6 Genius And Eco Friendly Small Business Ideas
The entrepreneurial spirit is high right now, especially given the fact that many people have been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe. Being an entrepreneur has its ups and downs, but when you start a business with a mission you are passionate about, the goods outweigh the bads. As eco friendly living is taking its place in the spot light lately, I thought it would be a great time to offer a few business start up suggestions that would help others in their quest to go green!
Environmentally Friendly Event Planning
As people are getting on board with the green movement, I happily expect that there will be more interest in making special events eco friendly. I am all for party planning and all that goes into it, you can even see some of the party décor I have made in the past. When I sit back and reflect on it all, I realize how much waste goes into parties, weddings and special events. From the disposable plates and cutlery to the party favors and the decorations… almost everything ends up in the trash when it’s all said and done!
Marketing a party planning business as an eco friendly one would be a great selling point for those people that care about the planet, but just don’t have the extra time to research ways to make their events environmentally friendly. An eco friendly event planning business would have a list of venues that support the mission, a list of alternatives to disposable party supplies and decorations, and a community of vendors that can trade/share/reuse supplies with each other to prevent the need for each host to purchase identical supplies.
Environmentally Friendly Grocery Shopping/ Menu Planning
Think if this business idea as the cross between a personal assistant and a personal meal planner. This service would include the purchasing and delivery of locally grown/sourced meats, produce, and dairy with an emphasis on purchasing local and minimizing packaging needs. Groceries would be delivered weekly to the consumer along with a meal plan utilizing the week’s ingredients. Bulk purchase and delivery will allow reduction in associated car travel emissions while also keeping money spent within the local community.
Upcycled Furniture Shop
In Kansas City, where I grew up, there were a few stores that sold upcycled furniture and I always thought that would be so cool. The business model would be centered around the owner finding/curating used furniture pieces at garage sales or thrift stores and using their creativity and knowledge of the market trends to repurpose these pieces. Sometimes a couple of coats of paint and new hardware is all that is needed to turn an “old” piece into something that looks totally modern and trendy. This will of course eliminate the need to use wood and other such natural resources to craft new pieces of furniture!
Secondhand Boutique
In another life, I think I would totally start up a shop like this. The goal here would be to take the stigma out of secondhand clothing. This business owner would curate secondhand pieces from local thrift stores, piecing together outfits and trending styles and then sell them in a retail boutique setting. Shoppers will get the charming, boutique shopping experience while also being able to purchase clothing that is thrifted. A winning solution for both the consumer and the earth! As brick and mortar stores are often times hampered by high rent costs, this is also a business plan that can be executed online as well. The entrepreneur should take great care to design the website and shopping experience to be fun and trendy to align with the boutique experience feel. Digital marketing and social media campaigns can really help with perpetuating this experience.
Eco Friendly Home Organization Service
It’s a known fact that many people do not like to, or do not know how to, organize their home. There are many services out there dedicated to home organization consultants. Many such consultants utilize organizational methods that work – but consistent of many plastic components. An eco friendly home organizer would concentrate on developing a strategy that uses sustainable and earth friendly materials such as glass and stainless steel. Another money saving strategy that this service can offer is using the creativity of the organizer to come up with ways to utilize what the homeowner already has as organizational tools.
Eco Friendly Lifestyle Consulting
This would be a service marketed to those people that really want to live an eco conscious lifestyle but just don’t know how and are limited on time to research the methods themselves. The service would consist of things like a weekly (or monthly) newsletter that offer suggestions, tips, strategies, and agendas for a green lifestyle. The service could also deliver a monthly box of curated items that people might need to implement the suggested changes. And finally the service can include things like virtual or in person consultations for those that need a little more assistance in making the changes.
All of these ideas really get my entrepreneurial mind racing and I wish that I could manage several careers all at once! Since I can’t I hope that some of my amazing readers will dive into some of these suggestions and let your passions help to make the world a better place!
Want more eco living tips and ideas?
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