The market for environmentally-friendly products has grown significantly since the early 2000s, according to Entrepreneur magazine, making green living more of a mainstream lifestyle than a trend. Yet while consumers are more willing than ever to help the environment with their purchases, classic rules of business should still guide your marketing, when starting a green business.
Instructions
1. Research the demographics of your area to find out what market exists for your business. About 80 percent of Americans say that buying green benefits the environment, according to Entrepreneur, but within this group, there exist different types of people with different needs and wants. Identify a specific group of target customers, and cater your business to them.
2. Use the demographic information you gathered to determine which products are worth carrying in your store. For example, organic cotton is a staple of green living, but organic cotton diapers are only worth stocking if you have a considerable population of parents, with infants, nearby. Foods, beauty products and household cleaners are also products that have green alternatives.
3. Give your store a name. It should be unique but not too clever, descriptive yet not too literal. For example, "Green Tees" may seem like a unique name for a store specializing in organic cotton T-shirts, but when spoken aloud, people may confuse it for "green tea." Avoid alluding to your location in the name (e.g., Westgrove Organic Life) because your business may outgrow it. Use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System to make certain your name is unique.
4. Choose a structure for your business: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company or corporation. The first two are the easiest and least expensive to set up, but they don't protect your personal assets in a legal dispute. File an assumed name form with your county clerk to be able to legally use the name you choose for your business. The fee is usually no higher than $100. Though the LLC and corporation both cost hundreds of dollars to start in most cases, and the corporation requires extensive record keeping and double-taxation, both provide liability protection. File articles of organization (for an LLC) or articles of incorporation (for a corporation) with the secretary of state to register your business.
5. Apply for the documents necessary to buy green products wholesale and charge sales tax to customers in your state. They are: an employer identification number from the Internal Revenue Service, which is free; and a sales tax license and resale license from your state's tax agency, which may or may not be free. Contact the secretary of state to find out what other licenses your business needs, as these vary by jurisdiction and depend on the products you sell.
6. Browse local classified ads for commercial space for lease. Rent space in an area your target customers frequent, that's large enough to display all the inventory you expect to carry, and that still allows customers to move around freely. Remember that your administrative area may take up as much as 25 percent of your store space, according to Entrepreneur.
7. Use a wholesale vendors' directory to find wholesalers that specialize in green products. Buy the kinds of products your marketing research identified as likely to sell in your area.
8. Market your store to your target customers. This means advertising in the places they go, whether it be social networking websites, or locations around town. For example, organic skin care products are likely to appeal more to women than to men, and particularly to middle-class women.
Tags: your business, your store, according Entrepreneur, organic cotton, target customers