Green is the biggest opportunity for any business or real estate investment company. Billions in rebates/incentives and skyrocketing consumer demand make green your gateway to increased profits, new customers, elevating your brand, etc. To see how you can use green to become a cutting edge leader in your field, contact me now.

Recently, my college intern, Becky Sanders, conducted interviews with two of our clients for one of her class projects.   The goal of the interviews was to get a read on their thoughts on green business before working with me, during our work together and the results afterward.  Below are the transcripts.

Client: Roger Segure-APR Investments.  Roger runs a real estate investment company in Southern California.  His company specializes in purchasing short sales or foreclosure properties, remodeling them and selling them at a profit.

What was your experience with green business practices?

“None! I was previously in tune with wanting solar, taking short showers and being green but didn’t really know anything about how to go about incorporating it into my business. I went to conference and met with company who was doing green sustainability (using Jim)  And I was intrigued with the idea of turning into a green business. * No active business practice before Jim, just aware of environmental problems.”

Did you have any prior green business practices in place?

“None. Only my environmental conscience.”

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most important) , how important was it for you to be a ‘green’ company?

“10, make more money greening up a home as well as do what is right for the environment.”

What benefits did you expect when you began working with Jim?

“I initially needed to feel things out. I expected to be told what to do and in what order.
I liked Jim from get go – after meeting him I thought that if Jim hit even 65 percent of what he was saying, that  it was going to be exciting – seems to me hes right about everything he says..  Expected higher income for properties and was excited about branding myself as green.”

How many competitors did you have prior to beginning this project?

“Who knows – lots of competition, Lots of opportunity for flipping homes.”

What were the 2 biggest surprise positive outcomes you experienced while working with Jim?

“If you aligned yourself with people like Jim you learn about things such as discounts at home depot 15 to 20% less. PRICE. Before Jim I thought carpet was carpet – discovered what carpet was made of, found out about green options that I didn’t think about before or even know existed. Also surprised about all the advantages of making your home green, hidden benefits like getting a soundproofed home from blown insulation.

How has your perception of being a ‘green’ business changed?

“From the first moment I decided to do this I have become more convinced that it will not only work [financially] but that it’s a good thing to do.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1-not much, 10- total domination) how much of a competitive advantage do you believe you have by being a ‘green’ company?

“10+++  Have a hunch that it will make all the difference”

How many competitors do you have now?

“None in the area that are known of. – May be people doing it at much less extent, not to the extent I am that’s for sure..”

What do you believe the future holds in regards to sustainability in your industry?

“I feel really good about, I know I am making a move in right direction and that it will pay off.”

How far (if at all) do you feel you are ahead of the curve in terms of knowledge, skills and experience?

“I feel like I’m  ahead of most in this field,I have found a niche in the business to hold on to. While I am learning more everyday the majority of the knowledge is from Jim. I like having notes on hand. I wants to be able to explain basics to general population, don’t expect to be an expert.”

Ryan Burk – CEO – In The Now Investments. Ryan, along with his wife, Shanan, run a wholesale real estate investment business that largely invests in Section 8 homes in Detroit. We began working together in August of 2009 and I became their Chief Green Officer in January 2010.  Shanan and I successfully worked together to have her replace me as Chief Green Officer in May 2010.

What was your experience with green business practices prior to working with Jim?

“Zero, no experience, other than thinking it would be cool to go green, but I always thought it would be too much money.”

Did you have any prior green business practices in place?
“None”

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most important), how important was it for you to be a ‘green’ company?
“8, Once I started I became aware of green as an option it became very important.”

What benefits did you expect when you began working with Jim?

“I expected to have happier clients and tenants. Expected more profits for business, and the opportunity to leave a legacy.”

What were the 2 biggest surprise positive outcomes you experienced while working with Jim?

“I wasn’t aware how responsive the general public would be to becoming green. It
allowed me to open up my database while giving me an entirely new types of clients.  I was surprised at how much  easier it is to brand yourself as a green company.”

How has your perception of being a ‘green’ business changed?

“I have revolutionized my entire business model, Jim has opened eyes to how perfect this time is to get into this field, how people not only want to go green but will eventually need to.”

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1-not much, 10- total domination) how much of a competitive advantage do you believe you have by being a ‘green’ company?

“10- I don’t have any competition I stand out, I have absolutely no competitors.”

What do you believe the future holds in regards to sustainability in your industry?

“The future holds huge things, within the next 5 years all houses need to have energy rating, people will need companies like mine, there will be a huge need.”

How far (if at all) do you feel you are ahead of the curve in terms of knowledge, skills and experience?

“Way ahead of the curve, with what we know and the qualifications we have been getting. We feel we are ahead  far enough to really benefit from these green trends.”

The business of ‘green’ is constantly evolving.  As one of the only consultants in North America who focuses solely on green business and green real estate, I get contacted very frequently for career advice.  People have emailed from all over the Us and France, Guam, Switzerland, Ohio, Canada, etc.

With that said I recently developed my green career mentoring program.  The video below gives a simple explanation of the program and why it makes sense for someone interested in utilizing ‘green’ to fast track their career.  It’s applicable for real estate investors, business owners, new grads, etc.  check it out and if you’re interested, shoot me an email.

For real estate investors the term greenhabbing may be an unfamiliar concept.  However, with the explosion of interest in green building, greenhabbing is here to stay.  Green building can be separated into two distinct areas: materials and performance.

Materials simply represent the materials used, how they are used and how excess materials are disposed of. Performance relates to the design and actual performance of a structure as it relates to operational expense, indoor air quality, comfort.  You may not usually consider comfort as a performance level but in green building you should.

With that said, the definition of greenhabbing is:

Greenhabbing is the process of remodeling an existing structure (whether it be commercial, residential, industrial, etc) to create a high performance structure.  This new high performance space must meet all of the following conditions:

1. A minimum of 80% of the materials used to greenhab (remodel) the structure must be high-quality sustainable materials that create a healthier living/working environment.

2. When completed, the greenhab must cost a minimum 30% less to operate than a comparable property.

3. It must create less of an environmental impact than a comparable property.

A greenhabbed property is created through the four core elements of high-performance, healthier living, low cost and low environmental impact.

As more builders, real estate rehabbers become interested in becoming ‘green’ builders the incidents of green-washing continues to increase. I am seeing more builders or RE investors call their properties ‘green’ when they’ve actually done very little in terms of greenhabbing. Changing light-bulbs and adding low-VOC paint aren’t groundbreaking anymore.  On a current project I am working on in Buena Park, California, our greenhab crew is adding/installing no less than 30 different ‘green’ elements to the project. These include cellulose exterior wall insulation, wall socket gaskets, recycled carpet, water heater insulation, day-lighting solutions, just to name a few.

So, hopefully this definition will separate the true greenhabbers from the greenwashers.

[Roger/Jose, Ryan/Shan, NWL, keep up the great work!]

Here are a few articles I’ve written for BiggerPockets.com a great real estate investing website.  I’ve gotten to know the owner of the site, Josh Dorkin and really respect the quality of the material he has on the site.

The Michael Corleone Method of Green Real Estate – There are three camps in the world  of ‘green’ like there were 3 sons in the Godfather.  In this post I compare Michael to ‘green’ people who are interested in performance (Save $/Better health) than posturing.

Common Green Real Estate Investing Questions – Here are the most common questions I get asked about green real estate investing and my answers.

Comparing Green Consultants and brain surgeons – Suffice to say you should never hire a part-timer in either profession.

Boosting appraisal values – Useful Energy Star formulas to increase the value of your property after greening it up.

High-performance real estate IS Green – Why green real estate is ALWAYS high-performance.

Green Real Estate Investing 101 Video – A primer to teach you the basics of green real estate investing.

ABC’s of green real estate investing – Just what it says..

7 Lessons from a profitable green real estate investor – Actual real estate investors who’ve gone green and gotten great results.

Enjoy!