Green Entrepreneur Handbook: The Guide to Building and Growing a Green and Clean Business

Written by a practicing business attorney with startup experience in the environmental and technology sectors, Green Entrepreneur Handbook: The Guide to Building and Growing a Green and Clean Business assists entrepreneurs in tackling the wide variety of opportunities to go green. It helps you incorporate clean technology, environmental practices, and green business approaches into your work environment.

The first section of the book lays the groundwork for any new entrepreneur to understand the history of the environmental and clean technology movements. The next section takes a new business from initial idea to sales of the product or service. Emphasizing aspects unique to the green business environment, the third part provides a sound understanding of energy generation and distribution, addresses regulatory impacts, and explores programs designed to spur clean technology development. In the fourth section, the author covers lessons learned and emerging challenges. The final part focuses on lessons, tools, resources, and fundamentals essential to any entrepreneur, such as market research and smart intellectual property management.

Features

-Provides an understanding of how to work with and sell to utilities

-Discusses fundraising outlets for green businesses

-Presents detailed descriptions and analyses of opportunities to work with government, including from grants, loans, incentive programs, taxes, government contracting, and partnering

-Lists numerous examples of how to make your business more green

-Explains how to be prepared and save money by using checklists Web links, and key startup tools aimed at green businesses

-Includes a case study that represents an actual startup-like situation for a set of greentrepreneurs

-Addresses key challenges of many new businesses, such as raising money and making sales

A one-stop resource for green entrepreneurs, this comprehensive handbook equips you with the tools and knowledge to fully appreciate the unique challenges of developing a green business. Discussions of timely topics, advice, and additional resources are available on the book's Web site.

Eric Koester is general counsel of Appature Inc. and a former business attorney with Cooley LLP. He has started three businesses focused on environmental and technology consulting, website design, and mobile software. He is also the author of What Every Engineer Should Know About Starting a High-Tech Business Venture (CRC Press, 2009). Eric graduated from the business school at Marquette University and the George Washington University School of Law.

All of the author’s proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Startup Weekend and Kiva. More information about these nonprofit organizations can be found at www.greentrepreneur.org