green business launch manifesto

8/3/2019 Green Business Launch Manifesto

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S I M C O E C O N S U L T I N G

The

Green Business LaunchManifesto

491 Second Street Encinitas, CA 92024 760-271-7128 [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Table of Contents

FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE 3

GREEN TRADE SECRETS 6

GREEN RIGHT NOW 7

BEST NEW GREEN MARKETS 9

NATURAL SELECTION 11

THRIVING GREEN IN BLUE OCEANS 12

GREEN CEO MINDSET 14

MASTER THE MARKET 18

4 RULES OF MARKETING 20

READY, SET, LAUNCH 24

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FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE

Opportunity:

Virgil was right.

The single greatest opportunity for entrepreneurs right now is sustainability. Con-

trary to popular belief, sustainability is not a fad or trend. Its not something that is

going to dissipate with time.

In the same way the Internet forever changed business, sustainability will forever

change how we look at and run our lives.

That is fundamental reason green business, if run correctly, will thrive. Unlike ANY

other industry, sustainability ofers unheralded advantages to the burgeoning Green

CEO.

Advantages include:

1. Tremendous public support.

2. Little, if any, competition.

3. 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 diference a few years

make.

491 Second Street Encinitas, CA 92024 760-271-7128 [email protected]


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Striving for Perfection, not Success. More on this one later as its a biggie...

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

That said, the opportunity is waiting for you right now. Are you ready to take advantage of it?

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GREEN TRADE SECRETS

Open Source Green:

I dont 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 didnt 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 dont 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 the-

ory. I built our business on efort, trial and error and constant learning. Im still learning today.

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GREEN RIGHT NOW

Many doors, few signs:

The world of green business is a funny place:

1. Consumers want green although they cant really define

what it is or why they want it.

2. 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 con-

sumers 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 stuf, 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 well get into later in the marketing section.

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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 theyre 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 eforts to this group you lose because:

1. They already get it and may already have your product/service.

2. You miss out on the other 95%.

Put simply, dont sell pineapples to hawaiians. They already have them.

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BEST NEW GREEN MARKETS

Three 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 own-

ers. 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 eciency audits and holding educa-

tional seminars. Both are relatively simple sales processes and dont 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 theyre happy about

what you do.

Finally, home-owners are easy to find and reach. There isnt usually a complex decision making process they have to go

through to decide whether to use your services or not.

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Green Products:

In 10 years every product you see on the shelf at any store will have a green alternative. Toothbrushes will be com-

postable. 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. Heres a great example: Solatubes.

Solatubes makes easy to install energy-ecient skylights. These skylights cut electricity bills by bringing natural day-

light into any home or oce. 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.

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NATURAL SELECTION

Darwin had it right:

The concept of natural selection isnt just for the animal kingdom. Only the strongest green brands will survive. To truly

be a player in the new green business frontier its 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 dont realistically believe you can grow to be either #1 or #2 in your industry category then you should nt

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 wasnt 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 cant dominate, dont play.

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THRIVING GREEN IN BLUE OCEANS

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne might be one of the best business books Ive 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

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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 So-

latubes 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 abusiness you wanted to enter, Id suggest you sell to universities and other business that have large campus properties.

The reasons are simple:

Youll 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 energyeciency, etc.)

Youll 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.

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GREEN CEO MINDSET

Creating a thriving green business is no dif

erent from creating a thriving business. The traits that made Steve Jobs, BillGates, 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:

1. Know their WHY. You must have a very clear picture of why you are in business and why people should care.

2. Track record of passion wins. Its crucial that you have a history of success in areas you are passionate about.

3. Unleash your strengths on the world.

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Unleash the Beast

Your chances of success dramatically in-

crease when you focus on your strengths.

Forget that nonsense of improving yourweaknesses-that will never lead to long term

growth. Look, if I am horrible at accounting,

I should hire an accountant, I shouldnt try

to get better at it.

The most successful people in the world fo-

cus 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?

Heres a few questions to steer you down the right path:

1. What are you awesome at and feel most comfortable doing?

2. What could you do with little preparation?

3. What do people complement you on most?

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4. 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. Ive 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.

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MASTER THE MARKET

Expertise trumps experience

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

1. Seek success, not perfection

2. Answer the tough questions

3. 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 dont need 10 years of experience to be successful. Remember that Facebook and Google wereboth 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 wouldnt 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.

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Here are the questions to ask:

1. Who does your customer want to BE?

2. What does your customer want to FEEL?

3. Why will they thrive with YOU?

Lets 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

eciency 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 pos-

sible on utility bills. Youll enjoy peace of mind knowing that your home is healthier than any others in this neighbor-

hood. Put simply, you and your family will thrive in this home when Im done with it

So, who do you think gets hired more often and whos business thrives over the long-term?

Get in your customers head and ask the tough questions. What do they really care about most? Find out and use that

as your starting point.

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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. Were going to skip all of those

steps andIm just going to give you the answers to the test. Remember, in launching green businesses all over North

America these four rules are what Ive 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 putan ad in the New York Times and thats it. Never mind that Im 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, Im great! Call me, because, you know, Im really great!

Better to have people shouting your accolades for you. Leading to..

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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

hadnt 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 ap-

proached for business is that you can largely set the fee you want. Theres very little haggling because, after all, you are

the expert.

So dont 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

Dont wait until you are perfectly ready, start speaking and writing right now. You have an opinion, you have a perspec-

tive and chances are people are probably interested in it.

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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 trac 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. Whatyou need is targeted trac that converts to closed deals.

Trac = good.

Targeted trac = great.

Closed leads from site = Essential.

At the end of the day your website does you no good if you dont convert leads from it into closed deals. Focusing only

on trac 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:

1. Provide value.

2. Provide credibility.

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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 busi-

ness. Why? Because people will subconsciously think, Wow, if shes giving this info away for free, I cant imagine howmuch 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.

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READY, SET, LAUNCH

The time is Now

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, were looking for success, not perfection.

Launch accelerators

There are a few things you can do to accelerate your launch. Heres a partial list:

1. Target five high visibility prospects and ofer them your services in exchange for a testimonial. That gives you

project experience as well as a recognized customer base to leverage.

2. Determine what events your target clients attend and attend them as well. Schedule meetings with them at the

events if possible.

3. Contact every website editor, podcast creator, news reporter, radio host, etc. that your potential clients may

listen/watch or read. Ofer to do guest posts, interviews, etc. Most of these resources are starving for content so

youre actually doing them a favor.

4. Work your network. Call (no email, no facebook messaging) people in your network who may have contactswho can help you. State clearly that you need a favor and dont beat around the bush.

5. Engage in social media to research potential clients and/or potential speaking/writing engagements.

6. Create 30 day goals and manage to them weekly.

7. Hire a coach or accountability partner.

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YOU are who we are waiting for

Launching a green business isnt easy. You need to combine hard work, passion and intelligence to really be successful.

A little luck doesnt hurt either. The question really isnt whether its easy or not. The question is, How valuable is you

business to our world? Are you reducing the impact on the planet and making peoples lives easier/healthier? If so,

then its a worthy pursuit even if its 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 youre reading this youre on the forefront of that

opportunity.good for you.

Now its time to leverage that opportunity and launch. Five years from now youll be glad you did. I know I am.

I hope this manifesto has been helpful. Please feel free to contact me directly with questions [email protected] or

760-271-7128.

All the best...

Jim

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