5 Resources To Get You Started As an Ecopreneur

Starting a green business these days is a very smart choice. Unlike many industries, the green movement is not slowing down, and there will be money to be earned in this business as long as you play your cards right. In fact, you don’t want to wait till a couple of years to get started in this business. Now’s the time to pounce and get ahead of so many others that will no doubt enter this market.

Starting a green business is no different from starting any other business. It takes hard work and some know-how. You can always try to go with trial and error, but the best way to go is to learn from what others have done in the industry and use their knowledge to get moving quickly. Thankfully, there are many resources that you can tap into to start your career as an Ecopreneur. Whether it’s books or DVDs that interest you the most, you won’t struggle to find learning material in this field.

Here are 5 best books/DVDs that you could use to get started in this field:

75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference: if you are just getting started in the green industry and have no idea what the industry has to offer, you must read this book. It will give you all kinds of ideas that you can take advantage of to build a profitable green business.

Start Your Own Green Business: this is one of my favorite book. It’s concise and to the point. All the books in this series are great if you are an entrepreneur and want to navigate through a whole new field. If you need basic information to start your own eco business, this is the book you should read.

Build a Green Small Business: another good read on how to become a successful Ecopreneur. It gets you familiar with marketing, advertising, and networking techniques that build a loyal customer base and help you take your business to the next level.

2008 Global Conference – Green Is Green: a very informative DVD on the state of green economy that will open your eyes to new opportunities and challenges in this industry. Whether you want to start a green business or go green in your own existing one, this is a good DVD to watch.

Strategies for the Green Economy: this book is a more advanced book about the green economy and the challenges and opportunities involved with going green in your business and starting new green businesses. This books shows you what it take to be seen as an environmental leader.

Starting a green business with be challenging but as long as you are passionate about it, there is nothing you can’t achieve.

Your turn: what’s your favorite green learning resource?

5 Green Laptops Worth Buying

Green gadgets are on the rise. As more people start talking about the climate change and the need to take more care of our planet, many companies are joining the green movement to develop gadgets that are environment-friendly and energy efficient. Companies such as Apple, Sony, and HP understand that there is a market for green electronics, which is why they all have come up with greener, more energy efficient laptops. Green laptops may be energy efficient, but they are as powerful as regular laptops. So you won’t have to sacrifice power and performance to get greener laptops.

Here are 5 eco-friendly laptops that not only are powerful but energy efficient as well:

Sony VAIO VGN-P530H/Q Lifestyle PC: Sony VAIO VGN-P530H/Q Lifestyle PC – Black is an ultra portable laptop created for folks who are constantly on the go. It’s an energy star system that is energy efficient and powerful at the same time.

Apple MacBook MB466LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop: Apple needs no introduction. It has some of the best laptops on the market. And now these laptops are far greener than ever before. You can go for 9 hours with your battery and Apple laptops are now made out of recyclable material.

MSI Wind U100-279US 10-Inch Netbook: a highly portable netbook that is very energy efficient. MSI is known for creating some of the best green laptops on the market, and this one is no different. It’s powerful too!

HP Pavilion DV4-1227US: HP Pavilion DV4-1227US is a 14.1 inch green laptop that is not only powerful but it’s energy efficient as well. It comes with a super fast CPU, 4 GB of Ram, and Windows Vista.

Sony VAIO VGN-FW370J/H 16.4-Inch Laptop: VGN-FW370J/H is a super powerful laptop that allows you to perform highly sophisticated tasks on your computer and save energy in the process. This Sony notebook is Energy Star 4.0 certified.

Your turn: what’s your favorite green notebook PC?

Western Digital Caviar Green Hard Drives

Who says you can’t have the best electronic gadgets in the world and help save energy at the same time. Green gadgets are on the rise and WD Caviar Green hard drives are certainly among the top green gadgets on the market. These hard drives are designed for people who are looking to store their files on a device that doesn’t spend too much energy. Western Digital has reduced power consumption by up to 40 percent compared to standard desktop drives. These WD Eco hard drives use GreenPower technology that yields lower operating temperatures for increased reliability and low acoustics for ultra-quiet PCs and external drives.

A lot of folks pay attention to only power when purchasing their hard drives. But you want a hard drive that doesn’t make too much noise and doesn’t get too hot. WD Caviar Green hard drives not only stay cool but don’t make a whole lot of noise either. If you are building a huge system and need a couple of these, you are going to save a lot as far as energy consumption is concerned. Best of all, you are not sacrificing anything with eco hard drives. They are as effective as regular hard drives but they save you money and energy. Who said you can’t have it all with green gadgets?

6 Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergents You Should Buy

Going green is more than just using a solar panel to power up your house or buying a Toyota Prius to save the environment. What we use in our daily life can also affect our planet in a harmful way. That includes what you use to wash your clothes. Thankfully, companies are starting to realize that there is a market for green products. When it comes to Eco-friendly laundry detergents (non-toxic, clean, biodegradable), the consumers have some real options. Using green laundry detergents may seem like a very small step, but it’s still a step in the right direction. If a whole lot of folks take that small step, we make a giant leap towards making our planet a better place to live for our kids.

Here are a few green laundry detergents that can clean your clothes without harming our planet:

Earth Friendly Products Ecos Liquid Laundry Detergent: a very popular green detergent that is not only biodegradable but it’s 100% natural as well. And it does the job well.

Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent: non-toxic, concentrated liquid laundry detergent that is based on vegetable formula. It’s never been tested on animals either. Another decent eco-friendly laundry detergent.

Caldrea Laundry Detergent: a premium laundry detergent that is made out of natural ingredients. It’s mild yet very effective. And you’ve got to love the smell.

NaturOli EXTREME 18X Detergent: an award winning green detergent that is super concentrated and very effective. It’s affordable too.

Biokleen Citrus Laundry Liquid: a phosphate & chlorine free detergent that is highly concentrated and great for all kinds of clothes (color or white).

Dropps Laundry Pacs: Dropps laundry pacs are biodegradable and dissolve completely. They are phosphate-free, enzyme-free too. Best of all, they get the job done.

There you have it. If you are looking for a detergent that actually cleans your clothes and at the same time doesn’t hurt our environment, you are going to love the above products.

Your take: which one is your favorite green laundry detergent?

9 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money

A lot of my friends ask me, “how can I start a green business?” Whether you want to get into the solar or wind business, there are many things you need to know to avoid getting in a dead-end venture. There is more to the green industry than setting up solar panels or windmills. In fact, the money is in niches that have not yet been saturated by other businesses. You don’t want to get into a niche that has so many players nobody’s making any money. You want to stay in those fairly blue oceans to capitalize.

The best way to start a successful business in the green industry is by finding new, emerging micro-niches. For instance, the green training niche used to be very profitable for many businesses. There are many that are still making money in it. But at some point you are going to struggle making a dent in this business. Even more so in a more saturated market. Thankfully, the green industry is still in its infacy and growing fast. So if you are passionate about solar, wind, and bio-fuel technologies, you are going to have a lot of opportunities to make money in this business.

Here are a few business ideas for your next green business:

• Solar consulting: providing tips on how others can go solar at home or in their business.
• Green IT: another emerging field in the green industry.
• Installation: you are always going to need installers.
• Mobile Solar: mobile solar solutions will be highly in demand in the future.
• Green portals: whether you are a blogger or you want to create a huge solar portal, there are plenty of ways to make money.
• Green Startup Services: you can always help others start their own green start-ups.
• Green packaging: many companies are taking advantage of this trend to save costs.
• Home modeling: you can always help others remodel their houses to take advantage of solar and wind technologies.
• Green Vlogging: if you are into vlogging, why not create a vlog about eco-friendly products/tips?

As you can see there are just too many ways to enter this industry and start making some money. Now I am not suggesting that it will be easy, but having an idea is a good way to start.

*P.S. for more ideas, don’t forget to read 75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference.

Green Conspiracy?

One of the greatest aspects of human creation is our uniqueness. We are all very unique, and we all have our opinion. And if you are lucky to live in a country with freedom of speech, you get to express your views freely. That’s why we hear all kinds of strange ideas these days in the U.S. The idea of secession, revolution, and … are being discussed on TV and in the states. But while those may be shocking, they pale in comparison to the latest claim by a few folks that the green movement is a conspiracy as a whole designed to help the government ease us into more taxes to finance its expansion.

I usually try to stay away from discussing politics, and I think that’s what a lot of us need to do to look at things from a different perspective. I have seen state representatives claim that we can’t hurt the mother Earth even if we wanted to. Some are even questioning the viability of going green in this country (must read Green to Gold). We have been using fossil oil and gas for ages to power up our devices. But we have neglected alternative energy sources such as solar and wind. Not only these sources can help us break our Middle East oil dependence, they are very cheap and sustainable.

At the end of the day, not everything is about taxes. I don’t doubt that the governments around the world are interested in taxing us all more to fund their spending, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to address the real challenges that our planet faces. One can make jokes about “global warming” or climate change, but environmental changes are on the way whether you are a republican, an independent, or a democrat.

MeterRead: Go Green With Your iPhone

iPhone did get a whole lot of flak for not being green enough when it was released, but things have changed since then. Not only Apple has gone greener with iPhone 3G, you can expect iPhone 3.0 to become even more environment friendly. And the iPhone SDK has made it possible for many developers to support the green movement by writing apps that help folks go green with the help of their phone.

MeterRead is one of these apps. MeterRead lets you find out how much energy you are using and how you can save money on your energy bill. For instance, you can find out how much energy you are going to spend in the next 30 days and how you can reduce your use and save money in the process.

Saving energy is not about living in the dark or going to sleep sooner and turn the lights off. It’s about not using energy when you don’t need it. MeterRead allows you to do just that. Overall, if you are looking for an app that can get you motivated to save energy and money in the process, you should try MeterRead. It easily pays for itself.

Smarter, Greener Cities?

We have been hearing about the so-called smart, eco-friendly cities that will help save our planet from the damage we have been doing for years. But how close are we to having those cities? And are we going to deal with hackers and criminals taking over these cities?

Make Your Own Solar Water Heater

Solar energy is probably the most underrated energy source on this green planet of ours. A few years ago, you could complain that we didn’t have the technology to properly lose eco-friendly solar solutions in your life. But these days, we have the technology to do a lot of things with the help of the sun. You don’t have to spend lots of money on gas for your energy source when you have access to an energy source that doesn’t run out anytime soon.

One area that you can utilize solar energy as your power source is your water heater. A lot of people pay a lot of money each and every month to power up their water heater. But now you can cut your bill by 30% by going solar with your water heater. Solar hot water systems not only save you money, but they also help you save the environment too. A single hot water system can offset the equivalent of approximately 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions of a modern passenger car.

Solar heaters work anywhere you have access to the sun. It doesn’t matter how cold or hot your region is. All you need is the sun to power up your heater. Best of all, you can build them without too much technical knowledge and save a lot of money in the process. There are many do it yourself guides available on the market that teach you how to build your own system and avoid paying thousands of dollars to big name companies. At this point in time, going solar is a no brainer. The economy is struggling and the energy costs are expected to go higher. But the government doesn’t own the sun yet. So take advantage of it while you can.

Kindle DX: Bigger, Greener Gadget

Kindle has been a truly revolutionary device. It makes it easy to read books while you are on the go without having to carry around thousands of books with you. The E-ink technology used on Kindle makes reading books much more convenient. It’s as if you are reading a paper book. Kindle DX is the bigger, more powerful Amazon Kindle that comes with a 9.7″ screen and provides native support for PDF. A lot of Kindle critics have complained about Amazon not providing native support for PDF. That has all changed with Kindle DX. And the large screen now helps you go through all kinds of documents without having to push the “next page” button on your device.

Amazon is mainly targeting college students with Kindle DX. The bigger screen makes it easy for students to read their textbooks on this device. You also get free wireless with your device that helps you connect with Wikipedia and other online research sites to get your work done. You get access to 275,000+ books on the kindle store, which you can buy and receive in less than 30 seconds. And if you have an iPhone, you can sync it with your Kindle DX via Whispersyncc.

Kindle DX is a decent improvement over the previous generation Kindle. The screen is bigger but the device is not that much heavier. The battery lasts you 2 weeks (without wireless). Best of all, Kindle books are mostly sold for $9.99 each. That means your device will pay for itself in a few months. Investing in an e-book reader such as Kindle DX not only will save you money in the long run and help you carry thousands of documents with you without too much trouble, it also helps save the planet as well. Kindle DX is another great addition to the family of green gadgets on the market.

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