Opportunities Abound for Green Entrepreneurs

Recently while shopping for groceries, I was compelled to pick up the latest copy of Black Enterprise Magazine. It’s cover boasts a beaming woman clad in professional attire amidst lush foliage. The accompanying caption reads, “Green Business in Full Bloom”.

The April issue of Black Enterprise marks the start of the magazine’s BEing Green campaign, with a feature article that details the economic opportunities of the "green economy". Long hailed as a cause of tree huggers and college students, environmentalism has recently gained mainstream momentum. Not that sudden popularity is a requirement to validate the cause. Still, it’s refreshing that people are finally beginning to understand that the environment, the way we treat our communities, and the amount of chemicals in the food that we put into our bodies, are issues that we can no longer ignore.

Maybe it’s high cost of gas, or reports of global warming that sparked this change of consciousness. Whatever the trigger, there's no denying that being green is suddenly cool. Green is the new black. In traffic, bumper stickers tell you to recycle. On city corners canvassers hustle cash donations to save the redwoods. You can hardly open a newspaper or magazine without stumbling upon a reference to biofuels or green homes. In grocery stores organic versions of popular foods fill shelves, and more and more wineries are boosting biodynamic libations.

For entrepreneurs, the demand for green products and services can translate into big time bucks --ironically, major corporations are already cashing in on the frenzy. It would not be a stretch to liken today’s green market, to the dot-com era of the 90’s, only this bubble is not likely to burst. Annually the green economy is worth around 29 billion dollars, and it is expected to reach 1 trillion dollars by 2020. For those looking to work for themselves and help the planet, the grass has never been greener.

Resources:

http://www.blackenterprise.com/green
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