Following are a few more strategies we’ve employed, like many other ecopreneurs.

Strategy # 5: Enough Is Enough

A key facet for many small business ecopreneurs is the recognition of living within our ecological and financial means. By exiting the rat race and crafting our own business at a level we can manage, we can commit ourselves to our Earth Mission. A key step, however, is to let go of the idea that we must own a new car or new stereo, go on lavish vacations or in myriad ways keep up with the fictional Joneses. Many Europeans have known this for years.

Strategy # 6: Be Creative and Innovative

“Of three precious resources in life — time, money and creativity — the only unlimited one is your creativity,” writes Ernie Zelinski in The Joy of Not Working. “Make creativity your number one resource, and time and money won’t be as scarce.” Ecopreneurs sometimes thrive in a service economy where there are not products or in a durable economy where there is no waste. After all, who really wants to “own” carpet. I, for one, will be the first in line for an affordable service contract for a computer (famous for their obsolescence in less than three years).

Strategy # 7: Know your Credit Worthiness

Know your personal FICO credit score, typically between 300 and 850. This credit score determined by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) largely determines how much money your credit card company will extend as credit, the interest rate at which you can lock in your mortgage, what rate you receive for home and vehicle insurance and other variables that can increase or decrease your expenses.

The FICO score is based on statistical analysis of your credit history, kept by three very large corporations, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Make sure this score is calculated on accurate information by requesting a free credit report, based on the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, from these three companies through annualcreditreport.com. Call 877-322-8228 or mail a standardized form to Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Build good credit by never missing a mortgage or credit card payment and paying off your credit card balance every month.

Strategy # 8: Green Fitness through Efficiency, Eco-effectiveness and Frugality

“The greatest security is not in having the most, but in needing the least,” writes Charles Long in How to Survive Without a Salary. Efficiency, eco-effectiveness and frugality are like muscles needing constant training to be strong and fit. Creativity fosters green frugality. This muscle needs to be strong since it’s continually tested by outside forces, including mainstream media (Buy this!) and even members of your family who fail to recognize the significance of today’s pressing and interconnected issues.

Many Americans have succumbed to attention deficit disorder every time we complain about rising energy prices, broken families and poor health. There is, however, a growing sense of mindfulness or consciousness toward managing our businesses, matched by the growing awareness among “conserving customers” that no matter what they buy, they impact the world. Those businesses that pay attention to what’s happening around us are reaping financial and ecological benefits, while other businesses are forced to shutter their doors.

Many ecopreneurs, largely due to their human-scaled enterprises, are keen observers, innovative problem-solvers and holistic and systematic in their approach to operating their business.They’re also wise with their personal finances, giving them the freedom, flexibility and financial resources to make their dreams come true.

Of course, the best strategy of all is running your own green business and taking advantage of all the benefits of doing so, including possibly reducing your tax burden, regaining control over your life, and harnessing the power of free enterprise to transform the world into your positive vision of what it should be.

Financial aspects of business, while essential to master, are not the focus for most ecopreneurs, many of whom determine that lifestyle, ecological or social issues override the profit motive that dominates other businesses. Ironically, the marketplace is beginning to recognize green businesses that operate more efficiently, adapt more quickly to change, approach customers and vendors more cooperatively and fairly end up earning a greater return for both the environment and investment made.

What strategies have you adopted that have worked well to make your green business more effective, profitable or, perhaps, generated a greater ROE, Return on the Environment?

Strategy # 2: KISS Principle: Keep It Small Stupid

While the mantra today might be get big or get out, be a millionaire or — for the more socially responsible — “getting to scale” without losing the values the business was founded upon, we’ve discovered the more human-scaled our operations and practices, the more we can accomplish in terms of reaching our Earth Mission.

Size matters not. It’s what and how we operate. Do the best we can in whatever our priorities and live without regrets. It’s a qualitative measure of success, not a quantitative one. Not bigger, but better.

There’s a small mart revolution going on, proclaims Michael Shuman in The Small Mart Revolution. It echoes the “power of one” worldview; we are the world. We don’t underestimate what a nation of ecopreneurial proprietors might collectively accomplish. Perhaps that’s how we view scale: a nation of ecopreneurs. However, we also respect the decision of those ecopreneurs whose fire in their belly lead them to become household names or lead to the sustainable transformation of their communities.

Strategy # 3: Thrive on Natural Capital

Healthy soil provides our daily meals. Winds will blow, regardless of the raging political debate on the pros and cons of renewable energy. Ecopreneurs, by their very focus on enhancing, restoring or preserving natural and social capital through their business operations, will prosper in the emerging restoration economy. Implement The Natural Step framework, or use the Ecological Footprint analysis to guide how, what, and where your business (and life) ebbs and flows. Eliminate waste, for waste is simply lost profits.

As the availability of natural resources continues to decline while the demand for resources increases (thanks to an ever-growing human population and developments in China, India and other nations), just about everything will get more expensive. Many feel it at the pump and produce stand.

At Inn Serendipity, the more energy prices rise, the quicker our investments in renewable energy pay off. Swings in food prices have little impact on our enterprise, since we grow so much ourselves. That’s why we invest in the future, not save for it. Likewise, the more B&B guests who experience a shower with solar-heated water, the more people who realize that a break from fossil fuel is not only possible, it’s pleasurable.

Strategy # 4: Leverage the Local

A theme runs throughout our ECOpreneuring book: there’s a lot to be said for a local economy that’s largely about goods and services being exchanged among neighbors. A strong local economy can reduce shipping costs, exert fewer ecological impacts, offer greater social and community cohesion, result in more money circulated within the community rather than being siphoned off to some distant place, provide a more stable economy with jobs less dependent on distant decision makers and therefore more secure, and provide a genuine ability to build mutual trust among community business owners.

Many small businesses are born in the most humble of beginnings: a small corner of a bedroom, the kitchen table of an apartment, maybe even a closet. Most expand to off-site offices as they grow, leaving behind the convenience of working from home for the increased visibility and professionalism of a “real office.” But for many types of businesses, having an off-site office is not at all necessary. Especially if much of the work revolves around a computer.

Luckily, working from home is very easy for graphic and web designers like myself. I do almost all of my work on my laptop, keep in touch with clients via e-mail, and don’t need much in terms of office equipment. I’ve thought about where I will go once I officially launch my own business, and have decided to stay put. After telecommuting for jobs in the past, I’ve become spoiled, and so my office will always be a spare room in my house, not a place I have to commute to.

While the daily commute has become quite the American tradition, telecommuting is gaining ground. Employers are finding out they can save on overhead by letting employees telecommute, and employees love the convenience of swapping their commute for the comforts of home. It’s a win-win-win situation: better for employers, their employers, and of course, the planet.

Anything that reduces driving will of course benefit the environment. Fewer cars on the road means fewer emissions and pollution, cleaner air, less wear and tear on roads and cars, less traffic (therefore more sanity!) and less contribution to global warming. So it’s important for small businesses, whether brand-new start-ups or established companies, to consider staying small and staying at home. Many companies compromise with employees by letting them telecommute a day or two out of the week. Others let certain staff that can work from home do so. There are countless benefits to starting a telecommuting program.

For a sole proprietorship, unless you need a storefront, you probably don’t need an off-site office. I meet with clients at their offices or at coffee shops and gain visibility through the web, not a downtown office. With advances in internet technology, it’s possible for many of us to work from anywhere. So we might as well save some gas, reduce pollution and emissions, and avoid the dreaded commute if we can!

Setting up a home office will allow new businesses to get started more quickly and is especially handy for those who need to work part time while they’re starting out. You’ll want to make sure your home is as green and efficient as possible, of course, and have a space set aside just for your business. I’ll discuss supplying and setting up a green office in an upcoming column.

Resources and Links in this article:

• Green Living Ideas on Telecommuting.
• Starting a Telecommuting program from CleanAir.org
• 5 Ways to make your home energy wise on Green Options.

This article is the seventh in a series called Green Dreams following my journey starting a green design business. You can read the series introduction, see some green business resources, get inspired, learn how to write a business plan, find out how to name a business, and learn why sustainability should be a part of your planning from the beginning in this series. Stay tuned for more on starting a green business!

Photo credit: Daniel Morrison, via flickr.

Back then, my connection to my work ended at the end of my 3.5 inch business card. No purpose, no passion, no desire to do anything other than fill a job description someone else gave me and pay my mounting credit card bills.

Flash forward to today, as I say hello from my 5.5 acre organic Wisconsin farmstead and bed & breakfast Inn Serendipity. Passion for the diversified entrepreneurial “hats” I now wear long ago replaced my former grindstone approach to a job. I truly love what I do, from writing to innkeeping to consulting on various green projects, and that passion keeps me fueled into the night, long after my am caffeine buzz wears thin.

For me, finding purpose in my work paralleled finding a sense of place. Living and working where I can see stars and silos, I found my creativity started to bloom. As I planted zucchini and found 100 post-consumer waste paper options, I realized we can create businesses that enhance — rather than exploit — the earth. As I left that staid job description that fit on a business card and entered the world of self-employment, I discovered I actually possessed an entrepreneurial soul — despite my former cookie-cutter corporate career path. And as I juggle a daily schedule of writing deadlines, B&B guests, farm duties, homeschooling our young son and an array of other fulfilling endeavors, I realized you can have it all and do good for the planet — if you call your own shots.

As my husband, John Ivanko, and I write about in our book Rural Renaissance and our forthcoming book ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet Before Profits, find the joy in the journey of continually learning, innovating, evolving and creating. Ideas bloom, doors open mentors appear if you follow your heart. I look forward to sharing my ecopreneuring experiences with you on this Ecopreneurist site. Where are you on your journey right now? Still needing to escape on a Friday night — or working with purpose?

Mr. Kennard has a long list of credits, starting as a community organizer for the Conservation Foundation in the late 1960’s, helping to “lay groundwork for the environmental movement and the subsequent explosion of grassroots action on Earth Day.”. He was awarded the Leadership Medal of the United Nations Environment Program for “distinguished contribution to the cause of the environment.”

He served as National Vice Chair of Sun Day in 1978, National Chair of Earth Day in 1980 and as Special Consultant to the EPA Administrator for Earth Day 1990.

He also authored the book of essays on social and political change, “Nothing Can Be Done, Everything Is Possible.” The Christian Science Monitor called the book “a primer for the modern-day activist.”