Newsweek Warns Green Companies Floundering

mcmilker — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:18:55 +0000

Well, this could ruin your day. Despite all their promise, green companies are awash in red ink.

First there was the dotcom bust of the late 1990s, then came the real-estate bubble that’s deflating before our eyes. Next up: the green bubble. Alternative energy ventures have received a lot of great press, heavy investment and lip service from politicians in the last couple of years, but many of the nascent green industry’s balance sheets are beginning to bleed red.

Well..la di dah is all I have to say. As I’ve mentioned before in previous articles, the green movement has reached a tipping point and between the recession and the movement of green into mainstream business, green companies need to act smarter.

While this article in Newsweek, specifically addresses alternative energy, there is a lesson to be learned for all green entrepreneurs. When there is a rush to enter any field, there will inevitably be winners and losers. The field gets over crowded and only the strongest companies survive.

I’ve worked in Fortune 500 companies, in start-ups and in mid-size growth companies and my take has always been - look ahead. That often means changing management style or even changing management. If you are an entrepreneur who is good at starting a business, you may not be the best person to lead your company to the next step. (O.K. I’m ducking here as shoes may be thrown at me.) But seriously. If you want to grow your business, consider taking advantage of the lay offs this recession has brought and bring in managers experienced at growing a company to the next stage…making it also easier to raise capital.

Now That the Shock of the Financial Meltdown has Passed, What’s Next?

Reenita Malhotra — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:30:40 +0000

The “shock” of the financial meltdown has passed, now comes, the “awe,” and with it plenty of questions. Primarily, “What’s next?” Is there another bubble brewing? What happens if millions of Americans begin to default on their credit card debt?

Overstock.com chairman and CEO Patrick Byrne, says we are less than 50% of the way through the mess, he predicted the coming of this current crisis many times before, starting 3 years ago, Watch this montage to see Byrne’s predictions beginning in 2005:

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Dr. Patrick Byrne has learned at the knee of Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of all time. As a child Byrne’s parents would allow him skip school so he could spend time and get an education from the “Oracle of Omaha.” Byrne founded Overstock in 1999, and in 2007 the company generated nearly a billion dollars in revenue.

Today Byrne is suggesting one of the following scenarios could occur in the coming years:

Reagan Recession: A deep retraction reminiscent of the recession under Reagan in the early 80’s.
The Lost Decade: A protracted recession similar to the one suffered by Japan in the 90’s.
Great Depression: A severe economic dip on par with the Great American Depression in the early 30’s.
Mad Max: Not likely, but still possible, a catastrophic breakdown of society with mass shortages of energy, food, and water.

Which way do you think the economy is going? What does this mean for sustainable economics?

Green Options » bubble

Newsweek Warns Green Companies Floundering

Well, this could ruin your day. Despite all their promise, green companies are awash in red ink.

Now That the Shock of the Financial Meltdown has Passed, What’s Next?

The “shock” of the financial meltdown has passed, now comes, the “awe,” and with it plenty of questions. Primarily, “What’s next?” Is there another bubble brewing? What happens if millions of Americans begin to default on their credit card debt?