The smallest 'green' buildings in America

By Rich Sloan, StartupNation

StartupNation, a leading online business advice site for entrepreneurs, recently compiled a list of the 100 best home-based businesses in America. Read more at StartupNation.

As attention on global warming and other critical environmental issues mounts, interest in the perceived marketing benefits of "going green" is on the rise as well. That has many entrepreneurs asking, "What can my business do to make a difference?"

The winner of the Greenest category in the StartupNation Home-Based 100 rankings posed that question before launching the business in February 2007. The co-founders of Sweet Onion Creations, Jake Cook and his wife, Lee, embody the higher-road ideals of running a business that's green and growing.

"It was kind of a guiding light for us from the start," Jake Cook says.

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While most of the companies grabbing the headlines, and credit, for helping to protect the environment through their business practices are large corporations such as Wal-Mart, the green business movement has also included home-based businesses across the United States.

More and more entrepreneurs are deciding they want to take this route with their enterprises. If they do it right, these owners realize, they can attract more clients and make more money in time through cutting their energy usage and increasing employee morale.

Sweet Onion Creations of Bozeman, Mont., does not make food products. It makes three-dimensional models of buildings for architectural firms. After receiving a computer-generated rendering, or even hard copies of blueprints, the Cooks construct the models in their garage using computer-imaging software and customized machines that actually print the models in 3-D. They then send the finished products to their customers.

Conservation and awareness

Environmentally friendly practices come into play with every aspect of the business.

To conserve on heat use during winter, the Cooks framed and insulated a small box inside their garage to store their 3-D printer and recycling station, and they heat that box with a small space heater. This drastically cuts down on their electrical usage and costs. The lights in the garage were reclaimed from a local remodeling project, which otherwise would have sent the cast offs to the landfill.

Then there are the materials they use. Models are constructed out of a white powder that looks like cornstarch, and sugar water is used to fuse the models together. Per model, only about 3% of the materials used go to waste. And Jake Cook calls the raw materials "almost food-grade," saying, "The chemicals are very safe."

For packaging, the Cooks use biodegradable materials and recycled boxes. But they don't stop there. "Our goal is to spark a conversation with our clients and hopefully raise a bit of awareness," Jake Cook says. So they drop a small card into each package, letting clients know their model was built in such a way as to minimize the impact on the environment.

The Cooks also purchase renewable-energy credits, a process in which a business owner can purchase alternative, or "clean," energy from an electricity provider. "Our carbon use for shipping products and running our machines is offset through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which allows us to purchase Green Tags from the company's renewable-energy facilities," Cook says.

They opted to support 100% wind farms in the Pacific Northwest, one of the options Bonneville provides. According to the Cooks, that has translated to 2,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and offset an estimated 2,800 pounds of carbon dioxide. "That's equal to planting 0.38 acres of trees or not driving a car for 2,862 miles, the typical number of miles someone drives in three months."

Lastly, it's Sweet Onion Creations' standard policy to take back any model that a client no longer wants. That keeps the product out of the landfills and lets the Cooks reuse the rejects as educational tools.

Green doesn't mean unprofitable

One misperception that many business owners have about going green is that there are higher costs involved. Jake Cook says that hasn't been the case so far for his business, which was started with a $30,000 investment in equipment and materials. (The Cooks do all of their computer work themselves, from maintaining their Web site to converting images into physical models.)

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Think going green might sap you of valuable profits? The opposite may be the case. For the Cooks, it might actually have helped them land accounts they otherwise might not have.

"We've pitched against other companies that aren't going green and won," Jake Cook says. While the Cooks rely on the quality of their service to clinch deals, their greenness has contributed. "When we get into conversations about our green practices, customers are pretty hyped up on it."

Looking toward sustainability

The biggest challenge the Cooks now face is trying to make their company more sustainable. At this time, they're trying to find a more environmentally friendly finish to put on the models in order to harden them and make them safer for shipping. They've had no luck so far -- innovators, take note -- but are still searching for a solution that's plant-based or has similar properties.

While running an enterprise that strives to be environmentally friendly, Cook says, they are faced with the same challenges all entrepreneurs deal with on a day-to-day basis. "You're trying to do everything -- be the trash man and the IT person -- so we're just trying to get all of our ducks in a row."

Rich Sloan is one of America's leading entrepreneurial experts. He is co-host of StartupNation Radio, co-author of "StartupNation: Open for Business" and chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation, a leading online community and content site for entrepreneurs.

Published Nov. 5, 2007