How to Earn a Living AND help the planet
It's true! You can be green AND earn a good
living! Being green doesn't mean canned beans for dinner
every night OR potato sack sheets!!
In fact, put in some extra care and effort
and you can even earn a FABULOUS living being green. The
really neat and largely unknown thing about eco-businesses,
as we call them, is that there is lots of room for innovation
and a great deal of unclaimed market. What does this mean?
Well basically, not a lot of people are running green
businesses yet, and there are lots of people who would
like to support green businesses, so...there's a lot of
opportunity out there!
Here are just a few business ideas to get
you started thinking. And I encourage you to open your
minds, nice and wide! Whether the idea be one you embrace
as a full time endeavor, a sideline for some extra cash,
or maybe you'll get the idea in your head to support as
many green businesses - as a customer - as is humanly
possible Whichever one it is, fabulous! Go on, read this
list...and I DARE you to say 'I dunno how to be good to
the planet' ever again.
1. Try a used or consignment clothing store.
Running a consignment store has been a
secret dream of mine for a long time. I just know one
day I'll open one of my own. In the meantime, I just love
doing the consignment store 'circuit' around town. While
I do, I take notes on how well the store is run, what
works, what doesn't, and who makes out like a bandit using
'green' as the angle in their marketing. The funnest consignment
store in Calgary is one where the very hip young owner
emphasizes that being fashionable and recycling all your
clothes, is cool, and the only way to go. And guess what?
Hers is also one of the longest standing used clothing
stores in town; you can't help but notice they earn a
pretty good living doing what they do.
Where are the consignment clothing stores
in your neck of the woods? Is there a market for a new
one, perhaps run by you? Shop around, for clothes, and
for business ideas...and see what you can find. This is
one great way you can have fun earning a living AND help
the planet.
2. Try a pedi-cab, rickshaw or 'eco-taxi'.
When you need a ride somewhere in most cities,
if you don't own a car (and good for you if not!) a regular
taxicab can sometimes be your only option. A pity that
other more environmental means of travel aren't more readily
available, don't you think? What would it feel like to
ride in a solar-powered taxi? How about one that runs
on recycled french fry oil? Yes, there is such a thing!
(Visit www.veggievan.org to see.) What, there isn't one
yet in your town? My point exactly! What are you waiting
for? Go on and find out if this may be the business idea
for you. And then, drop me a line alright? When I'm in
town, I know I, and my many friends and relatives will
line up to hitch a ride with you...
As for the rest of you...are you lucky enough
to already have a way to get around town that is also
green? Whether that be by rickshaw, horse-drawn carriage
or even...electric car, next time you need to get somewhere,
I invite you to choose a fun, green way to go about it.
3. Try non-chlorinated swimming pools.
Swimming is fantastic exercise, but who
likes the itchy, dry feeling that chlorine leaves in your
eyes, hair, and skin? And still, people schlep off to
the pool, withstanding what they think is the necessary
evil that is chlorine. Well, there are actually great
alternatives to chlorine that cut way down on chemicals
that are harmful to the planet (and to you.) Salt water
pools provide a much nicer swimming experience; and there
are even pools that use natural plant life to filter the
water from bacteria, and hot tubs that stay clean with
the addition of natural minerals. Imagine helping people
to convert their chemical swamps into refreshing natural
pools. Your customers will bless you, and you'll earn
a great living while soaking up the sun and helping the
planet. For a success story just like this one, go here:
http://www.abc-pool.ca/index.htm
And of course, next time you can, try supporting
your friendly neighborhood salt-water pool instead of
the chlorinated one. Enjoy!
4. Try green thumbing it.
Next time you're at a restaurant enjoying
a fresh and interesting salad (is that an actual flower??!)
give it some thought...who grew those ingredients? Chances
are, if they are in a fresh salad, they were grown by
an enterprising local. Why not you? Gourmet food is a
lucrative industry, and if you have a green thumb, all
the better. Imagine spending the day 'at work' in the
sun, poking around all those mighty oxygen-generating
plants, with the smells and tastes all around you. Talk
about a great way to earn a living AND help the planet!
5. Try inventing some delicious, new, planet-friendly
desserts!
Sweet tooth anyone? I do, I do! Giggle.
Me and the rest of the world it seems. And that means
a potential business opportunity for you! Did you know
that the desserts at many restaurants are made somewhere
other than the restaurant itself? That yummy cheesecake
you tried last time you were out? I wonder if it was a
version of the recipe my hubby Mike invented, called the
"Holy Shania, This Can't Be Tofu" Tofu Cheesecake.
Well, alright, maybe it's not an international
staple yet, but if you're good in the kitchen, why not
try inventing a new recipe using ingredients like tofu
and other veggies that are very good for us, and easy
on the planet to grow. (Any kind of animal ingredient
like eggs, butter or milk is harder on the planet to produce
than a veggie like tofu...) This is a truly wonderful
possible sideline to earn a living with, even if you don't
go for it full time...and...because we ALL eat, and we
like to enjoy our food, there's almost no better way to
help the planet than through our stomachs! Oh yes, Mike's
tofu cheesecake? You guessed it.....tastes nothing like
tofu. Yay!
So... is the possibility of earning a living through a
green business getting those thoughts going yet? Were
you able to catch some tips on how to support the eco-businesses
already in existence around you? Good stuff!
I hope you have fun experimenting with these
tips and coming up with your own. In fact, send them along
to andrea@joytotheplanet.com, and I'll find room for them
in an upcoming lesson of Joy to the Planet. It'll be fun
to share your ideas about how to enjoy life...and help
the planet.
One last thing. If you know someone who
is 'green', and you have a hunch, just an inkling, that
they may think being green means being financially poorly
off, or are somehow holding themselves back when it comes
to earning a great living, send them to me, will you,
and I'll spank them! Giggle. Just kidding, but really,
please share this lesson with them. As Joy to the Planet
evolves, I plan to share more about things to do in life
that are fun and rewarding, in both work and play, AND
help the planet, so spread the word!
Until next week, I'm signing off to enjoy
life and help the planet...what about you?
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