In one super-charged 90 minute session, Jim Simcoe will teach you the techniques to master green real estate investing.  From  performing  green rehabs, to finding rebates and Stimulus money, to maximizing  returns on all of your properties.  Combining the patented techniques he’s used all over North America over 5  years as a green real estate consultant, he will take you on a  whirlwind trip from novice to green real estate expert.

You will leave this session with:

1. A patented formula to determine the additional ‘green’ profit available to you on every  property. – A powerful process to green any investment property.
2. A road map to guide you through the maze of available rebates/incentives/stimulus money. – What ‘green’ benefits buyers want and how much more they’ll pay for them.
3. A plan to increase your appraisal values by 7-15% on all of your properties.
4. A green buyers checklist to ensure your property has zero competition.
5. A blueprint to revolutionize your business and triple your profits in the next 90 days.

The session includes:

1. Download recording of the call.
2. Free copy of Jim’s Green Real Estate Investment Report: “Get Maximum Performance from Your Investment Properties”
3. Free 20 minute coaching call with Jim Simcoe within 30 days of the tele-seminar.

Date: September 30, 2010

Time: 5:30PM, PST

Fee: $49

Guaranty: If you are not completely satisfied with the info on the call or coaching session, you’ll receive a complete refund.

If you’re like most real estate investors, you might have the following 2 objections about green real estate investing.  These are the two I hear most often in my work:

1. You do not believe there is a market of people who want green properties.
2. You do not know how to quantify the profitability of going green on your properties.

The first objection is usually handled when we discuss the true definition of ‘green’ real estate.  Put simply a green property:

1. Saves the end user (homeowner, tenant) money every month on utilities.
2. Creates a healthier living environment for that end-user.

With that said is there anyone who is not interested in saving money every month and living in an environment that is LESS toxic?  Probably not.

The second objection has been harder to address.  When I first started in this business several years ago there was no data at all around this topic.  Even now, there are precious few data sources to point to.  So I am pleased to say that my team and I recently developed a sophisticated formula to project the increased profits available to an investor by greening up an investment property.

Our formula is designed to give you the following:

1. Give you the projected max price you can charge for a green home in any market.
2. Give your end buyer the numbers that show that it will actually SAVE them money if they spend more to purchase your property.

Here’s a brief example:

In a certain neighborhood in Los Angeles, all of the homes sell for roughly $200,000.  The utility bills for those homes average $300 per month. With our formula, we can show an end-buyer that it will be less expensive for them to spend $215,000 to purchase your home than to buy a comparable home at $200,000.  We show them that the combined total of their mortgage payment and utility bills will be less on our place (at $215k) than the total monthly payment at a comparable home ($200k).  As the investor, you net an additional $15k AND you’re helping to create a sustainable neighborhood.

The end buyer loves it because although they pay more for your property, their monthly expense actually goes down.  Since most buyers get a mortgage that additional $15k they spent is never fully re-paid. Their monthly savings is real money that they save right now.

Here are a few of the benefits to you:

1. You net $15,000 more on the sale of this property.
2. You’re able to sell the property faster and thus have less holding costs.
3. You know the exact price that is the break-even point for a buyer.  With  that you can price your property accordingly.
4. You can do this on any property for sale in any part of North America.  This can be used on residential, multi-family, and commercial properties.

Some (not all) of the factors involved in our formula include:

• Average sales prices in the neighborhood
• Average Days on Market
• Sales price to List price ratios
• Current mortgage rates and programs
• Down-payment amounts (0%, 5%, 20% for example)
• Projected utility savings
• Green rehab expense
• Rebate, incentive money coming back to you
• Number of (if any) green properties currently for sale
• **There are roughly 25 more inputs into our formula**

This formula has been a labor of love for my team.  We recognize that real estate investors deserve to know how much additional profit they can expect to earn on any green real estate investment.  Many thanks to Kevin Gaynor, our Project Manager for his tireless work on this project.  If you’re interested in learning more or would like to have us run one of your properties through this formula,please contact me below.

When converting a client’s property into a high-performance green real estate investment, there is a clear road map we follow to ensure we maximize the results (profit, ROI, etc).  Below are the highlights of that road map along with additional comments (in red).

1. Schedule site visit
2. Video exterior and interior of property
   1. Take minimum of 20 pictures (all sides) of exterior of property
   2. Take minimum of 30 pictures (all rooms) of interior of property
   3. (When the project is outside our area, we have someone shoot this video so we can get an accurate assessment of the property)
3. Assess entire property including: exterior, interior, appliances, plumbing, building envelop, HVAC, etc. (This gives us a good baseline of where the proprty stands today and what the opportunities are)
4. Create comprehensive green retrofit strategy (We answer the fundamental question- What will it take to turn this property into a high-performance green property?)
5. Schedule energy audit [if applicable] (In some states/cities, you can double your rebates and incentives by first doing an energy audit.)
6. Identify any applicable ‘green’ city incentives (We call the Mayor and the City Manager’s office to discuss the project with them and see what incentives are available)
   1. Expedited permit process
   2. Fees waived
   3. Variance approvals
   4. Etc…
7. Create Materials List DRAFT
   1. Include contractors initial list
8. Initial rebate/incentive/credit/grant/Stimulus funds research (We research every possible rebate available from city, state, federal, county and NGO organizations to maximize the savings for our client)
9. Identify Materials supplier (Where the client’s contractor will be buying the materials)
   1. Conduct initial meeting (We drive 2 things home in this meeting: 1. This is a green project which will be good branding for them and 2. We expect a large discount from them)
   2. Discuss potential discounts
10. Identify green vendors
    1. a. Insulation
    2. b. HVAC [if needed]
    3. c. Painter [if needed]
    4. d. All others [Solar, Rain-harvesting, Irrigation, Carpet, etc.]
11. Area utility expense research (This gives us the baseline #’s for a neighborhood that we can use in our marketing once the project has been completed.  For example, if we know we’re going to save the end-buyer 50% on utilities and neighborhood utilities average $200/month, that’s $100/month savings. It’s crucial to get exact as possible on these #’s)
    1. Gas
    2. Electric
    3. Water
12. Area comparables for both sales and rentals
13. Phase I Client Meeting (Gives the client my initial thoughts about the project, budgets, etc)
    1. Project Scope
    2. Discuss initial assessment, budget, proposed materials, etc.
    3. Review Green Project Workbook [excel spreadsheet-see KG]
    4. Finalize next steps with client
14. Create FINAL Materials List
15. Site walk-through with contractor (To explain what we’re going to accomplish and how building envelop science comes into play)
    1. Review strategy
    2. Review materials
    3. Finalize Materials List
    4. Answer questions
16. Site visit within 3 days of construction commencement (Check on the work and make sure it’s getting done properly)
    1. Video exterior and interior of property
    2. Photograph exterior and interior of property
    3. Perform Quality Control checks on work
17. Identify prospective media outlets for press possibilities (Use a variety of methods to pitch them on this as a ‘feel good’ green story.
    1. TV
    2. Print
    3. Radio
    4. Web
18. Identify local city officials for local publicity (Elected officials want one thing (to be re-elected) so we show them how helping us helps them achieve that goal)
    1. City Mayor
    2. City Manager
19. Marketing Process launch [see Marketing Process] (Different process, specific process available to clients only)
20. Appraisal Process launch [see Appraisal Process] (Process to increase appraised value 10-15%, specific process available to clients only)
21. Site visit upon construction completion
    1. Assess final project
    2. Video exterior and interior of property
    3. Photograph exterior and interior of property
22. Phase II Client Meeting (Occurs right after construction completion)
    1. Sales price recommendations
    2. Total construction budget savings
    3. Applicable rebates
    4. Etc…
23. Phase III Client Meeting [at completion of project] (Look at total results of project)
    1. Results
    2. Increased profits
    3. Increased performance

A study conducted by Rent.com (click here for the report) in February 2010, concluded that the desire for eco-friendly homes has significantly increased. For example:

1. 86 % of renters would prefer to live in an eco-friendly home.
2. 55 % are willing to spend more in rent to live in one.
3. Renters were almost three times as likely to say that living in an eco-friendly home is absolutely necessary for them.

Click here for the full article

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!

If you are leading the ‘green team’ at your company, there are four absolutes you must have have to ensure your success.  This is regardless of the type or size of your company.  In our current business climate, a company that does not have a ‘green’ team or a point person for sustainability is foolhardy.  A few years ago, companies with ‘green’ teams were considered cutting edge.  Now you need one just to keep up with your competition.  Unfortunately there are a lot of people leading green teams who don’t know what they’re doing and thus aren’t having much success.  I wrote about this on BiggerPockets.com recently.

With that said, here are the four absolutes for leading green teams:

1. REBATES/TAX INCENTIVES/CREDITS/GRANT MONEY

You need to know where to go to research rebates/grants/credits, etc for your business at all times.  There are programs available for energy-efficiency, water conservation, purchasing new equipment, reducing city/state zoning/planning time-lines (if you are in construction or going through a remodel).  A great starting point I’ve mentioned before for rebate info is Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.

There are literally billions of dollars available to businesses and real estate owners to go green. If you lead a green team then it falls to you to find these programs for your organization.

2. FUNDAMENTALS OF GREEN BUILDING CONCEPTS

To improve efficiency (and thus save $/reduce environmental impact) you need a general understanding of basic green building concepts.  If you learn the basics of how buildings operate and how energy is used/lost in a typical building envelop, you’ll be able to make a bigger impact.  A great book for this is Building Green. It will give you a very basic understanding so that you can make the right decisions on your property/in your office.  It’s been my experience that once you understand how your building is operating it’s easier to see the problem areas and potential solutions.

3. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Let’s say you had a good understanding of green building and know where to get the rebates. You’ve written an ‘eco-charter’ and have a green strategy in place for your organization.  This all means nothing if you can’t translate the value of it to your internal team.  Put simply, the team won’t implement it if they don’t see the value.  Here’s how to get buy-in:

a. Explain that green is more profitable and thus potentially rewarding financially for employees.
b. Explain that green creates a healthier living/work environment for them.
c. Explain that green is a tremendous competitive advantage for the company.  Show them the formula: GBS = PG = CS = EJS.  Effectively, a green business strategy equals profitable growth for the company which equals company stability which in turn equals employee job stability.

4. EXTERNAL BRANDING SKILLS

Once you’ve gotten buy-in from your internal team, you need to be able to communicate it to your external customers.  External customers can include: customers, prospects, vendors, city officials, community, etc.  This skill is more art than science because you need to be able to translate the benefits of what you did (going green) to the benefit to them.  For example:

a. “We recently insulated our walls with denim insulation to save energy and protect the earth” (Boring and ineffective statement).
b. “We chose to insulate our building with wall insulation because it makes us more efficient and reduces our expenses” (A little better).
c. “We installed denim insulation because it will save us 30% in operations costs annually.  This savings allows us to improve the quality of our products while reducing our prices to you” (Much better).

This is the area I see companies get wrong all the time.  Either they say too little about what they’re doing and why, or they overstate their ‘commitment’ to the environment.  The advice here is to be honest and be specific. Your customers will appreciate your candor.

If you’re able to follow these four absolutes you’ll go a long way to developing a effective green team, regardless of your industry, your age, your position, etc.  Remember that efficiency is great, but effectiveness is king.

As always feel free to email any questions to me at: jim (at) jimsimcoe (dot) (com).

I often get asked what an energy audit report looks like so I wanted to give you one.  Thanks.  As always, I welcome your questions and comments..

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Green consultants, eco-consultants and sustainability consultants are the ‘new’ black.  It’s arguably one of the most fashionable new careers to get into.  However, it’s pretty loosely defined and as such, difficult to quantify what a good sustainability consultant is/does.   It can be difficult to determine the ‘real’ consultants from the fake Elvis’s.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each specialty and below that, a good four step process to hire one.

Green Consultants/Eco-Consultants - Typically help people green-up their homes through recycling, lighting retrofits, selling green cleaning products.  Very basic skill set, green consultants usually aren’t certified and the competency in the field varies widely.

Sustainability Consultants - A step up in skill level from green/eco consultants, sustainability comsultants usually work on commercial buildings, or large residential projects.  Sustainability consultants usually carry some certifications.  For example, I am an Energy Star Partner,  Certified Green Building Professional, EcoBroker.  Again, like green consultants, the skill level here varies widely.

Four Step Hiring Process:

1. Forget about certifications - As much as I am proud of my certifications, they really don’t mean a thing on a project. Focus on a consultants compentency and not whether they passed a test and got a certificate.

2. Ask Qualifying Questions –

1. ‘How many projects have you completed?’  You want someone who’s done at least 3 projects in your specific area.  If you own an apartment complex, don’t hire a consultant that hasn’t completed at least several apartment building projects.
2. ‘Do you accept referral fees/kickbacks from vendors/contractors you recommend?’  Make sure they don’t.  If they do, how can you be sure that they are giving you a 100% honest recommendation?
3. ‘Do you bill hourly or by project?’ Hourly billing will add up fast.  Better to pay by project, this way you can email/call anytime you want.* [Side note - I only bill by project as I want my clients to feel free to call/email me whenever they have a question. In addition, if new info comes up on my end, I want to be able to email or call them without any hesitation.  This makes the client/consultant relationship more productive and less expensive.]
4. ‘What is your working definition of sustainability?’ Sounds superfluous until you find out that the consultant wants to use eco-friendly materials at ANY cost.  Again, the key here is to make sure the consultant has your goals in mind, not theirs.

3. Kick the tires - Google the consultant and see what you find.  Are they full-time or do they sell make-up on the side?  Are they seen as an expert in their area? Do they teach or do speaking engagements?  What are other people saying about them?  Trust your gut and go with the person who seems the most competent and reliable.

4. Sunday morning test – [This is my favorite].  Email any prospective consultant at 6am on a Sunday morning and see how fast they get back to you.  Major issues tend not to occur during normal business hours so you want a consultant who gets back to you fast.  As an example, this past thanksgiving, the refrigerator at a relatives house conked out about 7 hours before 11 people were about to show up for dinner.  All appliance repair companies were closed so we had to make alternate plans (coolers, bags of ice, etc.).  Think of the loyalty and goodwill any appliance repair company would have garnered had they been able to help us asap.  In fact, it begs the question as to why there isn’t a repair company that is only open nights, weekends and holidays?  Imagine the business they would receive…

As always, I welcome any questions you have.

Sustainability consultants from global multi-national large firms to solo-practitioners all blather on about the reasons to pursue sustainability.  They can talk endlessly about carbon credits, clean-tech and the ethical/moral/spiritual/political/logical reasons to go green.  I have been a card-carrying member of this group (until recently) and have been guilty of the same rhetoric they propagate.  However, I realize now:

I was wrong.

In a recent client meeting, this all became crystal clear to me.  Sustainability isn’t a ‘reason’ to do something, it’s the result of doing something.  It may seem like a small distinction in definition but it isn’t.  Sustainability is a result in the same way the Saints winning the Super Bowl is a result.  Stay with me here for a minute and consider:

1. True sustainability, like winning the Super Bowl is the result of many things:

• a good game plan
• a great team
• knowing your environment
• being passionate and committed
• executing a strong strategy

2. Results (like sustainability) can be measured, reasons cannot.  I can measure the results of a recycling program, I cannot measure the reasons I had a veggie burger for lunch.

Reasons, on the other hand, mainly appeal to your psyche and the the outside influences on you.  People will say you the reason you should make your lighting energy-efficient is sustainability. Wrong.  The reason you should do it is that it will save you money, potentially resulting in:

• Higher profits
• Lower fees to your customers
• More money for you to spend on employee training/development
• Increased company growth/prosperity

The key here is that if more business owners/CEO’s thought this way (in terms of sustainability as a result) they’d pursue more green efforts.  Which in turn would lead to more sustainable companies and healthier environment for all of us. Quite honestly, the 3 main reasons most executives/business owners do anything in business is:

• Make money
• Save Money
• Save time

Sustainability is not on that list. Thinking along these lines makes acting on sustainable issues/challenges much easier for any business owner/CEO.  You don’t have to chase the latest green business fads or get caught up in conversations about buying carbon credits, etc.  In every one of your business actions you are either doing something that can/will result in being sustainable or you’re not.  It is as simple as that.

If you don’t have an active green business strategy in place, you may have a fat company. Almost all business owners/CEO’s have ‘to-do’ lists a mile long, are stressed and pushed to the max as it is.  Asking you to consider adopting a green business strategy to save the planet is a weak proposition at best. Granted you probably realize there is some money/benefit to going green but it’s not at the top of your list. Putting aside the easy to determine tangible benefits (lower operational costs, rebates/tax credits/incentives, etc) here’s a problem you may not have considered:

You might be running a fat company.

Fat companies waste money and time through inefficiencies and over-spending.  Instead of running hyper-efficient, they lose money/time/resources in areas that are simple to control. The difference between high-performance companies (Fast Green Companies) and fat companies is simple.  Fast green companies maximize the utility of every aspect of their business. IF they overspend on anything it’s on people, sales and marketing.  Fat companies overspend on operations (power, water, equipment and supplies).  For fast green companies, a kilowatt is a kilowatt and they pay as little for them as possible.  They also waste precious few as well.  Fast green companies excel at maximizing rebates, incentives and tax credits to make their business run more efficient and thus, less costly.  Fat companies pay more for lighting, for example, and disregard or don’t know about the rebates available to them. They overspend on electricity, water, paper supplies, etc.  They are running a marathon in cement sneakers.

Here’s a 3 question test to see if your company is running fat:

1. How much money in energy-efficiency rebates or tax incentives did you receive last year?
- More than $25,000 (3 points)
- Between $10,000- $25,000 (2 points)
- Less than $10,000 (0 points)

2. Do you have a green business strategy running right now?
- Yes, and it’s going great (3 points)
- Have one but haven’t implemented it yet (2 points)
- Don’t have one, don’t know what it is (0 points)

3. When was the last time you had an energy audit done on your office or building?
- In the last 12 months (3 points)
- More than a year ago (2 points)
- Never had one ( 0 points)

Scoring:

6-9 Points – Congratulations, you run a true fast green company.
3-5 Points – Not bad, but you’ve got some work to do.
0-2 Points – Time to hit the gym and drop the lbs..

For some, going green may be all about saving the polar bears, the rain forest and the planet.  Theirs is a noble pursuit*. For the harried CEO/business owner, going green can be a great way to trim the company waistline.

For information on becoming a fast green company, send me a note below.

*I get asked frequently why I spend so much time writing and speaking about the business reasons to go green and little time on the environmental reasons.  The simple truth is that I believe I can affect more positive change through working with business owners and CEO’s.  To be effective I need to be clear about the business benefits available to them.  For me, the end does justify the means.  If I get a client to use 5 million LESS gallons a water annually, I’m less concerned about their reasons and more excited about the environmental results of their actions.  In that sense I am a true tree-hugging capitalist.

If you think that Donald Trump and the Dalai Lama has very little common, you’re probably right.  However, they DO exist on the same continuum between altruistic motives and profit motives (they’re just on opposite ends).  However, smart companies know that the  sweet spot lies right in the middle…

The mantra for my company has long been, “Do Good, Make Money”.  In 4 words that encapsulates our goals, our mission, our vision and our purpose.  A successful business cannot have one without the other.  This is a revolutionary change that started less than 24 months ago.  A look at what sold/mattered most in past decades:

1960′s: Music

1970′s: Sex

1980′s: Excess

1990′s: Grunge

2000′s: Web

The next decade will be all about Sustainability/CleanTech/Planet.  We’re already witnessing a sea change in the way ‘big corporate’ (Fortune 1000) talks about sustainability.  It’s on their radar because of 2 pressures:

1. Upward pressure from stockholders, customers, media to go green.
2. Downward pressure internally to cut expenses/save jobs.

It’s a perfect storm of obligation for big corporate. More people become aware of ‘green’ issues due to media attention.  These same people demand more sustainable answers/solutions from big corporate. Big corporate responds, thus creating more media attention.  Rinse and repeat.  The tipping point has been reached and it has forced big corporate to react.

This perfect storm of obligation is a perfect sea of opportunity for small/med sized businesses.  I call these guys ‘quick corporate’ because decisions can be made faster and they are more nimble. Quick corporate can seize the opportunity of sustainability and become a market leader in their industry in little time.

For example, In The Now Investments is a real estate investment company that started 2 years ago.  It’s run by Shanan and Ryan Burk, a husband and wife team out of Irvine, California.  They purchase dilapidated foreclosed homes, fix them up, get them rented and sell to investors as rental income property. Over the last 14 months, they’ve done over 90 deals. They recently hired me to be their Chief Green Officer to develop a green business strategy and green up the properties they purchase.  We’ve been working together for 6 months and they’ve quickly become the market leader in their space. By becoming a ‘green’ real estate investment company, doors have opened for them that would not have otherwise.  They’ve gained new partnerships, new clients, free press, and created new streams of revenue for their business.  All of this is happening because they’ve seized the opportunity that sustainability offers to quick corporate.

In regards to the illustration above, the key is to operate your business in the sweet spot of doing good and making money.  It’s crucial to not only pursue both but to let your prospects, vendors, customers, community, media, etc. know that you actively pursue both. A nice ancillary (or major depending on your perspective) benefit of this is that the more good you do, the more money you make, which allows you to do more good and make even more money.

That is good for you, good for business and good for the planet.

• How will it better my life?
• Is it the best solution for me?
• Is it reliable/Does it work?

Fix this mistake:

Leave the powerpoint slides at the office.  Deliver your message at the simplest terms possible to your prospects.  Remember that the Wall Street Journal is written at a 6th grade reading level. If you are prepared to answer the three questions above, you’ll close more deals than if you have a slick power-point presentation.

Mistake 3 – Leaving Green undefined

Since being green and sustainability are relatively new  concepts to the general public, they are loosely defined at best.  Contrast this to being a lawyer for example.  Most people have a general knowledge of what a lawyer is and the steps to become one (college, law school, pass the bar).  Green is newer and defined in a multitude of ways.  The mistake that green companies make is not determining (and communicating) what green means to them.  This is more a mistake of lost opportunity than anything else.

Once you’ve communicated your belief of green to your employees, customers, prospects, media, community, etc you’ll enjoy numerous benefits including:

• You are now seen as an expert in the field (You’ve given your prospects knowledge they previously didn’t have)
• You can clearly communicate how your product/service compliments your definition of green
• You gain a huge competitive advantage because your competitors aren’t doing this*

*An ancillary bonus is that once you’ve defined ‘green’ to your marketplace, your competitors have to cede to your definition.  Talk about a home-field advantage.

Fix this mistake:

Pull your team together and define ‘green’ for your company. Keep it short (the less complicated the better) and put it on paper.  For example, my definition of green is anything that:

1. Creates a healthier environment.
2. Is more environmentally friendly than the alternative.
3. Makes or saves you money.

Once you’ve defined green, communicate it to everyone.  Tailor your sales approach and marketing messaging and positioning so that it compliments your definition.

Avoidance of these mistakes will go a long way to help your business enjoy tremendous success. In our current climate (no pun intended) there is a fantastic opportunity for green companies to fundamentally change the way we all live and work.  I applaud your efforts to that end.