Going green has never been as profitable as it right now, and it looks as though this business trend is just getting started. Whether it’s clothes, cars, food, homes, or a plethora of other items, environmentally conscious products are generating revenue and profit for the companies with a conscience for a cleaner environment and/or healthy revenue stream. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as though these companies are generating billions of dollars from their ecologically-friendly products, it’s just that it’s nice to see some companies recognizing consumer demand for these kinds of products and then taking the risk to produce these goods. Is this all a fad or will higher priced T-shirts made from organic materials be in demand from consumers for….well, forever? This is the million dollar question. I don’t have a crystal ball, but it’s obvious that consumers are starting to become environmentally conscious and they’re showing it at the cash register. It’s not out of the ordinary to find organically grown, fair-trade coffee beans at your local cafe or organic milk at a corner store. We are living in a time where organic foods can now be considered a mainstream niche in the grocery business. Considerable demand by consumers, coupled with a better margin than conventional, non-organic foods has made the grocery chain Whole Foods a growth company. When is the last time you heard the words growth and grocery in the same sentence?
I think going green is much more than a fad. I believe it is an entire new market, and a market that’s here to stay. People are now having environmentally friendly homes built for them, hoping to depend less on oil and more on the energy of the sun. Environment friendly cars are also being built, hoping to depend less on oil and more on ecologically sound forms of energy. I see a pattern forming here. It might take years before cars with fuel-cells become common-place, but I can definitely see a trend towards just that. We are most certainly living in exciting times when companies that restore and maintain our fragile environment can be profitable.
By: Robert Ludvig
futureofbusiness.info
Sorry, I’ve kept this page in order not to break the link.
The purpose of this site is to provide commentary on the business and technology marketplace. In a simple, clear and informative manner we will offer our opinions through a series of articles focusing on the ever-changing world of business.
Due to the rapid acceleration of technology and the use of internet applications, not only has there been a drastic shift in the way business is conducted, but new and exciting businesses have emerged as a result. We will not only follow these new businesses, but we intend on speaking with the people who are leading the way, in this, the future of business.
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Welcome to the Information Age. Okay, we’ve already been here for a while but now ordinary people like you and me are actually reaping some of the financial benefits from it. Unlike the industrial age, the average Joe and Jane can actually make money from the Information Age. All it takes is original content. You have to teach someone something. We have entered the first period in history where literally any person can ask a question and what ever the question is, it will be answered in mere moments. This is why quality search engines such as; Google, Yahoo, Ask.com and MSN are so valuable. These web sites scan billions of web pages to find the most relevant answers to the questions you pose. Knowledge is power, and information is profitable.
Newspapers have been selling information for decades, so what makes the Information Age different? One answer is control. People have the autonomy to get the the information that they want, not just the information that newspapers decide to feed us. This may seem like a simplistic answer, but if you look under the surface you can see that for the first time people have control over information from both ends. Control over creating it, and control over choosing what’s important. Obviously the internet has bridged the gap, and is narrowing that gap with each passing day as millions of more people obtain access to the internet. No one can pinpoint an exact date when the world went online, but there seems to be a general consensus that it was in the mid nineteen nineties. We’ve only been in the Information Age for roughly twelve years, and as it stands at this moment I can’t even imagine my life without web access. How did I, let alone the world, survive without being “connected”? A similar question might have been asked by people living in the Sixties with regards to television.
Okay, so most everyone has access to all kinds information, but how can the average person profit from it? As it stands today, the answer lies in online advertising. If content is key, then Google is the key-hole. Just like television, advertising is generating money for people who are creating original content and who know how to market it on the internet. Getting personal, many of my friends who are in their mid 20’s to mid 30’s refuse to pay for anything on the internet. One of them actually scoffed at the idea. I remember a few years ago trying to view online newspapers on the internet but couldn’t because they asked users to purchase a membership. I never did, nor will I ever. The most widely used way people make money from the internet is through online advertising. Unlike television, or other forms of media, anyone can make money from the internet thanks to online advertising from companies such as Google. Creating Google Adsense, Google’s online advertising program, in 2003 has revolutionized the internet by placing the potential for profit in everyone’s lap. Placing ads on a web site does not automatically make someone a millionaire, but it does offer a chance. The same cannot be said for television, magazines, movies, etc. Creativity is important. How can you distinguish your web site from others? That’s a question that everyone is trying to answer. In my opinion, there are no short cuts. By writing original, interesting articles that are in demand by people trying to educate and entertain themselves is the only true way to gain an audience. A sustained audience is what every site is after since people who surf the web have billions of options out there.
In the end, the Information Age is about choice. It’s about having access to all information and then choosing what is important to you.
By: Robert Ludvig
Future of Business
