in the US have any green features yet most people want those features.  Huge opportunity here for you.

Home Owners:
The two biggest areas for the home-owner market segment are performing energy efficiency audits and holding educational seminars.  Both are relatively simple sales processes and don’t require a lot of equipment or years of education to start your business.
Additionally, home-owners make great clients because they often refer their friends/colleagues if they’re happy about what you do.
Finally, home-owners are easy to find and reach.  There isn’t usually a complex decision making process they have to go through to decide whether to use your services or not.

Green Products:
In 10 years every product you see on the shelf at any store will have a ‘green’ alternative.  Toothbrushes will be compostable. Basketballs will be made from biodegradable materials. Literally almost everything will be made from ‘green’ materials or have a green component to it.
That said, the opportunity in this market is to either develop a green product or sell an existing one. If you choose to sell an existing one, pick something that you can sell to a huge market.  Here’s a great example: Solatubes.
Solatubes makes easy to install energy-efficient skylights.  These skylights cut electricity bills by bringing natural daylight into any home or office.  They can be used in retail, homes, commercial, virtually any industry in any part of the world.  Being a distributor for Solatubes would be a great green business to run

NATURAL SELECTION

Darwin had it right:
The concept of natural selection isn’t just for the animal kingdom. Only the strongest green brands will survive.  To truly be a player in the new green business frontier it’s crucial that you learn and accept this. Right now, there a lot of ‘green’ companies that are enjoying short-term success because green is so popular NOT because they are good companies.
(Think Pets.com circa 1996-bound to fail).
Be wary of becoming one of these companies.  You should launch your company with the long-term in mind.
In fact,  if you don’t realistically believe you can grow to be either #1 or #2 in your industry category then you should n’t launch there.  My business is a perfect example of this. There are very few speakers, besides me, who travel the US and talk about the business of green real estate.  I can dominate this market because there wasn’t an 800 pound gorilla here when I started. Conversely would you ever seriously consider starting a sneaker company?  Way too many gorillas and not enough of a chance of being #1 or #2.

If you can’t dominate, don’t play.

THRIVING GREEN IN BLUE OCEANS

“Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne might be one of the best business books I’ve ever read.  i recommend it highly.  The key premise of the book is:
“You can create high growth and profits by creating new demand in an uncontested market (blue ocean) rather than competing in a crowded market in an existing industry”
This is the cornerstone strategy to build your business. Pick your product or service and determine which industry would have huge demand and zero, if any competition for you.  Going back to our Solatubes example, lets consider where Solatubes are sold most frequently and to whom.
Largely they are sold in one or two units to homeowners at home shows, big-box retail chains, etc.  Assuming this is a business you wanted to enter, I’d suggest you sell to universities and other business that have large campus properties.
The reasons are simple:

• You’ll sell more units since their properties are larger.
• There are fewer people selling to this market.

Compared to home-owners they have other reasons why they may buy Solatubes (good branding/PR, more comfort = increased productivity, makes them look cutting edge, have budgets or incentive $ to spend on energy efficiency, etc.)

You’ll be sailing along in a blue ocean of opportunity while your competitors languish in an overcrowded marketplace.
Seek out blue oceans whenever possible.  They can make or break your entire business.

GREEN CEO MINDSET

Creating a thriving green business is no different from creating a thriving business. The traits that made Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey tremendous leaders can directly be applied to your green business. I would argue that all great leaders have three fundamental traits in common (that you must have as well) that made them great.  They are:

• Know their ‘WHY’.  You must have a very clear picture of why you are in business and why people should care.
• Track record of ‘passion’ wins. It’s crucial that you have a history of success in areas you are passionate about.
• Unleash your strengths on the world.

Why O, why?
If you know your “why” and are very clear about communicating it customers will be drawn to your company. People want to buy from people who believe in what they’re doing. I buy Mac computers because I believe in Steve Jobs vision of ‘cool products to make life better”.  That’s Apple’s ‘why’ and I dig it.  That’s why i don’t care about paying more for their products.  I know I am getting their best and their vision is aligned with mine.  That beats a 10% off sale at Best Buy any day.

Passion Propels
The concept of passion wins really has nothing to do with business strategy.  What it has to do with is exhibiting your level of passion when things are tough. Will you push through on something when it seems unbearable just because you’re passionate about it?  If so, you’ll be successful.

Here’s a very personal example (first cue the melodramatic music):
When I was 16 (1986) I played on my high-school lacrosse team. I lived and breathed lacrosse.  I hurt my back badly and needed to have spine/back surgery which back in those days was not a small issue.  After surgery my doctor told me I wouldn’t play lacrosse again and I may never walk normal again. I was pretty crushed.
After I got over feeling sorry for myself I committed to my rehab program.  I was supposed to do an hour or rehab a day and I did at least three.  I used to make my grandmother (God bless her) take me to the YMCA in the middle of winter in Massachusetts so I could swim laps.
After several months and with the lacrosse season approaching fast I had another meeting with my doctor.  He said he couldn’t believe my recovery and said I could play lacrosse. Outside of getting married and the birth of my kids that was one of the best days of my life.
A history of passionate wins will sustain you in your business if you believe in what you are doing.
Unleash the Beast
Your chances of success dramatically increase when you focus on your strengths. Forget that nonsense of improving your weaknesses-that will never lead to long term growth.  Look, if I am horrible at accounting, I should hire an accountant, I shouldn’t try to get better at it.
The most successful people in the world focus on what they do best and delegate the rest. In your business you should figure out your greatest strengths and work backwards from there.  The single biggest question I get from coaching clients is “How do I know what my strengths are?”
Here’s a few questions to steer you down the right path:

• What are you awesome at and feel most comfortable doing?
• What could you do with little preparation?
• What do people complement you on most?
• What do you absolutely love doing?

From my own life, my answers to all four questions are the same:
Giving speeches and coaching people.
I love speaking in front of huge groups, and I love coaching people to new heights in their lives. I’ve given impromptu speeches with no preparation and am lucky enough to have gotten rave reviews on my coaching and speeches.  Knowing that I spend as much of my time giving speeches and coaching*
*As an aside I am absolutely horrible at web design.  Thus I never do it and always hire an expert for me when I need it done. If I built a website I think I might crash the entire Internet.

MASTER THE MARKET

Expertise trumps experience
To truly dominate your chosen market you need to do three things:

• Seek success, not perfection
• Answer the tough questions
• Connect emotionally, justify logically

If you master just these three elements you will master and own your market.  Couple these tenets with the next section on marketing and you don’t need 10 years of experience to be successful.  Remember that Facebook and Google were both started by college kids with no business experience.
40/70 Rule
Colin Powell had a rule of thumb that said that he would act on a decision once he had enough information to have a 40-70% chance of success. He wouldn’t wait until he was 100% because that would often be too late.  You would do well to follow in his footsteps on this.
When launching your business strive for success, not perfection. Of course you want a ‘perfect’ website.  Better to launch a good version now to get your name out there.  Strive for success and let go of being perfect.  Who wants to be perfect, anyway?  Boring..
Question your customer
Rather than selling a product or solution, sell a state of mind. Sell an emotional state to your target customers.  To do this you must first be willing answer the toughest questions about your target  customers.  You must get to the heart of what drives them, what inspires them and why you align with their vision.
Here are the questions to ask:

• Who does your customer want to BE?
• What does your customer want to FEEL?
• Why will they thrive with YOU?

Let’s take an example of two energy auditors selling to homeowners.  One sells on price and features and one is YOU.

Price and features guy: “Mrs. Customer, for $495 I come to your house and take various readings on your current energy efficiency and current toxin levels and give you a 30 page report with my recommendations”

You: “Mrs Customer, I make sure you and your family live in the safest possible environment and spend as little as possible on utility bills. You’ll enjoy peace of mind knowing that your home is healthier than any others in this neighborhood. Put simply, you and your family will thrive in this home when I’m done with it”
So, who do you think gets hired more often and who’s business thrives over the long-term?  Get in your customer’s head and ask the tough questions.  What do they really care about most?  Find out and use that as your starting point.

4 RULES OF MARKETING

More business books have been written about marketing than almost anything else.  When launching a green business you can easily fall into that trap and spend the next 5 years reading marketing books.  We’re going to skip all of those steps andI’m just going to give you the answers to the test.  Remember, in launching green businesses all over North America these four rules are what I’ve seen to consistently work over and over again.
Rule # 1- No Advertising
Advertising is arguably the biggest waste of time for any green business.  It will waste your time and suck the money and life out of you. Why?
One simple reason: Zero barrier to entry.  If want to advertise myself as an expert dentist in the New York area I can put an ad in the New York Times and thats it.  Never mind that I’m not a dentist. Placing ads is easy and does nothing to qualify me as a dentist.
There is absolutely nothing in advertising that qualifies you as an expert and someone your prospects should contact.
Advertising is a great way of shouting to the world, “I’m great! Call me, because, you know, I’m really great!”
Better to have people shouting your accolades for you. Leading to..

Rule # 2- Heavy PR
A smart public relations strategy is a goldmine for any newbie green entrepreneur.  Being featured as an expert by someone else is always good.  It invariably leads to increasing your brand and your standing in the marketplace.

True story:
When I first started eco-consulting, I got a call from a local reporter who wanted to feature me on a local station.  We shot a feature and it appeared on a local Sunday night news program.  A producer from Fox TV was watching and he called me the next day to shoot a similar feature. I shot that feature which led to another feature on NBC.  Ive booked numerous speeches and other business largely from those TV news spots. I was perceived as the ‘expert’ even though I hadn’t been in business for very long.
That is the power of good PR. The more you are seen as the expert, the more people will approach you for business.  An ancillary benefit of being approached for business is that you can largely set the fee you want.  There’s very little haggling because, after all, you are the expert.
So don’t be an advertiser, be the expert.

Rule #3- Speak/Write AMAP/ASAP
Hand in hand with a strong PR plan is to spend as much time writing or speaking to your target audience. Key to this is AMAP/ASAP which means:

As Much As Possible/As Soon As Possible

Don’t wait until you are perfectly ready, start speaking and writing right now.  You have an opinion, you have a perspective and chances are people are probably interested in it.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to create a content calendar for both writing and speaking.  For example:

• Monday- Write 1 website post, contact 3 local groups for speaking engagements.
• Tuesday- Write 1 blog post, contact 3 national associations for speaking engagements.
• Wednesday- Plan an event to host for target clients.
• Thursday- Write 1 white paper and contact 5 business associations (Rotary, etc) for speaking engagements.
• Friday- Contact 5 local universities about being a guest speaker in their adult education classes.

Rule #4- Rule the Web
Most marketers or web experts will say that traffic trumps everything.  They tout SEO tactics and promise to get you on the first page of Google.  Unfortunately thats not really what you need to ensure your business will thrive online.  What you need is targeted traffic that converts to closed deals.

• Traffic = good.
• Targeted traffic = great.
• Closed leads from site = Essential.

At the end of the day your website does you no good if you don’t convert leads from it into closed deals.  Focusing only on traffic can really hurt your business long-term.
Lets discuss the two main functions your site must perform for your business. And yes, there really are only two to focus on.  They are:

• Provide value.
• Provide credibility.

Every page of your site should either provide valuable information to your target clients or establish you as the expert in your chosen field. Both functions bring you closer to your prospects and lead them to choosing you.
Give info and value away freely.  That may seem counter-intuitive but in reality it can be the best thing for your business.  Why? Because people will subconsciously think, “Wow, if she’s giving this info away for free, I can’t imagine how much she could help me if I were to hire her”.

Establish your credibility with testimonials, speech transcripts, videos of you on the news, etc.  Demonstrate that you are a ‘results leader’ in your market.Master these two site functions and you master the web.

READY, SET, LAUNCH

The best time to launch your green business is a year ago.  The second best time to launch it is today. The third best is tomorrow.  Hopefully you get the idea that getting to market in a working fashion now is better than launching 3 months from now perfectly.
Remember, we’re looking for success, not perfection.

Launch accelerators
There are a few things you can do to accelerate your launch.  Here’s a partial list:

• Target five high visibility prospects and offer them your services in exchange for a testimonial.  That gives you project experience as well as a recognized customer base to leverage.
• Determine what events your target clients attend and attend them as well.  Schedule meetings with them at the events if possible.
• Contact every website editor, podcast creator, news reporter, radio host, etc. that your potential clients may listen/watch or read.  Offer to do guest posts, interviews, etc.  Most of these resources are starving for content so you’re actually doing them a favor.
• Work your network.  Call (no email, no facebook messaging) people in your network who may have contacts who can help you. State clearly that you need a favor and don’t beat around the bush.
• Engage in social media to research potential clients and/or potential speaking/writing engagements.
• Create 30 day goals and manage to them weekly.
• Hire a coach or accountability partner.

YOU are who we are waiting for
Launching a green business isn’t easy.  You need to combine hard work, passion and intelligence to really be successful. A little luck doesn’t hurt either.  The question really isn’t whether it’s easy or not.  The question is, “How valuable is you business to our world?” Are you reducing the impact on the planet and making people’s lives easier/healthier?  If so, then it’s a worthy pursuit even if it’s not easy.

People all over the world need us to launch and run successful green businesses.  We all deserve to live/work in healthier environments with better products and more opportunity.  If you’re reading this you’re on the forefront of that opportunity good for you.

Now it’s time to leverage that opportunity and launch.  Five years from now you’ll be glad you did.  I know I am.
I hope this manifesto has been helpful.  Please feel free to contact me directly with questions at Jim@JimSimcoe.com.

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